HEY HEY! Today marks the start of my PTCAS application series #dptwiththecc! Every Tuesday and Friday for the next month (roughly), I will have a post about each aspect of the PTCAS application. I will share my tips and tricks, + what I think helped me get accepted into my top choice (a top 10 program) on my 1st try!

Okay so when I started undergrad, I knew I wanted to pursue physical therapy. With that goal in mind, the first thing I did was RESEARCH! I used a site called Start Class to find out what DPT programs were located in NC. Unfortunately, this site is no longer available. At the time, this site had lots of information about each program, including 1st try NPTE pass rates, tuition costs, class sizes, average GPAs, and graduation rates! PTCAS has a Program Directory that sorts programs by name and by state, and each program’s PTCAS page should have most of this information. I picked about 5-7 schools that I was interested in, and made a spreadsheet of all of the pre-reqs I needed to take to apply. Luckily, many of these courses overlapped with my Kinesiology major requirements (one reason I chose that specific major). In that spreadsheet, I had the course name, its credit hours, and the grade I received. It was super convenient to have everything in one place, so I would highly recommend doing something similar to this to stay organized. I also always checked each program’s course requirements through PTCAS when registering for classes, to make sure that my university’s version of the course would count. Thankfully, the Kinesiology department at my university had detailed plans of study for us to follow, outlining what classes we needed to take each semester to graduate on time. As a freshman, I used this plan to map out my entire undergraduate career! I had a list of every class I needed to graduate (major classes + pre-req classes), so I created a pseudo-schedule for each semester. I made sure to spread out the more challenging science courses (biology, anatomy, physics, etc.), and “counter” them with my easier GEC (general/elective) courses. I also tried to only take 13-15 credit hours per semester. That way, I wasn’t drowning in work 24/7. This saved me a lot of time, because when it was time to register for classes each semester, my schedule was essentially set!

With the academic portion of the PTCAS application planned out, I had more time to focus on other things (like shadowing, volunteering, and trying to actually enjoy college lol).

I hope this post helped you, and gave you some ideas about how to get organized if you’re thinking about applying to PT school. If you have any questions, comment below or DM me on Instagram anytime! Stay tuned for next week’s post about GRADES!