<p>My son is a junior and has a 3.4 GPA unweighted...4.03 weighted. He is taking his SAT and ACT over the next few months. He is in in a rigorous college prep program with all pre-AP classes and AP classes. He is very athletic and plays n the school's baseball team. Last year he was JV captain. He is planning on going into physical therapy. Any suggestions for schools that could offer him a good merit aid package? We live in Nevada and would prefer west coast, but not a must.</p>
<p>Have you researched what it takes to get into PT school? It’s VERY difficult and he will need top grades, 4.0 or close, in college. I would suggest searching for programs that have a combined UG/MA program. They are also moving toward needing a doctorate in PT to practice so look into the requirements for that as well.</p>
<p>I would suggest also looking into Athletic Training. It isn’t as competitive of a program and would allow him to work in a high school, college or clinical setting.</p>
<p>Thanks!! Athletic Trainig is an undergraduate program that he has considered as well, since many schools offer it as a pre- pt degree. Do you know schools offering good merit scholarships for athletic training?</p>
<p>Any suggestions for schools that could offer him a good merit aid package?</p>
<p>It will largely depend on his SAT or ACT. Test scores are primary. GPA doesn’t usually determine merit…it’s just the secondary part of qualifying for merit. </p>
<p>The merit will largely come from the school regardless of major. Your son would be “pre-PT”, pre-health, pre-professional, or however the particular school defines it.</p>
<p>Until your son has ACT and SAT score (take both), no one here can know who might give him merit.</p>
<p>How much merit does he need? How much can you pay? For instance, if you can pay about $15k per year, that amount (plus a small student loan if necessary), could pay for room, board, fees, books, travel, and misc expenses. That would mean that he’d need a FULL tuition scholarship to pay for tuition.</p>
<p>how did he do on the PSAT?</p>
<p>I agree, there are a lot of schools our there with fantastic merit aid but until you know test scores it’s really hard to give a good answer. Head over to the “schools known for Merit Aid” thread and see if there are schools on that list you like and then look to see if they have athletic training programs. Also be aware that AT is moving to MA program as well.</p>
<p>He got a 154 on his PSAT…and 1710 on a diagnostic SAT tht he took last week, without the writen portion. He takes his SAT next month and his ACT in April. I guess I should update this post then for guidance.</p>
<p>The scores would need to come up to be a contender for big merit aid. Have you done any research on need-based Financial Aid? Many families do not qualify (even though unable to pay full fare), but it is worth checking… especially if you will be having multiple students in college at once.</p>
<p>I agree, his GPA and test scores need to come up, a lot. I would suggest taking the ACT as some people do better on that. Also, is it realistic for him to get a 3.8 or better in college?</p>
<p>Athletic training is a good undergrad for PT but it’s not easy to get into either. If he ends up with good scores, and doesn’t mind looking at the Midwest, there are several good schools with direct entry to PT as long as undergrad requirements are met, and offer fairly good merit aid. Look at St Ambrose in Iowa, Maryville in St Louis, and University of Evansville.</p>
<p>Post 2 mentions masters programs in PT. Actually there are very few masters level PT programs now. Almost all have transitioned to DPT. The poster above mentioned Evansville. One nice thing about the merit scholarships there is that they are continued for the graduate study years for the direct entry students, though the value of the full tuition scholarships are not quite full tuition for all the graduate study years as they remain at the value of the scholarship in the fourth year for the remainder of the students’ time at UE. D1 is a graduate of the program at UE.</p>
<p>What I know is that it is hard to get into PT school. He will need good grades for the admission. What about the training in athletic. As per my self it is not so competitive. Hope this will be helpful.</p>
<p>What I know is that it is hard to get into PT school. He will need good grades for the admission. What about the training in athletic. As per my self it is not so competitive. Hope this will be helpful. </p>
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<p>My daughter also wants to go into physical therapy. She’s applying to (most) colleges as a physiology major. We figured it would be a good vigorous major that would offer a very sound foundation for her. She’ll be competing with pre-med students, but I still think it’d be great preparation for the profession. I know a lot of kids who aim for PT major in kinesiology. (I’ve actually never heard of “Athletic Training” as a major… learned something today!)</p>
<p>My husband was recently getting physical therapy, as asked the therapists forsuggestions for my son, they mentioned athletic training and to stay away from kinesiology. Three different therapists mentioned that kinesiology limits their job opportunities, since it is a very specific field. Athletic training and or course pre-physical training would give him more opportunities. It was also interesting when we went to tour SUU; the guide told us that 2 friends interested in pt are both majoring in Spanish. They just need to be sure to get all the pre-requisites that are required to pt placement.</p>
<p>He got a 154 on his PSAT…and 1710 on a diagnostic SAT tht he took last week, without the writen portion. He takes his SAT next month and his ACT in April. I guess I should update this post then for guidance.</p>
<p>His scores would have to come up a lot. A 1710 SAT suggests about a 1150 Math + CR SAT. </p>
<p>I don’t know what level of schools you’re looking at, but I would guess that he’d need at least a 1350 Math + CR SAT to be in the running for some decent merit. The writing score isn’t used to determine merit at most schools. </p>
<p>How much merit do you need? How much will you pay each year? </p>
<p>To get the largest merit awards, your child needs to apply to the schools that give merit and where his Math + CR scores are around the upper 10% of the school. </p>
<p>Some private schools give modest merit awards as “tuition reductions” or incentives. However, if the total cost is $55k per year and the school gives a modest $5k per year merit, then you could be expected to pay the remaining $50k per year.</p>
<p>would prefer west coast, but not a must </p>
<p>The west coast is not a great source for merit without really high stats.</p>
<p>Do you know schools offering good merit scholarships for athletic training?</p>
<p>He’s not likely going to find scholarships for that major (at least not ones of any size). The scholarships will be from the SCHOOL because of stats regardless of major.</p>
<p>I am a physical therapist who went to college eons ago! In my era one could become a PT with just a bachelors degree in physical therapy. . Now, an entry level PT is a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. It is a long. long haul and kinda an expensive one. It now requires an undergraduate degree then applying to a Doctorate in Physical Therapy program which is another two to three years. It is very competitive and one must have good grades in the sciences (physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology) to be admitted.</p>