Taking a year off?

[SPS100]

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Hey,
anyone every take a year off after graduating undergrad, and start PT school the next year?
does it affect your acceptance ?

 

[MinnDasota]

I took a few years off. No problem. Many do this for many different reasons.

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

I took a year off because I decided I wanted to do PT partway through my senior year. I had to take all the prereqs in that extra year, as well as working.

There are a handful of us who were all in the same community college chem class who all have our BA/BS already but were taking a year off...it won't hurt your chances of getting in.

But, think about if it makes sense for you to do - if you need to take a few more classes to make your app more competitive, or work full time to save money for a year, or travel across Europe, then by all means do it. But I have friends who took a year off before planning on going to grad school, but once they were done with school they lost the motivation to go back and be in school again. Also, if you've already spent all the money on applications, and have gotten accepted, then really think about if you want to put it off another year (I'm not sure what your situation is, but if you've been accepted at school A, and then decide to wait another year, then it may hurt your chances of being accepted there a second time. I'm not totally sure about that but I would think a school may be less likely to offer you admission 2 yrs in a row).

But I don't think PT schools look down on taking a year off by any means.

 

[samanthah]

I would suggest taking a year. I did NOT and I feel that this was a big mistake on my part. I am burnt out and it has been less than a year. Almost everyone in my class took 1 or more years off and they are all doing fine. Good luck!

 

[ajune]

I agree with the other replies that many students take time off and are accepted to PT school. I think it can give you a competitive advantage if you use that time wisely and highlight it as positive in your application. You wouldn't want to leave any doubt about your commitment to pursuing the DPT so explain that there was real purpose to the decision and time spent away.

For folks who have had a few years off or are coming to PT as a second career then it is important to display academic proficiency. I am a career changer and I was encouraged by the chair of a PT department to take more than one class at a time while working to really show that I am prepared to take on the pressure of a full course load. But if you are only one year out I can't see that being much of a concern.

Good Luck!

 

[basbana]

I agree with the other posters. I took a year off (even though I said I never would) and I think it was very beneficial. A lot of people will you tell you not to take a year off because you will never go back, but for me it was the exact opposite. It ENCOURAGED me to go back. I spent the year taking classes that would raise my GPA and finishing off a couple of prereqs I still had left. I wasn't able to find a job as a PT Aide, but my friend did and he's been accepted to almost everywhere he has applied, even though he has a low GPA and GRE score, because now he has tons of hours in the field. He also struck up a deal with the PT office he was working at and they are going to pay for half of his tuition. He just has to come back to work for them for 3 years. He was pretty much an ideal situation.

The year off gave me a "break" though. Although I was still taking classes, it wasn't all the general ed stuff I didn't like in undergrad. I was actually making A's again and that made me very excited and much more confident.

Overall, I recommend a year off. It doesn't change your chances of getting into PT whatsoever and it gives you a little time off from intense school.