Fast-Track a Career in Physical Therapy

Students who accelerate their bachelor’s degree can fast-track their way into careers that require additional schooling, such as Physical Therapy.

Our youngest son earned a bachelor’s in Health Sciences as a first step toward becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy. He accelerated his bachelor’s degree using CLEP and Dual Enrollment during high school and after earning his bachelor’s degree, was immediately accepted into a highly competitive DPT program. He was the youngest in his DPT class at 22.

While this post dives into the educational path to become a physical therapist, the research I did for my student might help yours reach their college and career goals, no matter the vocation they choose. Understanding how courses and credits can be linked across high school, college, and graduate school will help you see the big picture and plan out the details. Along the way, you are encouraged to invest in the process of career exploration together. Learn more about how I can help.

UPDATE FEB 2022: Levi graduated May 2020 and readily accepted a one-year contract position – in Hawaii! He and his wife enjoyed their time working and living on the island of O‘ahu. If you are wondering … yes, we spent a month visiting! They continue to travel to adventure locations while Levi works as a travel PT.

How to Become a Physical Therapist

Physical Therapists need a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. All states require physical therapists to be licensed. Learn more

Physical Therapy is a 3-year doctorate program. Admission to any DPT program is a highly competitive. Acceptance rates range between 5-10% of all applicants. Don’t let this stop your student from being enthusiastic about this career option. I encourage parents to be actively involved no matter what vocation your student chooses. YOU are the best career and college coach your students have by providing guidance and being the guard rails.

1. Complete an Undergraduate Degree

Many DPT programs require a bachelor’s degree for admission. Some offer a hybrid program where students start the DPT program prior to earning their bachelors. Specific educational prerequisites, such as classes in anatomy, biology, chemistry, and physics, must be included in any undergraduate degree. Understand the admission requirements for graduate school PRIOR to beginning a bachelor’s degree to avoid having to take additional courses AFTER earning a bachelor’s just to meet the application requirements for the doctorate program.

Two important considerations:

Admission to a DPT program is not guaranteed. Consider the work your student would do with a bachelor’s in: Health Sciences, Kinesiology, or Physical Training. These are common undergrad degrees for those wanting a career in Physical Therapy. Review similar occupations.

Second, each school determines their admissions criteria to their DPT program. Many DPT schools use the centralized application service: Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS). Reviewing this site will make it easy to find the specific educational prerequisites for each DPT school. Students may have to work with the advising department of their undergrad college and be very hands-on to ensure these credit requirements are a part of their bachelor’s degree plan. Without this over-site, students may have to take additional coursework beyond their bachelor’s, delaying their DPT application by a year.

OUR PLAN: Levi wanted to attend a Minnesota college, or one within driving distance of our home. This narrowed his options to just five DPT schools. I built a spreadsheet that listed the specific DPT educational prerequisites for each of these schools. This helped him create a plan for his undergraduate degree. He ultimately decided on a B.S. in Health Sciences because it was the most aligned to the DPT admission requirements. His specific courses and how he accelerated his degree is included below.

2. Prepare to Apply to DPT Programs

When near completion of the bachelor’s, students can apply to graduate school. PTCAS, the centralized application service: Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) allows applicants to use a single application and one set of materials to apply to multiple DPT programs. Many of these requirements can be completed during the time students are completing a bachelor’s. For a student who has used CLEP and Dual Enrollment in high school, these steps may happen during their dual enrollment years.

Requirements often include:

• completing a 4-year degree that includes prerequisite courses
• submitting a qualifying score on a GRE exam (think ACT for college students)
• submission of grades for specific undergraduate courses
• letters of recommendation (consider 2 from science or math professors and one from an employer or supervisor from a volunteer position)
• logged hours of PT observation
• submission of a written personal statement

Review the PTCAS Directory to determine the number and types of evaluators required by each program. As part of your undergrad degree, build rapport with at least two professors so you can ask them to be an evaluator.

OUR PLAN: We had read how students were disqualified from admission for administrative errors – not meeting deadlines, for example. Levi created a one-sheet guide that included every deadline that included when he would sit for the GRE, a range of months he would complete his observation hours, etc. He wanted to carve out a 3-month window to backpack through SE Asia with his sister who was already traveling internationally. We celebrated when Levi was admitted upon first try to one of the two schools he ultimately applied to. He later learned that many of his peers applied several times to several schools before being accepted.

3. Make a Financial Plan

DPT programs typically are 3 years, or 33 months. Students attend year-round, including summers. Most programs have one class of about 50 students each year with a June start date. Internships are part of the program. Sometimes that includes living away from campus for several months. Total cost, personal finance, and managing student loan debt are critical discussions. The American Physical Therapy Association has a link on their website to a free online personal finance course.

OUR FINANCE PLAN: We had financial conversations early and often. Levi’s undergraduate degree cost about $16,000 total (keep reading). However, outside of loans, I did not find a cost-saving measure for a DPT degree. His program will cost $90,000. (108 credits x $850/credit). He and his wife share the philosophy, “Live like a student now so when you are no longer a student you don’t have to!” However, it will still take about 3-5 years after graduation to pay back this loan.

4. Pass the Licensing Exam

All states require physical therapists to be licensed. Licensing requirements vary by state but all include passing the National Physical Therapy Examination administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Preparation for this exam is built into a DPT program.

Physical Therapy Assistant – Should You Start Here?

These are two very different programs and one will not lead to the other. PTA’s are required to complete a 2-year Associate of Applied Science degree (AAS). This is a vocation-specific program. The courses are completely different and should your student want to switch to DPT, he/she would need to start from the beginning.

Accelerate Your Bachelor’s Degree

Our Strategy

Levi earned his Bachelors in Health Sciences in 2017 from The College of St. Scholastica (a private school in MN). His entire undergraduate degree cost $16,000, and he completed it just 1.5 years after high school graduation. Your student might be able to apply some of these tips and save time and money.

Earn college credits in high school with CLEP and DSST

Earning college credits in middle and high school with CLEP and DSST was a strategy we used with all three of our children. We used CLEP as a final exam to high school courses that they were already studying. Prior to 11th grade, Levi took 12 exams and banked over 30 college credits (one year). He completed a few more exams during college to satisfy more credit requirements. It is important to note that CLEP/DSST are scored as pass/fail. DPT applicants must submit grades for specific educational prerequisites, so some courses cannot be tested out of. Of the CLEP/DSST credits Levi earned, only one exam was not applied to his degree.

Enroll in PSEO (Dual Enrollment) in grades 11/12

In MN, fully-funded dual enrollment is available for qualifying students in grades 11/12. By grade 11, I had developed a spreadsheet of all the courses required as part of his chosen 4-year degree. Most of the math and science lab courses could be taken on-campus at a local community college, then transferred to the university. It is good to note that Levi felt his community college learning experience was better than that of many of his peers. Smaller class sizes and easy access to professors helped him succeed and really enjoy his courses.

Build a 4-year degree plan early

In my research, I stumbled upon a line that made all the difference in the world: The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN gave “priority review” for its DPT program to its alumni. From their website: “Priority review means that applicants who have earned a degree from St. Scholastica, and have met all program eligibility requirements, will be considered for possible admission prior to applicants with degrees from other colleges or universities. Please note that priority review does not guarantee admission.”

With admission hovering at 5%, I felt this was an advantage worth investing in. Prior to grade 11, I worked with a college advisor from CSS to outline the courses required for a Health Sciences degree and position him for meeting all admission requirements for the DPT program at CSS. This course plan included meeting CSS’s undergrad requirement that the last 32 credits must be taken from CSS. This also meant that the first three years could be transferred in! CLEP, PSEO, and Community College credits all cost less than university credits. We got confirmation along the way to ensure credit requirements were being met with transfer credits. Ask questions and get answers in writing (email or web links). The last thing you want is to take a class and be surprised that it won’t transfer in where you expected.

As Levi moved through grades 11 and 12 (years 2 and 3 of college), he carefully planned his last year of college credits. These would need to be taken directly from CSS. He worked into his plan only courses that could be completed online. CSS’ campus is two hours from us and he chose to continue living at home, working at his part time job, and saving for his upcoming travels.

Pay attention to application recommendations

The application process is long and the recommendations are many! While Levi drove the process, I gladly supported his efforts by creating spreadsheets, making suggestions on navigating the process, and reminding him of upcoming deadlines.

He also included life experiences that would add value to his PT skills and service-oriented experiences he could list on his school application. Since schools have limited slots, they seem to vet students not just for their academic ability, but character, and overall interest in serving people. One of Levi’s experiences that he was able to participate in because he was taking his final year of credits online, was a 3-month training/work program through a Christian organization held in the Wisconsin Dells. His investment in skill development and life experiences was well documented as part of the application process.

A quick sketch of his bachelor’s degree credit distribution:

I hope this post encourages you and your student!

Photo: Levi on one of the many mountain tops he climbed while backpacking in SE Asia before starting the DPT program.

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Tags: clep, Physical Therapy

Category: Blog, Creating a Plan