Clueless on where to begin.

[LightBread]

Hi yall,

I just recently graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara and I decided to pursue a career as a physical therapist after shadowing/volunteering at a hospital. My overall GPA is around 2.97 (Not too sure because it hasn't come out yet). I have around 20 observation hours and will definitely work on getting more.
Pre-Req:
Chemistry
1A - B
1B - B-
1C - C+

Physics
6A - C+
6B - C+
6C - B

So, these are some of the pre-req grades. I did very poorly my first two years, but started getting As in my upper division courses and to my understanding, re-taking pre - reqs at a community college does not affect my UC GPA, so I was wondering what I can do to improve my chances of getting into PT schools. I haven't really looked at any schools in particular and I plan to sign up to take the GRE. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

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[Skyris]

Take the rest of your prereqs and retake your low grades at a community college. Get A's in them. Get your observation hours in a variety of settings, the more settings the better, at least 30 hours in each. I'd aim for at least 3 settings with one of them being hospital inpatient (which can be tough to get, but it looks like you already got it going so that's good).

When you apply, PTCAS will calculate an overall undergrad GPA based on all your coursework, so you aren't in any way stuck with your UC GPA.

Don't just take your GRE willy-nilly, sign up with Magoosh and study for it intensely. I dedicated over 2 months during a summer and it paid off.

 

[LightBread]

Take the rest of your prereqs and retake your low grades at a community college. Get A's in them. Get your observation hours in a variety of settings, the more settings the better, at least 30 hours in each. I'd aim for at least 3 settings with one of them being hospital inpatient (which can be tough to get, but it looks like you already got it going so that's good).

When you apply, PTCAS will calculate an overall undergrad GPA based on all your coursework, so you aren't in any way stuck with your UC GPA.

Don't just take your GRE willy-nilly, sign up with Magoosh and study for it intensely. I dedicated over 2 months during a summer and it paid off.

Thank you Skyris for your input! I just had a quick question regarding human anatomy and physiology. I took human physiology at UCSB, but they did not offer a lab course, so would taking the General human anatomy & Advanced Human anatomy with lab at a community college fulfill those requirements or would I need to take those classes along with a human physiology lab? Also, I plan to retake general physics and general chemistry, but I was wondering if it would worth it to retake EEMB (Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology) General Biology courses because I got Cs in both EEMB 2 and EEMB 3, but I received B+s in both MCDB (Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology) General Biology courses. Sorry if this is a bit confusing to understand. Simply put, the general biology courses offered at my school was:

MCDB 1A
MCDB 1B
EEMB 2
EEMB 3
All with lab

Thank you for the help!

 

[Skyris]

Thank you Skyris for your input! I just had a quick question regarding human anatomy and physiology. I took human physiology at UCSB, but they did not offer a lab course, so would taking the General human anatomy & Advanced Human anatomy with lab at a community college fulfill those requirements or would I need to take those classes along with a human physiology lab? Also, I plan to retake general physics and general chemistry, but I was wondering if it would worth it to retake EEMB (Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology) General Biology courses because I got Cs in both EEMB 2 and EEMB 3, but I received B+s in both MCDB (Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology) General Biology courses. Sorry if this is a bit confusing to understand. Simply put, the general biology courses offered at my school was:

MCDB 1A
MCDB 1B
EEMB 2
EEMB 3
All with lab

Thank you for the help!

In order to meet the physiology requirement you need physiology with lab, whether you take it by itself or part of a combined anatomy & physiology course (with lab). I wouldn't bother taking both human anatomy and advanced human anatomy (if they both have labs) unless you are applying somewhere that has articulated that they'll give you extra admissions points for the advanced course (A school like UCSF/SFSU might) and you think you might have a shot, or if you finish your other pre-reqs and still need to bring your GPA up.

Regarding the biology.... it depends how much you're willing to do to bring your GPA up and the specifics of the schools you're interested in. Those EEMB's seem like they might not even correspond 1:1 with the community college equivalent. At a school with a very specific case in which you're allowed to choose which class counts as your pre-req and they do grade replacement, and they accept EEMB as fulfilling general bio, you'd benefit more from retaking it and getting an A, and listing that, than you would listing the B+ from MCDB.

 

[LightBread]

In order to meet the physiology requirement you need physiology with lab, whether you take it by itself or part of a combined anatomy & physiology course (with lab). I wouldn't bother taking both human anatomy and advanced human anatomy (if they both have labs) unless you are applying somewhere that has articulated that they'll give you extra admissions points for the advanced course (A school like UCSF/SFSU might) and you think you might have a shot, or if you finish your other pre-reqs and still need to bring your GPA up.

Regarding the biology.... it depends how much you're willing to do to bring your GPA up and the specifics of the schools you're interested in. Those EEMB's seem like they might not even correspond 1:1 with the community college equivalent. At a school with a very specific case in which you're allowed to choose which class counts as your pre-req and they do grade replacement, and they accept EEMB as fulfilling general bio, you'd benefit more from retaking it and getting an A, and listing that, than you would listing the B+ from MCDB.

Hi I did some research and found out that I would have to retake Chemistry, Biology, and physics + human anatomy & physiology. I was planning to take my chances and apply after 1 year (Plan and study for the GRE during the summer). After evaluating classes from Santa Monica College, I'm planning to re-take algebra based general physics (two semester) and general chemistry (2 semester) combined with human anatomy fall semester and human physiology spring semester. I didn't really want a heavy work - load as I would most likely be getting my observation and volunteering hours and I plan to get As in all of them. However, I was wondering if it would be wiser to just take two years re-taking both math & biology along with chemistry & physics.

Stats for math:
3A C
3B B

Stats for biology stated above.

I can ditch math and just add biology to the work load and complete all my pre - req & re-takes within a year, but I feel like it would be too much as I would most likely be working part-time along with volunteering/observation hours. Apologizes for the grammar and thank you again for the help! I'm greatly appreciated =)

 

[crispyDPT]

Hi I did some research and found out that I would have to retake Chemistry, Biology, and physics + human anatomy & physiology. I was planning to take my chances and apply after 1 year (Plan and study for the GRE during the summer). After evaluating classes from Santa Monica College, I'm planning to re-take algebra based general physics (two semester) and general chemistry (2 semester) combined with human anatomy fall semester and human physiology spring semester. I didn't really want a heavy work - load as I would most likely be getting my observation and volunteering hours and I plan to get As in all of them. However, I was wondering if it would be wiser to just take two years re-taking both math & biology along with chemistry & physics.

Stats for math:
3A C
3B B

Stats for biology stated above.

I can ditch math and just add biology to the work load and complete all my pre - req & re-takes within a year, but I feel like it would be too much as I would most likely be working part-time along with volunteering/observation hours. Apologizes for the grammar and thank you again for the help! I'm greatly appreciated =)

Hello I go to UCSB and I messaged a few of the schools regarding how Quarter system classes are accounted for. So basically in a semester system Physics 1 and 2 are the equivalent of 6A, 6B, 6C; The MCDB and EEMB general bio courses cover the general bio. If I'm not explaining it well or you have further questions please DM me

 

[PathforwardtoDPT]

Take the rest of your prereqs and retake your low grades at a community college. Get A's in them. Get your observation hours in a variety of settings, the more settings the better, at least 30 hours in each. I'd aim for at least 3 settings with one of them being hospital inpatient (which can be tough to get, but it looks like you already got it going so that's good).

When you apply, PTCAS will calculate an overall undergrad GPA based on all your coursework, so you aren't in any way stuck with your UC GPA.

Don't just take your GRE willy-nilly, sign up with Magoosh and study for it intensely. I dedicated over 2 months during a summer and it paid off.

Go Gauchos! UCSB alum here who is 1st yr sDPT. Basically this. Retake these course at a CC and ACE them. Study hard and score WELL above average on GRE to really stick out. Many schools view GRE scores as an indicator on how well you will perform on the NPTE. Start collecting MORE hours from various clinics. For instance, I collected at least 500 hrs from 4 different clinical settings. Show them that you have a variety of experiences from differing settings and are well exposed to the field. Definitely include inpatient acute if you can.

Good luck man. It'll be a long road ahead but if you do the grind, I'm sure your hard work won't go unnoticed by some programs.