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[chicandtoughness]

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[Highlife.himalayas]

Yes, I know the schools tell us that whatever we get our bachelor's degrees in doesn't matter. But the majority of my friends' cohorts seem to be at least 75%+ science degrees (biology, chemistry, exercise science) or athletic training. My 1st bachelor degree was in economics (2.9 GPA) and my second in dance (4.0 GPA, did this one because the schools I'm interested in take last 60 hours GPA, but only if it was an entirely separate degree). I'm interested in dance medicine specifically (sports medicine as a greater catch-all), which is the reasoning for the dance degree - I was able to modify it to include more physiology and kinesology classes. But of course, 70% of the classes were still largely dance.

Does this put me at a disadvantage? My science GPA is a 4.0, my last 60 is a 4.0, my cumulative is a 3.5, my GRE scores are hilariously good... but I'm still having major inferiority complex over the fact that schools are going to scoff at my bachelor's degrees and assume I'm not "dedicated" enough to studying physical therapy...

My Bachelors (3.6 GPA) is in Classics, which is the study of Greek and Latin literature and language. I also have a Masters in English Literature (3.89 GPA) - I was worried too since my degrees have no relevance to anything really. But I just got invited for an interview, so I guess it doesn't matter... Not to this school at least.

 

[redrose424]

Yes, I know the schools tell us that whatever we get our bachelor's degrees in doesn't matter. But the majority of my friends' cohorts seem to be at least 75%+ science degrees (biology, chemistry, exercise science) or athletic training. My 1st bachelor degree was in economics (2.9 GPA) and my second in dance (4.0 GPA, did this one because the schools I'm interested in take last 60 hours GPA, but only if it was an entirely separate degree). I'm interested in dance medicine specifically (sports medicine as a greater catch-all), which is the reasoning for the dance degree - I was able to modify it to include more physiology and kinesology classes. But of course, 70% of the classes were still largely dance.

Does this put me at a disadvantage? My science GPA is a 4.0, my last 60 is a 4.0, my cumulative is a 3.5, my GRE scores are hilariously good... but I'm still having major inferiority complex over the fact that schools are going to scoff at my bachelor's degrees and assume I'm not "dedicated" enough to studying physical therapy...

I am in a completely unrelated and seemingly "cushy" major but was accepted to multiple schools with no problem.

 

[jnllvllnv]

Yes, I know the schools tell us that whatever we get our bachelor's degrees in doesn't matter. But the majority of my friends' cohorts seem to be at least 75%+ science degrees (biology, chemistry, exercise science) or athletic training. My 1st bachelor degree was in economics (2.9 GPA) and my second in dance (4.0 GPA, did this one because the schools I'm interested in take last 60 hours GPA, but only if it was an entirely separate degree). I'm interested in dance medicine specifically (sports medicine as a greater catch-all), which is the reasoning for the dance degree - I was able to modify it to include more physiology and kinesology classes. But of course, 70% of the classes were still largely dance.

Does this put me at a disadvantage? My science GPA is a 4.0, my last 60 is a 4.0, my cumulative is a 3.5, my GRE scores are hilariously good... but I'm still having major inferiority complex over the fact that schools are going to scoff at my bachelor's degrees and assume I'm not "dedicated" enough to studying physical therapy...

I'm a dance and economics major also! And I'm currently attending my top choice school

I don't think that because 75% of people are science degrees means that there's a bias towards those degrees. I think it's more that people who are interested in PT/healthcare tend to choose those undergrad degrees. So there's probably more people applying to PT school who have bio or kinesiology degrees vs. degrees in the arts or social sciences.

 

[Grizzlyman]

I'm a dance and economics major also! And I'm currently attending my top choice school

I don't think that because 75% of people are science degrees means that there's a bias towards those degrees. I think it's more that people who are interested in PT/healthcare tend to choose those undergrad degrees. So there's probably more people applying to PT school who have bio or kinesiology degrees vs. degrees in the arts or social sciences.

You also have to consider that there is no job market for an Exercise Science major and there never will be. Unfortunately, it is not a wise choice for any young person going to college. They have no option but to go to apply to PT school. Even though many of these students have strong academics, it's perception as an education is terrible.

If you are a young person interested in PT, get a minor in Exercise Science if you wish, but make sure you get a marketable degree. Engineering offers the most opportunities but there are many choices that are respectable with great opportunities.

 

[DesertPT]

While there are certainly assorted pros and cons for all of the various majors out there, what you have heard is correct: when it comes to your overall statistical likelihood of being accepted to PT school, undergrad major really, truly doesn't matter. Own it. Believe it. It really is true. I promise.

 

[starrsgirl]

Doesn't matter. Anthropology here.

 

[HughLee]

As an admissions committee member, at my school (and I presume most if not all schools, it does not matter. Do be able to explain why you want to become a PT, but that will be true if you are an athletic training major or an interior design major.

 

[runnerflute]

Absolutely not. I'm a non-traditional student with a degree in music. I was out of school for 4 years when I discovered my passion for PT. As others have said, own what you do. I think having a different major helps to set you apart and will facilitate creativity to help future patients since you've been exposed to different perspectives.

 

[chicandtoughness]

[deleted]

 

[DesertPT]

I'm just terrified that I'll get to PT school and everyone will be spouting off terminology that is far gone and rusted in the depths of my mind haha

You have nothing to worry about. Every single first year PT student out there is just trying their best every day to keep their head above water. I have seen no correlation between undergrad major and how much one has to study to do well in PT school.

Granted, the people who were hard science majors will probably already know twice as much of what you are going to cover in PT school compared to the non-science majors - the non-science majors will know 0.25% of the curriculum already and the science majors will know 0.5%. And seriously, that's probably a pretty accurate estimate...

I think trying your best to be genuinely interested in the material in each of your classes makes a bigger difference than anything.

 

[DesertPT]

Should I brush up on the A&P the summer prior?

My response to this is a resounding no. Your likelihood of becoming a successful PT will not be affected by this even in the slightest. Unless there is literally nothing in life that brings you more joy and happiness than reading an anatomy text, find something more fun to do before PT school starts.

I'm pretty sure that if any of the people in my class studied anatomy during their break before school started, they were probably also the people who studied the most heavily and intensely during our PT school anatomy. The people who really could use the extra study time are always the people who don't do it, and the people who are neurotic and have to get an A+ in every class are always going to be the ones who study twice as much as they need to.

This topic has been heavily debated on this forum in the past, so happy reading if you care to search for it. Most of the debate has been by pre-PT students who haven't actually taken PT school anatomy. If you polled pre-PT students on this topic I think it would be about a 40/60 yay/nay split. If you polled second and third year PT students it would probably be about a 1/99 yay/nay split. In the end, I think the behavior of pre-studying anatomy before PT school starts gets talked about on the internet a lot more than it actually occurs in real life.

 

[tcpt]

As an admissions committee member, at my school (and I presume most if not all schools, it does not matter. Do be able to explain why you want to become a PT, but that will be true if you are an athletic training major or an interior design major.

I'm also an admissions committee member. The major is not even something we review.

The only benefit of an exercise science major (majority of pre-PT are ExSci majors) is that the courses that are in your undergrad degree track also happen to be prerequisite courses for most DPT programs. Aside from that, major is no matter upon admissions.

 

[DesertPT]

The only benefit of an exercise science major (majority of pre-PT are ExSci majors) is that the courses that are in your undergrad degree track also happen to be prerequisite courses for most DPT programs.

Kinesiology is set up as basically a bachelor of pre-PT at many universities as well. The only advantage of a kinesio or ex sci undergrad program as far as I can tell is that you can typically meet all the pre-reqs for PT school without having to take any extra credits on top of your degree program.

As an aside, I think that some of the biggest scientific advances in rehabilitation science over the coming years will come from a better understanding of how we are affecting the nervous system and other body tissues on a cellular level, and I think we would benefit from having more PTs with a thorough understanding of cell biology, which there isn't much room for in the PT curriculum.