My PT story begins with the difficult choice between pharmacy and physical therapy. Like most people, I looked for career choices that would provide what everyone looks for in an ideal profession: money, free time, and fulfillment. After high school, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Walgreens–Chicago College of Pharmacy Career Explorers Program summer internship hosted by Midwestern University, which influenced me to enter my college years as a pre-pharmacy major. Although the classes weren’t terribly challenging, I felt anxious about my major for most of my freshman year. Later that year, I began to research and look into physical therapy again and realized that I made a mistake and was simply blinded by the dollar signs in the pharmacy career path. Physical therapy is the field that would not only bring food to the table, but also enable me to make a more meaningful impact in people’s lives.

Crossing My Fingers

My university has a 3+3 program in...

As a native born Kenyan, a question that frequently eluded my upbringing was simply, “aren’t you supposed to be a phenomenal runner?” This is of course in reference to the rich history of Kenyan marathoners who never fail to disappoint when it comes to showcasing their consistent ability to win and win big. In response to this question, I have often found myself responding with a clever, “every champion needs a fan, I happen to be just that.” Honestly speaking however, this has become much more than a clever response, it became my excuse. I somehow came to the conclusion that in regards to my physical fitness, I was meant to simply be nothing more than a bystander, a “fan.”

Many of our goals, resolutions, and ambitions are at times erased by our self-doubts and excuses. “I definitely can’t do that because of__________,” or “I can’t compare with how ____________ does that.” These along with many other...

Structure and Balance. These two words mean a lot to us as pre-PT students and DPT students. But what exactly are the the top 3 steps to mastering your pre-PT school/life balance?

1. Balance doesn’t exist, but priorities do

Even if you’re doing multiple things simultaneously, you’re still not doing them all at the same time. Even in that midst of multitasking, you’re turning off your attention to one thing as your switch your attention to another. If you’re doing 2 things, you’re putting in 50% to each of those things. If it’s 3 things, you’re putting in 33% to each one. Each time you add another, you are reducing your ability to focus on your PRIORITIES.

You might have a ton of different opportunities presented in front of you and might be thinking, “How can I possibly balance and manage all of these things at once?” But what is important to you? What are your priorities? Are you aware of your priorities? Have you wrote...

Are you flying too low as a pre-PT? Let’s use an analogy to talk through this. For example, let’s talk about eagles and pigeons. Eagles are very majestic, strong, and dominant birds. They usually fly alone and tend to fly very high above a storm and above EVERYTHING else. And then there are the pigeons. The majority of pre-PT students are like pigeons. Pigeons will typically flock together in big groups. They’ll designate a leader and then switch or rotate as they fly.

Like the pigeons, as a pre-PT, you might be surrounded by many people that will tell you. “You know what..you’ve taken the GRE three times already. Maybe you should do something else. Maybe you should consider taking a different avenue.” You might be surrounded by who tell you, “maybe this isn’t your calling” and try to persuade you not to commit to a certain career. At the end of the day, those people are the pigeons that are flying around with you. 

Then,...

Imagine that you have received your acceptance to the PT school of your dreams. It’s a HUGE accomplishment and something to be proud of! Now that you have gone through the process, have you reached out to other Pre-PT students? I’ve learned paying it forward to help another student who was in my shoes is the best feeling.   

I realized being a mentor was what I am passionate about and that I enjoy helping students succeed. I know that I have been through the same application, took the same GRE, and got invited to an interview. I’ve learned about the whole process and what PT schools look for in their applicants. Being a mentor for Pre-PT’s and helping out in any way I can all came from being apart of the Pre-PT Grind community.

I found Pre-PT Grind a few months before I submitted my application last year. I knew there wasn’t a platform like this where it felt like a community of individuals. When I did reach out to the team to tell them...

"Find people who believe in you more than you even believe in yourself."

Do you ever just get so overwhelmed? Studying for tests, working at your job, filling out applications, studying for the GRE, trying to maintain a social life, and everything else? No doubt, it is TOUGH trying to juggle all of that. But don’t stop putting in the work. Keep training your mind and your body to put up with the stress of life because you’ll get to that next level of graduate school and it will just get more intense than it is now. Life doesn’t get harder, you get better.

If you’re applying to PT school now, have you felt really good about the direction you’re headed in and felt so confident? At some point, have you felt yourself slipping, having frustrations, or even doubting yourself? Maybe right now, you’re at the point where you we’re saying to yourself, “I don’t know..I really don’t know if I’m going to be able to get through...

What prompts those of us with already stable careers to take the leap and apply to PT school later in life? Are we driven by unseen forces and internal fire? Are we simply bored with our current career path and looking for a change? And most of all, is it worth taking the leap?

"I love the independence and freedom I have as a practicing PT."

Applying to PT school as an established professional and well developed adult has its positive selling points. We tend to look more well-rounded on applications because of the additional experiences those years have given us. Perhaps we have travelled, lived in a foreign country, run a business, or raised children. We bring to the table a maturity, and in making this transition to PT school later in life, we show we are serious.

Making this decision as an older candidate also comes with a different variety of challenges. Perhaps we are in the process of raising small children, have mortgage payments to make, or feel inept at using modern...

Spending weeks of writing and editing your application essays can easily leave you feeling emotionally and mentally drained. I’ve been in the same boat of working tirelessly through what seems like constant writer’s block. Unfortunately, I repeatedly asked myself the same question: “Is my essay what the admissions committee is looking for?”

I had the pleasure of speaking with 4 individuals involved with the admissions process through their respective physical therapy programs. While each program will have differing opinions on each of the following questions, overall each of the 4 individuals wrote similar answers for each question. The following answers are direct quotes (with minimal editing).

I truly hope that this post helps guide you through this stressful time, and I wish you the best of luck with completing your essays!

 1. What are qualities that you typically look for in an essay?

• Make sure you answer the question or theme the essay is...

"Are you just an average PT student? Or will you be an excellent PT student who will then become an excellent PT?"

What would your perfect PT school applicant look like? The most interesting part about it is that many times, it’s pre-PT’s that are saying, “If I were on the other end, what is it that programs are looking for? What would I be looking for if I were a faculty member or as a student that's already in the PT program? What would I’ve been looking for?” Before we get into conversation, this is a question that you should think about as a pre-PT. If you are able to answer it, it will help you so much in terms of putting you in a position where you can now become your own perfect PT school applicant.

So first of all, let’s get the elephant out of the room. Let’s address it. We gotta talk about GPA. We gotta talk about GRE. The admissions crew for the school you are applying to look at those things. They have to pay their...

"Based on the compound law of improvement, if everyday we commit to become 2% better than yesterday, our performance will be more than 1,000 times better one year later."

Being a PT is rewarding and promising. We are able to help people get better and return to doing things they enjoy just with our brains and hands, and we don’t rely on medications, expensive machines or scalpels. Our professional knowledge enables us to do amazing things. However, becoming a PT is no doubt a grind. As a PT who just finished school fairly recently, I would like to talk about three attributes that I think are the most important to succeed in school and become an effective therapist.

1. Be Open-minded: Lifelong Learning

We all know that learning continuously is important, and it’s important to establish the
habit of learning inside and out of the classroom. Acquiring PT-related knowledge helps
us treat our patients better. Also, continuing education is...