I am trying to decide when to apply for this upcoming application cycle. I just graduated this month with a BS in Psychology and have taken all of the prerequisite classes for PT school, however I have C's in five of my prereqs so I am currently retaking two in a first summer session, another 2 in a second summer session, and plan on taking one more during this fall. I am also working part time as a PT Aide to increase my hours. Does it make more sense to apply early on in the application cycle with only my grades from the first summer session & less hours or to wait until after the second summer session to apply?
When to Apply
- Thread starter londregc
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I suggest applying early. The trend seems to be that schools are trying to fill their cohorts earlier and earlier, and you stand to benefit from being the early bird.
5 C's is not a death knell so long as you have an interesting story, write extremely well, and interview professionally and personably. Also, by the time they review your files, you'll have redone your pre-reqs with (hopefully) better grades. It's an opportunity for you to look the interviewer in their eye and say "I know C's weren't good enough, so I wanted to take the class again and prove I could do better."
As far as your hours are concerned, PTCAS provides you the option of putting down the amount of hours you will have completed, not just your cumulative amount to date. So do a little back-of-the-envelope calculation and come up with a reasonable number that you expect you'll have by the time you're interviewing in the fall.
Best of luck!
Edit: a word
5 C's is not a death knell so long as you have an interesting story, write extremely well, and interview professionally and personably. Also, by the time they review your files, you'll have redone your pre-reqs with (hopefully) better grades. It's an opportunity for you to look the interviewer in their eye and say "I know C's weren't good enough, so I wanted to take the class again and prove I could do better."
As far as your hours are concerned, PTCAS provides you the option of putting down the amount of hours you will have completed, not just your cumulative amount to date. So do a little back-of-the-envelope calculation and come up with a reasonable number that you expect you'll have by the time you're interviewing in the fall.
Best of luck!
Edit: a word
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On the one hand it doesn't look good that you have to retake so many classes. They might think why you can't understand the material the first time. On the other, it shows your persistence and your willingness to truly understand the material. But practice your interview and writing skills, and you should be fine, as long as you fix those C's.
Kevin
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Apply early! You can update your PTCAS with your grades. Many schools have "rolling" admissions so you have a better chance if you are one of the first to apply. And, if your GRE score is good and you have a lot of hours (showing commitment) that will help.
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As soon as the application opens, get working on it! If you have all your other stuff in order (LOR's, hours, GRE, etc), you should be able to have all your stuff in by mid to late July. Don't rush it, and definitely make sure you have everything exactly how you want it, but I'm making an effort to get mine in by then.
Joe
Joe
I think they are currently working on 2013-14 application so it might be down for some days.
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I think applying in August would be fine, if that allows you to include your summer grades that replace those C's. A lot of schools make decisions before the "academic update" period in December, so it's best to make your application look as good as possible. Last year I submitted during the last week of August, and my application only took about three days to process through PTCAS. By mid-September or so, they got a lot more busy and the processing took much longer. This year they might start getting busy earlier, though, because there are more and more applicants every year.
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General rule: the sooner the better. Fourth-of-July weekend is best. Everyone's submitting applications in September because they're started a new semester and because they've finished summer classes. It's even more important to submit your application sooner if you don't feel yours is strong.
Kevin
Kevin
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Any apps that assist in vocabular for the gre?
