Recently switched from premed, any thoughts?

[llamasarefuzzy]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Need some advice- very recently switched from premed to pre-pt
Undergrad: Northwestern University
Major: Psychology/ Jazz Studies minor
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2
Science GPA: 2.89
GRE: Not taken yet
Extracurriculars: Jazz Band, competitive ballroom (team and exec board), sorority (exec board), science tutor, volunteer at nursing home
PT hours: none, officially, yet, although I have 3 opportunities set up for the winter/spring quarters, so I should be in the 100-200 hours range at the beginning of summer. I have 400+ hours of clinical experience ( I was premed before, so I was having tons of contact with patients, just not with PTs)

My weakest link is the science G.P.A. Much of this is due to the fact that I took organic chemistry and biology (the two hardest courses at Northwestern) at the same time. I spent so much time trying to pass orgo that bio fell to the wayside. I will be retaking part of bio this year.

Any thoughts on schools that I should apply to or what I should be doing to improve my application?

 

[meh0170]

Need some advice- very recently switched from premed to pre-pt
Undergrad: Northwestern University
Major: Psychology/ Jazz Studies minor
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2
Science GPA: 2.89
GRE: Not taken yet
Extracurriculars: Jazz Band, competitive ballroom (team and exec board), sorority (exec board), science tutor, volunteer at nursing home
PT hours: none, officially, yet, although I have 3 opportunities set up for the winter/spring quarters, so I should be in the 100-200 hours range at the beginning of summer. I have 400+ hours of clinical experience ( I was premed before, so I was having tons of contact with patients, just not with PTs)

My weakest link is the science G.P.A. Much of this is due to the fact that I took organic chemistry and biology (the two hardest courses at Northwestern) at the same time. I spent so much time trying to pass orgo that bio fell to the wayside. I will be retaking part of bio this year.

Any thoughts on schools that I should apply to or what I should be doing to improve my application?

If I were you, I would worry less about where to apply and worry more about getting your GPA up. I'm assuming that some of your prerequisite classes are included in the Science GPA you have listed.

I would work on retaking some of those so that your prereq GPA looks really nice. It's nice that you have all these extra curriculars, but it seems that the area of your application that needs the most work is your GPA. I would also work hard for an excellent GRE score and then worry about schools/applying when you've made a little more headway in those areas.

Keep in mind that I haven't been accepted to a PT school yet - this is just from talking with others on this board and with different schools that I'm interested in.

Good luck.

 

[letoile]

I agree with meh0170. Definitely work on getting your science GPA (and overall PT prerequisite GPA) up. A lot of programs require a minimum 3.0 for both cumulative and prerequisite GPAs.

Make sure that your observation/volunteer hours are in a variety of settings, even if the schools you are interested in don't require that. It is beneficial if you are well exposed to the variety of settings that physical therapists work in and understand how the work differs in these various settings.

Also really think about why you want to be a physical therapist (especially because you wanted to be a physician before, what changed your mind?) so that you can write a stellar essay!

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

I went to NU for undergrad. I'll PM you in a bit

 

[Akiramay]

I switched from pre-med to pre-PT after my first year, because I hated biology which was my major. Switched to kinesiology, loved it, and of course have never looked back. I'm also interested to know what made you change your mind. 🙂 Definitely try to up your science GPA. I'm not sure what year you are, but it sounds like you have a bit of time to take your pre-reqs so work on those first and foremost, since your extra-curriculars look good and you have a plan for your PT hours.