Very Non-traditional student wanting to pursue DPT. Need some advice

[Mushman18]

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Hey guys! So Im 25 years old and decided to go back to school and become a physical therapist after having multiple acl reconstructions most recent surgery a little over a year ago made me fall in love with the field. With that being said my current GPA isn't great at all and is around a 2.4 with 25 credits completed at a community college. Ive been in and out of college since graduating high school back in 2011 because of my multiple surgeries and due to the fact that i just didn't know what i wanted to do in life so i dropped a bunch of classes a few of them being pre-reqs for PT school. I do have a couple years until i apply to PT school so I'm just wondering what should be my plan of action and if this would affect my chances of admission at all when i do apply to PT schools in a couple years. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[SATXDPT]

Since you have so few hours, it is mathematically possible that you will be able to raise your cumulative GPA. Your goal should be to go back to school full time and get as close to a 4.0 GPA until you apply to PT school. You absolutely need to get A's on your prerequisites. Can you start off at a community college? It doesn't matter what your major is, as long as you get all of your prerequisites. Good luck! It's a long road.

 

[PAPERCLIP_DPT]

Hey guys! So Im 25 years old and decided to go back to school and become a physical therapist after having multiple acl reconstructions most recent surgery a little over a year ago made me fall in love with the field. With that being said my current GPA isn't great at all and is around a 2.4 with 25 credits completed at a junior college. Ive been in and out of college since graduating high school back in 2011 because of my multiple surgeries and due to the fact that i just didn't know what i wanted to do in life so i dropped a bunch of classes a few of them being pre-reqs for PT school. I do have a couple years until i apply to PT school so I'm just wondering what should be my plan of action and if this would affect my chances of admission at all when i do apply to PT schools in a couple years. Any advice would be much appreciated.

You are in a pretty good position to build your GPA since you have taken so little credits/units. If you take about two years worth of pre-requisites and additional classes (which should come up to about 60 credits) and achieve an "A" in all of your coursework, your GPA would jump to 3.52, which is solid. I would focus on your grades first and if you have time when the school load isn't too heavy try signing up to shadow an inpatient facility (which sometimes takes months due to hospital waitlists, so do it ahead of time) and an outpatient clinic.

I am not too sure if there are programs out there that take in applicants without a bachelor's degree, so I would definitely research on that (if not, you might want to project a longer timeline of transferring from junior college into a university to finish before applying).

 

[Mushman18]

Since you have so few hours, it is mathematically possible that you will be able to raise your cumulative GPA. Your goal should be to go back to school full time and get as close to a 4.0 GPA until you apply to PT school. You absolutely need to get A's on your prerequisites. Can you start off at a community college? It doesn't matter what your major is, as long as you get all of your prerequisites. Good luck! It's a long road.

I currently am enrolled at a community college and taking a few courses but do plan on going full time come spring semester. I plan on getting my associates in bio which would cover all the pre-requisites. I then plan on transferring to Rutgers university and getting my bachelors on exercise science possibly with a minor in nutrition.

 

[Mushman18]

You are in a pretty good position to build your GPA since you have taken so little credits/units. If you take about two years worth of pre-requisites and additional classes (which should come up to about 60 credits) and achieve an "A" in all of your coursework, your GPA would jump to 3.52, which is solid. I would focus on your grades first and if you have time when the school load isn't too heavy try signing up to shadow an inpatient facility (which sometimes takes months due to hospital waitlists, so do it ahead of time) and an outpatient clinic.

I am not too sure if there are programs out there that take in applicants without a bachelor's degree, so I would definitely research on that (if not, you might want to project a longer timeline of transferring from junior college into a university to finish before applying).

I do plan on obtaining my bachelors in exercise science once I get all my pre requisites taken care of at a community college. And I also plan on starting observation at an outpatient clinic once my physical therapy comes back from maternity leave. I just needed reassurance that not all hope is lost because I feel as if I’ve dug myself into a huge hole and don’t know where to start to get myself out. Also the fact that I have a friend who’s in med school now and seeing what she had to go through for acceptance makes me a little nervous as I haven’t been a diligent student in a very long time and I know Getting into PT school is just as difficult as getting into med school. Thank you for the advice though!

 

[toomanyknees]

I do plan on obtaining my bachelors in exercise science once I get all my pre requisites taken care of at a community college. And I also plan on starting observation at an outpatient clinic once my physical therapy comes back from maternity leave. I just needed reassurance that not all hope is lost because I feel as if I’ve dug myself into a huge hole and don’t know where to start to get myself out. Also the fact that I have a friend who’s in med school now and seeing what she had to go through for acceptance makes me a little nervous as I haven’t been a diligent student in a very long time and I know Getting into PT school is just as difficult as getting into med school. Thank you for the advice though!

You sound almost exactly like me - I had a ton of ACL reconstructions and decided to go back to school for PT with a low GPA. I finished all of my prerequisites at community college and was able to get into my top two choices of school and am in my first year now. I won't lie, it was a hard road, but it's definitely possible. PM me if you want some advice and encouragement!

 

[PassionaTeaboutPT]

depending on your schools policy you could also try repeating some old coursework to boost your GPA.

 

[TK_DPT_87]

Hey guys! So Im 25 years old and decided to go back to school and become a physical therapist after having multiple acl reconstructions most recent surgery a little over a year ago made me fall in love with the field. With that being said my current GPA isn't great at all and is around a 2.4 with 25 credits completed at a community college. Ive been in and out of college since graduating high school back in 2011 because of my multiple surgeries and due to the fact that i just didn't know what i wanted to do in life so i dropped a bunch of classes a few of them being pre-reqs for PT school. I do have a couple years until i apply to PT school so I'm just wondering what should be my plan of action and if this would affect my chances of admission at all when i do apply to PT schools in a couple years. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm 31 years old with two kids and was in worse shape than you! I had around 40 credit hours and a 1.8 GPA because I had no direction and just screwed around after high school. I went back to school about 3 years ago and just strived for 4.0s and brought my GPA up to a cumulative of about 3.4 - 3.5. Just work hard and make yourself more marketable. The GPA and GRE is only a small piece of the pie. You should consider building up your character and professional skills through community service, volunteer hours somewhere, become a Teaching Assistant, and become involved in research. Show that you are dedicated to improving your life along with the others around you! I applied this year and have had 2 interviews and been waitlisted for another program. So you have this! You will do great! Just stick through with your plan and be the best version of yourself possible!

 

[goldaline.my.dear]

So I definitely agree with previous posters that you have to have good grades and good GRE scores to snag a seat in a DPT cohort. Since you aren't at a 4 year yet I would take advantage of being able to take your prerequisites at a community college. It looks bad if you are at a 4 year and intentionally go to a CC to take prereqs. Schools are also more lenient for mistakes made as a freshman. So just make sure you get A's once you start, especially in anatomy. Your undergrad major doesn't matter a ton. Just make sure that when you do pick a major you pick something you know you will get good grades in. Once you get that bachelor's diploma your cGPA freezes and you can't change it.

Also be aware of the places you are applying. Some schools want incredibly high GPA's to make themselves look more prestigious. You might have to move from where you live if you are really committed to being a PT. Look at schools that care about you as a holistic person, if your GPA ends up not being perfect.

Lastly, you could always consider PTA. Since you have so little done at this point it could be in your best interest to take that route. It's a 2-year degree and it would allow you to graduate with a LOT less debt ANNNND way sooner. Depending on the place you work, PTA's can be just as respected as PT's. At my work, our PTA's even do re-checks just not initial evals, which means less paperwork and more patients for them. You can also still specialize as a PTA or own a clinic. I'm going the PT route but PTA is always something to consider. Best of luck!

If you want it you can definitely make PT your career 🙂