I’m going into my senior year and have been preparing for the college process thoroughly for the last 4 years but I have one problem, I have no idea what colleges to apply to. I live in Rhode Island and it’s always been my dream to go far for college. I’m Latino and African American, I do 3 extracurricular activities, and I am All- Division in Football and All-State in Wrestling. I got a 1550 on my SAT but plan to taking it again in October and I dont know my GPA yet because my school doesn’t give us it unitl later into our senior year but I believe I have anywhere form the 3.1-3.4 range. I plan on majoring in Physical Therapy or any sports medicine related major in college. I’m applying to University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College as a safety net school, and my top school is Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Other than that I don’t know what schools I should apply to this year. I would love to go to a school outside of New England that’s maybe on the bigger side but not too big and athletics is not what I’m concerned about in the applicaiton process but it surely is a plus. I plan on doing early action for all of my schools also. Info on any decent physical therapy school and the culture and demographics of that school would be very helpful, thank you.
If you wish to to be a Physical Therapist it will require a bachelors degree and 3 years in a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) program. What you major in will not be so important as getting very good grades and completing the prerequisite courses. You will also be required to take the GRE. Another option is to be a physical therapy assistant. This is a two year program assuming you have the appropriate math and science background.
The Physical Therapist prescribes patient programs. The Physical Therapy Assistant is the person who works with patients as they work the exercises the PT proscribes.
@ivvcsf While it is true that the physical therapist develops and prescribes a treatment plan for a patient, it is important to note that many DPTs are very active in the treatment process as well. There are many variables including practice setting, location of the country, etc. It’s also important to note that a physical therapy assistant works under the supervision of a physical therapist and there are limitations in their scope of practice. I encourage any student who is interested in going into any type of therapy profession to really do their homework about job outlook in the area they wish to practice , and to speak with therapists in the field. Therapy programs are very competitive at many schools , and the market doesn’t necessarily support the number of graduates. Will you be able to find a job once you graduate?Probably . Will it necessarily be with the population that you want to work with? Maybe not. This is not meant to be negative or discouraging. I just hate to see graduates come out of school with large debt expecting their pick of jobs and be surprised at their prospects. There is a somewhat pervasive belief that therapists will always have job security , and unfortunately that’s not always the case.
@carolinamom2boys I have a D who is a senior and also interested in becoming a PT. It was unclear from the OP’s post whether or not he understood that a physical therapy degree is a graduate program. It is my opinion from researching this that where you get your undergraduate degree is not as much of an issue as how well you do in your undergraduate degree, the prerequisite courses and your GRE. I also understand that it is normally required that an undergraduate have at least a 100 hours of observation in a variety of PT settings (ie. nursing facilities, sports medicine, hospitals etc.) DPT programs are usually expensive so I would be inclined to recommend that one go somewhere as an undergraduate that will leave them with as little debt as possible.
PTA programs are normally given at community colleges (at least here in Ohio) but are difficult to get into. They offer them at for profit colleges as well but I would discourage people from pursuing a degree at one.
As an athlete it sounds as if the OP might be interested in helping other athletes. Sports Medicine, Sports training, exercise physiology, kinesiology are degrees that might help the OP work with athletes. I am sure I am only scratching the surface. Good luck.
@ivvcsf I’m glad your D has done her homework. You are exactly right that many times people are unaware of the amount of school necessary to complete a degree. They see potential salaries , and are easily swayed . Personally, I am an occupational therapist whose been practicing for over 30 years and there have been many changes in the therapy world in those 30 years, some good and some bad. I also tend to discourage for profit programs, especially ones that are
awaiting accreditation
Some others degrees I recommend are biomedical engineering( clinical emhasis) , rehab engineering or orthotist/prosthetist. Good luck to your daughter in her educational pursuits
You may want to research SUNY Buffalo – my D’s friend is in a PT program there and is very happy (despite the cold winters there!). And SUNY schools have very reasonable OOS rates. For a smaller private school you can read up on UScranton.
PT programs are graduate programs . You need to look at pre PT or Health Sciences undergrad. PT programs are very competitive so choose an undergrad school that you can do well academically.
I have a friend who’s in an accelerated 5 or 6 year (I can’t remember which) program for PT at Quinnipiac University in CT. Check them out.