What Chances do i have of becoming a DPT??

[MedicineMike]

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I applied to a local university to start taking my pre-req courses for DPT school. I am a recent graduate from the University of Georgia (a year ago). I was an athlete in college and majored in Real Estate. My cum GPA was 2.66.

I am not sure that i can raise my GPA up to high enough standards even if i get all A's in my pre-reqs (8 classes). Would this be a problem? If i get a good GRE score and all A's do you think I would be in "strong/decent standing?"

Thanks for the advice.

 

[durandel]

FYI, I pretty much took all of my prereqs after graduating from a 4-year, got straight As, and (at the quarterly level), it raised my Cumulative GPA about 0.3 points. It seemed like a lot of effort for little gain, but it helped for sure.

I don't know that I'd say you'd be in strong standing, but you could probably make the initial cuts and be considered at some colleges, depending on what their standards were and whether they emphasized service time or scholastic achievement. I'd probably focus on getting in lots of varied experience in PT to add to the appeal of your application, and definitely focus on high grades on those 8 classes. Stay focused, and get in touch with advisors of schools you think you'd be interested in.

 

[thorn22]

Probably have to apply to the schools no one has ever heard of. I am sure someone would take you with those stats, however. You are the kind of candidate who's GRE is going to make or break you.

 

[MedicineMike]

yah, i wish i could take back my undergrad gpa. I was a jock who had a terribly rigerous schedule and cared more about competition than education. Which is why I am going back. I dislike the corporate world and have a strong passion for science/medicine.

I will be doing a lot of observing this summer with a lot of different PTs in many different specialties.

Do you need a 3.0 to be looked at?

 

[thorn22]

You will hear this 1,000,000 times, but: It varies depending on the school.

I would try to research some private schools, as they tend to get less applicants than state schools because their tuition is higher. This sometimes means that they have less-strict requirements, in order to entice more applicants for a bigger pool.

Just do your research.

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm...schools/acc_schools_map.cfm&process=3&type=PT is a great place to start

 

[Thumbyqui]

I would apply to the school you are most interested in. Do not worry about state schools vs. private schools.
Just focus this time you have on getting to know everything about the field of Physical Therapy, gain as much experience as you can and get great grades on your pre-reqs.
When you start the application process, you will have an opportunity to explain your poor gpa, and if the school thinks you are serious enough, they may look past it. Do not be discouraged, if you are passionate enough, you may make the cut!

 

[RochChalk]

While you are working on raising your GPA and studying for the GRE, try to shadow/volunteer with a PT. Even minimal volunteer experience (50 hrs) will somewhat help you get in to a school.

 

[exrx]

I applied to a local university to start taking my pre-req courses for DPT school. I am a recent graduate from the University of Georgia (a year ago). I was an athlete in college and majored in Real Estate. My cum GPA was 2.66.

I am not sure that i can raise my GPA up to high enough standards even if i get all A's in my pre-reqs (8 classes). Would this be a problem? If i get a good GRE score and all A's do you think I would be in "strong/decent standing?"

Thanks for the advice.

MedMike,

If I were in your shoes I would look at the programs that you are most interested in attending and speak with the chair/coordinator or whomever their designated person is. Explain your situation and what you are tyring to do. Ask them EXACTLY what you need to do to be a competitive applicant given your situation. Not annoyingly so, but build some rapport with them and keep in contact so they actually know who you are.

Aside from the prereqs/GRE perhaps it may behoove you to take recommended or other related classes such as pathophysiology, etc. Many classes can actually be taken online or at cc's. In any event, I would grab a surplus of PT hours in various settings as well. Not to sound cliche, but again, find out EXACTLY what you need to do, do your best, and try to go above and beyond.

 

[SteveMil]

I have almost a 2.9 and 1300 GRE, and got almost all rejections through PTCAS

If I don't get in, next year I'm applying to non-participating PTCAS schools (probably the private ones)

 

[Muscles00GT]

I have almost a 2.9 and 1300 GRE, and got almost all rejections through PTCAS

If I don't get in, next year I'm applying to non-participating PTCAS schools (probably the private ones)

Where did you go to school and what was your cum/pre-req GPA? Also, what about your rpe-reqs. That's a solid GRE right there.

MedMike- Don't give up hope. If you want it, you'll get it. Do well in your pre-req courses and talk to the coordinators of schools.

 

[thorn22]

I have almost a 2.9 and 1300 GRE, and got almost all rejections through PTCAS

If I don't get in, next year I'm applying to non-participating PTCAS schools (probably the private ones)

Thank you for posting this.

To all of you giving advice like "contact the schools that you are interested in!", I am not here to crash this poster's party, but I am a realist. And realism suggests that with a GPA lower than 3.0 (he has a 2.66....), good luck even getting a school to look at you, especially now with the PTCAS system. This does not mean all hope is lost, however.

I stand by my original advice as to contact and apply to schools that are "under the radar", are private, and are in a geographic loaction that you would not mind spending 3 years.

I am all for being optimistic, but some of you, given his stats are being unrealistic. There is a difference.

 

[MedicineMike]

Thank you for posting this.

To all of you giving advice like "contact the schools that you are interested in!", I am not here to crash this poster's party, but I am a realist. And realism suggests that with a GPA lower than 3.0 (he has a 2.66....), good luck even getting a school to look at you, especially now with the PTCAS system. This does not mean all hope is lost, however.

I stand by my original advice as to contact and apply to schools that are "under the radar", are private, and are in a geographic loaction that you would not mind spending 3 years.

I am all for being optimistic, but some of you, given his stats are being unrealistic. There is a difference.

I like your realism, however does this mean I should just not even bother with going to school? The reason my GPA is/was so low is because I got a athletic scholarship to University of Georgia and was 18/19 yrs old without any idea how to study. My first 2 years of undergrad were terrible. My schedule day-to-day was INSANE!!! I was constantly warn down and was supposed to focus on my sport and put school 2nd. My 3rd year of undergrad i realized that i needed to grow up and got my grades up. I learned what it took to earn good grades and did just that. I f'd up...So now i cant get into a PT program because of how i acted when i was an 18 yr old? I didnt know what the hell i was doin back then...

 

[thorn22]

I do not think PT school is out of the question for you. And I hope you did not take my post as being an attack on you personally. I simply think that you will have less options than other applicants, and therefore, need to be smart about where you apply. For example, do not apply to USC. Even though I am against the thought that they are the "#1" PT program in the country, I would bet my life savings you would not even get an interview. This is nothing against you, it's just that schools like USC get so many well-qualified applicants that you will be thrown in the Rejection pile as soon as they look over your file.

Instead, focus on smaller, less "popular" programs that are still accredited and are in a place that you would not mind going to school.

As I stated before, I do think you have what it takes to get into PT school, you just need a program that is willing to listen to your story and take a chance on you.

Oh yea, take the GRE... that will tell you a lot more about your options.

 

[Cyres]

You went to school and sucked it up on the grades. You wouldn't be the first person to screw up your as an 18/19 year old in college. Unfortunately, you're up against people who didn't. Had it been a private school with a reputation instead of a state school you'd be in better shape. Like the one guy said, with your GPA it isn't looking good. However, here's some things that can help:

If there is a 180 in your GPA during your junior and senior compared to your freshmen and sophomore years you've got a stronger shot. Especially, if you kept playing football and/or have additional notable extracurricular to go with it.
If you've done extremely well in the science pre-requisites.
If you can squeeze in any volunteer work with the disabled (special Olympics is a great example) and then work that into your application/interview.
If you can get some 80-100+ (the more the better) hours shadowing/observing a therapist(s) and then get a rock solid letter of recommendation from said therapist(s).
If you nail your GRE and get a great score.
If you retake classes you sucked it up in and get a better grade. In the end you'll get the average of the two which won't bring your GPA up a ton, but it will help and will show that you can handle the material and are serious about getting into a DPT school.
If your essay or whatever BS personal aspect of your application is amazingly well written and insightful.
If you interview very well.

Just a warning if you do get in, you'll likely be on a provisional basis (e.g. if your GPA is below 3.0 at the end of the first semester you're dismissed).

Best of luck to you.

 

[PTWannabe87]

I do not think PT school is out of the question for you. And I hope you did not take my post as being an attack on you personally. I simply think that you will have less options than other applicants, and therefore, need to be smart about where you apply. For example, do not apply to USC. Even though I am against the thought that they are the "#1" PT program in the country, I would bet my life savings you would not even get an interview. This is nothing against you, it's just that schools like USC get so many well-qualified applicants that you will be thrown in the Rejection pile as soon as they look over your file.

Instead, focus on smaller, less "popular" programs that are still accredited and are in a place that you would not mind going to school.

As I stated before, I do think you have what it takes to get into PT school, you just need a program that is willing to listen to your story and take a chance on you.

Oh yea, take the GRE... that will tell you a lot more about your options.

Any suggestions on which schools might be considered "less popular" but still accredited? I have a good GPA (3.4) but low GRE's (Q 610, V 380). Thanks!

 

[exrx]

I like your realism, however does this mean I should just not even bother with going to school? The reason my GPA is/was so low is because I got a athletic scholarship to University of Georgia and was 18/19 yrs old without any idea how to study. My first 2 years of undergrad were terrible. My schedule day-to-day was INSANE!!! I was constantly warn down and was supposed to focus on my sport and put school 2nd. My 3rd year of undergrad i realized that i needed to grow up and got my grades up. I learned what it took to earn good grades and did just that. I f'd up...So now i cant get into a PT program because of how i acted when i was an 18 yr old? I didnt know what the hell i was doin back then...

You're not the first person and you won't be the last in this situation. You def need to ace your prereqs and get a solid GRE. I still stick with my previous advice despite what THORN says. I do agree with him that you're not going to get into Wash U, USC, or even midlevel schools with your stats. You need to be realistic with your expectations. But I wouldn't just solely look at private schools in particular.

 

[thorn22]

East Tennessee State, Virginia Commonwealth, and AT Still University all have an overall GPA requirement of 2.7 or higher. This is the lowest I found. There are a handful at 2.75, with the majority being at 3.0

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=49367

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm...schools/acc_schools_map.cfm&process=3&type=PT

And PTWannabe87- I think with that GPA you should have quite a few options with schools. I dont think your GRE would really count against you since you have done pretty well in undergrad. But as always, every school weighs things differently. If you are that concerned about it, Look at the first link I posted an look for schools with no "x" in the GRE column. This means they dont even require it for admission.

 

[SteveMil]

Thank you for posting this.

To all of you giving advice like "contact the schools that you are interested in!", I am not here to crash this poster's party, but I am a realist. And realism suggests that with a GPA lower than 3.0 (he has a 2.66....), good luck even getting a school to look at you, especially now with the PTCAS system. This does not mean all hope is lost, however.

I stand by my original advice as to contact and apply to schools that are "under the radar", are private, and are in a geographic loaction that you would not mind spending 3 years.

I am all for being optimistic, but some of you, given his stats are being unrealistic. There is a difference.

Thorn is right, he needs a strategic approach to his application process.
For example, I got all rejections from PTCAS (except one waitlist), and I applied to 11 schools.

 

[JMPThopeful]

Cyres made some great points--can't go wrong with that advice.

 

[pttrac]

I would take the advice of others on here. You can do a few things to get the admissions board to take a look at your application. Your combined G.P.A will increase if you ace all your pre-req classes, so that might help a little. Doing all of these things might grant you an interview, so make sure you do well on that portion. Apply everywhere and don't hold back. I applied to 12 schools this year because I know that it was going to be way more competitve and I got into 2 so far and wait listed for a lot more. Don't give up and you can always reapply if you're really determined.

GREs (> 1200)
Prerequisite G.P.A (>3.5)
Great letters of Recommendation
Volunteer/Work at different facilities

 

[PTea]

I have to agree with pttrac...Don't give up!!!!. Save up some money for applications and apply to as many REALISTIC schools as you can. All you need to do is get in...be picky once you get accepted! Just because a school uses ptcas doesn't mean they don't re-evaluate your gpa and other statistics. PTCAS really screws up your average depending on what classes you did badly in and not all colleges have the same gpa standards. I know that UMDNJ-Newark in particular re-evaluates everyones folders, gpas and what undergrad you came from regardless of what ptcas gives them. While they'll consider the gpa on that info bundle sent out from ptcas, its also just an easier way for the schools to handle the huge influx of applicants each year. SO DO NOT GET DETERED BY THAT.
Also, in response to applying just to private schools, remember most of these schools are 20 to 30 THOUSAND dollars more expensive then your pick of the run state schools will be and you need to be realistic in knowing what you can pay for before you get your heart set on it..it seems silly but its something people seem to forget about until you get accepted and realize the money is too much to afford. Ive seen it alot and it breaks my heart to see people get in and then realize they can't go because of money 🙁
One of the biggest pieces of advice i can give is APPLY EARLY! Even if you gpa is lower..it is absolutely true for almost any school that the early bird gets the worm with DPT acceptances, esp when you apply against kids who have higher gpas or GRE's and get too confident that they wont have any problem even if they wait till the last minute. I have talked to numerous schools admissions ..all 8 of the schools i applied to advised this strongly. I sent my application in the first week I could and got into 4 of them. My gpa was right around average with just over 1000 gres. Thats really all you need sometimes if you have strong pre--req science gpa, good recomendation letters and solid personality. I hope this helps and don't give up! All you can do is give it a shot....if you don't go for it the answer will be no anyway so u don't have anything to loose! Good luck!😀

 

[Physio2010]

I am in the same boat as the original poster--kind of.

According to PTCAS, my cumulative undergrad GPA is 3.04, but if repeated courses are not included it is 3.6-something. However, I have all my pre-reqs done and that GPA is 4.0.

Is it possible to be admitted with grades like this? I didn't really realize how bad my overall was until the PTCAS....

Does anyone have suggestions on what I could do to make myself a stronger applicant? Would it be better to ace the GRE or get lots of observation?

Thankx 🙂

 

[MinnDasota]

Just to chime in, I believe the PTCAS have made applying to schools and getting accepted much harder as it opens up admissions to most anyone. So I am glad I got in when I did and finished when I did.

I will have to respectfully disagree to those who say to apply to private schools. Just because it's private doesn't mean they will have a smaller applicant pool. Even if it is a smaller applicant pool, it doesn't mean it will be easier to get in. All schools will put you under a microscope and will see how you compare to the rest of the incoming class and how well you are suited for the field.

I say when you are ready to apply, apply early and often, no matter the type of school and then weigh your options thereafter. You do need to bring your grades up and score well on your GREs to give you a better chance. That should be where your worries lie. You will have to dictate how your GRE and GPA ends up as you can control that. When you apply, make your application as stellar as possible as you can control that. You also decide what schools are fit for you, thus you are in control of that. Then you apply to those schools.

After all this, you have to let everything fall into place as there is nothing more for you to do but wait. If you don't make it in this first time around, look at what you could've improved from the first time you applied and try to improve on that.

Moral of my story? Do whatever you can to make yourself a better candidate from here on out as you control this. If you do this, then all you can say is that I did what I could do vs. I should've done better or done more. Hopefully it will be enough!

Good luck!

 

[MinnDasota]

Does anyone have suggestions on what I could do to make myself a stronger applicant? Would it be better to ace the GRE or get lots of observation?

Thankx 🙂

Why not try to do both? That's what I would recommend!

 

[durandel]

Just to chime in, I believe the PTCAS have made applying to schools and getting accepted much harder as it opens up admissions to most anyone.

Yes, this certainly appears to be the case. That being said, if more people applied to more schools, I suspect there are simultaneously more people who "agreed" to attend 1 school while waiting to see if they get into their waitlisted school. For example, an east coaster may have applied to 10 schools given the easy-to-use nature of PTCAS, been rejected by 6, waitlisted at 3 east coast schools and accepted to 1 west coast. So they "agree" to attend the west coast school as their backup plan, but odds are they'll end up getting into at least one of those remaining 3, at which they'll back out of the west coast school.

By people aplying to more schools than previously due to the PTCAS factor, there will be more frantic last-minute shuffling around among the schools.

 

[laserredmustang]

It is very important to find out the stat's of the incoming class, even at the lower end schools the class average is much higher than the baseline GPA requirement.

 

[lirpa]

Just to point out something that no one has really mentioned..all the schools I researched and the one I am attending where very clear about the fact that they MAINLY focus on your pre req gpa!
Yes your overal should be around a 3.0, but if that is the only thing you are lacking you still have a good shot!
Get a solid pre-req gpa,
solid gre
solid letters of rec
tons of hours
strong EC's and auto
and I will bet Money you or anyone in that position wil be fine, now if you are 25 and it took you 8 years to get through undergrad and ended up with a 2.6 and are applying, i wouldnt say the same but most schools are very different and look at a varity of things when choosing applicants so explain yourself in your auto and ace your pre-reqs youll be fine!

 

[marathoner04]

I like your realism, however does this mean I should just not even bother with going to school? The reason my GPA is/was so low is because I got a athletic scholarship to University of Georgia and was 18/19 yrs old without any idea how to study. My first 2 years of undergrad were terrible. My schedule day-to-day was INSANE!!! I was constantly warn down and was supposed to focus on my sport and put school 2nd. My 3rd year of undergrad i realized that i needed to grow up and got my grades up. I learned what it took to earn good grades and did just that. I f'd up...So now i cant get into a PT program because of how i acted when i was an 18 yr old? I didnt know what the hell i was doin back then...

Hi,
Like many people said before, you should talk to individual schools and have a serious conversation about what you could to to improve your chances of acceptance. However, your GPA is really low and the justification that you used above is no excuse because there are plenty of other people who are athletes and properly balanced out their schoolwork. And those are the people who you will compete against to get a spot in the class. Realistically, people are going to take the people who balanced out their undergrad years versus someone who figured it out later. I would suggest getting straight A's and a high GRE and lots of observation hours to compensate for it--the schools need to know that you're serious--grad school isn't undergrad. If you need any help, let me know.
All the best =)