Pre-Req Suggestions

[bennettpr]

Hello everyone! Long time lurker of the forum and I decided to take the plunge in hopes of a little advisement.

A little background:
I graduated in May 2009 with a degree in Business Management/Marketing. During school I really didn't know what I wanted to do, so business just seemed like a 'safe' major at the time. Fast forwards to today, the rat race of business is not for me. Through a series of events over the past 6 months or so I've come to realize that I have a passion and desire to pursue physical therapy 110%, and I fully intend to.

That said, coming from an unrelated undergrad I have several pre-req's to knock out:

Bio I & II
Chem I & II
Physics I & II
Anatomy and Phys I & II
Exercise Physiology

I would love to be able to apply next year in Fall 2012 and believe it's reasonable. I am shooting for all A's in the courses listed and know I'm fully capable (I'm also a realist and know that I will have to work my butt off).

So my question: I have Fall, Spring, and Summer to finish the courses listed below. I'm thinking:

Fall/Spring
Bio
Chem
Anatomy (must take before I can enroll in exercise phys)

Summer - both terms
Physics
Exercise Phys

Are there any suggestions to this schedule? Am I rushing things too much? Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thank you very much for any help / insight. Pursuing PT is a huge decision for me and I just want to make sure I'm going about it the best way possible.

- Ryan

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[jbizzle]

Damn, you really have this all planned out. thats great.

So let me get this straight, your thinking of taking Bio 1, Chem 1 and A&P 1 with the labs all in the fall, then the second sequence in the Spring. Then taking two six week physics courses during the summer. im not doubting you, but *sigh* gotta do work to get where you want i guess.


Check with the schools you are applying to, some will probably let you apply with one or two outstanding pre-reqs which you can be taking next fall after you have already sent your apps in, so that you maybe want to space it out a little more, but if it's your personal preference to have it all done by the time you apply, this schedule looks ok too.

And im assuming you already have all the non science pre-reqs too right.

 

[babaO98]

Hey there... Also a long time lurker, here to offer some encouragement. I took Zoology, Organic Chem I, and Anatomy with all the labs in one semester and I made it out with my GPA intact, so it can be done! It'll be a lot of work, but it sounds like you're pretty determined. Good luck!

 

[bennettpr]

Thank you both for the quick responses!

To answer a few questions yes I have all pre-reqs complete other than the ones listed below.

The two main schools that I'm looking at do allow two outstanding pre-reqs to be completed the term after you apply. That's something I thought about but was unsure if it would hurt my chances in being accepted - total speculation on my part. Does anyone have an insight on that?

I guess I'm just worried that my overall GPA might be a little low (3.3) and I'm hoping to prove to admissions that I'm focused and determined by completing all of the science GPA at 3.75+ I also plan to knock out a large number of volunteer/shadow hours and do above par on the GRE.

My biggest fear above all, like many, is busting ass and studying my brain off and still missing the cut and spending another year in limbo.

 

[ammonihah99]

Do you mean apply in the fall of 2012 for the 2013 entering class? Why not space it out more?

 

[dacoaz77]

Completely doable for a person who understands time management and can memorize fairly well. As for worrying about your current GPA, you are doing yourself and your future a disservice worrying about something in the past that you can not change. Just move forward, knock out your pre-req's and EC's and nail your interview. Concentrate on that instead of the past. Good luck to you.

 

[kcrat21]

Hello everyone! Long time lurker of the forum and I decided to take the plunge in hopes of a little advisement.

A little background:
I graduated in May 2009 with a degree in Business Management/Marketing. During school I really didn't know what I wanted to do, so business just seemed like a 'safe' major at the time. Fast forwards to today, the rat race of business is not for me. Through a series of events over the past 6 months or so I've come to realize that I have a passion and desire to pursue physical therapy 110%, and I fully intend to.

That said, coming from an unrelated undergrad I have several pre-req's to knock out:

Bio I & II
Chem I & II
Physics I & II
Anatomy and Phys I & II
Exercise Physiology

I would love to be able to apply next year in Fall 2012 and believe it's reasonable. I am shooting for all A's in the courses listed and know I'm fully capable (I'm also a realist and know that I will have to work my butt off).

So my question: I have Fall, Spring, and Summer to finish the courses listed below. I'm thinking:

Fall/Spring
Bio
Chem
Anatomy (must take before I can enroll in exercise phys)

Summer - both terms
Physics
Exercise Phys

Are there any suggestions to this schedule? Am I rushing things too much? Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thank you very much for any help / insight. Pursuing PT is a huge decision for me and I just want to make sure I'm going about it the best way possible.

- Ryan

I was in the exact same spot as you a year ago! I graduated in 2007 with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing and last year realized that I wanted to be a pt. I needed pretty much the same courses as you do: Bio I&II, A&P I&II, Chem I&II, Physics I&II, except I decided not to take exercise physiology. I did need Human Growth and Development though.

I did it this way:

Fall 2010 -- A&P II, Bio I, Human Growth and Development, Remedial math (didn't pass my placement exam so I needed to take this in order to take calculus in order to take physics...whew)
Spring 2011 -- A&P I, Bio II, Calculus
Summer 2011 I -- Chem I, Physics I
Summer 2011 II -- Chem II, Physics II

My summer sessions have been hard to say the least. I am in class from 10 am-9pm three days per week for 5 weeks. I just finished the first session with an A in Chem I and I haven't received my grade for Physics I yet and the next session starts next week.

It is completely doable and good for you for knowing what you want and going after it. So far I have all A's in my pre-requisite courses and I have worked my butt off to get them over the past year but it has definitely been worth it and I think I'm a strong candidate for a lot of programs. If you are dead set on doing well, you will! Good luck to you! You can do it!

 

[markelmarcel]

I did this-- Bio 1, Chem 1, Anatomy followed up by Bio 2, Chem 2 and Physiology, and then physics 1&2 in the summer. A girlfriend of mine was taking Chem 2, Phys and Exercise Phys together... We both made it through all the courses and she started her program last June & I start this August.

 

[DPoinT]

Advice for CHEM 1 and 2.

Oregon State University has a 3 series CHEM class called General Chemistry 121/122/123 with online labs. You finish each section in three weeks per class, and the classes are each 5 credits (which is costly: somewhere around $3000 for both in and out of state). I have checked, and most of the Southern California DPT programs accept this 15 credit series of Chemistry in place of Chem 1 and 2, so it might be worth looking into for someone who needs classes done as soon as possible. They have a fall class which starts I think in August and finishes the series at the end of October/beginning of November.

I am currently taking the full series and, although I don't want to discredit the program, it is not very difficult compared to in-class science classes.

As for overloading on classes, I say GO FOR IT. I took 21 credits last semester (Physio, Physics, Bio, Exercise Physio, Psych, Med Term...) and it's just what you have to do. Plus it's good practice to an intense Doctorate program in Physical Therapy.

GOOD LUCK

 

[markelmarcel]

Advice for CHEM 1 and 2.

Oregon State University has a 3 series CHEM class called General Chemistry 121/122/123 with online labs.

I always wondered how the heck an online lab was possible...

 

[DPoinT]

yeah, with all of the budget cuts out here in California, most of our labs for Chem, Physio, and Bio are all computerized. There are obviously still state schools that have real lab experiments and dissections, but for the most part it's all computerized. So why not have it all online? Lectures are video recorded and viewable at your convenience, and labs are the same as in the classroom, just without lab partners. Believe me, I would much rather take the classes in the class room, but online makes it much more convenient to hold a job while you finish those pre-reqs.

 

[markelmarcel]

yeah, with all of the budget cuts out here in California, most of our labs for Chem, Physio, and Bio are all computerized. There are obviously still state schools that have real lab experiments and dissections, but for the most part it's all computerized. So why not have it all online? Lectures are video recorded and viewable at your convenience, and labs are the same as in the classroom, just without lab partners. Believe me, I would much rather take the classes in the class room, but online makes it much more convenient to hold a job while you finish those pre-reqs.

Yeah, I guess that is true... we did have some computerized components in our labs, but it just blows my mind away that technology has come far enough that it's able to justify meeting the criteria through online lectures and whatnot. Pretty nifty!