This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

FuturePT8921

New Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2017
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Hey everyone! This is my first time posting and I was hoping you all can help me understand what went wrong. I'm really feeling down about the way my admission cycle went. I though I had a strong application however many schools didn't think so. How can I improve?

Major: Exercise Science
Overall GPA: 3.89
Science GPA: 3.62
Self Reported Pre-req: 3.68
GRE: 155 Q 150 V 3.0 W

Hours: 450 in outpatient, nursing home, sports rehab, acute care. Physical Therapy Tech at hospital at the acute care setting. I only worked for a couple of weeks when I applied though.

Extra Curricular: Habit for Humanity, Psychology Club, Kinesiology Club, Various church involvements.

Recs: 3 PTs, 1 Pre-PT advisor

Applied: TWU, Texas Tech, UTMB, UIW, UTHSCSA, UTEP, ASU, Hardin Simmons, UNT
Rejected: UTMB, UTHSCSA, UNT,

Acceptances: ASU

Members don't see this ad.
 
Seems like a success story to me. You got in after all. Into a state school no less, am I right?
We can play pin the tail on the donkey all day but does it really matter? Was it a late application submission? Was it lackluster letters of recs? Was it bad interview skills?
Who knows and should you care? You are going to become a physical therapist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Your GPA is above average and should have been high enough to get into all but the most competitive schools. That said, your PT application is like a ship that needs to float -- if there's a hole in it somewhere, it will sink your whole application, even if some other part of it is really good. The whole process can seem incredibly arbitrary.

Did you interview at these schools you were rejected from? How'd that go? Some schools put an incredible amount of weight on the interviews and if you're someone who struggles with them (I do), they can be easy to blow.

Your AW is low - possibly below the minimum threshold of some schools, and if there's an issue there with academic writing that may have affected your essays.

If you do go around again-if that's what I'm gathering from your post- I think it wouldn't hurt to take the GRE again and try to get that AW up. I feel like preparation for the AW is often overlooked and it's usually an afterthought. It's actually very studyable. Read about the strategies for writing these and then run some timed drills simulating test conditions every weekend a month or two leading up to the test. Have some people critique your admissions essays. Or just go to the school you got into.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Hey everyone! This is my first time posting and I was hoping you all can help me understand what went wrong. I'm really feeling down about the way my admission cycle went. I though I had a strong application however many schools didn't think so. How can I improve?

Major: Exercise Science
Overall GPA: 3.89
Science GPA: 3.62
Self Reported Pre-req: 3.68
GRE: 155 Q 150 V 3.0 W

Hours: 450 in outpatient, nursing home, sports rehab, acute care. Physical Therapy Tech at hospital at the acute care setting. I only worked for a couple of weeks when I applied though.

Extra Curricular: Habit for Humanity, Psychology Club, Kinesiology Club, Various church involvements.

Recs: 3 PTs, 1 Pre-PT advisor

Applied: TWU, Texas Tech, UTMB, UIW, UTHSCSA, UTEP, ASU, Hardin Simmons, UNT
Rejected: UTMB, UTHSCSA, UNT,

Acceptances: ASU
Your GPA stats good very good, your overall GPA was alot higher than mine (3.38). Your Verbal GRE is in the 47th percentile, and your Writing is only in the 17th percentile. Your math is ok, 59th percentile. I would deduct that is were the problem lies, I've read several posts that correlates verbal section scores with passing your boards.

Other than you, did these schools interviewed? if they did, did you exude confidence? were you mumbling? we don't know....only you can self reflect and give yourself an honest critique of yourself.
 
I agree with all the posters above on the GRE, especially the part about verbal scores correlating with PT school/boards success. I also wonder about your letters of rec and whether some schools required at least a 1 math/sci professor rec, or any professor in general.

Besides the specific requirements for PT schools, if interviewing was your problem, I can relate. I received at least an interview at all the schools I applied to, each interview was a huge learning experience for me. My first two interviews ended up as rejections, but I kept on asking for honest feedback/self-reflected, and my final interview resulted in being waitlisted in top 10 at UNMC (which primarily accepts in-state students). I kinda wish that it ended up as an acceptance, but I feel victorious that my interview skills/answers got better and better every interview. What matters is that at least one school gave you a chance to be a PT, so learn from your mistakes/shortcomings, and make a determination to improve those throughout PT school and beyond. Congrats on ASU!
 
Last edited:
Top