PT school applicants - please read

[DRCOOP2010]

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I'm new to the forum but I've already noticed a bazillion questions asking what are my chances? Here's the answer: call the schools you are interested in and ask them what their stats are. They will give them to you. Don't be afraid of all these numbers that other people throw out like: OMG only 7% got in! It's alot easier to get into a program than people think. My advisor looked at my 3.0 transcript after my freshman year and told me that I should look for something else besides PT because I would never get in. Well, over the next 3 years I raised my GPA to a 3.53, but that's probably not the main reason I got in. I got in because I had over 400 hours of experience in the field and when the interviewers asked me a question I knew what I was talking about. Now that I'm in school we get to help interview applicants. The main reason people with at least a 3.2 GPA don't make it into our program is because we can tell they don't have a clue what they're talking about. So please, before you put your apps in, go online (www.apta.org), do some research, go observe, and don't be afraid to ask the PTs questions. They're jerks if they don't help you out. Good luck!

 

[drjohnsn]

Thank you for your post. I'm an ex-computer science major with an abysmal GPA and I've been fretting about it for months. I wish there was a way to make it all go away. After all, computer science has absolutely nothing to do with PT, but I'm stuck with it. I've been in communication with a few schools, who have told me to spend another year getting my GPA up because they won't even consider me with such a low score.

I do, however, currently have 100 hours of volunteer time under my belt at an outpatient clinic and I'm aiming for more at the hospital. I am also very studious (I've transformed) and am aiming at straight A's for the next year. In spite of that, I don't see how I can impress anyone if I apply for the 3+3 programs out there (I would have to apply by December). So, I'm going for the bachelor degree followed by grad school and will have to live with an extra year of school. The only solace I have is that when I apply, I WILL get in. Just not this year.

Btw, what school would you represent? It interests me that students there are allowed to help interview. Seems like it would bring down the stuffy academic thinking and make the process more human. Time and time again I'm given the impression that the GPA is all-important.

 

[DRCOOP2010]

Thank you for your post. I'm an ex-computer science major with an abysmal GPA and I've been fretting about it for months. I wish there was a way to make it all go away. After all, computer science has absolutely nothing to do with PT, but I'm stuck with it. I've been in communication with a few schools, who have told me to spend another year getting my GPA up because they won't even consider me with such a low score.

I do, however, currently have 100 hours of volunteer time under my belt at an outpatient clinic and I'm aiming for more at the hospital. I am also very studious (I've transformed) and am aiming at straight A's for the next year. In spite of that, I don't see how I can impress anyone if I apply for the 3+3 programs out there (I would have to apply by December). So, I'm going for the bachelor degree followed by grad school and will have to live with an extra year of school. The only solace I have is that when I apply, I WILL get in. Just not this year.

Btw, what school would you represent? It interests me that students there are allowed to help interview. Seems like it would bring down the stuffy academic thinking and make the process more human. Time and time again I'm given the impression that the GPA is all-important.

Yeah, GPA is important but the school I go to (in Texas) looks at the whole person. They actually put a guy that made it into my class on the alternate list who had a 4.0 for all of his undergrad! That's the kind of school you should look for - one that looks at people not just numbers. Just keep your chin up and keep plugging along. I had to spend 5 years getting my undergrad because I switched majors twice before settling on PT, so I'll have a total of 7.5 years in school before I'm done. It's just a fact of life. Good luck!

 

[MickeyC]

If you look at the schools PTCAS profile many of them list the average GPAs of accepted students. Don't be discouraged by high numbers though, I know someone that got into USC with a 3.0 GPA though USC's average for accepted students is 3.4-3.5

Use the link if you want to go to the directory of schools participating in PTCAS and check out more about their admissions

http://www.ptcas.org/DirectoryByName.html

 

[DRCOOP2010]

I sat in on some applicant interviews today. PT schools are looking for people who are not lazy and ******ed. You can either be super-smart and kinda lazy OR a little ******ed and a really hard worker. Just not both! I'm tellin ya, half the people that apply to PT schools claimed to have done observations but don't have a stinkin clue what a PT does! You wanna impress schools? Do some research.

 

[DRCOOP2010]

That's my rant for the day. I feel better now.

 

[soccer31]

I sat in on some applicant interviews today. PT schools are looking for people who are not lazy and ******ed. You can either be super-smart and kinda lazy OR a little ******ed and a really hard worker. Just not both! I'm tellin ya, half the people that apply to PT schools claimed to have done observations but don't have a stinkin clue what a PT does! You wanna impress schools? Do some research.

So you are a 3rd year DPT student (correct if I am wrong, but I thought I read that on another post) and you are calling people ******ed!? It seems like someone missed the communication/ethics class. Thats my rant. I feel much better now.

 

[pwrtrainer]

So you are a 3rd year DPT student (correct if I am wrong, but I thought I read that on another post) and you are calling people ******ed!? It seems like someone missed the communication/ethics class. Thats my rant. I feel much better now.

This is a forum, not his office. I am guessing his definition of ******ed is not the literal one, and he is referring to the people with a 2.5 gpa and no idea what PT is who apply to like twenty schools and show up to the interview wearing flip flops. That sounds pretty ******ed to me. If we cant say things somewhat freely on here, noone will feel compelled to say anything insightful for fear of being flamed. WOW! I just committed the same crime. sorry, not picking on you personally, just stating an opinion. Now since I am a first year I should be exempt from flaming right? 😀

 

[soccer31]

This is a forum, not his office. I am guessing his definition of ******ed is not the literal one, and he is referring to the people with a 2.5 gpa and no idea what PT is who apply to like twenty schools and show up to the interview wearing flip flops. That sounds pretty ******ed to me. If we cant say things somewhat freely on here, noone will feel compelled to say anything insightful for fear of being flamed. WOW! I just committed the same crime. sorry, not picking on you personally, just stating an opinion. Now since I am a first year I should be exempt from flaming right? 😀

I am not specifically picking on anyone, but by having a cousin with Down Syndrome I grew up learning that calling people that is a real insult, no matter what the scenario is. People can say whatever they want in here, but also be ready to listen to what others have to say.