Prepare for Physical Therapy School – Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center

What do you need to be a strong candidate for physical therapy school?

Three key factors that physical therapy (PT) schools are looking for:

Strong academic performance: A high GPA in prerequisite and upper-division science coursework can show schools you are prepared for their curriculum.
Evidence of experience and personal development: PT experience can help you determine whether PT is the right fit. Your experiences (both related and unrelated to health) can also show schools that you have the qualities they are looking for in a future PT.
Strong entrance exam scores (if applicable): Like your GPA, your entrance exam score can suggest that you are ready for the rigor of PT school.

More information on each factor can be found in their respective sections below.

Prerequisites Experience and Personal Development Researching Schools Entrance Exam Tracker Templates

Prerequisites

Most importantly, remember that requirements vary by school! You must research to create a list of all the prerequisites needed to apply to the schools you are interested in attending.

Physical Therapy (DPT) Program Information: We compiled some information on the DPT programs in the US. Please note that we still recommend you to do your own research alongside this guide.

Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) Program Directory: A complete list of DPT programs and their requirements (healthcare experience hours, standardized exams, prerequisite coursework, GPA, etc.) is available via the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). This is a resource by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

More than 25% of the programs in this field require the following UHM courses for admission:

BIOL 171/171L and 172/172L	Introduction to Biology I and II	8 cr.
CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L	General Chemistry I and II*	8 cr.
PHYS 151/151L and 152/152L (or PHYS 170/170L and 272/272L)	College Physics I and II (or General Physics I and II)	8 or 9 cr.
MATH 140 or higher	Precalculus or higher*	3 cr.
BIOL/BOT 220**, ECON 321, or PSY/SOCS 225	Statistics	3 cr.
PHYL 141/141L and 142/142L (or PHYL 301/301L and 302/302L)	Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II	8 or 10 cr.
PSY 100	Survey to Psychology	3 cr.
PSY 240 or 371	Advanced Psychology Course (Developmental or Abnormal)	3 cr.
ENG 100	English Composition	3 cr.

Please note that if you retake courses because PT schools may not accept Advanced Placement (AP), online, or community college credit, your financial aid and/or scholarship status may be affected.

Additional requirements may include CPR certification and courses such as kinesiology (KRS 305, 353, 415, 416, 419, 420, 421, or 463), social sciences, and humanities. It is also recommended that non-science majors take additional upper-division or advanced science electives beyond the prerequisites listed above.

Summary of Prerequisites

For a list of other generally recommended pre-health courses, click here.

CHEM 171/171L might not be accepted by physical therapy schools in place of CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L. Students should double-check with the schools they are interested in if the schools would accept CHEM 171/171L in place of CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L.

*If you are planning on taking a chemistry or math course for the first time, please make sure to fulfill the placement exam requirement before registration.

**Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology or Marine Biology from Fall 2021 and on are required to take BIOL/BOT 220 as a major requirement.

*** KRS 354/354L is a major restricted course. Its prerequisites are KRS 113 or PHYL 103 or PHYL 142/142L (or concurrent), or BIOL 171/171L (or concurrent). To enroll, complete the KRS 354/354L prerequisites and email the instructor for an override. More seats may be available during the spring and summer semesters.

UH Mānoa Applicant GPA Statistics

Category	UH Mānoa Applicants	UH Mānoa Accepted
2023
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.43	3.5
Cumulative Undergraduate BCPM*	3.17	3.28
2022
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.3	3.39
Cumulative Undergraduate BCPM*	3.05	3.18
2021
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.32	3.46
Cumulative Undergraduate BCPM*	3.03	3.23

Additional Applicant Information

To calculate the PTCAS GPA, please see the PTCAS GPA Calculation website and PAC's PTCAS GPA Calculation spreadsheet for more help. This guide is for reference. Please do not enter any estimates calculated from this guide into your application. Enter course information as it appears on transcripts only.

Experience and Personal Development

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Nation-wide Engagement Opportunities

PAC's PTCAS Achievement / Experience / Observation / License Log Template

In addition to test scores and GPA, PT applicants must demonstrate their core competencies through experiences and interviews. Thus, make sure that the chosen opportunities provide ways to establish and strengthen these competencies.

Experience Opportunities are available at hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers, shelters, rehabilitation facilities, etc.

Work or volunteer experience involving direct contact with people with disabilities, illness, or other disadvantages is essential.

PT schools may require 30 to 200+ hours of observation or experience.
- List of observation hours required by each school
- Some schools specify a minimum number of different settings for observation/experience, and may even specify a minimum number of hours in each setting. Be sure to check the specific requirements for each school!
- Schools may also require or strongly recommend that a letter of recommendation be written by a licensed PT.
  - LOR Requirement List

In addition to PT observation/experience, those who matriculate into PT school usually have these types of experiences:

Shadowing: To better understand the field and determine if it is the right fit for you.
- Email the Pre-Health Career Corps for shadowing opportunities at phcc@hawaii.edu
Volunteer work: To demonstrate your genuine interest in helping others and the larger communities.
- Clinical Volunteer: To gain experience in the health professional field in which you are interested; aids in determining if PT is the field you want to work in.
  - KRS Volunteer Sites - Clinical volunteer opportunities for pre-PT students
- Community Service: Not necessarily related to health, but demonstrates qualities that health professional schools seek.
Work Experience: Another way to be well-rounded and grow personally and professionally.

Other Experiences:

Internships/Fellowships: To gain experience in the health professional field you are interested in.
Enrichment: To be more well-rounded and gain experience communicating with others from different backgrounds.
Research: To ensure that you will be prepared for the research included in the program curriculum.

Personal Development:

It is not enough to complete experiences. Admission committees seek students who demonstrate qualities that will make them strong practitioners, such as empathy, compassion, a commitment to public service, high ethical and moral standards, a conscientious work ethic, and demonstrated maturity. These qualities should be gained throughout all of the previous experiences mentioned. If this is not the case, find other experiences from which you can grow. You also need to demonstrate these qualities by sharing what you gave and got out of the experiences in your application.

Gave = What and how did you contribute to the organization and/or the people through the organization? How did you make an impact?

Got = What did you get out of the experience? What skills did you gain or establish? What knowledge did you gain?

Keep in mind that: it’s not about what you’re doing, it’s why you're doing it. Why are these things important for you to dedicate your time to?

Networking:

Networking with peers and professionals enables you to meet people with similar interests. You can find a mentor to help lead you in the right direction or find a study buddy for your prerequisites and entrance exam!

UH Connect: If you are a UH student or alumni, you can find a professional mentor through the UH Connect website. You can use different search and matching tools to find UH alumni working in a field you are interested in within the site.
Clubs and Organizations
Pre-Health Undergraduate Mentoring Program

Experience Log:

When applying for professional school, you will be asked to list and describe the experiences you have gained in preparation for the profession of your interest. Rather than recalling all your experiences from memory, having an experience log will allow you to fill out your application quickly. Students can use their CVs as a record of these experiences. However, an experience log can include additional beneficial information, such as your employer’s contact information and a reflection portion of what you learned.

PAC's PTCAS Achievement / Experience / Observation / License Log Template

Researching Schools

There are currently ~235 accredited physical therapy (PT) schools in the US and Puerto Rico, each unique in its mission, philosophy, criteria, and strengths.

Directory of Accredited Physical Therapy Programs on the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) website.
Prerequisites for programs participating in PTCAS

Although there are resources that “rank” schools, the rankings are rarely pertinent for individual applicants. More important is whether there is a good match between the applicant and the school. To find schools that are a good fit for you, we recommend doing the following:

Assess your strengths, weaknesses, preferred learning style, and personality;
Start by considering all schools, which usually includes all 200+ schools;
Create your “Long List” by omitting the schools that do not match your professional interests, learning style, and personality;
Create your “Short List.” The shortlist includes the schools to which you will most likely apply. You will need your entrance exam scores and/or cumulative GPA to narrow your school choices. We strongly recommend that you apply to schools for which your entrance exam score and/or current cumulative GPA are within the ranges of those who were accepted into that program.
You can also consider other factors when categorizing your schools like prerequisites, pass rate on boards/ licensing exams, areas of specialization, and cost/ aid. When deciding how many schools to apply to, consider how many schools you can afford to apply to. Finally, consider if you want to attend the school if/when accepted, even if it is the only school to which you have been accepted.

If possible, visit the schools to see their facilities, talk to admissions directors, and chat with students.

Notes for international applicants:

Due to institutional, state, and federal requirements, health professional schools in the U.S. may process applications of international students differently than those of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Some schools do not admit any international students, so you will be limited in the number of schools they can apply to and need to research schools.
There may be additional requirements, such as showing proof that they can afford the costs of health professional school, as financial aid opportunities are very limited for international students.

Application Statistics

	Applicants	Applications	Average # of Applications/ Applicant
2023
UH Mānoa Applicants	47	168	4
UH Mānoa Matriculants	32	137	5
2022
UH Mānoa Applicants	40	182	5
UH Mānoa Matriculants	18	103	6
2021
UH Mānoa Applicants	45	248	6
UH Mānoa Matriculants	9	63	7

Based on data from the National Association of Academic Advisors for Health Professions (NAAHP).

View our Physical Therapy School Stats to see where UH Mānoa applicants applied to/matriculated into.

Reminder!

UH Mānoa has a preferred acceptance program for physical therapy school with the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP)!

Entrance Exam

Most physical therapy (PT) schools require applicants to take a standardized test called the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

GRE Overview

GRE Scores of Accepted Students

GRE Section	Applied	Accepted
2023
Quantitative	149.26	149.43
Verbal	148.58	148.42
Analytical	3.64	3.62
2022
Quantitative	148.98	149.98
Verbal	150.12	151.74
Analytical	3.71	3.75
2021
Quantitative	147.08	147.64
Verbal	145.11	147.19
Analytical	3.48	3.64

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