PTA student to DPT future. Please advise?

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PTAstudent510

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Hello,

I know this topic has been covered many many times, but I did not find the answers that I wanted.

I have a B.S. in Psychology at UC Davis. And I recently got into Carrington College (recently accredited) for PTA program. I will be graduating in 2 years. My long term goal is to get a DPT degree.

Why am I taking the long route instead of going to DPT directly? Because my GPA at UC DAVIS is below 2.5.... So I am going to become a PTA first. I know it's long route, and it's not worth the 20k/year salary increase. But I want to do this.

My question:

1)I want to do bridge program. I took many pre-reqs already for PT schools already at UC Davis (chemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc..) but I got all C's or B's. Can I use the credits from my PTA school instead to apply to DPT programs? I think I have to take some pre-reqs for DPT at my PTA school.

2)So my UC Davis degree will be useless to get into PT school because my GPA is so low.. Can I re-take some of those classes at community college even thought I got C's (not failing). Or should I get another bachelors in PTA or something? I don't know how this works.

3)Please advise what route I should take. My low grades at my undergrad is killing me.

Thank you all very much!! will be using this forum a lot.
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What prereq's do you need? Carrington College was once known as Western Career College. Their reputation was so bad that under the advisement of a PR firm and legal advice, they changed their name to Carrington College for an image make-over. They are WASC accredited but you should contact the schools you plan to apply to in order to confirm credit transferability. As for a bridge program, I have heard of only one, but I can't remember where.

Your GPA is low but there has been stories of success. I'd crunch some numbers down to see how many classes you need to get your overall GPA >3.0. Also, I'd really look into programs that look at your last 60/90 units for GPA calculations. I'd also, drop the Carrington idea and dedicate the time to a CC in order to take your prereq's that you received C's in. All courses should be A's from now on. If you're set on the PTA route, consider Ohlone College in Fremont (assuming you're from the yay). Ohlone may be more competitive, but there are more opportunities to take prereq's there. It's also 10x more affordable.
 
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well they are recently accredited so I think I won't have trouble finding a job. This market is demanding PTA a lot and as long as you have a license and a degree, you can find a job.

for ohlone college, they pick randomly and I cannot wait another 2-3 years. The selection is totally random, AFTER you finish your pre-reqs. So I am probably going to be a PTA for sure for sure at carrington, but not sure after hearing what you said, I would want to pursue a DPT degree.
 
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and I also thought that after you get your first job, where you got your education really doesn't matter (correct me if I am wrong). Just like if I go to UC Davis or San Jose state (less prominent college), people care more about the experience more than the education.
 
PTAstudent510 said:
and I also thought that after you get your first job, where you got your education really doesn't matter (correct me if I am wrong). Just like if I go to UC Davis or San Jose state (less prominent college), people care more about the experience more than the education.
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They care more for transferable credit, which was aligned with your stated goal of using the units to help raise your GPA. I stated no opinion of the PTA program at Carrington outside of that. Thus your career statement seems more of insecurity on your part. If that's the case, there is no need for it. I value the contribution of PTA's. Hence the advice to check individual schools for transferability. I mentioned that they are WASC accredited for that purpose. I am just pointed out the barriers that may or may not occur. The risk is yours, not mine.
 
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well you said it has a bad reputation... so I thought obviously it's hard to find a job if I graduate from here. that's why I said "correct me if I am wrong". Thanks anyways.. any other advice regarding finding a job as a PTA or PTA to PT is welcome. thank you!
 
I'm a non traditional student, 2 time applicant with a very low initial gpa. My advice is that dpt schools factor pre req gpas more heavily than any sort of outside experience or other classes. Unless the PTA program also has you taking "gen chem 1", "physics 1" or those exact classes, the dpt schools won't care. Even an anatomy course you take in PTA school is likely to NOT count for your A&P grade on dpt application. Sure, it will slightly help you to have hours in the field as a PTA, but not overwhelmingly so. If DPT is truly your end goal, I would consider a post bac program of 1-2 years in length. You could even do an evening or part time option and work as a pt tech somewhere too. I think your time would be much better spent. I fear you will otherwise still have a ton of remaining pre reqs to take after you finish PTA school. Also, being there are so few bridge programs (1 or 2 in the country?), you are limiting your application pool. Those schools are still going to be competitive.

It doesn't matter if you have to take pre reqs at another less prestigious college too. As long as it's accredited and the dot school accepts the course, it's good. Again, in my experience, no one cares where they are from....just how you did in them. (I have an Ivy undergrad but retook all pre reqs at a CC). Don't redo another bachelors....just go after the pre reqs you need.

I guess I just feel strongly that you can construct a more efficient plan to dpt. Or jump both feet into PTA and embrace that field fully.
 
starrsgirl said:
I'm a non traditional student, 2 time applicant with a very low initial gpa. My advice is that dpt schools factor pre req gpas more heavily than any sort of outside experience or other classes. Unless the PTA program also has you taking "gen chem 1", "physics 1" or those exact classes, the dpt schools won't care. Even an anatomy course you take in PTA school is likely to NOT count for your A&P grade on dpt application. Sure, it will slightly help you to have hours in the field as a PTA, but not overwhelmingly so. If DPT is truly your end goal, I would consider a post bac program of 1-2 years in length. You could even do an evening or part time option and work as a pt tech somewhere too. I think your time would be much better spent. I fear you will otherwise still have a ton of remaining pre reqs to take after you finish PTA school. Also, being there are so few bridge programs (1 or 2 in the country?), you are limiting your application pool. Those schools are still going to be competitive.

It doesn't matter if you have to take pre reqs at another less prestigious college too. As long as it's accredited and the dot school accepts the course, it's good. Again, in my experience, no one cares where they are from....just how you did in them. (I have an Ivy undergrad but retook all pre reqs at a CC). Don't redo another bachelors....just go after the pre reqs you need.

I guess I just feel strongly that you can construct a more efficient plan to dpt. Or jump both feet into PTA and embrace that field fully.
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starrgirl thanks!! exactly the answer I was looking for. Maybe I will take the pre-reqs (i took most of them already at my undergrad) over again at community college. Can I just re-take the classes at an accredited community college or must I do the whole 2 year post-bacc program?
Also, will I have a chance if I Ace all of them but my undergrad score is 2.3 gpa?

I don't want to be wasting my time, spending extra 2 years to study. I seen people from san jose state with 3.5 undergrad and 3.8 (retake) pre-req grades and they still didn't get in for 3-4 years.
 
Yes, do the calculations now. For me, there was no guess work...I knew exactly now many classes I needed to ace to get my gpa up to a 3.0 to the credit hour. I didn't do a formal post bac either. I just did the community college thing. But I didn't know if you were looking for a more formal thing. (I had also taken nearly everything as an undergrad too). For someone like you and me, you have to get an A. I didn't let myself accept any other option. I didn't take any chances. Even if it seemed like an easy first test, I studied my butt off. I did every scrap of extra I could. Your overall gpa may still only be a 3.0 on paper but what they will see is 2 years of straight 4.0 work especially combined with work/volunteer stuff. That will stand out to some schools (still not all....be strategic where you apply). But schools will notice.
 
Like you, I also had a rough undergrad. Finished college in 09, but after graduating went to a community college for almost 3 years to take pre requisites, re took a few classes as well. Got straight As in all of them. First time actually applying this year, after applying to one school last year. In the end, get all As and get as much volunteer hours as possible. I thought about applying to Ohlone to become a PTA as well, but in the end I sacrificed and went for the DPT.
 
The reason why I wanted to be a PT is so that I can start my own practice. I don't want to be a 63 years old PTA, working under a recently graduated, 32 year old PT. I think i'll complete the PTA school first, and decide in 2016.

thank you all for the valuable advice, and I hope you guys the best!!! seriously!!👍
 
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Just double checking here.....but especially after you said you want to own your own practice as a long term goal....but the soonest you will graduate as a DPT this route is 2022. That's a long time. You can be more efficient and quicker to your end goal here. (Figuring you graduate PTA in 2016, work for 2 years as appears to be required before applying to bridge program, spend a year applying to dpt schools, 3 years in dpt school). That's assuming you are somehow also able to complete all your pre reqs in the 2 years working as a PTA too.

And there's only 1 program in the country? And they only accept 36 people? What if they aren't even around in 5 years? I'm kinda nervous about your setup here.
 
starrsgirl said:
Just double checking here.....but especially after you said you want to own your own practice as a long term goal....but the soonest you will graduate as a DPT this route is 2022. That's a long time. You can be more efficient and quicker to your end goal here. (Figuring you graduate PTA in 2016, work for 2 years as appears to be required before applying to bridge program, spend a year applying to dpt schools, 3 years in dpt school). That's assuming you are somehow also able to complete all your pre reqs in the 2 years working as a PTA too.

And there's only 1 program in the country? And they only accept 36 people? What if they aren't even around in 5 years? I'm kinda nervous about your setup here.
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Well what i'm trying to say is that.. I cannot get any job or any decent jobs with my uc davis degree right now. The job market is too competitive. Even if I get a job, I will never get paid more than 60,000 a year. My resume is crap.. I only worked for a restaurant before. So I need PTA as something to fall back on if I don't get into PT school. If I give up carrington right now, and I apply to PT school, there is no guarantee getting in and I would've wasted 3 years fixing my 2.3 GPA. Also, I wouldn't have a PTA job to fall back on. It's my end goal, but if I don't make it I don't really care. I'm satisfied with becoming a PTA.

With that time commitment, I would much rather start my own business. My wife and I saved up quite bit of money and our dream is to own our own business together (whether it's PT practice, or a different business). I just don't want to work under somebody for the rest of my life that's what i'm saying haha. So I would need to become a PTA for a couple years to save up more money so I can start my own business. Probably i'll do part time and my wife does it full time. We are both under 25 and she is making over 50,000 already.

If I become a PT, this will forever be my job. If I don't become a pt, then I will do PTA not for the rest of my life we will have to see (probably 20-30 years). I'm just trying to maximize my potential here. PTA is only 2 years associate degree and it's 50-60k so it's the best bang for the buck. Plus there are jobs available left and right because it's a booming field. It's much harder to find a job with my Davis degree especially because of the market and because of my crappy resume. and I used to volunteer at hospitals so I love helping people. I just don't want to work under someone when I am old... hopefully I can save a lot more through this route.

Thank you, I hope you the best when applying this year/next year!!
 
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I did the PTA to DPT bridge program at Findlay. Its not going anywhere anytime soon, and actually, another such program for PTAs is in the process of opening in Texas. Please PM me for more info.
 
Hopein2010 said:
I did the PTA to DPT bridge program at Findlay. Its not going anywhere anytime soon, and actually, another such program for PTAs is in the process of opening in Texas. Please PM me for more info.
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Can you share your background with the OP so that he may better gauge his opportunities? GPA, experience, etc pre/during/post PTA program to entering the bridge program would help.
 
Hey,

I am in the same boat as PTAstudent510.
I recently graduated from Drexel University with a 3.09 and so far I have recieved a couple rejection letters from DPT programs. I also got accepted into an Accredited PTA program (Harcum College).

I hope to view this experience as a "Post Bac" and use the grades i attain their into my PTCAS application for future DPT schools. Am I doing the right thing?
I feel like this is a good back up plan and it allows me to retake core classes and give me a better GPA

Any help or advice will be appreciated
 
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