What to do when you can't get in to PT School

[pennstategirl]

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So during my 4th year of college I realized that my 2.1 GPA was not good enough to even apply to PT school. I am a kinesiology major and decided to take a 5th year and get my minor in psychology to save me some time. I have no idea what to do my ultimate goal was to go to PT school and that doesn't seem like an option. I have talked to my advisor and they have not offered me any useful advice. Any advice on where to go from here?

 

[KurtPlisskin]

Take enough classes to get a 4.0 GPA as your last 60 credit hours, then target schools that only or mainly look at your last 60 hours. Then pray.

 

[Rudolph Mitchell]

What KurtPlisskin said. My undergrad GPA was a 2.08. I'm taking prereqs right now and am building my last 60 Credits GPA. If I don't get in on my first shot then I'll just take more classes and re-apply. Don't give up!

 

[Azimuthal]

Look into schools that will look at your last 60/90 units. If those schools are desirable, then get all A's in all the classes you have left. Retake prerequisite courses for A's. Calculate your projected GPA and then determine if the effort will even be worth it. Then study your butt off for the GRE's. I would be targeting >75-percentile in each category. It's an uphill battle.

Also, 2.1 as a Kinesiology major? Are you ready to put in some effort now or are we all wasting our time and your money?

 

[tweaze]

It's not game over to graduate from your four year school. I don't know what completing a minor in psychology and staying in school for an additional year will do beyond possibly raising your cumulative GPA. There are diminishing returns to accumulating more credits - you can possibly raise your GPA, but the more credits you get, the less of an impact it has on your GPA. It may be more beneficial to graduate and then retake your prerequisite classes at community college - it will save you money and raise both your prereq GPA and your cum GPA. Also, for many DPT programs you really only need a few social science classes.

With all of this said - why such low grades over all four years? Were the classes too challenging, or did you not apply yourself?

If it's the latter, I don't think it looks great to be doing damage control only now, but if you do commit to good study habits and work hard, you could probably retake your prereqs with good grades, and then apply at the schools mentioned above that mostly consider the last 60/90 credits. If it's the former, you could do the same (with seriously evaluating your current study skills and maybe getting a tutor), but I would be worried about going to PT school - it will be harder than the prerequisites and undergrad work.

You could also consider taking some time off school - work for a while, consider your career goals. You don't need a degree to get an aide job, or you could work in a different field entirely, or consider completing a technical certification in some area of the allied health field (though I don't know how competitive those are grades wise). You may have more success returning to school after some time away, or you may find that you are drawn to another field. I have a hard time suggesting more school when it's clear you have struggled through the last four years.

 

[DesertPT]

What is the story of why you struggled so much in college? If you are willing to share of course.

I don't see doing a super-senior year for a psych minor will help much. Getting strait A's for a year of school when you have already got 120+ credits is not going to raise your cumulative GPA even close to the 3.0 minimum that a majority of PT schools have. Some schools have a 2.75 but even that may not happen.

Taking another two full years of classes to get another 60+ credits, and getting essentially a 4.0 in those credits, is the only realistic option I see. Or perhaps you have a truly exceptional story and can get that GPA to a 2.75 and get lucky and sneak in somewhere (probably have to apply to 15+ schools).

The whole process involved in any of these options is going to require a huge amount of time and money. From a financial standpoint, continuing with more and more years of undergrad/post-bac classes is a high risk investment. That doesn't mean it can't be done, but it means it will take an exceptional degree of stamina, perseverance and quite a bit of luck.

If rehabilitation is truly your passion, you should at least consider cutting your losses and going to PTA school. Instead of spending the next two years doing tons more random undergrad coursework you could spend it getting an associates degree that is worth a lot more than the bachelors degree you currently have.

 

[DesertPT]

Also, 2.1 as a Kinesiology major? Are you ready to put in some effort now or are we all wasting our time and your money?

I have to agree here. We don't know your story of course, but if you have pulled a 2.1 in undergrad what makes you confident you can handle PT school?

 

[jbizzle]

Also, 2.1 as a Kinesiology major? Are you ready to put in some effort now or are we all wasting our time and your money?

^This. I'm not trying to kick you when you're down...but…yeah…if you know my history I had a low GPA too so I'm all for underdogs, but it didn't take me until my senior year to realize I needed to shape up, I don't know your story so I'm sorry for being insensitive.

I would ask you one question, it comes from the movie office space, and I'm not trying to be funny. What would you do If you had a million dollars?

Oh and also…I'm scratching my head on this but…can you even graduate with a 2.1? I thought schools kicked you out at like a 2.5

 

[KurtPlisskin]

"This. I'm not trying to kick you when you're down...but…yeah…if you know my history I had a low GPA too so I'm all for underdogs, but it didn't take me until my senior year to realize I needed to shape up, I don't know your story so I'm sorry for being insensitive.

I would ask you one question, it comes from the movie office space, and I'm not trying to be funny. What would you do If you had a million dollars?

Oh and also…I'm scratching my head on this but…can you even graduate with a 2.1? I thought schools kicked you out at like a 2.5"


Never heard the phrase "C's get degrees"?

 

[Rgvmed]

"This. I'm not trying to kick you when you're down...but…yeah…if you know my history I had a low GPA too so I'm all for underdogs, but it didn't take me until my senior year to realize I needed to shape up, I don't know your story so I'm sorry for being insensitive.

I would ask you one question, it comes from the movie office space, and I'm not trying to be funny. What would you do If you had a million dollars?

Oh and also…I'm scratching my head on this but…can you even graduate with a 2.1? I thought schools kicked you out at like a 2.5"


Never heard the phrase "C's get degrees"?

lol, that was my motto ten years ago. As I'm back in school, it makes me sad to see younger students going down the same path...treating college like it is high school. The whole undergraduate system is a complete sham for 90% of school and majors.

 

[DesertPT]

The whole undergraduate system is a complete sham for 90% of school and majors.

It's just a game with the system and traditions we have for higher education in western society...play the game long enough and hard enough and you will eventually be able to move on to what you really want to be doing. When you include all the various concentrations you can pick from within different degrees, ASU has well over 250 degree programs, and more are created each day. That's a great way to build the biggest university in the country - offer so many options that there is sure to be something that appeals to any given person. Unfortunately there are probably at least 100 degrees at ASU that are just complete hogwash and another hundred that are questionable in their value.

 

[DesertPT]

And ya, a lot of schools require a 2.0 to graduate with a bachelor's...

Wonder if we'll get a reply back from the OP??

 

[Azimuthal]

It happened to me a term while I was enrolled at a CC of all places. I was taking 3 correspondence courses while deployed to Afghanistan 04. We worked 14-16 hour shifts, but I wasn't a grunt so I had time on a large base. Thought it was a good idea until finding out the 14.4k satellite uplink for Internet was going to screw me over. Sometimes I went over my 5 min internet limit back in our camp when trying to upload assignments (and hoping it uploads the first time around) and some of the guys had some searing words to say. I never tried taking courses that way again.

Point is that almost everyone could have done better when given the right environment, support etc. But... 2.1 throughout your entire undergrad is a cause for concern. Unless you have well over a 3.0 in your junior/senior year, preferably over 3.5, no PT school will accept you. Nor should they.

If it was bad habit, you're not ready for PT school. You'll become a statistic the first semester.

If undergrad as a kinesiology major was too difficult, PT school will crush you.

If it was other causes, like going through severe medical issues, you should have dropped your classes or reduced your course load. Though with a C average throughout, I doubt that this was the case.

The PT profession is not for everyone. There are other ways and other professions that can connect to with people and society similar to PT. You learn and move on. Good luck.

 

[starrsgirl]

^^ I laughed at this story and can completely relate. I once signed up for 2 correspondence courses where you had to watch videos (VHS, dating myself) and also log on to a real time lecture/chat thread (very advanced for 2004). Anyway, I ended up being at a military duty assignment where I was without access to internet for days on end and also the VHS player availability was hit or miss. I failed both classes, couldn't even complete 1/4 of the work load. It just so happens that these correspondence courses (I randomly picked the school because it was one of the few offering distance courses at the time) ended up being part of the same state school system where I eventually became a resident and applied to PT school. Talk about coming back to haunt me!! I had some explaining to do about why I had 2 F's in graduate work from the same school I now hoped to be accepted to.

 

[DesertPT]

The PT profession is not for everyone. There are other ways and other professions that can connect to with people and society similar to PT. You learn and move on. Good luck.

Exactly why I suggested cutting your losses and being a PTA if rehab is something you are truly passionate about. Or if it's not, cut your losses and do something else entirely.

 

[DesertPT]

This is exactly the problem with kinesiology degrees, if PT school doesn't work out, then what?

 

[twsurfsnow]

This is exactly the problem with kinesiology degrees, if PT school doesn't work out, then what?

Unfortunately a lot of degrees are like that, especially bachelor degrees.

My first job after a BA in Biology was delivering food, my gf who got a BS in biology was a tutor until she got into medical school 2 years after graduating. We both now have MPHs, hers helped her into getting into a DO school and I'm hoping mine will help with my DPT app this cycle.

My younger brother is just starting college but is going for a BSN, which I believe is by far a smarter choice( I would of done this if I could redo it all over again), with the BSN he can always be a nurse, but have the pre reqs for many professional schools or at least make 40-60k a year while taking any additional courses.


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[DesertPT]

Unfortunately a lot of degrees are like that, especially bachelor degrees.

My first job after a BA in Biology was delivering food, my gf who got a BS in biology was a tutor until she got into medical school 2 years after graduating. We both now have MPHs, hers helped her into getting into a DO school and I'm hoping mine will help with my DPT app this cycle.

My younger brother is just starting college but is going for a BSN, which I believe is by far a smarter choice( I would of done this if I could redo it all over again), with the BSN he can always be a nurse, but have the pre reqs for many professional schools or at least make 40-60k a year while taking any additional courses.


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Very true, although you do have a bit better chances with a biology degree than a kinesiology degree. You are still going to be looking at $35-45k jobs w/ a biology degree, but you could at least go for things like technical staff positions in labs, work for county health department, get a teaching certificate and teach high school, etc.