Pre-Cal for PT Pre-reqs

[Nolatrell]

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Hey guys I'm a 18 year old freshman Biology Major in New Orleans, Louisiana, however, once I transfer to ULL(athletic scholarship reasons) I'll switch to kinesiology considering my current school doesn't offer the program. One of the mandatory requirements for biology majors at my school is Pre-Cal, as of now I'm doing bad in it and my other remedial math for personal reasons. Will my pre-cal grade or remedial class grade hurt my chances at entering a PT school? I heard Pre-Calculus is not apart of Therapy grad school requirements. Is this true? Will me taking my future math classes during the summer at my local community colleges when I'm free from sports hurt my chances at getting accepted?

 

[Nolatrell]

Btw my mid terms just passed so I still have a chance at improving! Also my dream grad schools is either Lsu or LSUE.

 

[dropping101]

Check each school's individual requirements. Most schools require at least one semester of at least algebra-based pre-calculus.

 

[DesertPT]

Most schools only list stats in their pre-reqs, but some do specifically ask for a math class as well. You should really be required to take a calculus class as a bio major as well, but maybe your degree doesn't require it.

Personally I would not switch to kinesiology. It is a worthless degree if PT school doesn't end up working out for some reason, and being a kinesiology major will not improve your chances of getting into PT school over any other major. And I personally think that taking some upper level bio classes like genetics, cell bio, developmental bio, immunology, etc. will be of more benefit to you as a person and as a future graduate student in the health sciences. But that is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

Just because kinesiology is the sterotypical "pre-PT" major, that doesn't mean you should do it. In face many on the forum here will tell you not to.

In reality you'd probably be better off economically doing a degree in something unrelated like business admin, finance or accounting, and taking all the PT school pre-reqs along with it. It may be a little more time consuming but you'd have a bachelor's degree that is actually somewhat meaningful in the real working world.

 

[ashnicolee43]

I agree that you should stick to a major like biology rather than kinesiology. I just graduated with my bachelors in biology. I also agree that it would be helpful to have somewhat of a back up plan. However, I would get a certification such as CNA, Med-tech, or Phlebotomist. A more medical driven back up plan will help future applications. That's just my opinion.
As a bio major I was only required to take Pre-calc. I struggled at first but came out successfully because I went into the teachers office hours every chance I could. It's hard but you can do it just keep going. I also notice that Pre-calc is not required to any program I applied to so I think it will not kill you if you get a C, just check the programs pre-reqs.

 

[DesertPT]

I would get a certification such as CNA, Med-tech, or Phlebotomist. A more medical driven back up plan will help future applications. That's just my opinion.

Experiences in PT will help you more with PT school admissions, and any of the jobs you've listed can be obtained with a training course of just a few weeks to months if that was something you wanted to do for a while if you didn't get into PT school the first time around. They aren't really professional or long-term backup plans to PT school IMO. And if you are going to do those jobs you might as well work as a PT tech, the pay isn't a lot different.

 

[ashnicolee43]

Experiences in PT will help you more with PT school admissions, and any of the jobs you've listed can be obtained with a training course of just a few weeks to months if that was something you wanted to do for a while if you didn't get into PT school the first time around. They aren't really professional or long-term backup plans to PT school IMO. And if you are going to do those jobs you might as well work as a PT tech, the pay isn't a lot different.

I'm assuming that if someone is that serious about getting into a DPT program then they will be re-submitting their apps if possible and a medical related career during that year off looks better than a career in business. Also, If someone is serious about PT then they will not be happy with a major in business or a career anyways. I'm simply suggesting short programs someone could do to boost their application if a year off is needed. and yes, PT tech works as well but there isn't much job availability for that. At least not in the area I live in.

 

[Nolatrell]

Thank you for the replies! I'm suppose to be taking Calculus next semester, however I may drop it to take it along with algebra over the summer so I can mainly focus on my maths. It's unfortunate for me to have problems my freshman year, but hey I have to bounce back! Anymore knowledge on therapy would be great!

 

[DesertPT]

Also, If someone is serious about PT then they will not be happy with a major in business or a career anyways.

If someone was serious about owning their own clinic as a PT they would be wise to do a degree in business or finance, along with the science classes that will prepare them for PT school.

 

[tweaze]

I don't know about the requirements for the specific schools you listed nor about the relative merits of switching your major. However, math wise, I'm a little bit confused about the chronology you have listed. Do you need to retake algebra? If so, why wait until summer to take both algebra and calculus? (I'm on a quarter system, you may be on a semester system). Why not take algebra next semester, then calculus over the summer? Or consider brushing up on your algebra by yourself, then take calculus next semester. I feel like waiting from now all the way until summer to take the rest of your math is not ideal, as you lose math skills pretty quickly without regular work on them. I also feel like taking concurrent math classes would be harder than necessary, especially if you need those skills from algebra for your calculus class (and now, for your pre-cal class.

I don't know what your current study plan for pre-cal looks like, but I had good success with studying for a small amount of time each day - an hour or so. I usually would look over my notes from the previous day, work several problems related to the topic covered, and then if there was homework due weekly, I'd work on some problems from the homework each day (rather than doing all of the homework on one day).

Also, you may not need pre-cal as a specific PT school prereq, but you may need it as a prereq for the prereqs. My school may be unique, but I needed a quarter of pre-cal for chemistry, and 2 quarters of pre-cal to start the physics series (which is a rule they imposed after students with algebra only historically did poorly/failed).

 

[ashnicolee43]

If someone was serious about owning their own clinic as a PT they would be wise to do a degree in business or finance l.

I agree that a business degree would help if your plan was to open a clinic. I also know that in my experience, if you aren't interested in your major then your grades will reflect that. That in turn hurts your overall GPA. I would have failed with a major in business because I would have hated it. That's also why I don't plan on opening my own clinic. A business degree also requires a significant amount of math, so if that is not your strong point then it's probably a bad idea.


I also remembered that Pre-calc was required before I could take chemistry. I used a couple math help sites, one of them was chegg. I can't remember the other one I used but they help a lot with breaking down the steps of the problem so you can better check your own work or just get more practice.