Retaking Anatomy for the third time?

[Jn7771992]

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Hey guys,

I'm planning on retaking Anatomy and Physiology 1 at a community college to improve my GPA, and get an A since my GPA to get into PT schools is not high enough. I took this class at a four-year college twice. I got a D for the first time and retook it and got a C. I'm wondering if taking the same prerequisite course for the third time to get an A will affect my chances to get into PT schools? I need some help and need clarification.

Thank you.

 

[freakinmeowt]

First of all, if you are still taking courses at a four year school, I would hesitate to take only that class at a CC. Many schools don't care where classes are taken, some do (even if they accept them from CC) and I would be concerned that you deliberately taking it at CC would be a red flag.
As far as hurting your chances, it's not going to look good, but it's not going to automatically disqualify you or anything. Most of the colleges I applied to require a C minimum on prereqs and average retakes, so you would still be eligible even at those schools. Some schools only take your highest retake on prereq courses so those would be beneficial for you in this case.
Although an important course, in the grand scheme of things, it is only one little piece of your application. My advice is to try not to dwell on what you've done wrong, but focus on what you can control in the future. If you did poorly because of the course material, take a lighter load that semester to help you focus on anatomy. If it was due to external factors, do what you can to avoid your environment from messing you up (if that's possible of course).

 

[Jn7771992]

Thank you for your help. Also for prerequisite classes, do PT schools take the highest grade or average it out?

 

[SR_DPT]

If you are taking a class for a 3rd time then you should really reconsider how you study because it is not going to get any easier in PT school. And it is not going to look good on your application because Anatomy and Physiology are heavily looked at since we are neuromuscular specialist. Some programs have a repeat class limit so you need to look out for that. Also the more times you repeat a class the more PTCAS will average those grades for your overall GPA.

 

[freakinmeowt]

Some schools average them, some take your highest grade (I had trouble finding a lot of schools that did this though).

 

[Tavi09]

I agree with everyone. I would also like to add this: you need to find out why you are struggling in this class. If the material is simply too hard than maybe physical therapy is not the career for you. I sure as heck wouldn't want my physical therapist getting C's and D's in anatomy.

 

[utahpt1]

I would say go for it, what else would you do at this point anyways? I took 4 pre reqs at a CC and every school I have applied to (7 schools) could care less if you take classes at a CC. Most schools would average out the grades from my understanding.

 

[Jn7771992]

Thank you everyone for all the advice y''all given me.

I've been getting very discouraged and sad for the past few weeks due to getting rejection letters from PT schools. I didn't know how hard this process would be until now, and I cried at work from all the stress. I got some encouragement and support from my coworkers, friends, and family and told me to retake classes that I got C's in at CC to improve my GPA up to a minimum of 3.0 or above. I want to be a PT very bad and I figured out from a lot of thinking if I want to chase my dream I have to make some sacrifices. I also took the GRE and my verbal was terrible, so I'm planning on retaking that too. I'm trying to be positive out of this situation, but it's really hard for me since I feel like I'm not successful at all.


Any encouragement and suggestions will be great for me?

 

[dptwannabee1]

Where did you apply? Some schools have lower minimums, some don't look at the GRE, some look only or mostly at your last 60 hours. Many people take two or more cycles o get an acceptance and the second time around they improve their application and apply to schools that fit their stats better. Unfortunately, sometimes more expensive private schools are more liberal with their acceptances policies. Take stock of everything, look at how you can improve, and think about reapplying for a second cycle. Alternatively, have you thought about looking into a PTA program? Much less debt, shorter timeframe, yes less money and autonomy, but still not a bad beginning salary for much less cost. Just throwing out a few ideas since as you said, grades were below 3.0 and GREs were not good either. Best of luck to you, it is a stressful process for sure.

I just looked and saw you applied in Texas. Public programs in Texas are some of the most competitive in the country due to the low cost. You have to have stats far above the minimums to be accepted at many state schools. Truly with a 2.66, and the time and cost it would take to retake enough classes to bring your GPA over a 3.0, you may seriously want to look into the PTA programs near you locally. Starting salaries are near $50,000 and you work alongside DPTs often doing similar work. Obviously you can't do an eval and your work needs to be supervised, but it's an excellent field with many jobs available. There would always be the possibility to consider going back to school for a DPT later if you chose.

I also see that people advised against this route. I understand that also, but I was truly thinking that in the time and with the money it would take you to get ready to reapply and update your coursework, you might be able to finish a PTA program. I do understand the difference. I worked as a tech so I definitely know, but honestly some places are hiring PTAs to do the treatment and the DPT to do the paperwork. As a first year I will say that Anatomy is by far my most difficult course and the one I spend the most time on.

 

[Jn7771992]

Where did you apply? Some schools have lower minimums, some don't look at the GRE, some look only or mostly at your last 60 hours. Many people take two or more cycles o get an acceptance and the second time around they improve their application and apply to schools that fit their stats better. Unfortunately, sometimes more expensive private schools are more liberal with their acceptances policies. Take stock of everything, look at how you can improve, and think about reapplying for a second cycle. Alternatively, have you thought about looking into a PTA program? Much less debt, shorter timeframe, yes less money and autonomy, but still not a bad beginning salary for much less cost. Just throwing out a few ideas since as you said, grades were below 3.0 and GREs were not good either. Best of luck to you, it is a stressful process for sure.

I just looked and saw you applied in Texas. Public programs in Texas are some of the most competitive in the country due to the low cost. You have to have stats far above the minimums to be accepted at many state schools. Truly with a 2.66, and the time and cost it would take to retake enough classes to bring your GPA over a 3.0, you may seriously want to look into the PTA programs near you locally. Starting salaries are near $50,000 and you work alongside DPTs often doing similar work. Obviously you can't do an eval and your work needs to be supervised, but it's an excellent field with many jobs available. There would always be the possibility to consider going back to school for a DPT later if you chose.

I also see that people advised against this route. I understand that also, but I was truly thinking that in the time and with the money it would take you to get ready to reapply and update your coursework, you might be able to finish a PTA program. I do understand the difference. I worked as a tech so I definitely know, but honestly some places are hiring PTAs to do the treatment and the DPT to do the paperwork. As a first year I will say that Anatomy is by far my most difficult course and the one I spend the most time on.

Hey I sent you a message and thank you for this.

 

[Snovella]

I know Regis University in Colorado has a minimum GPA requirement of 2.75 and no GRE minimum. Although they specify in their website that having just the minimum doesn't guarantee an interview or acceptance.
Their cycle ended for this year, but maybe you should look into it for next year.
By the way Regis is a private school so tuition is more expensive.