Reapplying

[Mayomi]

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So I am not throwing in the towel yet. There are still a few schools I am waiting to hear back from, but at the same time I am hoping to learn some insight from people who did have to apply a second time. I know PT is what I want to do with my life, and I have been making strides to improve my stats for acceptance, but what I am most worried about is reapplying. Not because of the work that goes into it but because I think it will be hard to get what will be 1 or 2 years old observation hours verified a second time. Has anyone ran into issues with this? One of the PTs whom I worked under for a whole semester wrote me a LOR and verified my hours, but he is a private practice owner, and a VERY busy one at that. Even while working with him it took 3+ weeks until I finally had my hours verified, and my LOR took a very long time to finally be sent to PTCAS. That's not to say I am not grateful that I got it at all, but at the same time, I am worried that contacting him a year later to be verified again may be very difficult. I feel that this may be the issue with a few of the PTs I shadowed.

I have over 700+ hours in observation, and I do not have the time like I used to get many more because I am working full time to support myself. (before I was in school and had free time) I was planning on volunteering at a skilled nursing facility on weekends once or twice a week, and meeting some PTs there who I connected with, and could potentially have write me a LOR for next year, but it would also be nice knowing I have a way of carrying over info from one application year to another.

 

[Teekam]

carrying over info from one application year to another.

This is PTCAS we're talking about. They don't do things like that. It would be too convenient.

My major experience was back in 2009 and I just got into school this cycle. The PT was not comfortable writing a LOR for me because it had been so long and they cycle through a lot of PT aides by design, but she was happy to verify my hours. My other major experience was in 2012 and I found out the company had an insane amount of turnover, to the point where I didn't even know anyone there and had to go through HR to get my hours verified, but it took multiple emails/people and weeks to get it done. My point is that you're going to run into a lot of annoyances while re-applying, but there are always a way and you will likely end up feeling like you're annoying people to get it done. It is what it is and they understand what you're going through.

 

[deleted621075]

I reapplied this year and some of my information from last year did carry over but you are right in regards to recommendation letters and verified hours in that you will need to contact them again and have them resubmit if you want the same individuals. I had one rewrite me a letter but this time around I gave them so much more to work with before they wrote it compared to last year. I then actually had three new letters from individuals I just finished observing with so they had a much more current view on me and how they felt I would be going forward in PT. I admit I did not reverify some of my observation hours and only focused on getting the hours verified from this past year in my new experiences. Not verifying my old hours didnt seem to hurt me but if yours are something that really separates you then I would do it. The settings I did not reverify were outpatient clinics that just showed hours but didnt have that "it" factor that were really good talking points when it came to interviews. I definitely recommend trying to get into a couple new settings where you can find people to write you LOR where they will have time to sit and write it about you. I only say that if potentially one of your past letters was written by someone so busy they may have rushed your letter and wrote it very generically (obviously that may not be the case, but it could be). I definitely believe my new LOR and hours made all the difference this time around and I did retake a couple classes which helped but I understand not everyone can do that. I truly believe if you have your mind set on it then it will happen whether thats one of your schools you are still waiting on or if its next year, than you learn from this year and become that much stronger of an applicant next time.

Also take pictures of your PTCAS account and information because in case you need to reapply, I thought I read they are not carrying anything over so for the job and extracurricular areas with the small write-ups, those pictures may help.

 

[tgreek2320]

I'm in the same boat as you. In regards to the LOR, I'm going to ask my boss (a PT) to write me another one since I've been working at that clinic for about 6 months now and plan to stay as long as I'm applying to schools. I'm also going to just bite the bullet and get observation hours in a different setting and ask for a LOR there. I'll also ask a professor to write one since most schools accept those too.

The way I see it, PTs know what it takes to get into school and should understand our situation so don't be shy about asking to reverify your hours or rewrite a LOR. Best of luck to you.

 

[Tito204]

I did not have my observation hours verified electronically - I uploaded a signed hard copy observation form. This cycle you could not upload hard copy reference documents, although you used to be able to. Uploading the observation hours on hard copy form signed by the PT meant my hours were verified almost immediately and I still have copies if I need them. PTCAS may in the future not allow upload of hard copy ob forms - but if they do next cycle I would recommend doing that rather than risking the time it takes and issues of the email going to PT spam and you never knowing related to electronic verification of OB hours.


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[DPTwenty20]

I understand where you're coming from, and I hope you don't lose hope! When I first applied to PT school I got denied by all six schools with no interview offers. This was my journey from 2015 to now.

• Finished applying to PT school end of July 2015 - hired at an outpatient clinic end of Aug. 2015
• Denied from my first school Jan 2016 and my last school on March 2016
• Had to decide whether I was going to retake pre-reqs or GREs (current: GPA and GRE 3.34 152 V 151 Q 4.5 AW past: GRE 148 V 144 Q 4.0 AW)
• Requested Letters from 3 PTs (1 Staff PT, 1 Clinic Director, 1 Regional Director) 1 Professor (took 2 classes and assisted w/ research in undergrad)
• Finished taking GREs mid-July 2016
• Re-applied to PT school first week of Aug 2016 (totaled at 2000 PT hours compared to 160 hours)
• Interviewed w/ Neumann and Temple in Nov 2016
• Currently accepted to Neumann 2017, wailisted at Temple, denied at USci and Widener, waiting to hear back from Maryland-Eastern Shore, Arcadia, Rutgers South

Judging from how I did last year compared to this year I believe that getting new letters and improved GRE scores is what got me those interviews. I made sure to develop strong relationships with all the physical therapists to get better letters as I did not use past letters.

 

[adbalboni]

I am non-traditional . Grad in 2005 . Applied in 2005 for 2006... Never got in had over 1700 hrs... Reapplied through Air Force active duty to Baylor...Added some hours. Still didnt get in. I redid all my pre-reqs and Gre and got in 2 places. If you persist they will do the letters. Get your hours paper verified. God bless

 

[DPTapplicant805]

I understand where you're coming from, and I hope you don't lose hope! When I first applied to PT school I got denied by all six schools with no interview offers. This was my journey from 2015 to now.

• Finished applying to PT school end of July 2015 - hired at an outpatient clinic end of Aug. 2015
• Denied from my first school Jan 2016 and my last school on March 2016
• Had to decide whether I was going to retake pre-reqs or GREs (current: GPA and GRE 3.34 152 V 151 Q 4.5 AW past: GRE 148 V 144 Q 4.0 AW)
• Requested Letters from 3 PTs (1 Staff PT, 1 Clinic Director, 1 Regional Director) 1 Professor (took 2 classes and assisted w/ research in undergrad)
• Finished taking GREs mid-July 2016
• Re-applied to PT school first week of Aug 2016 (totaled at 2000 PT hours compared to 160 hours)
• Interviewed w/ Neumann and Temple in Nov 2016
• Currently accepted to Neumann 2017, wailisted at Temple, denied at USci and Widener, waiting to hear back from Maryland-Eastern Shore, Arcadia, Rutgers South

Judging from how I did last year compared to this year I believe that getting new letters and improved GRE scores is what got me those interviews. I made sure to develop strong relationships with all the physical therapists to get better letters as I did not use past letters.

@DPTwenty20 first of all congrats! You did the right thing by improving your application. I took a similar route and it worked. When did you hear back from USciences? I applied there and heard from them awhile ago regarding some of my prereqs - cleared that up - but nothing since.

 

[DPT0310]

Totally understand where you're coming from! I graduated college in 2014, I was pre-PT and completed all of my observation hours in 2013. After graduating though I decided I wanted to take some time off before going to PT school and I got a job in an outpatient facility where I have been working for 2 years now. I started reapplying for grad school over the summer and I was worried about getting all of the hours I had completed years ago re-verified. Luckily, I had kept a list of all of the PTs I had observed and their contact information. I emailed each one of them and explained the situation and they actually all remembered me, which I was surprised about considering how many students they get. They were all so nice and understanding and verified my hours no problem! As for my letters of recommendation, I just asked 2 of the therapists I currently work with, and I contacted my advisor from college who was also one of my professors.

 

[DPTwenty20]

@DPTwenty20 first of all congrats! You did the right thing by improving your application. I took a similar route and it worked. When did you hear back from USciences? I applied there and heard from them awhile ago regarding some of my prereqs - cleared that up - but nothing since.

Thank you! I got the letter around 1/8/2017. I also had a friend that had pre-req issues with them, he actually was able to get an interview with them.