Opinion on Coursework/Advice Please

[Dover44]

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Hello all,
I am new, but I've been sifting through forums on SDN for quite some time, and finally decided to join for myself, as it is a great resource. I am what you would say a Pre-Pre-Therapy Student, as the fall will mark just my first semester of college as a Health Science Major. I was first attracted to the career through multiple, and some severe, football injuries where I have spent many, many days in therapy for myself. Fortunately, I was offered full-time employment as a PT Tech at a private clinic setting for the summer where I am able to truly get great hands-on experience. I have already logged over 150 hours of work experience/volunteer hours there and counting. My schedule for the upcoming school year is as follows:
-Chemistry 1 with Workship and Lab
-ENG 101
-History 109
-College Algebra
-Psychology
-Intro to College
Total Hours:18
-I was also already able to take Physics w/ lab as a dual credit in High School as well as a few other of my basics.
Of course I have to throw a few of the basic courses in there, but I hope to hit the Pre-Reqs hard early and eventually complete all of the "Recommended" courses for my school as well. I hope to continue with more-than-average course loads, as well as summer classes en route to completing my bachelor's in three years. I also plan on gaining work experience in two different settings over the next two following summers to strengthen my application.

I wanted to ask the opinion of my schedule, and of my plan, from some of you who are further along than I am. What to expect, and how to attack it, etc. I also hope for some advice concerning the time leading up to application. Also, if I complete my bachelor degree in three years, will I still have to wait until the following cycle to apply since I will most likely still be finishing up on a few classes as application time rolls around? Thank you very much for you help and advice in advancement.

 

[DesertPT]

Make sure the Physics you did in high school transfers as a 2-semester General Physics series, not a 101-level Intro to Physics.

If you can graduate in 3 years that's great financially, but if overloading yourself with all that school and coursework (how you will schedule all those classes, labs and volunteering and the travel in between is beyond me but I'm sure it can be done) causes you to end up with a GPA below 3.5 then you have royally hosed yourself.

 

[PTMattI]

Why the big rush in finishing in 3 years? I hate to sound cliche but try to have some fun in college too..because once you get to grad school doing well and having fun is a lot harder.

You can apply through PTCAS at the beginning of 3rd year assuming you are on track to graduate at the end of that year. Most schools do not require that you have finished all your classes when they look at your application, but if you are accepted, you will obviously have to finish whatever you have outstanding or you will lose your seat.

 

[IndianaDPT]

@Dover44:

You have set an ambitious schedule. Have you consulted your academic advisor regarding your 18 credit load? This is a very high load, one that not many students should attempt.

I have been an academic advisor for nearly 10 years now, and I have seen exactly 0 students complete 18 credits their first semester. Is it impossible? No. Is it realistic? I also think no.

Getting through in 3 years is a fine goal, but it may not be in line with your long-term interests. A university education is about more than classwork. I believe you will find that you are spending so much time in academics that your out-of-class development will be quite limited.

Let's say you do get done in 3 years with a respectable GPA. That's fine. What other experiences could you realistically hope to have? Study abroad, part-time employment in a PT-related area, additional PT shadowing... all those great opportunities may be impossible.

You are just starting out in this beautiful, messy thing we call college. Keep in mind if you run a sprint for 3 years, and get into a solid PT program, you'll have another 3 year sprint ahead of you. Do you really think you want to put that effort in, 6 years running? Do you expect you'll be able to keep that pace?

I think others have argued that entering PT students will want to take a long vacation before starting their programs. This is good advice (but don't miss orientation!). Your plan doesn't seem to account for the inevitable problems that arise, such as illnesses, family emergencies, major changes, and a whole host of other items that cannot be anticipated.

If this is a financial issue, be sure to consult regularly with your university's financial aid office and make sure you file the FAFSA before the early deadline (usually March 10).

Best,

Josh Morrison
Director, Student Enrollment Services
IU School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
[email protected]

 

[schnell8]

Definitely listen to what was said above. I will say that college can be slightly shocking compared go high school. Heck, going from a community college to a university is a bit of a step up too. I like to put it like this...in high school, you can get away with doing your homework the morning of or even miss an assignment or two and still get away with an A. In community college, you MIGHT be able to get away with it depending on the professor and class but you will have to actually study for exams. University, you can't miss an assignment and you have to keep up the pace with studying. Grad school...to be determined...but I know it's going to need my full time.

I'm not saying to skip assignments or anything by any means! Lol I am just trying to put it into perspective. 12 credits is enough alone for most students. I managed to do well a semester with 15 credits. If your doing 18 credits, you better be prepared to not work a job and not go out on weekends. I'm not being sarcastic either. Dead serious. Just rethink this decision a bit...

 

[jimmycarca]

My work load for 3 years of college (out of 5 total) was similar to your current schedule. I was a psych major, but after 2 years, I wanted to take pre-reqs for PT while still finishing up my psych degree. Because I felt like I was behind, I had semester after semester of taking 6 or more classes.

I say go for it if you think you can handle it. Psych classes are easy and History + Algebra should be pretty smooth sailing too. I'd recommend against full time employment if you're gonna do more than 15 units per semester. I worked a full time labor job and tried to take some classes, but quickly stressed myself out. I wasn't able to absorb information as well and found myself doing the minimum to get As.

I fooled around in high school, but college was actually easier for me because I had a sense of direction and applied myself. If you feel you have that passion for success (and it seems like you do because you're thinking of finishing in 3 years), then it should be an okay path for you. The safer path might be to test what the college experience might be in the first semester with a workload of around 12-15 units and then ramp up your studying if you find early success.

Another thing to keep in mind is the availability of certain classes. If you know the pre-req classes you need are hard to come by (nowadays, just about all colleges have trouble offering enough sections to meet the demand), take those first. A great thing about loading up on classes early on is that you'll open up more free time slots if there are inflexible classes that you need to take later. Beware of classes that are only offered in the Fall or Spring. It takes some creativity to juggle your schedule in a way that will work for you both time wise and in terms of actually learning the material for the important classes; you wouldn't want to take a bunch of science classes in the same semester and then not absorb as much info as you can/should.

Whatever you feel comfortable with should bode well for you. Just work hard and remember that if it's too much, you can always withdraw a class or lessen your workload the following semesters.

 

[hope4baylor]

To give you an opinion contrary to some above, everyone is not the same. I was just like you when I started, ready to get it over with. I worked full time overnight stocking shelves my first year and took 15-18 credits, including in the summer. I'll always remember the lecture I got when I had to get advisor permission to add my first 400-level class. That class was a piece of cake. Anyway, I got out in 3 years with a 3.78 GPA and had straight A+ semesters working at least 20 hours a week. I still had a life and did internships etc.

Everyone learns at a different pace, has better time management skills etc. I learned how to understand professors' emphasis on parts of a topic and predict what was going to be on tests and such which significantly cut down on study time. If I had to write a paper? I actually started writing it at least a month in advance. If you get your discipline and time management in check its really not that bad. So I'd tell you to give it a shot but maybe wait for your second semester to go all out, the first semester will be a big adjustment!

 

[NewTestament]

Take your pre-requisites at community colleges. I can't emphasize this enough. The poster above mentioned that some classes are not offered every semester. This is especially true at universities, and it's one more reason to avoid the university. They might offer the first level of physics, biology, and chemistry in the fall, but not in the spring. Then you'll have to wait an entire year to take it at the university, unless you want to talk it during the summer in five weeks, and that will be absolute hell.

You will learn how to determine what the professors emphasize on their exams. Professors are peculiar. They have a particular interest in a certain subject, and will emphasize that. My anatomy professor at my local CC loved talking about the Edinger-Wesphal nucleus, part of the vision pathway. He's probably the only professor at a CC who would even mention that. My anatomy professor in PT school placed a lot of emphasis on the sympathetic chain, and the its various pathways. They're giving you a hint. If they gloss over certain slides, then I wouldn't worry about them.

As for papers, you won't have to write too much in your pre-requisites. Your upper-level psychology courses will probably require you to apply your writing skills. I've had to write a few short papers in PT school, but nothing too much. If you're a terrible writer or you procrastinate when you have to write a paper, just sit down for 20-30 minutes, and write something. Don't worry about perfection. Just write. You will feel so much better afterwards.

Kevin