Options and Opportunities

Well today I completed my first real Insanity workout, and although it kicked my ass, I felt wonderful for achieving something so small.  What a great way to begin! :)  I'm looking forward to finishing this goal.  :)  But it left me feeling motivated, energetic, optimistic, and in a mood to accomplish/research/make some decisions.

Lately, those who are the most important in my life have been asking me the same question: "Why don't you just go for Physical Therapy?" (as opposed to Physical Therapy Assistant which I'm currently hoping works out).  For a while, I blew these questions off.  But recently, the point that they're trying to make through this question has been sinking in.  Why don't I just go for my Doctorate in PT?

So courtesy of my uplifted mood, I decided to do some research.  Get some dates in mind, and make some plans/goals on this front. This is what I want to do with my life, so I need to stop wasting time and move towards my end goal. 

I've found four schools that I'm interested in.  Three in NC, one in SC.  I am going to apply to them all because they all appeal to me for different reasons, and if I am accepted to more than one, decide which one then.  There are many reasons why I'm interested in these particular schools -- proximity to family, to home, to the beach, to the boy (when he returns -- and yes, that is a small voice in the back of my mind.  I've always maintained the mentality that I shouldn't choose my school based on a relationship, but that has never worked out for me.  So perhaps it's time for me to start taking my heart into consideration.  Key word consideration.  Such attachments are not the primary decision maker, but I'm going to take them into consideration -- both romantic attachments and familiy attachments).  But here are the schools, and the short story about admissions to each one:

ECU
Nov 1: ECU PT Application Due for following Summer
- Apply separately both to DPT program and Grad school
- 100 shadowing hours (at least): in patient, out patient, rehabilitation, long term care, geriatrics, pediatrics
- 2 letters of reference: licensed PT’s who supervised shadowing
- 1 other letter of reference
- 30 students accepted



Duke
October 1: application online due
- 3 year program (Aug – May)
- Apply through www.ptcas.org
- $28,000 annual cost
- Average GPA of accepted in past 3 years: 3.56
- GRE… Verbal: 497-514 Quantitative: 656-662
- 2 letters from academic sources; 1 from a physical therapist
- 70 students accepted



Elon
Rolling applications prior to January enrollment
- Min GPA of 3.0 (3.3 average last year)
- GRE: combined 1000, writing 2.5 (1660 was average last year)
- Letters of Recommendation: 1 from physical therapist, 1 from science instructor
- Personal statement
- Minimum 100 hours shadowing (at least 20 in a physical therapy acute inpatient care or hospital setting)
- Apply from Office of Graduate Admissions
- 3 year program



USC
Nov 1 Deadline
- 2 letters of recommendation: academic or clinical
- GRE at least 1000
- GPA minimum 3.0
- 18 students accepted
- No interview


What do you think? :)