Low GPA, Non-Traditional, Help With Stats for Applying to DPT School

[ZoneDefense123]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time using Student Doctor although I have read many of the forums. I find what everyone does here so helpful and calming as I know we're all very anxious, nervous, and stressed when it comes to applications for PT school. As my title suggests, I am looking to apply for the first time next June 2018 and I was wondering if others who are applying or who have already gotten in can assist me on where to improve my application and also my chances for this first time applying. I am aware my stats won't be stellar but my parents are forcing me to apply and not wait another year. I'll post the numbers but first just a short bit of background info.

I went to undergrad for law and figured out late by senior year i wanted PT. I spent two extra years to take some science pre-reqs and then graduated with a B.S in Poli Sci. (Horrible for job apps btw -_-). Due to some personal issues I did not do well and finished with a less than stellar Undergrad Cumulative GPA (will post in next section). Since I graduated, I worked 9 months as a PT aide, then got a Full time job (where I am currently in) have done inpatient and pediatric hours (peds at my job) and have been taking courses at the community college for A's. Without further ado, my stats. Thank you all for your help as it truly is greatly appreciated.

1. GPA
Undergrad Cumu: 2.7
Post Bacc Cumu: 3.9

2. Core Pre-Requisites
Chem 1 Lecture- F, B- (Re-take)
Chem Lab 1- B
Gen Chem 1 (Lecture and Lab Re-take @ CC)- A
(N.B: My 4 year school separated Lecture and lab grade while the CC combined it for one grade)

Chem 2 Lecture- B-
Chem 2 Lab- C
Gen Chem 2 (Lecture and Lab Re-take @ CC)- A
(N.B: As above)

General Bio 1- A
General Bio 2- A

Physics 1 Lecture- C
Physics 1 Lab- C

Physics 2 Lecture- D
Physics 2 Lab- D
Physics 2 (Lecture and Lab Re-take @ CC)- A
(N.B: As before, my 4 year separated lab and lecture grades)

A&P 1 (Lecture and Lab)- A
A&P 2 (Lecture and Lab)- A-

Psyche 1- A
Developmental Psyche- A

Statistics- B-, A (Re-take @ CC)
Pre-Calc- C

3. GRE
Verbal: 151
Quant: 145
AW: 3.5
(N.B: Planning to re-take in December with an aim of 151+ in both verbal and quant and a 4.0 AW)

4. Observation Hours
Outpatient- 9 month PT Aide
Inpatient (hospital)- 100 hours
Pediatrics- 50 hours

5. LOR's
Two PT'S
Two Professors (Bio, and A&P)

6. Miscellaneous
2.5 years full-time job in NYC Early Intervention- Pediatrics, (I work at one of the hospitals/schools that I am looking to apply to)
Team captain/member for multiple intramural basketball and softball teams
Resident Assistant- Won award for Civic Engagement program of the year for creating campus wide fund raiser basketball tournament for victims of Philippines tsunami
President of cultural organization
Coursework in Sports Supplementation, Nutrition, Intro to Athletic Training, Kinesiology, Emergency Care in Athletic Injuries
Member of New York Cares- Various sports related volunteer activities
CPR/AED Certified.

Sorry guys I know this is a very long post but I really do appreciate any help I receive from you guys. I have been stressing this for over 2 years now and I am quite exasperated by sitting at a desk buried under mounds and thousands (not exaggerating that number) of paper work. The sitting and driving has also taken a toll on my physical health with some lower back and knee problems although I do try to find the time to work out and train every day. Thanks again guys.

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[low5059]

I wouldn't put off retaking GRE's until December. That's a lot of wasted time where schools are either making decisions based on what they can already see, or you waiting to submit applications. Definitely shoot for over 150 and 4.0 in both sections, as a lot of schools have these marks as minimums and will throw your application out otherwise.

Honestly, getting into PT school is like shooting at a dart board from what I've experienced. There's almost no use comparing yourself to others to figure out where you can get accepted, because schools will base their decisions on so many factors. Just look for their minimum requirements, and apply if you feel you meet them. If not, save your money as GPA and GRE scores are the weed out factors.

 

[ZoneDefense123]

I wouldn't put off retaking GRE's until December. That's a lot of wasted time where schools are either making decisions based on what they can already see, or you waiting to submit applications. Definitely shoot for over 150 and 4.0 in both sections, as a lot of schools have these marks as minimums and will throw your application out otherwise.

Honestly, getting into PT school is like shooting at a dart board from what I've experienced. There's almost no use comparing yourself to others to figure out where you can get accepted, because schools will base their decisions on so many factors. Just look for their minimum requirements, and apply if you feel you meet them. If not, save your money as GPA and GRE scores are the weed out factors.

{Thanks for the reply man means a lot. Well I'm applying when PTCAS opens in June 2018, for that cycle. It gives me 6 months from now until december to study. I'll still be working full time and I'm going to get a few more hours in Peds and and Inpatient. From January to June i'll be gathering all my necessities to apply including GRE scores, getting in touch with my LOR's to alert them that i'll be asking them, and get in touch with the PT's I'll be using to verify my observation hours. I'll also be going to the school open house PT meetings at the schools i'll be applying to.}

 

[FDPT2020]

I had similar stats and got into multiple programs. Also, non-traditional and took them at a CC. GRE score could definitely use a little improvement and you may want to think about retaking physics 1, but overall you should be okay. My only question is why are you putting off applying until June 2018? It seems like you have everything done and the programs will let you finish any outstanding hours if need be before you attend.

**My suggestion for GRE is to use magoosh's prep course(the 2-3 month) one, take the test in late july and then finish out the application this cycle by end of August since a lot of programs have deadlines in Sep/Oct

 

[starrsgirl]

What's your cum GPA? (All the classes you have ever taken together). I'm hoping it's above a 3.0 but it's hard to tell as your undergrad cum will factor more heavily into that calculation. I would go ahead and retake Physics 1 ASAP (you can see if you can do an online summer course through a community college).

I second the recommendation to quick retake that GRE ASAP and just apply this cycle for the experience. You may have an outside shot (if that cum GPA is ok and you get the writing score up a bit).

 

[ZoneDefense123]

I had similar stats and got into multiple programs. Also, non-traditional and took them at a CC. GRE score could definitely use a little improvement and you may want to think about retaking physics 1, but overall you should be okay. My only question is why are you putting off applying until June 2018? It seems like you have everything done and the programs will let you finish any outstanding hours if need be before you attend.

**My suggestion for GRE is to use magoosh's prep course(the 2-3 month) one, take the test in late july and then finish out the application this cycle by end of August since a lot of programs have deadlines in Sep/Oct

{Thanks so much for the reply FDPT2020 it means a lot to me and congratulations on getting in! Well I wanted to be one of the first to apply within the first month basically and with a complete application so PT schools can base their decision off of everything. I finished the last class recently but needed to re-take the GRE. I felt I needed a lot of time to study so I wouldn't be able to get the GRE grades in with my application within the first month PTCAS opens. Yeah I was looking at magoosh!I was hoping that with the princeton review books and the ETS review book would be able to bump my score up.}

 

[ZoneDefense123]

What's your cum GPA? (All the classes you have ever taken together). I'm hoping it's above a 3.0 but it's hard to tell as your undergrad cum will factor more heavily into that calculation. I would go ahead and retake Physics 1 ASAP (you can see if you can do an online summer course through a community college).

I second the recommendation to quick retake that GRE ASAP and just apply this cycle for the experience. You may have an outside shot (if that cum GPA is ok and you get the writing score up a bit).

{Thank you so much for the reply starrsgirl and the recommendation. I was afraid of applying this year, getting shot down by all the schools, and then having to be a re-applicant next cycle in which I am assuming its a bit tougher to get in as a re-applicant. And the way I calculated it, going off of PTCAS, my overall from undergrad and CC come out to be 2.97 unfortunately :-/. But definitely going to take your recommendation to re-take Physics 1. Thank you so much.}

 

[FDPT2020]

{Thanks so much for the reply FDPT2020 it means a lot to me and congratulations on getting in! Well I wanted to be one of the first to apply within the first month basically and with a complete application so PT schools can base their decision off of everything. I finished the last class recently but needed to re-take the GRE. I felt I needed a lot of time to study so I wouldn't be able to get the GRE grades in with my application within the first month PTCAS opens. Yeah I was looking at magoosh!I was hoping that with the princeton review books and the ETS review book would be able to bump my score up.}

You're welcome! You honestly don't need to get the application submitted within the first month or two UNLESS you are planning on applying to a school with rolling admissions and/or you are applying early decision. Even then you'll still have time really.

Regarding the cumulative undergrad gpa.... most programs require a 3.0 minimum to apply( go through the individual school sites on PTCAS to see) there are some that are bit lower ~2.8 or so that will look at you with the high post bac gpa(These are mainly the private schools and some that weigh the last 60 credit hours more heavily).

Have you started to look at which programs you're thinking about applying to yet? I would also recommend you sit down and go through all of the schools you think you want to apply to and make sure you meet the requirements. This will also help you look through any of your previous classes from undergrad to see if there is anything else you can retake besides just the physics 1 to help boost that GPA(i.e. maybe your statistics requirement is low and you can take that, bio 101 is low, etc). Just keep in the back of your head too that some won't simply take the new grade and replace the old one, some will average, etc....you'll have to do some digging on the individual websites or call the point of contact to ask about that.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions or need any more advice too.

 

[starrsgirl]

{Thank you so much for the reply starrsgirl and the recommendation. I was afraid of applying this year, getting shot down by all the schools, and then having to be a re-applicant next cycle in which I am assuming its a bit tougher to get in as a re-applicant. And the way I calculated it, going off of PTCAS, my overall from undergrad and CC come out to be 2.97 unfortunately :-/. But definitely going to take your recommendation to re-take Physics 1. Thank you so much.}

I think it will be tough for you with a 2.97 this year. If you do apply, do not apply to any schools that require a cum 3.0....it would just be tossing money away. BUT, I think you could retake Physics 1 over the summer plus as many other courses as you can cram in (think online) and get it up to a 3.0 by summers end and then apply in late Aug/early September. Do the calculations now so you know exactly how many credits you will need to get up to a 3.0.

 

[DesertPT]

It's "PT school" not "DPT school". You wouldn't say that you were applying for "DDS school" or "MD school", you would say dental school or med school.

 

[ZoneDefense123]

I think it will be tough for you with a 2.97 this year. If you do apply, do not apply to any schools that require a cum 3.0....it would just be tossing money away. BUT, I think you could retake Physics 1 over the summer plus as many other courses as you can cram in (think online) and get it up to a 3.0 by summers end and then apply in late Aug/early September. Do the calculations now so you know exactly how many credits you will need to get up to a 3.0.

Hey Starsgirl! Sorry for the late reply; been incredibly busy at work. But thank you again for the response. I never thought about taking courses online to raise my GPA. I think I calculated it at about 6 extra courses bleh. But I definitely think its worth it

 

[ZoneDefense123]

You're welcome! You honestly don't need to get the application submitted within the first month or two UNLESS you are planning on applying to a school with rolling admissions and/or you are applying early decision. Even then you'll still have time really.

Regarding the cumulative undergrad gpa.... most programs require a 3.0 minimum to apply( go through the individual school sites on PTCAS to see) there are some that are bit lower ~2.8 or so that will look at you with the high post bac gpa(These are mainly the private schools and some that weigh the last 60 credit hours more heavily).

Have you started to look at which programs you're thinking about applying to yet? I would also recommend you sit down and go through all of the schools you think you want to apply to and make sure you meet the requirements. This will also help you look through any of your previous classes from undergrad to see if there is anything else you can retake besides just the physics 1 to help boost that GPA(i.e. maybe your statistics requirement is low and you can take that, bio 101 is low, etc). Just keep in the back of your head too that some won't simply take the new grade and replace the old one, some will average, etc....you'll have to do some digging on the individual websites or call the point of contact to ask about that.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions or need any more advice too.

Thank you FDPT! Honestly I can't afford to go away for graduate school like I did for undergraduate so I'm applying local which I know is going to be competitive. I'm thinking about taking all new courses rather than re-takes because besides Physics 1 all my pre-requisites are now A grades. I figured I might take things like biochemistry and maybe (big maybe) organic chem which might give me the ability to apply to back-up career options in the sciences.

 

[starrsgirl]

Hey Starsgirl! Sorry for the late reply; been incredibly busy at work. But thank you again for the response. I never thought about taking courses online to raise my GPA. I think I calculated it at about 6 extra courses bleh. But I definitely think its worth it

Once I filled my schedule with pre reqs, I took whatever online course looked fun! I just needed the grade boost.