Should I Take a Gap Year?

[PrePTatUofO13]

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Hello everyone!

So with the PTCAS application date opening up in less than 3 weeks, I have been going through a whirlwind of emotions and contemplation. I was initially right on track to start my application come June 30th, but now I'm not sure if I should take a gap year or not. I am a junior right now and I will be done with my undergraduate degree in March. I am not the richest person in the world so I don't want to go through this process and waste loads of money for nothing. I think I have decent stats, but I still don't think I'll be good enough to get in. I know taking a gap year will give me more time to make me more competitive, but I really don't want to take a gap year, but I also don't want to not get accepted. I really do want to be a physical therapist, but I'm afraid that if I take a gap year, I might not have the motivation to apply the following year. Any thoughts on what you would do if you were in my position (I'm sure I'm not the only one!)?

These are the schools I am planning on applying to:
George Fox University
Pacific University
Loma Linda University
West Coast University
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
University of St. Augustine - San Marcos
Arizona School of Health Sciences
Midwestern University - Glendale
Concordia University - St. Paul

GPA Stats:
Overall: 3.62
Science (according to Loma Linda): 3.70

GRE:
Have not taken it yet... Kinda worried about it, but the first three schools do not require the GRE. I will take it July 24th.

Observation:
30 hours - inpatient: SNF/Geriatrics
30 hours - outpatient: Pediatrics
52 hours: outpatient: Orthopedic
Planning on getting more this summer; maybe another 100 hours

School Related Things:
Dissection elective course: dissected the elbow, forearm, and hand of a donor body
Dean's list 2015
2 honor society memberships
Psychology lab assistant
Selected to be an anatomy lab TA and physiology grader TA in the Fall

Work:
Got a job this summer with United Cerebral Palsy as a children's support professional

Thank you everyone in advance on your advice. This is such a stressful time for a lot of us, and I'm glad we have this forum to support each other in times of need!

 

[scrawnyguy]

I took a "gap year", although my situation was slightly different. When application time came around I had a couple of courses left AND the GRE. I started to get my application process, but everything felt rushed and shoddy. I'd also just left the Army a few months prior and life in general was a little nuts. I decided to hold off a year on applying so that I could slow down and put together a better quality application. In my case it paid off and I got into my top school, although I'm also stuck working in a job that I'm not super stoked about in the meantime while I wait for school to start. It sounds like you are a little more prepared than I was, but if you truly think you can't get a quality application this time period I would hold off.

 

[dksb]

You have really similar stats that I did when I applied last year! If I were in your position I would apply this year just to your top one or two schools if you can afford it. Best case scenario you get in! Worst case you don't get in and lose a little bit of money, but you gain valuable feedback about your application from your top school, learn about the PTCAS application process. Plus you'll get the GRE done with so you don't have to worry about it ever again. If you don't get in, you can be way more strategic about what you do in your gap year in order to increase your chances even more. I took a gap year and it actually reaffirmed my desire to go to PT school and gave me a bunch of opportunities to learn about myself. On the other hand, my friend also took a gap year but decided not to reapply because he really loves the job he has right now. I think even if you lose motivation to be a PT during a gap year that is OK. Maybe you found a different passion and this way you found out before you invested a bunch of time and money into an education instead of finding out later. If I were you I would finish up observation hours for applying and do my best on the GRE, make sure I know who I want to write letters of rec, and get more extracurricular activities. Maybe you have them and just didn't list them but I think extracurriculars are what separate the people who get into PT school from the ones who don't. Go look through the What Are My Chances threads and find people applying to your top schools and see what their extracurriculars look like. I think you have a great foundation to your application but adding more activities outside the norm is what will put you above and beyond, especially if you can relate it back to why you want to be a PT.

 

[PrePTatUofO13]

I took a "gap year", although my situation was slightly different. When application time came around I had a couple of courses left AND the GRE. I started to get my application process, but everything felt rushed and shoddy. I'd also just left the Army a few months prior and life in general was a little nuts. I decided to hold off a year on applying so that I could slow down and put together a better quality application. In my case it paid off and I got into my top school, although I'm also stuck working in a job that I'm not super stoked about in the meantime while I wait for school to start. It sounds like you are a little more prepared than I was, but if you truly think you can't get a quality application this time period I would hold off.

Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm glad you got in! It should be very exciting to start! 🙂

 

[PrePTatUofO13]

You have really similar stats that I did when I applied last year! If I were in your position I would apply this year just to your top one or two schools if you can afford it. Best case scenario you get in! Worst case you don't get in and lose a little bit of money, but you gain valuable feedback about your application from your top school, learn about the PTCAS application process. Plus you'll get the GRE done with so you don't have to worry about it ever again. If you don't get in, you can be way more strategic about what you do in your gap year in order to increase your chances even more. I took a gap year and it actually reaffirmed my desire to go to PT school and gave me a bunch of opportunities to learn about myself. On the other hand, my friend also took a gap year but decided not to reapply because he really loves the job he has right now. I think even if you lose motivation to be a PT during a gap year that is OK. Maybe you found a different passion and this way you found out before you invested a bunch of time and money into an education instead of finding out later. If I were you I would finish up observation hours for applying and do my best on the GRE, make sure I know who I want to write letters of rec, and get more extracurricular activities. Maybe you have them and just didn't list them but I think extracurriculars are what separate the people who get into PT school from the ones who don't. Go look through the What Are My Chances threads and find people applying to your top schools and see what their extracurriculars look like. I think you have a great foundation to your application but adding more activities outside the norm is what will put you above and beyond, especially if you can relate it back to why you want to be a PT.

Thanks so much for your advice! I will definitely take it all into consideration! I did leave out that I am a research assistant in a psychology lab, teacher assistant volunteer at a Head Start program for preschoolers, and a peer advisor for the department of my major (Human Physiology). Do you think I need more extracurricular activities? Also, where you are going to school now?

 

[dksb]

Wow! you definitely have a ton of stuff going on and it's all really diverse which is super cool!! I don't have the right answer for you, only the programs you apply to can decide that. My personal opinion is you have a ton of positions that are really awesome but a lot of other applicants probably have similar ones too. The one that stands out the most to me is the teacher assistant volunteer for preschoolers (edit: forgot about your summer job, that seems pretty unique to me too). To me that is more unique and makes me curious to find out more about you than some of the other ones (not that the other ones are bad at all, I was a TA and peer mentor too!). In my application, I focused on adding some unique opportunities that also fell in line with why I wanted to be a PT and was able to write about what I learned from it in my essay. The why was a really big part of my application. If you know why you want to be a PT make sure you back that up with what you learned from certain experiences. When I got home some days from volunteering I literally wrote down interactions I had that left an impact on me because I knew I'd want to write about them in my application but I'd probably forget months later.

However, just know this is all just my personal opinion that worked for me and by no means is the only approach or even the right approach to getting into PT school for you. I guess my best advice is just try to remember to think about your application from the selection committee's view too. They're still humans just like you and me, but they have read over 1000 applications every year in order to pick the ones they want to become their future colleagues. I got into UW and am starting in the fall!

My only (small) regret about my gap year is not getting a serious job and saving more money now that I'm adding up the cost of tuition and everything. Looking at the amount of loans I'll need is a little scary. If I could have saved more it would have helped significantly reduce the amount I'd need to borrow. It just hadn't clicked for me a year ago, maybe because I wasn't in yet and it was still felt more like a dream. But overall, I am pretty happy I took a gap year even tho it was a hard decision to make at the time.

 

[PrePTatUofO13]

Wow! you definitely have a ton of stuff going on and it's all really diverse which is super cool!! I don't have the right answer for you, only the programs you apply to can decide that. My personal opinion is you have a ton of positions that are really awesome but a lot of other applicants probably have similar ones too. The one that stands out the most to me is the teacher assistant volunteer for preschoolers (edit: forgot about your summer job, that seems pretty unique to me too). To me that is more unique and makes me curious to find out more about you than some of the other ones (not that the other ones are bad at all, I was a TA and peer mentor too!). In my application, I focused on adding some unique opportunities that also fell in line with why I wanted to be a PT and was able to write about what I learned from it in my essay. The why was a really big part of my application. If you know why you want to be a PT make sure you back that up with what you learned from certain experiences. When I got home some days from volunteering I literally wrote down interactions I had that left an impact on me because I knew I'd want to write about them in my application but I'd probably forget months later.

However, just know this is all just my personal opinion that worked for me and by no means is the only approach or even the right approach to getting into PT school for you. I guess my best advice is just try to remember to think about your application from the selection committee's view too. They're still humans just like you and me, but they have read over 1000 applications every year in order to pick the ones they want to become their future colleagues. I got into UW and am starting in the fall!

My only (small) regret about my gap year is not getting a serious job and saving more money now that I'm adding up the cost of tuition and everything. Looking at the amount of loans I'll need is a little scary. If I could have saved more it would have helped significantly reduce the amount I'd need to borrow. It just hadn't clicked for me a year ago, maybe because I wasn't in yet and it was still felt more like a dream. But overall, I am pretty happy I took a gap year even tho it was a hard decision to make at the time.

Oh wow! Thank you so much for your advice; it was all so helpful! You are so nice, dude! Also congrats on getting into UW! That is a tough school to get into, but I can definitely see why you were accepted! Good luck in the fall!

 

[apta_pharaoh]

Apply this year. GPA is the hardest to change and you already have a great GPA. Now fill any holes try to become a pt aide to get more hours, money at the same, and more experience at the same time. Buy GRE books and score at least score 150s and a 4. Get good LORs, write a good essay (get edited), get your application in early.

 

[PrePTatUofO13]

Apply this year. GPA is the hardest to change and you already have a great GPA. Now fill any holes try to become a pt aide to get more hours, money at the same, and more experience at the same time. Buy GRE books and score at least score 150s and a 4. Get good LORs, write a good essay (get edited), get your application in early.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it!