PT school candidate

[madamepreDO]

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Hello,

I am looking for honest feedback/advice regarding my situation. I graduated from engineering school in 2011. I had one W and one semester of all C's. I took a gap year after graduating where I shadowed and volunteered. I then got an engineering job, but after the training it was not the best fit. So then I went back to volunteering at free clinics and mentoring an at risk child while taking refresher courses at the community college. I was then offered a scribe job. In August 2015, I was in a MA Biomedicine program and got a 3.6. I was withdrew from the Spring semester as I had to go back home to take care of a personal issue, which is now resolved.

My final undergrad gpa was a 3.08; not sure about science. In community college, I got all A's but there is one F from a class i took while I was a senior in high school that will be on record. I have not shadowed a PT yet or have taken the GRE.

I am just confused if I should go back the school to finish my MA; it will take me 2.5 years instead of 2 and I will be a few months shy of turning 29 when I graduate.My biggest fear is not getting an interview because I took a break.

I appreciate all advice and honesty about my chances of getting into PT school.

 

[starrsgirl]

I wouldn't worry about finishing the MA. I think you need to focus on your pre reqs instead....retake anything you need there. You might want to take a few extra classes as you can just to show you can handle the credit load and boost the cum GPA a bit. I also think you need to start accumulating a ton of hours. Its not so much that your grades sound terrible, but that you have dabbled in a few different things. I think you need to show your commitment to PT so schools know you are serious about it and won't stop this program. Getting a lot of observation hours in a variety of settings will help demonstrate you are a solid candidate.

 

[okramango]

After all the other things you've done, most PT programs will very likely want to be sure that you are really committed to PT school, so I agree with starrsgirl that you'll need a lot of observation hours in a wide variety of settings, and to address this important issue in your application essays to convince them that this is what you really want. In terms of grades, the main numbers they'll look at are your cumulative GPA (including CC, and some programs include masters in this number too), and prereq GPA. It would be a good idea to figure out what those two numbers are right now, rather than looking at your separate GPAs at each school, to see where you stand now, and then figure out your plan to get those numbers where they need to be (like by taking or retaking courses at a CC). They won't care about a W or that semester five years ago when you had all Cs. Demonstrating an upward trend in grades makes up for those things. Just figure out the numbers where you stand now. Also, some programs look at only the last 60 units, including CC or Masters, rather than cumulative GPA, so you might want to look into those too. Good luck!

 

[okramango]

Oops, just saw that you posted the exact same thing in the DO, PA, podiatry, and dental school forums. It looks like you need to do some soul searching first, and decide which career you'd really like to pursue. Once you know what you really want, you will be able to work to make your application competitive. But you'll need to decide first. At this stage, I suggest shadowing the various professions you are interested in, and see what you could genuinely see yourself doing every day. Don't worry about your age too much. It's much more important to find the right career for you, and then pursue it, and ultimately you'll save more time and energy than if you float from one career to the next without really knowing what you want. Good luck to you!

 

[redrose424]

Oops, just saw that you posted the exact same thing in the DO, PA, podiatry, and dental school forums. It looks like you need to do some soul searching first, and decide which career you'd really like to pursue. Once you know what you really want, you will be able to work to make your application competitive. But you'll need to decide first. At this stage, I suggest shadowing the various professions you are interested in, and see what you could genuinely see yourself doing every day. Don't worry about your age too much. It's much more important to find the right career for you, and then pursue it, and ultimately you'll save more time and energy than if you float from one career to the next without really knowing what you want. Good luck to you!

They're applying to DO, PA, podiatry school, dental school, and PT school didn't you know? Whichever one takes them is the right career!

 

[Azimuthal]

You don't know what you want. PT is not right for you.