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career counseling help: urgent!?

I want to be a physical therapist. Specifically aquatic therapist. My problem is that I know I have to go through school to get there but which is the fastest/best way. I'm in a comunity college right now under a biology degree and then would transfer to a pt school hopefully in one year. however there is another community college where i can get a pta degree. which is better? im looking to get into a career as fast as possible. i just want my dream to come true. and i know "patience is a virtue" but i've been patient for 3 years now with nothing to show for it. please help, anyone please.

Public Comments

1. If you are looking for a quicker way to enter into the field of physical therapy, than the pta sounds more reasonable, however, the pay is going to be much less for someone with an associate's degree in pt (pta) versus a master's degree in pt :) Getting into a master's degree program though is extremely competitive, and it's said that the prospective student must have a 4.0 gpa in prereq courses (such as physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology) and a 4.0 overall gpa. Please note that one should take 'anatomy and physiology' as opposed to 'human anatomy' which may not transfer so it's crucial to check with the individual school to find out what transfers. For either program, please consider applying to more than just one school to help increase the chance of acceptance. (There are many more programs for the pt as opposed to the pta.) The program should be accredited within the industry (by the american physical therapy association) to even be considered. Here is a website for more info about pt: http://www.apta.org For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and search 'physical therapists' and 'physical therapist assistants' or such. For US colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ Edit: The gpa requirements may or may not have changed (for professional pt school), but about ten years ago, it was a 4.0 requirement for both prereq's and overall and even more challenging to get into pt school than medical school! It probably hasn't changed, but please do check with the individual school of physical therapy as it doesn't sound too surprising since going to pt school takes a lot less of a time as well as financial committment than medical school :) Edit: Wow! No need to get tiffy ;) When my friend checked around even for occupational therapy over ten years ago, that was what admissions was saying was needed, a 4.0 gpa due to the limited amount of seats in the classroom and the competitiveness of the field. There was no professional school of ot or pt that was saying that a 3.0 was satisfactory. Perhaps in the college handbook it was ok, but with all of the applicants, they were weeding students out by looking at the gpa.
2. The above post is somewhat correct, but there are some flaws in that answer. First, remember that faster isn't always better. I've known many PTAs who wished they had done the PT degree from the beginning because when they wanted to become a PT, they had to start at "square one" since none of the PTA classes transfer to the PT program. To enter a PT program certainly requires good grades, but 4.0 is hardly a requirement. Most PT programs have a minimum GPA prequirement of 2.5 or 3.0. However, the average prerequisite GPA of those who are actually admitted into the program is usually around 3.5. Furthermore, the prerequisites for each program vary by school. I certainly DID had to take "anatomy and physiology" as prerequisite and then "physiology" and "gross human anatomy" as courses once I was in the PT program. Gross usually isn't often offered to students who are not yet in the program. However, my point is, that all programs are different in which courses they require and when. Yet, to answer your question, you could probably enter a PTA program at a CC this fall as long as you've had high school physics and any other courses they require. If you go to school full time, you'll be in the field in 2 years...yet, you will reach your ceiling quicker as well as your top pay. Furthermore, if you want to be an aquatic therapist, you may have difficulty finding a job as a PTA. Most aquatic programs I know are not big enough to support a PT and a PTA...mostly I've just known PTs who work in the water themselves. The only PTA I know who works in the water is also an ATC, so she can have that autonomy. ...just some thoughts. I'd strongly encourage you to keep on track for the PT degee. EDIT: I WAS in PT school ten years ago...4.0 was NEVER a requirement...certainly appreciated, but not required. Although I did have a 4.0, the average entering GPA of my class was 3.5. You can check the the prereq GPAs on www.apta.org You will see most of them are (and have been) 3.0. The statement that "PT school is harder to get into than med school" has been overly applied. This only spoke of the number of applicants versus the number of spots available. There were only 36 slots available when 350 applied. Yet, we must remember that the caliber of students who apply to med school and PT school is much different. I certainly consider myself an excellent student, but Icertainly did not have to go through the turmoil of organic chem, microbiology, advanced calculus, etc that pre-med students need to go through...nor do we need to take the MCATS. I certainly do not consider my course of study equivelant to medical school. PT is certainly a competitive program, but let's not call it something it is not. ...yes, you are correct on that point...3.0 was what was listed in most handbooks, but 4.0 was the "unwritten" requirement if you wanted to GUARANTEE yourself a seat. Yet, there were still students in the 3.0-3.9 range that were admitted. I know what you are talking about as I was "told" the same unwritten rule...but when in came down to it, there were several students who did not attain that and, fortunately became very successful PTs. Students were looking for a way to pretty much guarantee themselves a seat...and getting a 4.0 was the best way to do it.