UCSF volunteering hours

[LeTryst]

This is a question for current UCSF PT students. I have a pretty competitive application, and I've volunteered around 135 hours (~110 of which are inpatient). I'm just wondering if anyone has gotten in without meeting their "recommended" hours of 150.

The reason I'm asking is that I don't have time to volunteer anymore, and I'm just trying to finish my prereqs for the upcoming application cycle.

Any advice is appreciated!

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[rnrgrl]

I'm not a current student....but thought I would throw my 2 cents into the mix. You are so close to getting 150. If I were you I would sweat out the last 15 hours just to make my application as strong as possible.

When I toured and met with the PT dept at UCSF early last summer I was told that most competitive applicants have ~200 hours. With that being said, I applied with about 156 and was granted an interview.

UCSF is my top choice so I'm really looking forward to meeting with them in Feb!

 

[B1990]

rnrgrl-
congrats on the interview at UCSF! do u mind sharing your stats?

 

[situational]

I applied to UCSF this cycle and was declined an interview.

I had about 155~ outpatient hours at a local clinic.

I also volunteered on the rehabilitation floor at a hospital for about 200 hours, but I did not record it under PTCAS volunteering as PT observation, because I wasn't directly observing under a PT on the floor.

 

[rnrgrl]

Thank you! Here are my stats...

Prereq GPA: 3.75
Post-Bac GPA: 3.7
Overall GPA: 3.42
GRE: 159V 155Q 4.0AW
B.S. in Elementary and Special Education

175 volunteer observation hours (100 in peds, 50 in inpatient rehab hospital, 25 outpatient). I had ~156 at the time my application was processed.

Many extracurriculars in college and since I've been out of college (grad in 2007) I've worked in non-profit management and currently in education.

 

[monkeykat]

I would agree with rnrgrl--you want to make your application as strong as possible. 15 hours is not much to push through!

I totally understand wanting to focus on your pre-reqs, but a lot of schools seem to value variety of volunteer experience. I was really tempted to stop at 150, but I kept adding hours as I could. I knew that if I didn't get an interview I would kick myself for not trying harder Plus, I find my volunteer experiences really enriching.

At the time of application, I had about 265 hours and am still doing hours now, even though my apps are done. I'm hoping that when I go into my interview, my continuing volunteer hours will look good to them. Every little bit counts!

 

[SFRehab22]

I am not a student at UCSF but i work as an inpatient rehab aide in the rehab department. This information is staright off of the UCSF DPT webite:

http://ptrehab.ucsf.edu/education/entry-level-dpt/faqs#6

"Is volunteer or work experience in physical therapy required in order to apply?

All applicants must be able to demonstrate some understanding of the work and professions of physical therapy gained through a minimum of 150 hours of paid or volunteer experience in a variety (e.g. outpatient, inpatient, rehabilitation) of physical therapy settings working under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist, and be completed by the application deadline. There are no exceptions."

Hope that helps.

 

[hongryhippo]

yup, the 150 is the minimum required. i had over 600 hours of volunteer hours and in the end did not get in. when i asked why, they said my # of hours was not competitive compared to other applicants (this was for the last application cycle). keep in mind they only take up 50 students a year and that's drawing from about 1200 applications.

http://christina-pt.blogspot.com/