Pt School Acceptance Rate: Is It Hard To Get Into PT School?
PT School Acceptance Rate: Is It Hard To Get Into PT School? Getting into a PT program is entirely possible and a lot easier to do when you know what you’re up against. it’s a lot easier when you are certain of the requirements and know what you’re up against in terms of your competition.
Many applicants don’t get accepted simply because they don’t meet the mandatory requirements of the schools they apply to.
The average number of applicants and the average acceptance rate
One of the most central factors for determining how “hard” it is to get into PT school is knowing how many applicants you’re up against, and what percentage of all qualified applicants wind up getting accepted to a PT program.
What Are The Easiest Physical Therapy(PT) Schools To Get Into?
- University of Delaware.
- University of Pittsburgh.
- Creighton University.
- Washington University in St. Louis
- MGH Institute of Health Professions.
- U.S. Army-Baylor University
- Duke University.
- Emory University.
- Northwestern University
- University of Iowa.
Check on the 10 Best Easiest physical therapy schools to get into | PT schools Acceptance rates.
The Average Gre Scores For Getting Into PT School
When it comes to looking at the required Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores, there is no data within the CAPTE’s report to mention or show what the average GRE score is for accepted students. But, it’s pretty easy and straightforward how to figure out some basic data around these scores.
First, you need to understand that not every school requires you to write the GRE in order to apply to that school’s particular PT program. It would seem, however, that the majority of them do. Now, when it comes to knowing what the required scores are, it’s best to just look at the individual school(s) that you’re thinking of applying to. This is actually really easy and straightforward to do.
What degree do I need to have in order to enroll in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program?
All applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Although any undergraduate major is acceptable, for students in the initial stages of undergraduate preparation, a major in Kinesiology or the biological sciences tends to be the most direct route into a physical therapy program.
Average Number Of Volunteer Hours In PT Clinics Required Of Applicants
If you’re not aware, a large portion of PT schools requires their applicants to complete a specified number of hours observing in one or more PT clinics before applying. These hour requirements are different for every school and some schools don’t even require them. Of the schools that do, some of them require those hours to be verified while others don’t.
I wrote an extensive blog post on this topic, where I analyzed and broke down the average number of volunteer hours that PT schools across the US are requiring applicants to fulfill as part of the application process. You can access that blog post here: PT School Observation Hours: How Many are Needed for Applicants?
The quick takeaway from that article is that I found that the mean observational hour requirements across 238 PTCAS-participating schools are 54.5 hours. Non-PTCAS clinical observational hour requirements were not included in my analysis.
Prerequisite Course Requirements For PT School
If you’re planning on attempting to get into PT school, you need to be aware that there are a specific number of prerequisite courses that you must fulfill within your undergraduate studies.
Note: Your undergraduate degree or your major does not matter, so long as you’ve simply completed all the prerequisite coursework and done so with acceptable grades for the school(s) that you’re considering applying to.
- EVERY school requires coursework in anatomy and physiology.
- 98% of schools require two courses of chemistry (with lab components).
- 93% of schools require at least one course in psychology.
- 95% of schools require one course on introductory statistics.
- 98% of schools require two courses of physics (with lab components).
- 89% of schools require at least one course in biology (with a lab component).
The Average GPA Requirements To Get Into PT School
The next important number to consider when looking at the characteristics of accepted applicants is their undergraduate grade point average (GPA). Again, if we look at the chart data from the CAPTE’s report (the table listed above), we can see that the mean (average) undergraduate GPA of those accepted into a PT program for 2019 was 3.58 (on a 4.0 scale).
Many PT schools require a minimal GPA for undergraduate prerequisite courses AND a minimal overall undergraduate GPA. The CAPTE’s report does not specify whether the GPA data in the chart is an overall GPA or not. I would assume that it is, but it’s not specified.
