I graduated last year and was planning to start PT school this year. Plans changed when I found out I was pregnant and now have a 2 month old girl! Applications for next year are due soon and I'm not sure what to do about it. The program wouldn't start until next summer or fall, so she would be a year old. St. Augustine also has the Flex program, so I can do a lot online and my husband can watch her on weekends when I have labs. I know it will still be a lot of work, and it makes me sad thinking about missing a lot of her first few years. I really do want to pursue my career though, as well. It's a goal that I don't want to give up. I don't know if it would be better to wait though, but then my Bachelor's will be a little outdated. I don't know if I would have to retake prereqs at that point. The final thing I'm thinking about is the fact that we will probably want to have another baby before I graduate, since I'm 25 right now.
DPT school with 1 year old
- Thread starter Csn2024
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Well i'm not sure that sounds pretty intense. there are two fathers in my class with young children. They do well, but they complain when their baby won't sleep the night before an exam.
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Shoot me a PM if you want to talk more. I went to school with a 2 and 4 year old. If I had to do it over again, a flex program would have been a much better option for me personally. I wasn't prepared for the extremely full time nature of PT programs. I hadn't done my research, I didn't talk to current students. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise though that I didn't know and just went for it. Every program is different, so do your research. In my first year, we were generally in class from 8am to 5pm. My day started with a 7am daycare drop off and I didn't pick the kids up until close to 6pm. Then it's a crazy rush to get everyone fed and in bed at home. My weekends were completely gone with studying. Even if I was home, I had to be in my office with the door closed or go to the library. It's absolutely doable, but I had no idea of the demand for my program when I started. (again, every program is different so find out now.)
My second and 3rd years haven't been quite as intense, but it's not an easy path by any means. I don't have the flexibility to work on group projects or do group study. I always have kids up at night or in the morning when I need to cram for an exam. One of the biggest challenges we've faced is what to do when kids are sick. My husband works and tries to help me, but he missed quite a bit of work and I missed quite a bit of class one bad winter in particular. I have a lot of trouble making mandatory service clinics or meetings that happen in the evenings too.
I think there are some traits that increase your chances of success with kids. First, you have to be comfortable with studying the LEAST of any of your classmates. Literally. If my classmates can put in 10 hours of studying for a test, I might be lucky to hit 1/2 of that. And that's ok. I'm not winning any academic awards over here, but I am good enough. You have to be secure in that space (which might be hard if you are a perfectionist or used to being at the top). Second, you need a HUGE network of support. Besides your husband, you need at least 2 backup daycare plans for those days when everything falls apart. Your husband also has to be ready to take the kid all evening and weekends for you to study as needed. Third....clinicals are tough. Check the school requirements. We had to travel for one of ours. The setup of my clinical was VERY difficult with kids. It all worked out perfectly in the end, but I just consider myself lucky on that one. I was able to find housing for us, I found daycare in another state and my CI was pretty cool about the situation. Finally, you have to be able to study in chaos. I study with kids screaming, toys flying overhead, while cooking dinner....although I have an office, I'm often alone with the kids. If you need quiet, protected studying, that's going to be tough with little ones who need you for everything. (I do a lot of midnight studying too, haha).
Initially, we wanted to have another kid while I was in school. But once I started, we realized there was no way we could survive a newborn on top of my school demands. The problem is, unless I was willing to go right back to school, I would have had to repeat the year after a maternity absence. I wasn't willing to do that. A flex program may be much kinder on this. Again, I really wish a flex program had been an option for me. I really wanted to attend one of the online schools, but everyone in my family/friends circle hated that idea. I wish I would have stood my ground on that though...I love online learning and it would have been a much better option for my family.
On the prereqs...you generally have 10 years (most schools) before you have to retake those.
My second and 3rd years haven't been quite as intense, but it's not an easy path by any means. I don't have the flexibility to work on group projects or do group study. I always have kids up at night or in the morning when I need to cram for an exam. One of the biggest challenges we've faced is what to do when kids are sick. My husband works and tries to help me, but he missed quite a bit of work and I missed quite a bit of class one bad winter in particular. I have a lot of trouble making mandatory service clinics or meetings that happen in the evenings too.
I think there are some traits that increase your chances of success with kids. First, you have to be comfortable with studying the LEAST of any of your classmates. Literally. If my classmates can put in 10 hours of studying for a test, I might be lucky to hit 1/2 of that. And that's ok. I'm not winning any academic awards over here, but I am good enough. You have to be secure in that space (which might be hard if you are a perfectionist or used to being at the top). Second, you need a HUGE network of support. Besides your husband, you need at least 2 backup daycare plans for those days when everything falls apart. Your husband also has to be ready to take the kid all evening and weekends for you to study as needed. Third....clinicals are tough. Check the school requirements. We had to travel for one of ours. The setup of my clinical was VERY difficult with kids. It all worked out perfectly in the end, but I just consider myself lucky on that one. I was able to find housing for us, I found daycare in another state and my CI was pretty cool about the situation. Finally, you have to be able to study in chaos. I study with kids screaming, toys flying overhead, while cooking dinner....although I have an office, I'm often alone with the kids. If you need quiet, protected studying, that's going to be tough with little ones who need you for everything. (I do a lot of midnight studying too, haha).
Initially, we wanted to have another kid while I was in school. But once I started, we realized there was no way we could survive a newborn on top of my school demands. The problem is, unless I was willing to go right back to school, I would have had to repeat the year after a maternity absence. I wasn't willing to do that. A flex program may be much kinder on this. Again, I really wish a flex program had been an option for me. I really wanted to attend one of the online schools, but everyone in my family/friends circle hated that idea. I wish I would have stood my ground on that though...I love online learning and it would have been a much better option for my family.
On the prereqs...you generally have 10 years (most schools) before you have to retake those.