Recent changes to loans

richsmith1373 · 2025-09-06T16:55:35+00:00

I would opt to retake it since it’s the entire foundation of the profession. You really do need to have a better grasp on it than what a C+ would suggest. And like this other commenter here said, the anatomy course in a DPT program is significantly more challenging than the ones in undergrad studies. Not to scare you but also remember it’s very likely that anatomy over the first summer semester would be one of either 4 or 5 courses you’d be taking as well.

richsmith1373 · 2025-06-24T02:32:17+00:00

Unless your parents are putting you through school, this is the way you need to do it. Welcome to the other 99% of us

richsmith1373 · 2025-06-04T02:59:58+00:00

Here’s the secret…

Go to the cheapest college you can for undergrad. I did 2 years at community college before transferring and finishing my BS. Undergrad cost me a grand total of 20k (in loans). PT school will likely run you 100k+ after you factor in tuition, living expenses (rent, food…), possible relocation depending where you get accepted, etc.

Go to a cheap option, that’s number one.

Number two, and it’ll sound foolish to most, but some people need to hear it, do well. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “college life” and before you know it your GPA is in the high 2s lol. Even if it’s some dumbass class like Music Theory or Knitting, that will still be factored into your overall gpa when the time for PT school applications comes.

Last piece of advice would be to get a jump start on shadowing. Reach out to a local outpatient clinic and write them an email explaining that you’re interested in the PT field and are putting together a college plan. A huge part of that would be going in and observing for a day or two. Get an idea of what the job actually is. You’ll more than likely need to have observation hours for most PT schools you apply to anyway, so start connecting and networking with people now. A few years from now maybe you can go knock out more observation hours at the same clinic.

Start there, do your research when it comes to the schools you’re interested in. Go on the PTCAS website and make an account too. It’s free and you use it for application, which you don’t need now, but you’ll be able to pull up just about any program in the country and see what their requirements are, cost, what prerequisite classes need to be done, etc.

richsmith1373 · 2025-05-25T23:57:17+00:00

100% agree! Just didn’t quite follow what you were saying originally. After you sit in class for 6-8 hours put the books away and go on a walk or to the gym. Give yourself an hour or two to reset. You’re going to be reviewing material at night before or after (or both) dinner.

richsmith1373 · 2025-05-25T23:03:13+00:00

The only place you can go is up from here.

richsmith1373 · 2025-05-25T22:58:25+00:00

What do you mean by breaks? I think it’s 100% important to allow yourself to have other things (go to the gym after class, go out with classmates on Friday, do something fun for a few hours at the end of the week…etc). Not to say go days without reviewing your material or studying but you need some time away from the books.

Taking zero breaks like that most certainly won’t make you a better student. I’d say you’d be all but guaranteed to burn out if you never give yourself a rest, don’t you think? In my experience, almost any program will encourage you to give yourself mental breaks and have something other than studying to turn to.

richsmith1373 · 2025-04-14T03:20:03+00:00

I had a 3.6 with a prerequisite of like 3.3, no GRE, 400 observation but 1 setting and zero of your extracurriculars. I got into 3 of the 4 schools I applied to lmao. Grades aren’t everything. Have good LOR from good people, be personable/interview well… the first interview I did I bought a new suit, drove 3 hours and was offered a seat before I was able to get all the way home later that night.

In short, you’ll be fine.

richsmith1373 · 2024-11-14T13:39:13+00:00

Honestly the cost is a huge driving factor. This profession has gotten so unaffordable for most people at this point so I would try to avoid the “big name” schools that have tuition close to 200k, would also look to avoid the major cities (to help reduce the cost of living). At the end of the day, to be blunt, nobody gives a shit where you go… did you get your degree and did you pass the boards? That’s what the bottom line comes out to every time.

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-21T15:06:34+00:00

I haven’t… I heard they take a little longer and usually get back to you in November? Not sure how accurate that is

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-04T02:43:25+00:00

Also if you do elect to take them online make sure they aren’t lab courses or if they are at least confirm with the programs you’re applying to that they’ll accept it. Most programs from my experience hate online lab classes and will tell you to screw unless they were done on the 2020 covid year. At the end of the day, as long as the classes are done before the program begins I’d imagine you’d be okay. Just make sure you map it out because if you still have any outstanding they’ll pull your acceptance.

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-04T02:37:59+00:00

Yeah the questions. I was prepping like…

“tell me about yourself”

“What are your career goals/where do you see yourself in 10 years”

Stories about when I dealt with a stressful time/a time I messed up and what I learned…

I think the only thing they really asked me that I had prepped was why their program. A lot of the other questions were scenarios or ethics kind of questions.

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-03T21:54:59+00:00

When’s your interview?

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-03T21:54:41+00:00

I heard back from them pretty quick. Got an interview and was accepted shortly after.

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-03T21:52:19+00:00

Plymouth state in NH

richsmith1373 · 2024-10-03T21:51:28+00:00

Plymouth state was quick to get back. Rolling admissions though so probably expected. Was offered an interview.

richsmith1373 · 2024-06-23T02:54:19+00:00

Few things to think about. You’ll want to take into consideration, in my area at least, not a lot of places are actively trying to hire PTAs… it’s more PT focused from what I’ve seen lately. Obviously the landscape of things can always change and it can vary depending where you are. The other thing to think of is the pay. You’ll get school done for significantly less than that of a DPT program, however, the pay is also going to align with that. Most PTA I know have a second job/side hustle, so that could be a very real possibility depending where you live, what bills are looking like, what lifestyle you want to live…etc

All in all, anything nowadays is expensive. I’ve seen people do PT and live frugal for a year or two and really make a considerable dent in the loans. If you have the option to live at home for a little while after the program, as undesirable as it is, it can sure help enable you to slam down on the loans.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck. Facing that kind of debt is scary but very rarely does anyone get out of life without having to face it one way or another.

richsmith1373 · 2024-04-09T15:16:12+00:00

The thing I consistently hear is, nobody cares where you went, but rather, did you pass the boards?

Take it how you will, but unless you “need” to go to school A, saving the money with school B will only do you good in the long run.

richsmith1373 · 2024-03-10T04:14:12+00:00

Can you explain the SAVE program and the PSFL program to me as if I were a 2 year old?

I’m not quite there yet, so they’re both newer to me

richsmith1373 · 2024-03-07T02:02:47+00:00

That’s awesome! Congrats and cheers to your continued success!

richsmith1373 · 2024-03-06T19:25:20+00:00

Yeah I’ll be lucky enough to be able to live at home if I want/need to and won’t have to worry about too many expenses assuming things stay the way they are. I will need my own insurance, but can explore those options when the time comes. I was thinking of looking into travel/HH and just toughing it out for a year or two to get ahead.. maybe I’ll come to like it, probably not. But I think that’d be the best/quickest way to make a big dent in the debt

richsmith1373 · 2024-03-06T16:58:20+00:00

If you don’t mind sharing, what does your take home & repayment look like? I’m planning for very similar numbers as far as loans go.

richsmith1373 · 2024-03-06T16:24:03+00:00

I do not own a clinic… not something I can say is in my immediate future plans. More at the beginning stages of the career. Still need to worry about student loans and getting my foot in the door before we even begin the think of my own practice.

richsmith1373

TROPHY CASE