What are my chances for DPT school?

[yogalover222]

Hello!

So I know these posts are kind of annoying, but I am just trying to figure out my "game plan" for applying to DPT school this summer. Long story short, I was pre med in undergrad, and then had a quarter life crisis and now I live in Spain and teach english (lol). I did however complete all the prereqs for both med and DPT school during undergrad. Anyways, here are my stats:

major: nutrition, minor in psych, wrote honors thesis
overall GPA: 3.68
prereq GPA: 3.2-3.3ish (I got all A's except for a B- in exercise phys, a C+ in physiology and a C in anatomy--I KNOW, SO BAD. It was my 5th year of college and I was literally out of motivation...which is why I've taken a gap year and couldn't go straight into med or grad school)

I haven't taken the GRE yet or done shadowing. I'm going to start studying for the GRE and take it soon. I've taken the MCAT and did well, so I think I will do well on the GRE. For shadowing, I was going to do it when I get home from Spain in May, and then have my application ready to send out in late July/early August.

As far as extra curricular/application boosters, I have some. I have lots of leadership experience in undergrad in different student orgs, countless hospital volunteer experience, I wrote an honors research thesis in nutrition, I am bilingual, run marathons.

I guess my main question is: will the B in exercise phys, the C+ in physiology and the C in anatomy kill my application? I really don't want to retake those classes if it isn't necessary, but I would like to get accepted for the 2015 starting class.

Thanks for any input!

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[Ptroni91]

I think you should retake anatomy and physiology, if you do that and get at least B's - then you'll have a solid chance of getting into programs.

 

[LWDPT]

I think it might be a challenge with the low anatomy grades but your high GPA (total) might give you a chance. You will need to get some experience in as many PT settings as you can to be a viable candidate for PT school though. They want to see inpatient, outpatient, geriatrics, kids, school district, cardiac etc. Even if you only do 20 hours each place it shows that you know you really want to be a PT. I got a B- in Anatomy and a B+ in phys. and I retook the anatomy series at a community college and got A+ in both. It was totally worth it! I have a lower overall GPA and higher prereq GPA and over 2000 hours in PT clinics. I got into the first school I heard from, still waiting to hear from 6 other schools. It would be cool if you could get some experience in Spain, they might like to see some diversity.

 

[yogalover222]

@LWDPT When did you retake your anatomy? If I tried to take it somewhere this summer and improved my grades, would that be too late in the application process do you think?

 

[HughLee]

I would recommend retaking both the anatomy and physiology classes. A 3.2-3.3 prerequisite GPA is acceptable at most schools, but would likely not be very competitive. Most places do not care if you take them at a 4-year college or a community college. I would recommend starting to look for a class right away. Many schools do not offer lab science courses over the summer, or at limited times. If the schools that you are interested in have fall deadlines, or you want to go through Early Decision, take the courses over the summer. There are some schools that offer Anatomy and Physiology courses online, but not that many.

 

[LWDPT]

@LWDPT When did you retake your anatomy? If I tried to take it somewhere this summer and improved my grades, would that be too late in the application process do you think?

I don't think it would be too late! I did it over the summer and fall, so my summer grades were submitted first round and you do an academic update part way through the year with PTCAS. They see you are retaking it when you apply, which can be a benefit!

 

[DesertPT]

Yes, the C's are going to hurt and a 3.2 isn't stellar...there are literally thousands of threads on this forum and throughout the internet telling you what to do in your situation. Read up.

 

[yogalover222]

UPDATE: My prereq GPA would actually be all A's and then the C in anatomy and physiology. I read how to calculate it wrong. It doesn't really make much of a difference though bc I've figured out that I just need to suck it up and retake anatomy and physio since they are such important classes for DPT. Literally the only C's I got in undergrad were those and it was just because I was lazy. WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME.

 

[HughLee]

Have you thought of applying this year? There are still some schools out there which are still accepting applications, though you would have to get the supplementary information in fast.

 

[NewTestament]

WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME.

Everybody on this board wishes that. Welcome to SDN Forum.