Second Career/Older PT Applicants

Started by Britten
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Britten

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So this is my first time applying to PT school.....I'm 31 and this will be a second career for me. Still waiting to hear back from 2 schools but otherwise its 1 waitlist and the rest rejections. 😡 Not entirely a surprise but who else is older/non-traditional/career changer? At this point I'm assuming I have another year in front of me of working my same job (which I hate) and improving my chances of getting accepted. I realize that's how it has to be but some days I just feel too old to be going down this road and wonder if I am crazy?! Who else is in the same boat? Would love some words of encouragement!
 
Hey Britten, I know how you're feeling... This will be a second career for me as well! I decided to go back to school at 30 to get my prereqs done for PT school. I'm 33 now, and I was accepted to a few schools! Sorry to hear you're not having much luck with acceptances. 🙁 I was lucky and my parents let me crash with them to go back to school and work only part time. I'm not sure I could have done all this if I'd had to work full-time and do well in school! How are your grades? Did you do pretty well in the prereq classes? I know it's different for those of us who aren't in their mid-20s but if this is what you really want to do, don't give up!! A friend of mine, who graduated from his program last year, was on a wait list and two weeks before the program started, he got a phone call saying that he was accepted! 🙂 Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!
 
That is good to hear, thank you! Grades are the problem....I have taken classes post-grad, including 4 pre-reqs, and they were all A's but bad grades from many moons ago haunt me. 🙁 It is so frustrating trying to get schools to look past mistakes from almost 10 years ago! I worked as a PT aide for a year so I have over 1200 observation hours but had to quit and upgrade to a better paying job in my degree field to cover my mortgage. Stupid real estate crash....don't buy a house on a single income! It is helpful for me to hear that there are other people out there my age and doing this too! 🙂
 
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I just turned 31 and I am a non-traditional applicant (business background). You are not crazy unless you let age get to you. Age is nothing but a number. If you think you are old, then you will feel like you are old. Yes, you are different from the traditional student but you share the same goals of one day becoming a physical therapist. Try to look at your age as a positive.... for example, I feel like I have of a more 'real-world' experience over those students that have just graduated from undergrad. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to change my career and go back to school. Many of my peers and DPT programs I applied to, admire the idea of changing careers at a later age.... they value experience. Think about the future and don't look back. Seriously... think about it....at the age 34 or 35, you will hold a doctorate degree in physical therapy.... that's not too shabby (you will have a long career ahead of you) 👍

Be hopeful and trust God in His plans for you (He knows best)!
 
Im also a second career/older applicant with a background in journalism. I am 28 and have continually stressed about age! Luckily I was accepted to a school already and waiting to hear from two others but have been very worried about taking on so much debt! Have you thought about maybe applying to more schools with later deadlines? I know there aren't many left but there are some schools with January start dates. At least you wouldn't have to wait an entire year. Maybe check out USA if you didn't already. Keep your head up!
 
yup, I'm 30. Career changer. Will hate not having a paycheck while in school thats for sure but it will all be worth it in the end!!! Don't give up! I know how much it sucks to work in a place you don't want to be working at and you see yourself with so much potential to do other things. Put it this way... I worked at my job for 9 years and my coworkers alone pushed me to never give up. Why? Because I didn't want to end up like them.. middle aged and MISERABLE!! So keep your head up and fight through it!
 
Yes, I agree with bhatiaa1... I think the best perspective I got when I was trying to decide whether I should go back to school in my 30s was basically this: "In 6 years, you're still going to be 36... but do you want to be 36 and have a boring job you resent, or do you want to be 36 and hold a DPT and doing something you know you'll love?" 🙂 I can honestly say I haven't regretted this decision once. Britten, it's great that you have all those observation hours under your belt. And I definitely agree that being a bit older than the average applicant works in our favor. Life experience is something you can't learn in school! Keep at it!!
 
I am 53 and will start PT school this Fall. All four schools I applied to, accepted me; two gave me scholarships. I think another member of this board ("johncrone"?) is also a second-careerist. As for me, it'd be my 4th - but who's counting?
 
Britten, I too am 31. Was working at Trader Joe's for several years after graduating with an Archaeology B.A., but my heart and mind just wasn't into it. I took a holistic health seminar program (while working), before transitioning to massage therapy, then pre-physical therapy. I'll be applying later this year for the 2012-2013 cycle. I haven't had much income over the last couple years, while taking care of prerequisites, but every single day I look forward to volunteering, learning more about the human body, or just helping another person. Whereas, before I dreaded another day of the energy drain that is retail management. The fact that I have more enthusiasm for my career-path than at any other point in my life gives me certainty that it's the right choice for me. Your patients won't care how old you are, as long as you can help them rehabilitate.
 
ml0925 said:
"In 6 years, you're still going to be 36... but do you want to be 36 and have a boring job you resent, or do you want to be 36 and hold a DPT and doing something you know you'll love?"
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up. Except in my case replace "36" with "42" after three years of school. Yep, I just turned 39 and I am pretty sure I AM crazy to do this at my age, given my terrible financial status and the massive amount of debt I'll be taking on! (See my thread "DPT school loans - Am I crazy to do this?") But who cares!? I'm excited for this new chapter and can't wait to be doing something fun and rewarding as a career.

All you guys who are 30/31... You are still so young! Do not worry about age at all. I originally looked into PT at about that age, but I didn't think I had the academic chops to pull it off. If only I had had more faith in myself back then! You should all be proud of yourselves for taking this leap.

And to the 53 year old career changer: Woohooo!!! Good for you!
:-D
 
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I am in the same boat as all of you guys. I will be 31 when I start PT school. I have 2 kids. I have been working jobs that I hate (most of them anyway) since I graduated in 2003 and I have been following my military husband around since 2005. It's finally time for me to do something for myself and finally have a career that I can be excited about. I am scared about the idea of going back to school after all this time, living on one income and still being able to find time to raise my kids. I know that it'll all be worth it though because I know I am not happy with my current situation and I am excited to finally be able to do something about it.

Keep your head up and keep trying. Just know it'll all be worth it in the end and you're never too old to better yourself and your situation. Don't keep doing something that makes you miserable!
 
Me too! I'll be 34 when I start school, with a BA in art history from 2000 and after 12 years working in the publishing industry.
Starting a second career is something I've been considering for a long time, and I spent many years doing a lot of research and feeling out different options before deciding PT was the perfect fit for me. Like everyone else, I had the nerves about going into school debt again, and am not entirely comfortable with being a financial black hole in my household, but in the end, it's going to be worth it. Sure, we'll have school debt, but we'll also have careers that we love that are fulfilling, we'll have the ability to empower people to maintain/regain their strength and independence, making their lives better, and we won't be sitting in an office all day long.
I'll be 36 when I finish, but like ml said above, I was going to be 36 anyway.
Congratulations to you all, and for everyone waiting for acceptances, hang in there and good luck.
 
Pretty interesting story for you possibly. For two years I spent tutoring pre-Nursing and PTA (physical therapy assistant) students in the sciences as the community college (science tutor). I got to see one of them going through clinical rotations for PTA. She's out working now as a Certified PTA. Now I wished I would have gotten on that train 3 years ago. Pretty sad when the PTAs feel bad for the Pre-Pt when you're tutoring them.
 
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another story... as I was volunteering at one of the hospitals I saw one of the guys I was in class with when I was completing the pre-reqs. He was on duty as a registered nurse.

At the same hospital in the PT department, there was another PTA in which I was in pre-req classes (A & P) with a full-time job.

I cannot recommend anyone to go for the DPT. The PTAs and Nurses are out working with a pretty good debt : income ratio a lot earlier. The DPT apps are on waitlists spending 1000s in hopes of getting their apps looked at. If they're lucky, they'll get the thousands of dollars in loans needed to spend 3 years running around in circles to realize that the PTAs are the ones that have been out working with the patients 4 years earlier with greater experience while the new grad DPT at odds with his fellow BsPTs who will assure them they are no better as they are handed a stack paper work and a set of regulations that hold the DPT responsible for the PTA (putting their hard-earned lisence on the line.)

What a sad reality. And to think that there were 750 so apps evidently for Pitt's program for 50 so seats. The influence of Advertising. Top 50 job right? Who said and paid for that advertising? The universities wouldn't have anything to do with it right?
 
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lee9786 said:
another story... as I was volunteering at one of the hospitals I saw one of the guys I was in class with when I was completing the pre-reqs. He was on duty as a registered nurse.

At the same hospital in the PT department, there was another PTA in which I was in pre-req classes (A & P) with a full-time job.

I cannot recommend anyone to go for the DPT. The PTAs and Nurses are out working with a pretty good debt : income ratio a lot earlier. The DPT apps are on waitlists spending 1000s in hopes of getting their apps looked at. If they're lucky, they'll get the thousands of dollars in loans needed to spend 3 years running around in circles to realize that the PTAs are the ones that have been out working with the patients 4 years earlier with greater experience while the new grad DPT at odds with his fellow BsPTs who will assure them they are no better as they are handed a stack paper work and a set of regulations that hold the DPT responsible for the PTA (putting their hard-earned lisence on the line.)

What a sad reality. And to think that there were 750 so apps evidently for Pitt's program for 50 so seats. The influence of Advertising. Top 50 job right? Who said and paid for that advertising? The universities wouldn't have anything to do with it right?
Click to expand...

This may be true for some hospitals but not at any that I observed. I have seen DPTs treating patients left and right at most places in my state.

I am 28 and can't wait to be a PT.
 
Britten, Keep your head up - it is a very brave and meaningful move to switch careers to PT. I went for that goal after 19+ years in the IT field and I have never regretted it since (except for that first day when I realized that I should not have signed up for Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, and Psychology for my first semester back in school...). After just one day observing at a PT clinic, I realized how much more fulfilling and impactful becoming a PT can be.
Sorry to hear you have not gotten any acceptances yet, but it can be done - my undergrad grades were far from sterling, too. What I did was emphasize the positives going forward - getting good grades in all the pre-req classes, establishing some solid relationships with PT's and professors to obtain good letters of recommendations, doing well on the GRE, trying Early Decision at the school I was most interested in, getting great experience by working at a PT clinic, and writing a killer essay about my decision. (I managed to get in on the first try.)
Do your research on the schools and be realistic about what you bring to the table - there are so many different schools with different admissions criteria - I think it is all a matter of finding the perfect fit for your situation.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a PM.

(Oh, and by the way, don't let lee1986 discourage you...the debate between PT's and PTA's is as old as time...just follow your heart...)
 
I'll add my voice to the older student choir too! I'm 36 and will be applying this year for the 2012 cycle. I thought about switching to PT for several years, but always felt "too old" to start something like this. Then one day, it really just hit me that I need to just do it! I've spent the last year taking all my science prereqs and building volunteer hours, and I really look forward to applying and starting a program next year. I have never regretted this decision. Britten, I'm so glad you started this thread, as it's so nice to see all of this support and encouragement for us career-changers!
 
In response to Lee:

I have volunteered at several clinics (in and outpatient). I also work as a PT aide at an outpatient ped clinic during the week, and an inpatient hospital two or three days a month on weekends.

Nothing of what you said is true, IN MY CASE.

That's the thing about generalizations, they generally don't hold weight statistically.
 
Oh, I forgot the reason I came to this thread!

So, I am 28, and will be 31 when finished with PT school. I live in Chicago, and have been fortunate to have a thoroughly varied volunteering/observation experience at many of the plethora of PT clinics throughout the city.

I feel that I am in a better place, on a personal level, beginning my schooling at this age, as opposed to jumping into this immediately after undergrad.

Good luck to all!
 
I'm 34 and in my 3rd semester of PT school. I decided to go back to school in 2008 and started taking pre reqs. I didn't get in my first attempt (only applied to one school... had to stay in state) but did get in my second attempt. Not regretting it and enjoying my experience.
 
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Hey Britten great thread! I'm also in my thirties, 32 to be exact and a career changer (Business Adm major as an undergrad). Don't lose hope and keep your head up. I'm in the same boat w/ you in terms of grades...as an undergrad I really messed up my GPA and didn't take things so seriously. I kept going back & forth as to whether to do PT because of my age and my PT friends pushed me to go for it.

When I decided to return to school 4 yrs ago to get science pre-reqs under my belt I was much more focused and more passionate about my new career choice landing me a much, much better pre-req GPA. I also worked full time while taking classes and had to travel for work so it took me a while to get all those sciences done. I've asked many schools during their info sessions about GPA's, and they have all pretty much said they focus more on pre-req GPA's especially if your undergrad degree was in a non-science field. They've also said that they put weight and take into account career changers and those that are adult learners. They figure being an adult you have life experience and are much more focused and passionate about going back to school to change careers than say a young learner right out of college. It was a relief to hear this from many of the schools. I'm scared to go back to school full time and not make money, but I know in the end I'll be doing what I truly want to do.

I'm playing the waiting game w/ these PT schools right now just like you :scared:. I was just talking to a student currently in his first year of PT school and he said he was on the waitlist and was called off the waitlist in June and classes started mid August! So don't lose hope even if you're waitlisted. Good luck to you and I hope we both get accepted into a PT school this year, it only takes one acceptance! :xf:
 
I am SOOOO thankful to everyone who responded! It really helps me to hear how many others are out there doing this. I am an EXTREMELY realistic, practical person (i.e. I'm not out there applying to Northwestern or something like that and NOT making this decision on a whim) and there are so many days when its hard for me to be sure its the right decision, especially when ALL of my friends and my significant other are older than me and well established in their careers/lives. I know at the end of the day I have to make the right decision for me and live my life but the day to day grind gets to me. I will read back through this thread every time I have doubts! 🙂
 
bhatiaa1 said:
I just turned 31 and I am a non-traditional applicant (business background). You are not crazy unless you let age get to you. Age is nothing but a number. If you think you are old, then you will feel like you are old. Yes, you are different from the traditional student but you share the same goals of one day becoming a physical therapist. Try to look at your age as a positive.... for example, I feel like I have of a more 'real-world' experience over those students that have just graduated from undergrad. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to change my career and go back to school. Many of my peers and DPT programs I applied to, admire the idea of changing careers at a later age.... they value experience. Think about the future and don't look back. Seriously... think about it....at the age 34 or 35, you will hold a doctorate degree in physical therapy.... that's not too shabby (you will have a long career ahead of you) 👍

Be hopeful and trust God in His plans for you (He knows best)!
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it better myself. I also just turned 31 with a business background. I hated working for corporate so I had to really think about my career choices and what makes me happy and honestly, I don't regret a second of it. For the past year, I've been taking my prereqs and working part time; my parents let me live with them for free so I don't have to worry about rent but I still pay for everything else (car, food, phone). I am broke but am SO much more happier than I was when I worked in marketing! Your real world experience will give you a huge advantage over those who don't have much professional work experience. I found that I'm more inclined to approach professors and classmates for help and engage in raising questions/offering alternatives which helps my learning process A LOT...something I was too afraid to do in undergrad! Good luck to you 🙂
 
jblil said:
I am 53 and will start PT school this Fall. All four schools I applied to, accepted me; two gave me scholarships. I think another member of this board ("johncrone"?) is also a second-careerist. As for me, it'd be my 4th - but who's counting?
Click to expand...

Hello jblil,
I am an older second careerist. Your post gives me hope. Which schools did you apply to?
 
Bow Watch - I'm at UNC Chapel Hill; I plan to take the NPTE in 10/2015.
In addition to UNC, I had applied to Duke, ECU and Elon. If you are a NC resident, ECU's super-low tuition is hard to beat. I'd have gone there if I were single and didn't already own a house in the Triangle area.
 
I'm 42 and I will be starting PT school in two days at Nova Southeastern University. I think there are also a couple 30 year olds in my class too.
 
Relax, you'll do fine. The first few weeks may be overwhelming, but it'll be all downhill from the second semester on.
 
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Agree. As an older student I felt that the first 1/2 of 1st semester was relatively harder for me than my classmates who were fresh from full time school and without many other life "burdens". But after a few months (where I felt like I wasn't going to make it) it all clicked and now I feel like I'm doing well because of my maturity and life knowledge. So hang in there. Embrace a rough transition and realize it was will get better soon.
 
I can wait until that moment where I know I'll make it🙂. I'm certainly going to hit the books hard and give it everything I have. I hope next year around this time I'm telling people to relax LOL. Thank you both for the vote of confidence.
 
I agree, the first semester...whew...but overall, the second year required more time management.
 
You will experience doubt and uncertainty throughout the program, but the first year was definitely the worst. Take PT school one day at a time.
 
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