Physical Therapy Advising Plan
Physical Therapy (PT) is a health care profession designed to enhance the quality of life through the assessment, evaluation and
rehabilitation of a variety of anatomical and neuromuscular function. Physical therapists will treat disease, injury or deformity by
physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise. There are currently 213 accredited physical therapy program in the
U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information about Physical Therapy program you can visit the Physical Therapy Centralized
Application Service (PTCAS)
Pre-physical therapy students typically obtain a Bachelor’s of Science (B.S) or a Bachelor’s of Art (B.A) degree while completing the
requirements for admission to physical therapy school. PT schools do not require or prefer a particular undergraduate major.
1st Year
 Attend the general meetings for pre-health advising
 Investigate career information on the DePaul Pre-Health Advising webpage to identify professional health programs of interest.
 Start taking the core courses that need to be completed before taking the entrance exam required by the professional health
program (specifically general biology and general chemistry)
 Focus on classes and earn high academic grades.
 Over the summer volunteer/shadow
2nd Year
 Attend the general meetings for pre-health advising
 Take challenging courses to begin preparing for your health career
 Meet with the pre-health advisor to discuss academic and extracurricular
 Attend graduate school and professional school workshops
 Attend local graduate school fairs
 Look for meaningful opportunities to become involved such as research, job shadowing, volunteering, and mentoring.
 Take a practice General Record Exam (GRE) or sign up for a prep course
 Continue taking the core courses required for your professional health program
 Over the summer volunteer/shadow
3rd Year
 Meet with your advisor to discuss the admissions process and timeline for each school
 Begin to research and make a list of programs that you are interested in
 Continue to participate in unique and meaningful activities
 Double check your professional program requirements
 Register for the GRE at least 2-3 months prior to taking the test
 Study for the GRE and/or take a GRE prep class
 Take GRE
 Prepare draft of personal statement
 Meet with Pre-Health Advisory Committee for Letter of Recommendation or start to request letters of recommendation
 The PTCAS typically opens early July (July 1st): Start application process
 Review application for errors and then submit by/before August 15th if an Early Decision Applicant
4th Year
 Order transcripts to send to PTCAS
 Continue to apply to other programs if you are a regular decision applicant
 Meet with your PAC advisor to discuss GRE results and graduate schools you applied to
 If admitted apply for financial aid by March 1st
 Pay seat deposit by deadline
 Notify the Pre-Health Advisor of the schools you were admitted to and will matriculate.
Physical Therapy Advising Checklist
____1. RESEARCH the Physical Therapy Schools you are interested in. The first step for preparing for PT school is finding out what
programs you are interested in. A good place to start is the Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). The PTCAS
provides you with information on due dates, application requirements, prerequisites for each school, and other useful information.
www.ptcas.org
____2. PREREQUISITES: each school requires different prerequisites. Research each school carefully to make sure you have met all
the requirements for the application.
Required
Highly Recommended
Anatomy with lab
English Composition
Physiology with lab
Medical Terminology
1 year of general biology
Abnormal Psychology
1 year of general chemistry
Calculus
Statistics
General Psychology
Life Span or Human Development Psychology
*This is a typical example of what a PT school may require – make sure you check each school for their specific requirements.
____3. SIGN UP for the Pre-Health Advisory Committee (once you have completed Gen Chem and Gen BIO)
____4. GPA: The higher the GPA, the more competitive you will be. Here is a guideline for applying to PT school.
3.8 or higher: apply to 4-5 programs
3.5 or higher: apply to 6-7 programs
3.3 or higher: apply to 8-9 programs
3.0 or higher: apply to 10 programs or more
____5. KNOW the application start date and deadline along with all the prerequisites you will need for each school you are
interested in. The PTCAS opens up in early July with the Early Decision Application due August 15th. (www.ptcas.org)
____6. SHADOW: Start shadowing a Physical Therapist early and often. Physical Therapy schools can require anywhere from 25-200
hours of observation. Double check prerequisites on PTCAS.org to make sure you are getting the amount of observation hours you
need.
____7. BE INVOLVED: The more well-rounded your academic career the more competitive you will be. Become in activities and
involvement that is meaningful and unique.
____8. RECOMMENDATION: Most Physical Therapy schools do not require a committee recommendation. Therefore, line up 3-5
recommendations. The PTCAS will tell you which types of recommendations they require and accept. If unsure contact the schools
you are applying to, to determine what types of references they prefer. Recommendations through PTCAS are electronic.
____9. GRE: Register for the GRE 2-3 months prior to taking it and take the GRE 6-8 weeks prior to the application start date. Start
studying 3 months prior to taking the GRE. A score in the 50th percentile is Verbal 151, and Quantitative: 150, and Analytical: 40. The
average scores of student accepted to Illinois Programs are: Verbal: 154, Quantitative: 154, Analytical: 4.0 and a GPA: 3.64. More
information about the GRE can be found at www.ets.org.
____10. COMPOSE: Start to write your personal essay prior to the application in a word document. Each specific school may have a
supplemental essay as well. Once you have completed your essay make sure you edit it carefully and have other edit it as well.
____11. REQUEST official transcripts to be sent to you to aid you in filling out the coursework one month prior to your application
open date.
____12. DOUBLE CHECK/APPLY/SUBMIT: A lot of PT schools are on the PTCAS.org but not all of them. The earlier you apply the
better. Some schools have rolling admissions. Get all your application material ready a month prior to the application open date, fill
out the application, double/triple check for errors, and then submit!
PT School Tips for Success
1. Start looking at the PTCAS early and decide which schools you want to attend. Keep in mind not all schools are on the
PTCAS.
2. Don't wait until the last minute to start shadowing - start early.
3. Know what schools require for recommendations
4. Start looking at the PTCAS instructions in early June
5. Request all of your transcripts in June
6. In June, contact your recommendations so they can be aware they will be getting an email
7. You may need to resend your GRE scores to each school individually
8. Apply to as many schools as you can afford
9. Go to the Career Center to discuss other options if you are not admitted to PT School.
10. Apply as early as possible. Many schools have rolling admissions. Typically the PTCAS opens the first week of July.
Resources
Students who are interested in Physical Therapy Programs are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The GRE
revised General Test features questions that closely reflect the kind of thinking you'll do in graduate school. The GRE revised test has
three sections; verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. Once you have completed the GRE students can then
decide which scores to send to schools
GRE Resources: The following websites have information about the Graduate Record Examination
ETS.org - Test Centers and Dates
ETS.org - About the Test
ETS.org - Prepare for the Test
ETS.org - PowerPrep II
Manhattan Prep: http://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/
Kaplan: http://www.kaptest.com/GRE/Home/index.html
PT Schools in Illinois
Bradley University (10/15/2013)
Governors State University (10/15/2013)
Midwestern University – Downers Grove (12/16/2013)
Northwestern University (10/1/2013)
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (12/2/2013)
University of Illinois Chicago (10/1/2013
PT Schools in Wisconsin
Concordia University Wisconsin (11/1/2013)
Marquette University (10/15/2013)
University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse (11/1/2013)
University of Wisconsin – Madison (11/1/2013)
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (11/1/2013)
PT Schools in Indiana
Indiana University (10/1/2013)
University of Indianapolis (10/1/2013)
PT Schools in Iowa
Clarke University (11/1/2013
DesMoines University – Osteopathic Medical Center (12/16/2013)
St. Ambrose University (12/2/2013)
University of Iowa (11/1/2013)