Sorry to bother you all, but I could use a little advice and direction.

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situational

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Hi guys!

I was wondering if anyone who was in a similar situation as I am in now.

I graduated last year in June with a B.S in neuroscience and physiology with a 3.02 GPA overall. I understand I don't have the best grades, but at the time, I really didn't have the motivation to keep up with my coursework because I felt I was pushed into my major by my parents in an attempt for me to go to medical school, so much in fact, that I wound up taking the MCAT as well, and scoring only a 30.

A 3.02 GPA and a MCAT score of 30 isn't great at all. I'm going to be realistic here and say that I probably won't survive the rigors of medical school, let alone the application process.

However, I found a small spark in the past year that rekindled my interests in the field of science. I volunteer to teach English at small center every week. It's the only thing I look forward to, since I have not found a job yet. My several students, when I first arrived, could barely speak English at all. In fact, they have had no formal school education whatsoever when growing up - no abilities to read nor write. When I go to volunteer these days, it really makes me happy that they can read simple stories, write down what I say, and converse in broken English with me. I enjoy seeing my efforts show in the progress of others, which is why I have decided to pursue a career in physical therapy; I can utilize what I learned in my studies as well as coach and improve others on a more personal level than I would if I were, for example, a surgeon. I feel it would be a very fulfilling career for me down the road.

I now have the daunting task of fulfilling DPT program requirements in the next year or so. I am planning to take the prerequisite courses at the local community college, and plan to do well to boost my GPA. However, because I have so many units already, I am not sure if I can change it enough that I would be immediately filtered out by GPA when I apply. I also have no idea how I am supposed to fulfill 1000 hours of physical therapy related work. I have asked local hospitals and clinics, and they have said they are either full on volunteers, or only accepting fully licensed doctors as volunteers. I was wondering what others have done to boost their GPAs and to get experience in the field before applying to the DPT programs of their choice.

For those who were in similar situations, how did you manage? Did you ever regret your choice to return to school instead of just looking for work? I feel terrible enough as it is to not have a job and to live at home for almost a year now after graduation; even if I were to go through with this decision, I would be spending even more time and more of my parents' money to go back to school, which is, with my current GPA, not even a guarantee to get into a program.

I came to these forums in an effort to look for tips and advice on if my decision is a good one to make in my situation, and how to go about joining the ranks of physical therapists in the future. I would gladly appreciate any feedback others may have and take it seriously; I am sure you all are more experienced and know better than I!

Thanks

-Situ

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Hi Situ, and welcome to SDN. :)

First, I just want to say that it is remarkable the work you've done with that small clinic-- it really is a joy to see your hard work pay off in others-- I was originally a teacher, so the fullfilment of seeing others succeed is one of my top motivators for wanting to pursue PT.

Don't count yourself down and out because of a lower GPA-- you will have a lot to offer in other ways, just be sure (when you are ready) to apply broadly and early!

Try your best to do as well as you can in the remaining prerequisites that you need, PTCAS (the application center) does a variety of GPA calculations that can show growth throughout your schooling and what your GPA is of certain subjects. Also, most programs only require 100 hours, not 1000. 100 is a lot more managable, and I'm sure if you keep checking you can find somewhere... You will need a variety of settings, so asking somewhere to shadow for 2-4 days (say 25-30 hours) is not as big of a hit as asking if you can shadow for 100 hours. By breaking it up you'll get more experience and if you are perceived as a "hinder" (I was at one of my shadowing experiences, blech!) you'll only be around for a few days!

I had no other prior "experience" in the field of PT other than my 100 hours of observation that were required-- however, I used my other life experiences to show how they can be applied to the PT field and my excitement in how I can tie everything in my life together.

I graduated from my undergrad and was jobless/clueless for 2 years before deciding to go back to school to do my prerequisites and so far I haven't regretted one minute of it. I have realized how miserable I WAS and I am so happy to know that even though I was taking classes with 18 year olds, I was so much happier than I was when I was looking for a teaching position. My family has been super supportive and yes, I did have to do a lot of "Well why don't you want to be a teacher?" and I felt like I had to justify myself, before I realized I don't have to justify anything to anyone and it was just as simple to say "I've realized that my passions have changed."

Now that I'm getting ready to start school everyone around me is used to this "new change" and they are super supportive... yes, it was hard to be at home with mom and dad for much longer than I expected in my life, but I've learned that I should just cherish the extra time I had with them and be thankful that they were willing to take me in and help me on this new journey so that I can be successful. At times I felt guilty about spending more of my parents' money, but then I realized how much they loved me because they were willing to help me do whatever it was to make me happy.

So, everything you've posted I definitely understand and I hope by telling you a little bit about me you feel better. :)
 
Situ,

First, no need to apologize! Part of the intent of this forum and SDN in general is to address issues just like yours. Hopefully you can receive a bunch of advice, couple that advice with you own knowledge/intuition to make an informed decision about you career and future.

Secondly, it sounds like you enjoy helping people and having a lot of one on one contact. Physical therapy is certainly a "helping" field; however, it is not the only one in medicine. I really think that observing a variety of physical therapy settings will provide you with more clarity as to whether you want to pursue this as a career or not. By the way, I have never heard of any program requiring 1000 hours of clinical observations. Many programs require at least 100 hours, which can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. Obviously, you just have to have access to the clinics/hospitals to do so, which you stated is a bit of a challenge for you at the moment. I would keep trying though!

Third, given that many of the pre-requisites for PT are similar to other health care professions, you would have covered the basis for other professions like MD/DO, DDS/DMD, DVM, PharmD, NP, PA. The main difference is that PT school does not require a sequence in Ochem. I am not trying to steer you in any particular direction, but just want you to know that their are options availiable to you. You mentioned that you received a 30 on your MCAT. That is not to bad at all, and would certainly be competitive at low-mid tier MD programs and even more competitive for DO programs. Are you certain that being a physician is "off the table?" If you take the necessary pre-reqs(A&P 1/2, Bio 1/2, Physics 1/2, Chem 1/2, 3-5 Social Sciences, Stats, and maybe pre-calc/Calc 1) and excel at a relatively high level(B+ to A+) in all of those, you gpa will definitely improve.

I, too, went back to school after taking some time off. Sometimes, it is a necessary commodity to step away from academia. Now I am back to being a full fledged nerd! May even want to be a professor in a physical therapy program once I am done. So you are certainly not alone.

Lastly, I would not recommend going into any field without having a somewhat clear understanding regarding the typical "Day in the Life of XYZ." It's a disservice to you in the near and distant future not to. Due diligence is required to explore multiple aspects of any profession, Physical therapy is not different. I hope this first little blurb helps, and we will definitely be around to provide more insight when needed!:)
 
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Thanks for the support and advice!

I have to admit, a lot of my upper division course grades were not top notch, and several of those would most likely be counted as prerequisite courses. I was wondering, if I retook those courses and earned a better letter grade at the community college, if it would override the previous grade when my course grades are taken into consideration. I performed a search to find the answer, but I perhaps am not looking in the correct location for it.

On another note, I did notice that PA and PT requirements are fairly similar, so it would probably be to my benefit if I went ahead and fulfilled those course requirements as well.

I am actually having a difficult time convincing myself that it is the correct option to go back to school at this time. I have spent the past year unemployed and at home; it kills me to know that I could have been enrolling into courses from the beginning of last summer instead of leeching money off my parents. Many of my high school and college friends have found jobs with only a Bachelor's; their successes are making me second-guess myself quite often, which is why I've come here to ask for guidance from those who have been in my shoes before.
 
Thanks for the support and advice!

I have to admit, a lot of my upper division course grades were not top notch, and several of those would most likely be counted as prerequisite courses. I was wondering, if I retook those courses and earned a better letter grade at the community college, if it would override the previous grade when my course grades are taken into consideration. I performed a search to find the answer, but I perhaps am not looking in the correct location for it.

On another note, I did notice that PA and PT requirements are fairly similar, so it would probably be to my benefit if I went ahead and fulfilled those course requirements as well.

I am actually having a difficult time convincing myself that it is the correct option to go back to school at this time. I have spent the past year unemployed and at home; it kills me to know that I could have been enrolling into courses from the beginning of last summer instead of leeching money off my parents. Many of my high school and college friends have found jobs with only a Bachelor's; their successes are making me second-guess myself quite often, which is why I've come here to ask for guidance from those who have been in my shoes before.

I would say that after you've decided that you want to consider a career in physical therapy or PA or anything else, then you should identify the programs that you are interested in applying to. This is a key step to deciding exactly what prerequisites are required and/or looked at favorably by certain schools. If you upper-division courses fit within the parameters of a particular program(s) and you feel confident about future success in retaking those course then go ahead. I would make sure you contact each admissions departments ahead of time before wasting valuable time and money. In fact, I think it's a safe bet to contact the admissions department ahead of time anyway in order to set up a correspondence and hopefully build some rapport.

As it relates to your friends, I would be very careful about comparing your circumstances to theirs. Did they major in accounting or engineering? I use these degrees specifically, because they are some of the few and I cannot overemphasize few undergraduate degrees in which a person may be able to find what's considered a decent paying job right out of school. By decent paying, I am referring to $50-60k a year. Many basic science, life science, social/behavioral science, arts/humanities degrees will indirectly or directly require a person to receive a degree at the graduate level(M.S. or Doctorate) to make the decent salary I just referred to. Being that you seem to be unsure about your future, I would try to learn as much as I can about a profession. Getting into and successfully matriculating through a professional health care program is a SERIOUS COMMITMENT! The amount of time and effort it takes to get through most DPT programs(this is person specific, there are gifted ppl out there) is no joke. Have a clear picture of what you want out of a career, understand the educational/professional trials and triumphs of that career, and always be ready to allow some degree of flexibility within that particular career field.
 
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