What is the Hardest part of getting into PT school?

[Bfraiz33]

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I'm currently starting classes for my path to pre-physical therapy, and am currently wondering what the hardest part of getting into PT school is? My current biology teacher told me that most colleges (UNMC) University Nebraska Medical Center won't take anything less than A's and out of 500 applicants 50 make the cut. Which these things only drive me more, but other than money, what would be the biggest obstacle of getting into PT school??

 

[Azimuthal]

From my observations, applicants usually reflect upon low GPA, i.e., <3.2C, <3.4Sc, then maybe the GREs, obtaining enough observation hours in different settings, and not developing lasting rapport with a few professors for LORs.

 

[SuperKirby]

Obviously many factors, however, if I had to pick ONE, just ONE factor, I'd say they look at GPA the most.
Meaning if one has somewhat of a low GPA, everything else has to be superb.
Also, this is not an underwritten criteria, but being in the military helps the application (once again assuming the GPA is decent).

 

[starrsgirl]

**One of the biggest things that hurt applicants is not becoming intimately familiar with the application requirements of the schools they are applying too. You literally need to go through the application requirement list line by line and make sure you meet every requirement. It seems dumb, but it's very easy to miss something tiny and your application will be automatically thrown out. Also check things like state residency requirements....a lot of state schools get applicants from out of state when they only accept a very small percentage.

I agree on the GPA answer....many of these programs make an initial cut (say of the hundreds of applications) looking only at a baseline cumulative GPA. So theoretically, they automatically cut anyone who doesn't meet their stated GPA (people who shouldn't have even applied) and then maybe they take the top 50% of everyone left. (If you think about it, this makes sense as there are probably too many applications for people to read every single one)

I think a lot of schools also factor in the GRE in this initial cut....but a high GRE won't outweigh poor grades and vice versa. From my experience, you don't have to blow the GRE out of the water, but you do need to make any minimum scores required by the school AND be very close or above their average accepted GRE. If you are a GRE "outlier", way on the low side of their applicants, that will hurt.

 

[NewTestament]

Too many applicants are not strategic when they apply. They apply to schools where they have no chance of being accepted. They don't do enough research or gather intelligence before they apply to schools. They think applying to more schools is better. This is not true. Applicants need to research the schools they're applying to and consider a number of factors: cost, location, curriculum, dismissal policy, etc.

Other challenges include meeting the minimum GPA and GRE score. Many applicants don't meet these requirements and still apply.

 

[SuperKirby]

I agree with the above statements.

I see too many applicants apply with a (for example) 2.9 GPA when the requirements is 3.0 GPA. I would immediately throw out that application because I have 300 other apps to read that actually meet the requirements.

 

[DesertPT]

From my observations, applicants usually reflect upon low GPA, i.e., <3.2C, <3.4Sc, then maybe the GREs, obtaining enough observation hours in different settings, and not developing lasting rapport with a few professors for LORs.

Definitely agreed.

 

[DesertPT]

I'm currently starting classes for my path to pre-physical therapy, and am currently wondering what the hardest part of getting into PT school is? My current biology teacher told me that most colleges (UNMC) University Nebraska Medical Center won't take anything less than A's and out of 500 applicants 50 make the cut. Which these things only drive me more, but other than money, what would be the biggest obstacle of getting into PT school??

50 out of 500 is optimistic at a lot of PT schools. Try 50 out of 1400 at some places. But probably at least 10% of the applicants at schools with these huge numbers don't get looked at because frankly they are idiots and apply to schools at which they don't meet the minimum requirements.

You don't necessarily have to have straight A's, but you certainly should shoot for having as high a GPA as possible. Having <3.5 will make your application process a whole lot harder and having >3.8 will make it a whole lot easier. In between somewhere is where most applicants are these days.

Also, I would caution you against relying on biology teachers for pre-PT info. People who are not really a part of the world of PT will often give you partially true or even straight up bad information, and even people who are in the world of PT will sometimes give you bad information. The websites of the schools you'd like to apply to, the admissions staff at those schools, and SDN are the best sources to turn to. The vast majority of questions about pre-PT have been answered in one form or another on this forum.

 

[DesertPT]

Also OP, if that is a picture of you as your profile pic, I would change it to something that isn't of you. that's always a safe bet.

 

[jjjDPT]

Accepting the loans/debt.

 

[DesertPT]

Accepting the loans/debt.