When we decide to become a doctor of physical therapy, we don’t do it because we “just found the career.” We do it because we have a real reason for why we want to. Sometimes, that reason is because of past injuries. Sometimes, it’s based on a specific scenario that we had or the experiences that we have. But why do you want to become a physical therapist?

Once we decide that physical therapy is a career that we want to 110% invest in, is there really a way to guarantee an acceptance letter? Is it even possible? This is definitely a question that so many pre-PT students have. It’s the elephant in the room because it’s the question that most of us are too scared to asked. We’re too scared to ask it because it’s risky. It becomes scarier the harder your current situation is. It becomes scarier if you have a really low GPA. It becomes scarier when you’ve already applied 2 times. It becomes scarier when you’ve taken...

Finals week has not eaten all semester and it’s starting to get HUNGRY! Whether you have finals in 4 weeks or 6 weeks, here are 10 ways to study quickly and efficiently in order to survive finals week.

1. Start early: What are you doing?! Run! Don’t be like that person in the horror movies that is a deer in the headlights of their impending doom! If you plan ahead of time you’ll have more time to review difficult material and you’ll never have to cram the night before the test. You’ll almost always perform better when starting early. Use the time you have NOW to start planning!

2. Break it up: Split up your study session into the smallest pieces possible. The study tasks will be far less daunting and you’ll be much more productive if you study 2 pages of notes and take a 5 min break other than studying 15 pages with a 10 min break. However, in order to do this you must follow tip #1 and start early enough.

3. Walk it out:...

"If no one has told you lately, I believe in you."

So, the time for applying to physical therapy school is over. This cycle has passed, and you didn’t get in. The resounding question in your mind asks, “Now what?” I mean, you put damn near everything into your preparation for getting into a program. All the prerequisite classes, observation hours, GRE studying, and extracurricular activity led you to this moment. It feels like it was all for no reason doesn’t it? You would have been better off going down an easier career route. This isn’t really for you, and you are not really meant to be a physical therapist. At least, this is what the negative voice in your head is saying. Let’s face the facts, rejection sucks. It can be that guy or girl you had a crush on who put you in the friend zone. It could be the one time you tried to use your debit or credit card, and it was rejected or declined due to insufficient funds. In this situation, it is the...

"Burnout does not discriminate."

Sometimes it feels like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. No one asked me to be the bearer of their burdens. I don’t recall anyone asking me to carry their cross for them. Maybe it felt like some of these things were indirectly asked of me. Truthfully, it could be my anxiety acting up again, or it could be my drive to be the best version of myself possible. I feel like I owe it to my parents to give them the world. We all know no matter what we do, there is no way to return the favor of everything our parents and grandparents have done for us. For some, it may be an aunt, uncle, older sibling, and the list goes on and on.

To be completely transparent with you, you don’t owe anyone a thing. Your responsibility is to yourself because by bettering yourself, it becomes possible to provide more value to those around you. How many times have you tried to put too much on your plate as a means of validating your worth? I know I have...

For those of you who have applied to physical therapy school and been rejected..it’s a crappy feeling. A range of emotions are flying through your brain, sadness, anger, and fear are just to name a few. What do you do next? First, you need to figure out what you can improve on from the last application cycle. After that game plan is created, there are four questions you need to ask yourself before making your next move towards receiving that acceptance letter.

Question #1: “Why am I doing this?”

It’s a very simple question, but very important nonetheless. Our ‘why’ at Pre-PT Grind is to help as many pre-PTs get into PT school even though everything about the system, from faculty members sometimes even family members, set you up to lose. That's our mission, to help those who want to beat the odds and take the next step to the career they envisioned. Why do you want to become a PT? Is it for your family, supporting your kids, proving someone wrong?...

Today, we want to talk about the number one way you’re not going to get into PT school. Now, you’re probably thinking of a ton of different things: low grades, low GPA, bad GRE score, not enough observation hours, unorganized essays, something got messed up on PTCAS...all of these could definitely limit your chances of getting in to PT school.

So, yes! That is part of it. But, another way that you definitely won’t get into PT school is by doubting yourself. Putting more energy into doubting yourself than putting more energy in to get your white coat. Putting more energy into saying what you are not and what you can’t do, instead of saying what you are and what you CAN do.

A lot of times we’re really focused on those doubts. We focus on what we don’t have, what we can’t do, why we sucked at this, and why we didn’t get a good grade in this class. If you continue to do that, it will eventually become your outcome because that’s...

Before fully committing to the journey of becoming a physical therapist, you have to really figure out if physical therapy as a career is right for you. Don’t be led by the energy of others. It’s easy for those who love physical therapy to boast about all the reasons why they love it and why they are passionate about it, but you have to figure out if it’s for you. Think to yourself, “Is this the right time? Is PT even my calling? Is PT the route that I should be going?” And if we can figure that out, then great things happen.

The honest truth is, that’s not going to be the same for every single person. You shouldn’t be choosing physical therapy as a career because you see other people pursuing it. If you’re observing a physical therapist and you really admire their energy and how they work with patients, that should not be why you decide to go into it. It should be YOUR reason why and no one else’s. Dig deep into yourself and...

As a pre-PT student, how do you handle hearing "no" from mentors, advisors or even PT programs? It's so easy to become discouraged, unmotivated, and not hopeful when you're told there's not a chance you can do something.

How do we handle being told that we can’t? It really starts by understanding that this journey is filled with a lot of NO’s. Here are 7 ways to handle rejection as a pre-PT student.

1. Remember your “WHY” 

If you haven’t already, you need to find your reason why you want to pursue a career in physical therapy. Did you pick PT because of the patient interactions you've had through observation hours, or because of your own personal experiences with physical therapy? Use YOUR WHY as fuel that drives and motivates you to push through the toughest times. At the end of the day, this is so important and it will be one of the driving factors to help you get over rejections you may face.

2. Do this for yourself

Sometimes we...

A lot of people, especially through the Pre-Doctor of Physical Therapy Students Facebook page, always ask questions like, “Have you gone to a physical therapy interview for this school? How was it? What should I know going into it? What questions did they ask?” That’s what that Facebook page is for, and we are so glad you can benefit from others through posts like that.

Today, we want to talk about physical therapy school interviews and campus visits and the 3 steps to help you fight your nervousness. Because it’s a real thing and it can screw up and what you’ve worked so hard for. Have you thought about getting to that interview and then thinking, “Man, my heart’s pounding. I can feel those butterflies. I just don’t know what to say when the time comes up.” Let’s tackle how to handle those nerves.

1. Be over-prepared

A lack of preparation is killing a lot of you guys. If you’re thinking that you only need an hour to...

One of the biggest questions we get from pre-PT students throughout the year is "what types of questions should I ask at my physical therapy interview or campus visit so I can stand out?" Sometimes those unique questions you ask are the ones that make you memorable! Here are just a few of the many questions we think you should ask to stand out:

1. What extracurricular activities/community services opportunities do the students participate in?  

A lot of people sometimes forget to ask programs this question! At this point, you’ve probably had some volunteering experience under your belt..so why not ask what the program does in their community to serve others? Asking will show that you care - being involved in your community is so important! As far as extracurricular activities go, what do the students get involved in? Do they play on intramural teams?

2. What is the student/professor relationship like?

Observe how the students and professors interact during your...