General Information for Pre-Physical Therapy Students

MAJOR
There is no preferred or required major for students who want to enter physical therapy programs; therefore, students may major in any subject. However, in order to be admitted, one must complete a number of required courses and maintain an excellent grade point average.

REQUIRED COURSES
It is extremely important to note that there are no uniform prerequisites for all physical therapy programs. More than half of the PT programs require the following courses.

A. 2 semesters of general chemistry 1 semester of organic chemistry	CHM 115-116 or CHM 255-256 or CHM 261-262
B. Physics	PHYS 220-221
C. Statistics	STAT 301, SOC 382 or equivalent
D. Psychology	PSY 120, PSY 350 or an upper-level course
E. English	ENGL 101-102 or ENGL 103 and an additional 3 credit hours of English
F. Anatomy and Physiology	BIOL 203–204 or BIOL 301-302

Students are advised to check the requirements for the schools to which they plan to apply, as they may be significantly different from the courses listed above. Additional requirements might include zoology, microbiology, or neurobiology, communications, literature, philosophy, ethics, history, sociology, fine arts, or computer science.

HOURS OF OBSERVATION
Many schools require a student to have volunteer or paid experience in physical therapy settings under the supervision of a Physical Therapist. The number of hours required varies from 20 - 300. Again, it is important to check with individual schools to find out the number of hours they require

STANDARIZED TESTS
Most physical therapy schools require the Graduate Record Examination, GRE, to be submitted with each application. The GRE is only offered on the computer and no longer available in the paper and pencil format. To register to take the GRE call your local Sylvan Learning Center, or the general number at 1800-GRE-CALL. Register early in order to get your preferred test date. The GRE consists of four sections, verbal, quantitative, analytical and an experimental section, which is not scored. If you want more information on the GRE, visit the website at www.gre.org.

SELECTION VARIABLES
Admission to PT school is competitive. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, APTA, beginning January 1, 2002, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), will no longer accredit baccalaureate professional programs. This means that students will need to have a bachelor degree before they enter a PT program. The minimum GPA needed to apply to most schools is 3.0, however, the average GPA of students accepted at Indiana University ranged from 3.3 – 3.7. In addition to a good GPA, schools consider an applicant’s GRE score, hours of experience in the field, letters of recommendation, and a personal interview.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Each PT program requires a separate application. Students should request applications from individual schools beginning in August. The deadlines differ between schools, for instance, many schools have an October deadline while others may have a December or January due date. Be sure to check with individual PT schools for application availability as well as deadlines for completion.

To obtain more information on PT schools visit APTA’s web site www.apta.org or read the Directory of Accredited Physical Therapy Education Programs. For additional information, you may direct questions to Health Professions Advisor. Call 494-4747 to schedule an appointment.

Amy Terstriep
Health Professions Advisor
Purdue University
1-112 Lilly Hall of Life Sciences
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054
(765) 494-4747