should I listen to my advisor?

[jmd13]

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Hey guys,

I've been pre-Med my entire undergraduate career although I was never sure about it. I finally decided during my last semester that I definitely want to be a PT. I have fulfilled all of the requirements for both tracks but would like to go ahead and officially change to pre-PT.

The only thing is that my advisor told me not to switch. He said that it is best to be transparent and that being pre-Med is part of my story. I worry though that PT schools will not like seeing that I'm pre-Med... I only have a few weeks before I receive my diploma and can no longer change anything... what are your thoughts on this?

I don't mean to undermine his authority but since I know for sure that I want to go to PT school it just makes sense to me that I would change it.

 

[jblil]

Does it say on your BA/BS degree somewhere that you are "pre-med"? I am asking, not questioning. If there's no mention of it, how would anyone know?

 

[jmd13]

Yes, "pre-Med" shows up on my transcript when I check the unofficial version online. I know I have to send my transcript to PTCAS... but I'm not sure if they report this info to the schools or not... does anyone know?

 

[FuhLeePlay]

In the end the only thing that will matter is that you have a BA/BS in anything. Get all your pre-reqs done and get high grades your major doesn't really matter.

 

[jdaniels360]

It completely irrelevant, and yes of course it's part of your story! You could use this to your advantage if anything. However, since you're only now switching it'll be tough to apply this cycle unless you really have your stuff together. I'm just assuming you haven't done any major shadowing and haven't build strong enough relationships with PT's to actually request a letter of recommendation, which you'll need for 90% of schools. On the other hand i may be wrong and you may have been shadowing like the rest of us and have everything ready to go. Bottom line is, as long as you have all your classes done (you'll also have to take the GRE and do well if your GPA is lacking), you should be good to go.

Joe

 

[NewTestament]

Ignore your adviser. That's my simple answer. Applicants with majors (BS, not BA) in Geography, Chemistry, Business, and even Philosophy have all been accepted to PT school. I think a pre-med major looks great. It proves you are capable of passing science courses. You've taken most of the pre-reqs, so what's the point of majoring in ES or physical therapy? Finish your career at college, get good grades, and start shadowing. Don't forget to get a letter of recommendation from one of your professors.

Kevin

 

[Azimuthal]

Ignore your adviser. That's my simple answer. Applicants with majors (BS, not BA) in Geography, Chemistry, Business, and even Philosophy have all been accepted to PT school. I think a pre-med major looks great. It proves you are capable of passing science courses. You've taken most of the pre-reqs, so what's the point of majoring in ES or physical therapy? Finish your career at college, get good grades, and start shadowing. Don't forget to get a letter of recommendation from one of your professors.

Kevin

+1 for those business guys.

 

[DesertPT]

Why not just have the pre-med removed from your transcript and not have it say "pre-" anything? I don't see why that needs to be on there in the first place. If for some reason you can't, I don't think it will matter either way...

 

[Azimuthal]

Why not just have the pre-med removed from your transcript and not have it say "pre-" anything? I don't see why that needs to be on there in the first place. If for some reason you can't, I don't think it will matter either way...

I think some schools actually have a pre-med major. I don't know why they exist.

 

[DesertPT]

Oh I figured it was bio or chem or some major like that and then the pre-health advising office puts you down as pre-med so they can hit you up every once and a while...that's what my school does...getting a BS in Pre-med sound like BS to me 😉

I've never been reading a doctor or PT's bio on their webpage and seen it say "Dr. Soandso earned their Bachelor of Science in Pre-med at Totes Legit College Shindig University and received their MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine."

 

[jmd13]

Just to be clear I am a Bio major, so my degree is in biology. But my transcript also says I'm pre-med and I could easily switch it to say pre-pt. I was going to do this before my adviser told me not to.

I just don't want my application saying that im "pre-med" to be some kind of disadvantage... I'm afraid they would question my desire to be a PT or something. I guess it just really threw me off when my adviser told me not to switch.

 

[Azimuthal]

Just to be clear I am a Bio major, so my degree is in biology. But my transcript also says I'm pre-med and I could easily switch it to say pre-pt. I was going to do this before my adviser told me not to.

I just don't want my application saying that im "pre-med" to be some kind of disadvantage... I'm afraid they would question my desire to be a PT or something. I guess it just really threw me off when my adviser told me not to switch.

You won't have a problem.

 

[DesertPT]

I wouldn't have my transcript say pre- anything but whatever you do it really won't matter

 

[akry6]

Just to be clear I am a Bio major, so my degree is in biology. But my transcript also says I'm pre-med and I could easily switch it to say pre-pt. I was going to do this before my adviser told me not to.

I just don't want my application saying that im "pre-med" to be some kind of disadvantage... I'm afraid they would question my desire to be a PT or something. I guess it just really threw me off when my adviser told me not to switch.

I wouldn't worry about this too much. I was also pre-med in college (though my transcript didn't say this), but changed my mind at the end. I knew my application (classes + extracurriculars) definitely looked like that of a "pre-med" and I addressed this as part of my journey in my application essay and during interviews. From the feedback I received, I don't think it really impacted my admission chances. 😛