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If I had to guess, I would say physical therapy is not the most competitive. I did a little bit of research on it as I very briefly considered it at one time. There's lots of stories floating around message boards of students who got in with around 3.0 GPAs.
The average GPA of incoming students might be a 3.4 or so, but so is it at most grad schools. That doesn't mean they won't accept people with lower GPAs.
My average GPA has always been below the average of the schools I have been accepted to (at least overall, not major).
As a general rule of thumb, if you don't make that much $ when you graduate, the program is generally going to be less competitive to get into than you think. And PTs don't make a lot (though it's not bad) and the education is usually unfunded. After all, these schools are trying to make $. And there's a lot of PT schools out there.
I always suggest to people never to be scared to apply to grad school because of a low GPA. Most people get scared of the average and min GPA listed on the program websites, and just never apply. I know a good number of people with GPAs around 2.5 who got into B-school, Law School, and all types of other grad schools.
I'll digress a little bit my last post about this. You're right in that PT isn't the most competitive at all of health grad schools and it's much easier to get into that medical, dental, physician's assistant, or pharmacy school. It's true that GPA isn't everything for most graduate schools, especially if you have previous related work experience. But as someone who works in the healthcare field, I can tell you that most health care graduate programs want you to have at least a 3.0 GPA, which might be a problem for the OP. However, what probably will be more of a problem for the OP is that PT programs now prefer prospective students to have an undergraduate degree in biology, kinesiology, or related field as I said. If the OP decides his heart is set on being a PT then you're right in that it's not impossible for him to become a PT. I would tell him to contact different PT schools and maybe try to get a job in a PT office.
Def. want to reinforce this, cc classes should have no trouble transferring over to a 4 year university. Aim for high grades, whilst a "B" wont kill you, a "C" probably would, still aim for "A"s in anycase. Whether you decide to go nursing, PA or heck even the allied health fields, Respiratory therapist, songarphy tech, etc... they are usually quite competitive as well.
If you don't want to go the college route you should look into PCT, CNA courses. Once you complete this you can start working right away.
I agree-however in Florida and Colorado-nursing schools (not for profit schools) are requiring at least a 3.8 GPA-that is why the OP would have to receive A's in all prerequisites. PA schools are receiving about 11k applicants a year (crazy competitive).
I agree-however in Florida and Colorado-nursing schools (not for profit schools) are requiring at least a 3.8 GPA-that is why the OP would have to receive A's in all prerequisites. PA schools are receiving about 11k applicants a year (crazy competitive).
Wow a 3.8 for nursing school in FL and CO? That's crazy, they must be getting thousands of applicants. Even medical schools, pharmacy schools, physician's assistant programs, and medical PhD programs don't usually require a GPA that high.
A nursing program at a community college where I live has had a waiting list for as long as I can remember. It's been around since before the Great Recession, so I can only imagine that things are worse now. You have to be pretty impressive to get in right away. Some locals have said that it might be easier to get into the local PA program.
And I'll add that it's good you are thinking about what to do but that those two fields, although similar in terms of both being in healthcare, are quite different in many other ways.
If you are really interested in the field and to increase your chances of attending a good program, you should consider trying to work in a place as related to your interests as possible. Even if that means volunteering your time. That shows interest and commitment.
In regards to nursing at a CC, don't be fooled that because its a CC its "much much easier" to get into their nursing program. Often they still want that high gpa, some prefer or want past work experience and "welcome to the wait list" for some schools. yea they say its only 2 years but not really, assuming you take a year of prerequsites and then if you don't get in, and instead placed on the wait list, that 2 years suddenly becomes much more.
The overall point is, if you decide to go nursing whether it is a BSN or ADN, keep the grades up, the CC nursing programs are just as popular as the 4 year programs- little quarter will be given
Yeah that's a shame how super competitive some nursing schools have become in some areas. I hear the issue is that they don't have enough instructors. I guess it's difficult for practicing nurses to teach part-time because they often work such long shifts. At least in medical school and physician's assistant programs you can PhD medical researchers to teach many of the classes unlike nursing programs.
^^Supposedly (from what I have read in the nursing literature) nurses with master's degrees can make more outside of academia, and that is the reason for the shortage of instructors.
Well a semester ago I took Anatomy I, Gen I & 2, Bio 1 and did pretty well. I got all A's, though at a community collecge. I did not enroll this semester due to health issues, but I'm worried about my gap of few semester will hinder my application.
At the moment I feel much wiser and smarter in class not that I'm smart is because I am motivated.
The only problem is my negative feeling I get due to my past academic.
I will give it a shot and see what happens. Nurse or PT.
Oh, and most colleges will transfer credits from U of P to meet basic two years requirement. For instance, if I wanted to get a second bachelor I would only be require to take core classes only.
Matter of fact I was accepted to state school and university without any issue. The problem is graduate school look at things differently.
However, many of you on the fourm are correct that I got to want this so bad because school is long and intense.
Any career that pays decent requires education these days.
^^Supposedly (from what I have read in the nursing literature) nurses with master's degrees can make more outside of academia, and that is the reason for the shortage of instructors.
and we're getting old and tired and since the "you will always have a job as a nurse" mentality is rampant,
we have to be even more selective. We are dealing with people's lives people!!!
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