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Will you have to get a background check in PT school, or as part of the application process? As it turns out, you just might. If not, you may have to get one before starting certain clinicals or jobs. Here, you can see a list of states that require background checks for licensure. While I […]

Every few weeks, I see panicked messages from PT students and applicants wanting to know if they’ll be drug tested. While rare, some programs arrange for drug testing before school starts, while others do it during the program (especially before clinicals), and many others don’t do it at all. Often, certain clinicals or jobs will

If you’re filling out PTCAS observation hours, you’ll have to indicate which setting you were in. While some settings might be obvious, the level of detail PTCAS asks for can be confusing. What is the difference between subacute and acute? What is a SNF? Since PT’s can work in dozens of places, I’ll stick to

An important component of applying to PT school is the reference section, for your letters of recommendation (LOR). Like the personal statement essays, the reference letters are a chance to set yourself apart from other applicants who will mostly have similar transcripts, grades, test scores, and observation hours to yours. Each PT school in PTCAS

Can you work with athletes as a physical therapist? Well, that depends on how you define “athlete.” In a typical outpatient orthopedic clinic, you’ll probably treat a bunch of high school athletes and weekend warriors. If you’re close to a college, you might get to work with some athletes there as well. Or you might

Current physical therapy students are always reaching out asking, “Do you need to get good grades in PT school?” While it is great to have top grades, it isn’t actually that important – unless you’re planning on applying to a residency or PhD program in the future. The most important part of PT school is

After applying and scoring an interview, most of the hard work applying to PT school is done, but often one stressor remains: What is proper PT program interview attire? As with most things in life, it’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed. First impressions are always important, and for better or worse, dressing up

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

This question has been asked all over the internet, but it can be hard to quantify. First of all, we need to start with knowing how many applicants get into physical therapy school in the first place as it’s hard to get into PT school. How many students who apply to PT school get accepted

Updated March 2026 The current PTCAS application cycle officially opened on June 16, 2025 and will end in June 2026. During an APTA virtual fair in 2024, they stated that the main PTCAS essay prompt stays the same for 2-3 years. For 2024-25, the spirit of the prompt stayed the same as the previous year,