Undergrad Senior. Stressed and worried. Need Advice:

[MJN55]

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Hello to whoever is reading this,

this is going to kind of be a lengthy post. Sort of venting my confused thoughts and frustrations as I approach senior year and confused about my chances of being accepted into a DPT program.

So, my overall GPA right now is a 2.88. I have 2 more semesters left, both are taking 16 credits. So within that time period I am going to give it my all to break a 3.0 (since thats the minimum GPA anyway)

My science classes:
I have a C and B+ in Gen bio
2 B's in Anatomy and phys. However, I took AP 1 three times before I actually passed. (F and D were my previous grades)

I completed chem 1 with a C+ and I am just about to finish chem 2. Not sure what that final grade will be but currently holding a low B.

I then have to complete physics and then I am completed my science classes.

I am concerned with my GPA not being excellent that schools won't even look at me. I don't want my GPA to hold me back from going to grad school.

I haven't taken the GRE's yet and I haven't really volunteered places.

I have 25 hours inpatient, but thats it.

I plan to volunteer as much as I can but I am also thinking about taking a year off after graduation to focus on the GRE and my experience but I don't know how to go about finding more opportunities.

Do you think that is a wise decision? My main worry is my low gpa. I am not opposed to applying out of state, I literally will go wherever that will take me. The question is, will they take me?

My parents want me to graduate already because I am a year behind, but I don't know if I should officially graduate if i have a low gpa.

Has anyone else been in my shoes or knows what to do to improve myself? I work so hard for some of the crappy grades that I got and it frustrates me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Kakashi Queen]

instead of a year "off", i would take physics after you graduate at a CC and also retake those classes you have a C in and possibly study/take your GRE over the winter. Your GPA isnt going to be that great, the key is going to be getting your pre req gpa and GRE scores as high as possible.

 

[MJN55]

Thank you for the reply. I need to take physics in order to graduate for my undergrad major. Luckily for me, my undergrad requires all the pre reqs needed for the DPT program. In all honesty, I would like to avoid retaking classes just for the purpose of saving time and money. I met with a head admissions member with the DPT program at my school. He told me as long as I get my GPA to a 3.0 and I do well on my GRE's that I should be fine. He said my GRE will make up for the lower GPA but I must do very well on them.

Do you think that is possible to study for the entire month that I am off and then take them?

And even if my volunteer experience is high, I still wouldn't be considered? Even if my gpa isn't great, if I apply out of state wouldn't that increase my chances to getting into a school for demographic diversity?

As the summer quickly comes to an end, I am trying to formulate a plan for fall semester.

 

[DollarNaDream]

Although I am a first time applicant, you should just focus on these next two semesters, do extra things as often as you can, (volunteer, clubs, ect). I started a Pre-PT Club at my school and I've invited many admissions directors to speak to my club members and one common factor between them all is just prove to them you're different than anyone else. This includes doing extra curriculars that have nothing to do with PT, helping the community, special olympics, ect. Look around for volunteer opportunities, use Meetup websites that set events to feed the homeless ect. The reason these guys have requirements for GPA is because they don't want you failing out of PT School, these are doctorate level classes, show them that you can handle their classes by doing well these next two semesters.

Working hard is an extremely important trait to have, and you have that apparently. Keep grinding man, it's not going to be a blast but it'll be worth it when you're walking across that stage picking up your degree and getting your dream career started.
It's also important to take advantage of these opportunities while you're still in school.

As far as finding opportunities, email/call/visit every hospital, nursing home, children's clinic, anything. Cold call, don't be afraid to ask, worst thing that'll happen is they'll say no.

 

[MJN55]

Although I am a first time applicant, you should just focus on these next two semesters, do extra things as often as you can, (volunteer, clubs, ect). I started a Pre-PT Club at my school and I've invited many admissions directors to speak to my club members and one common factor between them all is just prove to them you're different than anyone else. This includes doing extra curriculars that have nothing to do with PT, helping the community, special olympics, ect. Look around for volunteer opportunities, use Meetup websites that set events to feed the homeless ect. The reason these guys have requirements for GPA is because they don't want you failing out of PT School, these are doctorate level classes, show them that you can handle their classes by doing well these next two semesters.

Working hard is an extremely important trait to have, and you have that apparently. Keep grinding man, it's not going to be a blast but it'll be worth it when you're walking across that stage picking up your degree and getting your dream career started.
It's also important to take advantage of these opportunities while you're still in school.

As far as finding opportunities, email/call/visit every hospital, nursing home, children's clinic, anything. Cold call, don't be afraid to ask, worst thing that'll happen is they'll say no.

Hey man, thank you so much for your advice. You kind of opened my eyes a little with the GPA requirement. I often forget that the program is a doctorate degree, which means things will be on a doctorate level. I actually have a pre-pt club at my school and I attended some meetings but not all. For some reason I feel scared within this major and approach because I don't have a support system with this. Often times I feel lost and confused with what to do next, or how to improve. I am sure I am not the only one, but it's just nice to hear other peoples insight whom are going on the same path as I.

This isn't the first time I have heard about doing things that are not PT related. I was actually told by a PT that sometimes you can get into schools based upon the relationship you form with the interviewer. Not everything is grade based, they also want personalities and what not. It's something I have and when I did my time at an inpatient hospital, I looked forward to going there every week. That's how I know I would enjoy being a PT.

I just have to amp up my experience. Have you taken a long period of time to study for the GRE?

 

[starrsgirl]

You need to kick butt and get straight As (or as close as possible) in these next few semesters. I agree with retaking some classes next summer as I'm guessing your pre req GPA will also be fairly low. Honestly, a 3.0 GPA is still on the very low side of acceptance rates (unless your pre req GPA lands much higher than that.) Go ahead and apply this cycle (?) or next cycle. But plan to retake some of those classes. Honestly, that's way better than just fluffing your resume with other random work experience. In other words, if your GPA is low, you need to fix that. Adding more "stuff" won't cover for a low GPA. (at a minimum, I recommend retaking everything you have a C in. It's brutal, I know, but just do it now and save yourself another cycle of application angst).

 

[MJN55]

You need to kick butt and get straight As (or as close as possible) in these next few semesters. I agree with retaking some classes next summer as I'm guessing your pre req GPA will also be fairly low. Honestly, a 3.0 GPA is still on the very low side of acceptance rates (unless your pre req GPA lands much higher than that.) Go ahead and apply this cycle (?) or next cycle. But plan to retake some of those classes. Honestly, that's way better than just fluffing your resume with other random work experience. In other words, if your GPA is low, you need to fix that. Adding more "stuff" won't cover for a low GPA. (at a minimum, I recommend retaking everything you have a C in. It's brutal, I know, but just do it now and save yourself another cycle of application angst).

Ugh. I'm on the verge of graduating, would you recommend graduating and then retaking the classes at a CC? My parents want me to finish school so bad. They're so excited I'm graduating next May.... But me on the other hand, I want to be excited but I definitely am not. I am more worried than I am excited. I wish I didn't screw up and not get my ducks in order before taking on this challenge. I wasn't mature enough when I started.

 

[starrsgirl]

Oh yeah, totally graduate. That doesn't matter to PT schools at all. Plus, the CC is cheaper and you can usually work too (night and weekend classes or whatever). In fact, your job prospects *might* be slightly better with a college degree than without. You could plan to work full time for a year and retake prereqs and get ready to apply next summer (July 2016). You would actually end up working 2 years because on that cycle you wouldn't start until Fall of 2017, but you should have plenty of time to get a great application together.

 

[MJN55]

Oh yeah, totally graduate. That doesn't matter to PT schools at all. Plus, the CC is cheaper and you can usually work too (night and weekend classes or whatever). In fact, your job prospects *might* be slightly better with a college degree than without. You could plan to work full time for a year and retake prereqs and get ready to apply next summer (July 2016). You would actually end up working 2 years because on that cycle you wouldn't start until Fall of 2017, but you should have plenty of time to get a great application together.

Ahhh this is so stressful! I appreciate your advice though! I only have 2 C's in the science pre-req classes thus far though. The other's I have B's. Would you stress on retaking those as well to get an A? These cycles also confuse me. So If I apply in 2016, I would have to wait almost a year to go to school? Are all cycles like that?

 

[starrsgirl]

Yes, in your case I would absolutely retake both Cs because your GPA is on the very low side. If you had a crazy high GPA and could "balance" out a bad class or so, it wouldn't be as big of a deal....but for most people 2 Cs in a hard blow on the pre reqs. You need to calculate your pre req GPA right now. (Average ALL pre reqs into the calculation...ie all 3 takes of the A&P class). Where does that put you? I'm guessing you may not be over a 3.0 in that but it's hard to tell until you do the calcuation.

Yes, it takes about a year from the "start" of applying to when you actually begin school. In general, you apply in the summer and fall. Schools do their interviews in the winter, acceptances are sent by the spring and then you start school in the summer or fall. (Check the dates, each school is slightly different but that schedule lines up with most). The tricky thing is you have to have a competitive application by the summer you apply....you can't count on taking classes you really need or getting more hours or bumping up observation hours much once you apply.