What percent of applications do colleges deny on average?

[Aero SSX]

EDIT: *Actually, this is a silly question as I realize that the program can only accept so many applicants. The better question is: Is it extremely typical for most colleges to receive an overload of applications?*

I'm wondering because I was doing some research on schools and came across this page: http://www.midwestern.edu/programs-and-admission/az-physical-therapy.html

Look at the admissions acceptance part on the third section down. Now to my knowledge this isn't a particularly special school, considering the average accepted GPA is 3.48. And yet TWELVE percent of applicants were accepted, and only SIX percent joined the program? Holy smokes.

Now obviously this is a problem with too many applicants...but is this typical of most programs? Seems a little crazy if you ask me. At any rate, my transcript is nothing particularly special as of right now. So I plan on improving it and doing all the things I should do. On top of that, when I go to apply to colleges in the next couple years or so, I'm planning on narrowing my college list down to about 10 colleges...all of which I will probably apply to to be safe.

Your thoughts?

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[jasonc]

Yup, this is pretty typical. That's why people apply to many programs and apply several years.

This might be helpful:
http://www.ptcas.org/uploadedFiles/PTCASorg/About_PTCAS/2011_12_PTCASApplicantDataRpt.pdf

But you have to consider non-PTCAS schools and that this was from a couple years back.

 

[Aero SSX]

So for a typical applicant who has, say a 3.5-3.6 GPA, average GRE and all typical requirements, how many colleges do you think they should apply for? I probably won't be attending PT school until around 2016. I'm sure it will be even more competitive by then. Maybe at that point, one with typical scores should consider 10-15 schools?

 

[livelifelifting]

I interviewed at UM recently and they said that they'd received 900 apps already! That's before a ton of people's had even been mailed by PTCAS. The competition is just insane.

I think the absolute key is to apply early early early. From what I saw at UM, the people who applied near the deadline might not even get considered without flawless stats.

 

[02143]

I would personally suggest applying to 5-8 schools. When I applied last year, I applied to 2 "reach" schools, 2 "safety schools", and 3 schools that were right in my range. I wouldn't suggest applying to more than 10 or 12 schools because honestly it gets expensive really fast. Plus, interviews start to conflict and plane tickets/travel costs really add up. Additionally, once you interview, if you are accepted, you have to commit typically within 2 weeks. So if you apply to over 10 schools, you may end up putting down multiple deposits because you have no idea where you want to go yet - which again gets pretty expensive. (Deposits can range anywhere from $100 to $500+). Between the cost for the GRE, application costs, travel costs for interviews, and deposits, I spent somewhere between $1500 and $2000.

Also - one other suggestion, be realistic when you are applying. I definitely suggest having a dream school that you're not sure you'll get into (in fact, I'm in school at my "reach" school that I thought I totally wouldn't get into). But, at the same time, if your numbers are well below average and don't meet minimum requirements, don't apply to the #1 school in the country. Know your application and find schools that fit your needs, but also find schools that are looking for applicants like yourself. Hopefully that makes sense!

 

[Aero SSX]

Excellent post. You summed it up perfectly and it makes sense. I totally didn't even think about traveling for interviews! I can see how applying to so many can get a bit out of hand. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I think I'll stick to 10 as my cap.

Do you guys take into consideration the % of out-of-state/in-state residents accepted as well? I mean let's say I live in Texas and have average grades and average GRE. I suppose it would be foolish to apply to too many out-of-state colleges where only 10% of the accepted students are from out-of-state, and the average accepted GRE/GPA was upper 150s/4.5-5.0 writing and 3.75 GPA.

Anyway, I actually live in Minnesota. I have a few places near me that have reciprocity with Minnesota, such as North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, but they're not all that easy to get into as an out-of-state resident. Other than that, I have four in my state, but three are private and harder to get into, and the public school is University of Minnesota, which isn't exactly the cheapest/easiest public school to get into.

I was considering a few around these states for cheapness and maybe a couple around Arizona/Florida/California, mainly because I may like the location. I have 25 colleges on my list right now, so I need to trim off about 15....take out most that have 10-30% acceptance rate for out-of-state applicants?

 

[1027453812]

Hello Everyone!

I think this is a great topic that needs to be discussed.

We all must be aware that any graduate degree (especially at the doctoral level) will be competitive. If we're looking at between 30-90 seats with about 700+ applicants per school it becomes increasingly difficult to apply for PT school. However, you must also considered the impact PTCAS had on admissions. Now I do not know such numbers, but I would expect that the birth the PTCAS has allowed students to simply 'check off' schools on PTCAS without really double checking every single minute detail that schools require each student to have. Sometimes some schools will simply not look at applications if they do not meet the pre-requisites and it is up to us to communicate with these schools and use our judgment to see as to which schools can we apply to based on our coursework.

Secondly, I think it's best to assess your strengths and weaknesses and figure out how you can best appeal to a school. Do you find yourself to be a better people's person and would think that you can express yourself better in person as opposed to paper? Would an interview be a better way to showcase your experiences and qualities? Do you think the GRE is a measure of academic ability? Theres a multitude of things to consider and I think it's best to look at each school and see if

1) Do I meet their pre-reqs?
2) Do they take the GRE?
3) Do they conduct interviews?
4) Letters of Recommendation - Are there specific people I need to ask?
5) Deadlines
etc. (it can be a long list)

Although I may still be an applicant, this have been tips that have been given to me from current DPT students. With the field growing as it is, I believe that schools may become more competitive, but I do feel that more opportunities will arise for aspiring PT's, OT's, and Speech Therapists alike. So no matter what, do not worry about numbers, and apply! Who knows what kind of qualities some schools may like about you

 

[HughLee]

PTCAS released information about the last application cycle (admitted in 2013). All of this information is just PTCAS, so it does not include non-PTCAS schools. 15616 total applicants. 7176 received at least one offer (45.95%).

16% applied to just one school, 50% to 1-4 schools, 60% to 1-5 schools, 75% to 1-7 schools, 91% to 1-11 schools, and 95.5% applied to 1-14 schools, and 99% to 1-21 schools.

 

[livelifelifting]

PTCAS released information about the last application cycle (admitted in 2013). All of this information is just PTCAS, so it does not include non-PTCAS schools. 15616 total applicants. 7176 received at least one offer (45.95%).

16% applied to just one school, 50% to 1-4 schools, 60% to 1-5 schools, 75% to 1-7 schools, 91% to 1-11 schools, and 95.5% applied to 1-14 schools, and 99% to 1-21 schools.

Where did you get that info from? I don't see that they've released the new report yet.

 

[HughLee]

Where did you get that info from? I don't see that they've released the new report yet.

PTCAS releases the information to PT programs.

 

[HughLee]

Based on the past 2 or 3 years, about 1/3 of the applications that we receive do not meet our minimal standards (prereq GPA > 3.0, undergrad GPA > 2.75, and 5/8 prereq classes completed). From reading posts by other PT faculty on this site, this seems to be fairly common. Of the 2/3's left, we interview about 1/2 of those. So 1/3 not qualified, 1/3 qualified but not interviewed, 1/3 qualified and interviewed. This ratio may change this year.