Pre-PT Grind | Physical Therapy School Podcast · Pre-PT Grind

311. How To Get Into Physical Therapy School With A Low GPA | Pre PT Chat Live

·56 min·2 clips

A 3.4 student who started at 4.0 looks different from a 3.4 student who started at 2.7.

1. Pre-PT Chat Live, episode 311 of the Pre-PT Grind show, asks 'Can you still be a physical therapist with a low GPA?' and builds its answer around a concept called grade trend. 2. Casey hosts the live stream and is joined by Joseph, author of Pre-PT Grind, who notes that he and Casey both attended Andrews University. 3. The central thesis is that a GPA is 'one point on the graph' while grade trend is the line of multiple points showing how an applicant got there, and that admissions committees weigh the direction of that line. 4. The salary segment cites a 2023 UpDoc Media Job Market Pulse email: about $81,000 for acute care, $100,000 for home health, $105,000 for military, $116,000 for pediatric home health and $68,000 for pelvic health. 5. Casey notes the standard deviation is roughly $14,000 to $16,000, and Joseph adds that pay depends on how much value a PT brings, saying 'we all think that a doctorate is enough. Which it's not.' 6. In the 'are you smarter than a physical therapist' quiz, the answers are ankle sprain as the most common injury, gluteus maximus as the largest muscle, the stapedius in the inner ear as the smallest, and more than 250 PT programs in the United States. 7. The main event contrasts a 3.4 applicant who fell from 4.0 with one who rose from 2.7, and Casey says observation hours, volunteer hours and certifications 'do not show how well you're going to do in school.' 8. Joseph frames the issue from the school's side, saying programs fear a student who might get kicked out and lower their success rate, and he warns that applicants who rely on others' low-GPA acceptances can end up applying four or more years in a row. 9. In the Q&A, the hosts say PTA-to-PT bridge programs are 'more competitive' than regular programs and cost as much, that athletic trainers mostly work with athletes while PTs work with everyone, and that the best major is the easiest one since no major is required. 10. Pre-PT students with a low GPA, and applicants worried about a falling grade trend, will get the most from this.

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