I am about to finish my last undergrad semester in the spring, and I will end up with around a 3.5 cumulative and 3.1 prerequisite GPA. The reason why my prerequisite GPA is low is because I ended up with C's in both of my General Chemistry courses. And of course, those are my only 2 C's my entire time here in college. It has brought my prerequisite GPA down a lot, and that is why I am really confused if I should apply for PT school. I have around 72 observation hours, and have played college football the past 4 years so I guess I was wondering if that could pull any weight as well. I do not plan on taking the GRE, so I was looking at applying for a school that does not require it. But I guess will all that said, I am wondering if anyone out there has any advice for me as a 22 year old scared for my professional future.
What are my chances of getting into PT school?
- Thread starter cr39284
- Start date
DSDPT2022
Full Member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2022
- Messages
- 97
- Reaction score
- 39
You never really know until you apply. My combined stats are below what some universities look at. Some just straight up rejected me for it which is disheartening even when my last 60 hours and trending & pre-requisites scores are much much higher. Just really depends on where you apply. You’re probably gonna have to take the GRE even if you don’t want to. I applied to St. Augustine and they accepted me. My last 60 hours was 3.55 and trend was 3.65. Pre-req was a 3.41 if I remember correctly. I think you can get in, just depends on where you apply.
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2011
- Messages
- 20,297
- Reaction score
- 15,336
I usually recommend 50 to 100 hours of observation or shadowing. I definitely recommend getting exposure to different things that PT's can do. Do you have enough experience with older populations or those with mobility challenges from illness? Application review does put a lot of weight on course grades since many of these programs are very condensed.
Look at the schools closest to where you live and start connecting with their admissions team to get more insights on what you need to do before applying. Pay attention to their board pass rate and where graduates wind up.
Look at the schools closest to where you live and start connecting with their admissions team to get more insights on what you need to do before applying. Pay attention to their board pass rate and where graduates wind up.
You still meet minimal requirements but your chances of getting in will depend on how competitive the school is.
Most schools require a minimum of 80 observation hours, and some require that it is a mixture of outpatient and inpatient, so keep an eye on that when applying.
College football can be a good talking point in an interview but won't make any difference to your initial application.
Most schools require the GREs, so that will greatly reduce how many schools you can apply to. My school only required the written portion of the GRE which was nice, not sure how common that is. If you find that you really need to take the GREs, you might want to consider shelling out for a GRE prep course. I didn't do this but if my school had required the entire GRE score I would have very strongly considered it.
Big picture, 22 is is pretty young
so don't be scared, it isn't the end of the world if you take a gap year or even two. Good luck!
