The PTCAS application cycle begins each year in June, so the earliest you can start applying to physical therapy programs is the summer before your senior year of college. (Although many future physical therapists students take at least one gap year, and some applicants apply several years after graduating and starting other careers).
If, for example, you’re graduating from undergrad in the spring of 2025, you’ll probably want to start applying in the summer of 2024 and be part of the 2024-25 cycle. This likely means starting a PT program in the summer or fall of 2025, and graduating from a typical three-year program in 2028.
Most programs allow you to apply during your senior year of college, which could mean applying with a few pre-requisites remaining, based on the understanding that you will complete everything appropriately. Your acceptance is then conditional upon finishing your degree and/or any outstanding pre-reqs with passing grades. Each school will have slightly different rules for this, so make sure to double check how many pre-reqs can be left for you to complete while you apply.
Many programs have deadlines throughout the fall, but some deadlines come as early as August. Several schools using rolling admissions, so it is better to apply sooner rather than later – as long as you don’t rush your application. PTCAS is extremely time-consuming, and it can also be complicated and detailed, so it is best to carefully read through all directions and make sure you’re not making mistakes.
You can ask for letters of recommendation in the spring before you apply, so that the writers are prepared and can have their letters ready to go as soon as the application opens. Most programs will allow you to apply with a few pre-requisites outstanding, with the understanding that you complete (and pass) them if you’re accepted.
If it’s your second time applying to PT programs, some part of your application will copy over between cycles. And some applicants who really want to get a head start can start entering some of these things in the spring before applying, so they can carry them over and have them out of the way when the cycle opens again in June.
So which aspects of PTCAS will carry over between cycles?
Your biographic information, coursework, schools attended, official test scores, attached transcripts, observation hours, experiences, achievements, licenses and certifications will all carry over between cycles. The coursework section in particular is very time consuming since you must enter every single college course and grade you’ve ever taken, in addition to having your transcripts sent over.
The following part of the application won’t transfer over from one cycle to the next: letters of reference, payments, essays, and program-specific information.
You’re allowed to add or change just a few things after submitting your PTCAS application, so keep this in mind before finalizing it.
The personal statement prompt for the essay that will be sent out to each school tends to change every 2-3 years. For the 2024-25 it is: “Every person has a background, an identity, interests, or talents which they feel their application would be incomplete without having mentioned. Describe the traits or experiences that make you unique and explain how they will help you be a successful physical therapist.”
Supplemental essays tend to stay the same from year to year, so you can start these early if you want, keeping in mind that there is possibility they could change too.
Good luck applying!