3 Responses to “Is physical therapy school harder to get into than nursing school?”

1. tlc289 Says:
   April 7th, 2011 at 4:54 pm

   Mistify is correct. PT school is HARD to get into… I applied and was interviewed at two major PT schools and was denied — all while having 2 years of history working at a PT clinic while in school PLUS having a science GPA of 3.4. And they aren’t basic science courses they’re looking at… they’re looking at your final grades in courses such as physics, comparative A&P, animal physiology, etc. — these are upper-division courses — and those two classes alone were the most intellectually challenging courses I have ever taken. Although I earned B’s in both courses (there were maybe 5 A’s, 12 B’s and the rest C’s/D’s out of about 50 people), if I had earned A’s I might have gotten admitted. Plus, at the time of my interviews, it seemed as though EVERYbody was trying to get in…. very competitive. Great career choice, though… and almost all PT programs are going toward Master’s degrees at present. Within the next 4-5 years, this will change to only PhD programs in PT.

2. Jill Says:
   April 7th, 2011 at 4:54 pm

   It depends on the individual school. Some aren’t as competative for entry as others, and the GPA required will also vary from school to school. I’d be skeptical about the 3.5 GPA, that’s very high. Most health career programs like nursing only require a 2.5-3.0 for admission, not as high as a 3.5. But the higher GPA you have the better off you will be, as you might be more likely to get admitted.

3. mistify Says:
   April 7th, 2011 at 4:54 pm

   PT school is traditionally more challenging (from an academic stand point) as well as a competive standpoint.

   The prerequisites for PT school usually involves more of the sciences as well as it is a graduate degree whereas entry level nursing programs are still an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. The PT degree requires you take the GRE for entrance into most programs and that you complete a bachelor’s degree before you enter the program.

   As far as GPA, most schools have a minimum requirement of 3.0 for PT schools. However, due to the competitive nature of PT school, most students do not get in unless they have a 3.5. Of course, this depends on the number and quality of applicants each program has each year. As a general reference, it’s very common for PT schools to only take 20-30% of qualified applicants. For instance, if a program only has 30 slots, but they have 150 qualified applicants for those positions, this is a 20% acceptance rate. In other words, just because one meets the minimum requirements, does not guarantee admission. So the statement that you need a 3.5 to get, is pretty realistic in most cases.

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