Which Pre-Reqs Do You Need to Apply to PT School?

No matter which PT schools you apply to, or what your undergrad major was, you’ll need to have a certain set of pre-reqs under your belt. While these prerequisite courses vary from school to school, there are a few common ones that will apply to most PT programs:

• Anatomy / A&P 1 with lab
• Physiology / A&P 2 with lab
• Biology 1
• Biology 2
• General Chemistry 1 with lab
• General Chemistry 2 with lab
• General Physics 1 with lab
• General Physics 2 with lab
• Psychology
• Statistics

These courses were widely adopted by most PT schools in 2012 after a motion by the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT), an organization that comprises about 95% of PT schools.

Other common pre-reqs include English or writing, additional psychology courses, and exercise physiology. You can find a list of pre-reqs for each PT school on PTCAS here. Before applying to PT school, it’s important to figure out each school’s requirements and make a plan to satisfy them if you haven’t already.

There are two main purposes behind pre-reqs:

1. Schools want to make sure you have the foundational knowledge you’ll need to succeed in advanced graduated coursework.

2. They also want to ensure that you can do well academically in difficult classes.

PT programs differ in how many courses you can have outstanding when you submit your application. For example, a common application timeline can mean submitting your application in the fall of one year to start PT school in the fall of the next year. Many schools will allow you to submit the application while a few of those courses are still in progress. This might mean finishing up chemistry and physics in the fall, spring, or summer semesters.

In this situation, your potential acceptance will be conditional upon you passing these classes. In other words, if you fail, your acceptance will be revoked. Check with each program how many classes can be incomplete at the time you’re applying. If your grades are good overall, you’ll likely have more leeway with this, whereas if your GPA is lower, schools will be less likely to admit you not knowing how you’ve done in these key areas.

It’s also important to look into how long ago these pre-reqs can have been taken. For example, if you’re a nontraditional or second-career PT student, keep in mind that many programs mandate that your pre-requisites must have been taken within the last 5-10 years. If it’s been longer, you might have to retake these classes.

Schools will also differ in how they look at classes you’ve retaken. It’s common for applicants to retake prerequisites to boost their GPA. Most schools will average your attempts, while a few may just look at your final attempt.

If you’re taking pre-reqs after already graduating from college, try to find a cost-effective way to do so. Most people take these classes at community colleges, although there are a few PT programs that only accept coursework from four-year schools. I personally decided to become a PT after undergrad, so I took nine pre-reqs at three different state schools during a gap year while working as a PT aide to hit the requirements.

Applying to PT school is a time-consuming task and figuring out pre-reqs is part of that, but with a little extra research, you should be all set.