What can a non-trad student do to increase odds of DPT acceptance?

[PTNT]

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Hi all,

I was looking for some advice and anecdotes from non-traditional students who have been accepted into a DPT program.

I have a BA in an unrelated field (English, 3.5 GPA) and no PT experience yet.

In order of importance, what should I be focusing on to improve my chances of getting accepted into a program?

Thank you kindly,
Josh

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

we have a former math teacher in our PT class, as well as quite a few other non-traditional students, so you're not alone! 🙂

I'm sort of a non-traditional student, as my undergrad degree is in communications/dance, so I had to take a year to take ALL the prereqs because I had none of the science or math (at least I had the English/psych classes! haha).

I would say start by taking the prerequisite classes, and making sure you get at least a B in everything. Also take the GRE if you haven't already, and get lots of experience shadowing. I'm not really sure there's a ranking as far as what is most important - every program is different. I would say shadowing is probably very important for you, just so you make sure that PT is what you want to do (the application process in itself is a commitment, not to mention once you're in school).

What makes you want to do PT if you have no experience in it yet? How long has it been since graduating?

 

[PTNT]

we have a former math teacher in our PT class, as well as quite a few other non-traditional students, so you're not alone! 🙂

I'm sort of a non-traditional student, as my undergrad degree is in communications/dance, so I had to take a year to take ALL the prereqs because I had none of the science or math (at least I had the English/psych classes! haha).

I would say start by taking the prerequisite classes, and making sure you get at least a B in everything. Also take the GRE if you haven't already, and get lots of experience shadowing. I'm not really sure there's a ranking as far as what is most important - every program is different. I would say shadowing is probably very important for you, just so you make sure that PT is what you want to do (the application process in itself is a commitment, not to mention once you're in school).

What makes you want to do PT if you have no experience in it yet? How long has it been since graduating?

Thanks. I plan to start taking pre-reqs soon and will certainly aim for high GPA. I graduated in 2008 and have been working in Marketing Communications since then.

I'm interested in PT mostly because I want a more engaging career working with people, and I've always been a physical/active person with an interest in exercise and the human body. I went to my dad's PT sessions after his knee surgery and was interested in the profession, that's about the only exposure I've had so far.

So yes, I plan on doing a lot of volunteering/shadowing to make sure this is for me before I do anything else, I just want to start getting a plan together in my mind 🙂

 

[Yohan]

I'm a non-traditional student that will be starting DPT this fall and here is what I did...

I focused on getting A's in all of my remaining pre-reqs (while forming good relationships with my professors so that I would get a great LOR from one of them) and studying for the GRE with a goal of 1100. Also, while taking my prereqs I got involved with my community and starting volunteering with a variety of programs. I tried to choose programs that would either demonstrate leadership (ie coach, camp counselor, official, etc.) or ability to work with a diverse group of people (ie young, old, disabled, etc). Along with volunteering I started a youth injury prevention program for the youth sports leagues in my community.

I shadowed at as many different clinics as I could when I had some free time. When school was done I decided to get a job as a PT aide (even though it was a HUGE financial blow) which allowed me to be around PT 40 hours a week and learn a great deal about the profession. I worked in a big clinic with a lot of therapist with different specialties and that exposure allowed me to become educated in current events and different aspects of PT, which gave me a great deal to talk about at the interviews. It also allowed me to form great relationships with PTs, which in turn produced great LOR's. Working with many different therapist really came in handy when it was time to write my personal essay, as each of them were willing to critic it.

This response is getting a little lengthy so in conclusion I will say... get your numbers as high as possible, be able to demonstrate leadership and ability to work with a diverse population in your extra-curricular activities, write a great personal essay, and get great LOR's (both from PTs and professors) and you should be in business.

Good Luck!

 

[PTNT]

I'm a non-traditional student that will be starting DPT this fall and here is what I did...

I focused on getting A's in all of my remaining pre-reqs (while forming good relationships with my professors so that I would get a great LOR from one of them) and studying for the GRE with a goal of 1100. Also, while taking my prereqs I got involved with my community and starting volunteering with a variety of programs. I tried to choose programs that would either demonstrate leadership (ie coach, camp counselor, official, etc.) or ability to work with a diverse group of people (ie young, old, disabled, etc). Along with volunteering I started a youth injury prevention program for the youth sports leagues in my community.

I shadowed at as many different clinics as I could when I had some free time. When school was done I decided to get a job as a PT aide (even though it was a HUGE financial blow) which allowed me to be around PT 40 hours a week and learn a great deal about the profession. I worked in a big clinic with a lot of therapist with different specialties and that exposure allowed me to become educated in current events and different aspects of PT, which gave me a great deal to talk about at the interviews. It also allowed me to form great relationships with PTs, which in turn produced great LOR's. Working with many different therapist really came in handy when it was time to write my personal essay, as each of them were willing to critic it.

This response is getting a little lengthy so in conclusion I will say... get your numbers as high as possible, be able to demonstrate leadership and ability to work with a diverse population in your extra-curricular activities, write a great personal essay, and get great LOR's (both from PTs and professors) and you should be in business.

Good Luck!

Very helpful, thanks. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

Were you working full-time while taking pre-reqs? What were you doing before pursuing DPT?

 

[markelmarcel]

I'm also a non-trad student who got accepted to 2 of the 3 (waitlisted at 3rd) schools I applied to.

I went back to school full-time for one year to take all my pre-reqs and I got all A's (and two B's grrr). On top of that I lead an active lifestyle teaching indoor cycling classes and already have my CPR/AED/First Aid certs. I wasn't shy about putting in my extra-cirriculars in from my undergrad. I know that they aren't directly related to PT, but I wanted to show that when I did my undergrad I was very involved (hoping that it would be a way to say "when I do something, I do it right").

Besides that I didn't do much over what was required of me hours wise (I think I did about 110 hours) and once I was done with classes/started applying I got a full-time job.

I had a really high undergrad GPA (3.92) so after my pre-reqs it actually brought it down to a 3.89 (and that irks me! ha! Stupid Bio 1!!! and physiology!) but obviously, I still had a really high GPA.

I think that since I had a great GPA from my undergrad, I just proved that I could apply myself to also do well in the pre-req classes which should prove that even though I don't have a related background degree, I can succeed in the sciences.

Anyway- it seems like you'll be a strong candidate- and a lot of schools actually like people with varying backgrounds because it makes for a diverse group and we all know diversity is a big thing 😉 -- So long story short- use your "differences" to your advantage!

 

[Yohan]

Very helpful, thanks. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

Were you working full-time while taking pre-reqs? What were you doing before pursuing DPT?

I did work full-time while taking most of my pre-reqs, although I did take about 9 months off so I could take a full-time schedule to finish up my pre-reqs. After my pre-reqs where complete, I started working full time as an aide instead of going back to my previous job.

As far as my previous career goes, I worked construction for about 7 years and was a heavy equipment operator/foreman for the last 4 years. I really enjoyed that job (plus it payed pretty well), but I always knew I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life. I just needed a break from school for a while. It might have been a little longer than I originally planned, but I wouldn't change anything about it.

 

[BeesFan2011]

I graduated with a BA in sociology, then worked in two entirely non-PT related fields (theatre and higher education) for a few years, and am headed for UConn this fall. I didn't have any of my science pre-reqs either, so I took them at community college at night and on weekends. I could only handle one course while working full-time, so it took me 3 years to finish them. Even though it took a long time, I think that doing only one course at a time helped me to get a higher GPA, as others have mentioned above. I also found an outpatient PT clinic with Saturday hours, so I was able to get 90 hours of observation that way. Hope this helps you!

 

[PTNT]

I graduated with a BA in sociology, then worked in two entirely non-PT related fields (theatre and higher education) for a few years, and am headed for UConn this fall. I didn't have any of my science pre-reqs either, so I took them at community college at night and on weekends. I could only handle one course while working full-time, so it took me 3 years to finish them. Even though it took a long time, I think that doing only one course at a time helped me to get a higher GPA, as others have mentioned above. I also found an outpatient PT clinic with Saturday hours, so I was able to get 90 hours of observation that way. Hope this helps you!

Thanks! What was your GRE score? Did you do anything else that added value to your application?

 

[BeesFan2011]

I got a 1220 on my GREs. I know I made sure to emphasize that I worked full-time while taking classes, and also served as a personal care attendant to a disabled relative. I think I might have also mentioned that I work with my local community theater as an extra-curricular activity.

Your undergrad GPA was very similar to mine, so if you keep up the GPA on your science pre-reqs, you should be a strong candidate!

 

[okramango]

I am also a nontraditional student and planning on starting my prereqs full time this fall. I will apply to PT school next year, to start in 2013. I got my BA in Anthropology in 1998, and since then worked in many types of jobs as well as traveled all over the world. In the last five years, I've been self-employed as a bodyworker and teaching therapeutic movement classes through my own clinical practice. I love this work and see PT as a way to grow more deeply into this field that I love. My undergrad GPA was 3.6, and I plan on bringing that up with my prereqs. I'm already looking for clinics where I can start shadowing, and have signed up for the GRE. I do plan on continuing to work during my prereqs, though I don't think I will be able to work full time, because I don't want my grades to suffer.

I think there are a lot of nontraditional students going into PT. We have a lot of life experiences that enrich our learning, which ultimately means we will be better therapists for our clients. Good luck everyone!

 

[Berzerkernuts]

I am a non-traditional student finishing my first year in a DPT program, and I would say that the most important thing to focus on is being yourself.
Here's where I'm coming from: I had a BFA degree in theater design and my undergraduate GPA was about a 2.8, so my focus in preparing to apply to PT school was acing all of my prerequiste courses in order to pull my GPA up to the acceptable 3.0 (thankfully I was successful). I took all of the prereqs at a community college, 2 classes at a time while I worked full time. I also got a 1360 on the GRE (thankfully I'm also good at taking tests). I did my volunteer hours on the weekends at an inpatient rehab hospital and an outpatient ortho clinic. I was accepted to 4 of the 5 schools that I applied to.
In my experience it seemed as though PT schools care about who you are and how ready for a DPT program you are, not what your undergrad major was. There are plenty of other students in my program who studied unrelated things and worked in unrelated fields. Your GPA seems strong, so don't worry about that. Take your prereqs, do some volunteer work/observation, and if you still feel passionate that this is the career for you, that will show through in your essays, recommendations and interviews. Good Luck!