<p>I reside in Rhode Island, I'm a Junior in high school. Wanted to know what are the best physical therapy schools in the nation. I would really like to leave long distance to the Midwest, somewhere preferably colder like RI. Or should I just go to URI and attend it's program? HELP!!!!</p>
<p>My daughter is a senior and wants to go into PT also. As long as the school is accredited and the passing rate for the national exam is over 90%, I wouldn’t get too hung up on rankings. The best advice I can give is look at universities that have a 6-year doctorate program with direct admission. Most of the public universities require a bachelor’s degree. You apply to the doctorate program the end of your junior year after you take the GRE exam. The 6-year direct admit programs will admit some of the class directly from high school based on g.p.a. and SAT/ACT scores. Those admitted will be starting the graduate program in their 4th year. Undergrad scholarships and tuition continue through the 4th year even though you’re taking graduate classes. So you’re only paying the graduate school rates for 2 years. Some universities that offer the direct admit program include Marquette U., Washington U.-St. Louis, St. Louis U., U. of Indianapolis. There are many more. Just search for 6 year direct admission doctorate physical therapy programs.</p>
<p>Also a smaller private that has a 6/7 yr. direct admit is the University of Evansville (Indiana). Their scholarships continue for all 6 years I believe.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.evansville.edu/majors/physicaltherapy/freshman.cfm”>http://www.evansville.edu/majors/physicaltherapy/freshman.cfm</a></p>
<p>Look at Ithaca College in upstate NY. Their PT program has always been one of the best in the country. It used to be a five year program, graduating with a Masters but now it takes their students directly through to their PhD (six or seven years).</p>
<p>I agree with amtc above. Ithaca College is a great school. We live in RI and my DS is a sophomore there in the Physical Therapy program and loves it. The 6 year direct admit program is a nice perk in that the student doesn’t have to take any future entrance exams or submit further applications to the graduate portion of the program. Ithaca is a test optional school so you do not have to submit SAT/ACT scores if you feel your scores do not reflect the type of student you are. My son did very well in HS, ranked in in the top 10 out of 250 in his class, scored a 5 on 4 AP exams yet continued to score extremely low on the SAT & ACT. He received the maximum merit scholarship at Ithaca. I know you mentioned midwest but Ithaca is a pleasant 5 1/2 hr drive from RI (max would be 6 3/4 hr depending on where you live in the state). The weather is very similar to RI although they tend to get more snow and probably somewhat colder. My son loves it there and has only come home for breaks although it is nice to know that we can get to him rather quickly if an emergency did arise.</p>