any advice?

[zestypeas]

This is going to sound extremely dumb, but I am need of some advice...

I'm in my final semester of senior year, and am only just starting to consider PT. (That's the dumb part - let's just say that I was never really given the option of thinking about doing anything else other than your "more common" pre-health major).

I have applied to Master's programs in Biology, so I hope to do that next year before applying for PT schools, but when I looked at applying for PT programs, all of the pre-reqs are for undergrads. Does anyone know what the likelihood is for being accepted after getting an M.S. degree?

As I stand right now, I generally meet the minimum requirements (except for voluntary/paid experience) - but would it be advisable to continue with an M.S. degree to try and get a higher GPA (mine was killed with a bunch of science courses not needed for PT school), or should I take a year off to work and gain experience before applying?

I know applying for PT schools can be competitive, so I just thought I'd ask you guys for your opinion.

Thanks in advance!

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[track11]

If you want to go for the MA in Bio, then go for it-- however, if I were in your situation, I would skip out on the MA and go with one of two options:

1) the shorter route: go to a tech school full-time to complete the prerequisites (while getting in your shadowing hours)

2) the longer route: work full or part-time, go to school part-time, and accumulate those shadowing hours (this is how I did it so I could save money and reduce the stress of having a full courseload of those difficult prereq's like CHM and PHY)

The MA in Bio would probably give you an edge, but it's entirely unnecessary. Even if your undergrad GPA isn't so great, just focus on getting all A's and maybe just one or two B's for your prereq's. Your pre-req GPA typically bears a lot more weight than reg. GPA

Good luck!!

 

[zestypeas]

Thanks, track11!

I think if anything, the pre-reqs I would need are just the odd classes - such as abnormal psych, etc., which some schools require (my undergrad bio major took care of the chem/phys/bio pre-reqs) - so I might consider the longer route to do that.

 

[TheOx777]

Hey,

I will have an M.S. before I enter DPT school this fall. My degree is in Exercise Science with strong concentrations in physiology and exercise biochemistry. I know that my graduate degree played a HUGE role in my acceptances to multiple programs. Like you, PT school was not a forgone conclusion for me right out of undergrad, and I worked for several years before discovering I wanted to go back to school. Also like you, I had a solid undergraduate career(B to B+ type student), yet it was not stellar. When I applied to DPT programs I had a 4.0 graduate GPA, and no one had to tell that this would not at least play some role in my admissions.

I would first evaluate if PT is the career choice you see yourself doing for the next few decades. If you are unsure(which many are) then shadowing different health professions(MD/DO, nursing, PT, Pharmacy, Dental, etc) may lend some insight into what you could REALLY see yourself doing on a daily basis. If after this you determine that PT is definitely something you want to do then completing your M.S. in Biology may be counterproductive if you have an "internal clock" that wants to fast track you to your career sooner.

I would ask myself some of the following questions:
-Do I truly want to go to DPT school and why?
-Will obtaining my M.S. be a hindrance or stepping stone to getting into DPT school?
-Are my grades, GRE scores, extracurriculars competitive right now?
-Do I have ALL of the necessary coursework for DPT schools?
-What specific DPT programs do I want to apply to and what are their specific requirements?
-Is money/cost of programs a factor?
-Is time/immediacy of beginning a career a factor?
-How does a career in PT stack up against another profession?
-How much money do I want from a job(if that is a deal breaker)?
-How much autonomy do I want?
-Is having a family in the future on my to-do list? If so, how important is work/family balance to me?

By sitting down and thinking critically about all of these questions and their respective answers, you will start to really gain some insight in to the process of applying to DPT school, which can be relatively convoluted at times. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions or PM me!

 

[zestypeas]

Thank you - this was really informative, and definitely gives me lots to consider. I sent you a PM!