Most Recent News

Not much to say in this post because not too much has changed since last week.  I'll keep this brief.

1.  No word from Ohio State or Florida at this point.  I did learn within the past week however, that neither school holds interviews.

2.  Toledo notifies of acceptance/denial/wait list into their program next month.

3.  Ohio University's two week response period for individuals offered spots in the program lasts until February 5th.  If at that point the 44 spots are not filled they will go to the wait list.  I mailed them my official acceptance of my position on the wait list yesterday.

As new news develops, as always I will speak with my family and close friends first and then will keep all of you up to date on here.

Thanks for following me and my journey to physical therapy school.

The Waiting List

The waiting list.  The first time I read these words was back in December.  I received an email from the University of Pittsburgh that indicated that I had been placed on the waiting list for the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

At first glance, one may say that the waiting list is just as bad as getting completely rejected from the program.  However, that's not the case.  If someone who is offered a position declines his or her invitation to the program then individuals on the waiting list are contacted.  Whereas those who have been declined will not receive any such contact.

That's all well and good, but what I've have learned from the waiting list looks a little bit deeper at the term.

Wait:  stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else.  As United States citizens today the word "wait" scares most people because everyone wants everything right now, right away.  We are so impatient.  The ability to wait for something not only indicates an individual's patience but can also be an indication of one's faith.  Faith that something will occur or in my case faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.

I've learned over my twenty two years of life that He does not always give you what you want, when you want it.  Sometimes what you want for your life ISN'T what He wants for your life.  God has blessed me with the ability to be patient with just about everything.  My patience has continued to develop throughout the grad school process.

I have been discouraged at times but my faith has not wavered.  I know that the Lord will make His plan clear in His time.  I know that I really want to go to The Ohio State University to study physical therapy, but that may not be what the Lord wants for me and my life.

When you are impatient, pray and the Lord will provide.  Cast all your anxieties on the Lord and you will find relief like no other.

1 Peter 5:7  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Be patient.  

DPT Admissions -- Ohio University

Just following up on the interview I had last week at Ohio University.  The university indicated they would send acceptance/denial/wait list emails out today (Tuesday) to all individuals who received interviews.  80 interviewees for 44 spots.

I received an email this morning indicating I have been place on the alternate list.  I'm kind of bummed because I felt that the interview went very well.  For those of you unfamiliar with what the alternate list means I'll explain it for you.  Basically the program has selected 44 individuals for the 44 spots in the program.  I do not know where on the alternate list I am or if there is any specific order.  If a spot on the list does open however, I will be contacted by the program and offered a spot.

There is a two week time frame for individuals who were offered a spot to accept or decline the position.

It's all in God's hands.  It will all work out.

Still no word from Ohio State or Florida.

More updates to come.

Interview -- Ohio University

The interview this morning was scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM.  I arrived around 8:30 or so, fifteen minutes prior to when registration began.

I entered Grover Hall (the health sciences building) and I had no idea where to go.  After a quick glance over the building map I proceeded up to the second floor, which housed the physical therapy department.  I was greeted by two current physical therapy students at the top of the steps and was given a folder and nametag

The folder contained the schedule for the day:

9:00 – 10:00 AM – Meet the faculty and learn about OU Doctorate in Physical Therapy

10:00 – 10:15 AM – Break

10:15 – 11:15 AM – Interview and tour the PT Department

11:20 – 12:00 PM – Meeting with current OUDPT students

12:00 – 12:15 PM – Financial aid/Scholarships

12:15 – 12:45 PM – Optional tours of the Ohio University campus

The folder also contained information regarding the program, finances, housing etc.

The faculty all seemed very nice and all were very enthusiastic about research.  We had the opportunity to tour each of their labs and saw some pretty cool stuff. 

As for the actual interview I felt it went very well.  It was a one on one, ten-minute interview with a faculty member.  I was the first person to be interviewed and was interviewed by the chair of the admissions committee for the DPT program in his office.

The interview itself was VERY informal.  He asked initially about where Siena Heights was located and volleyball.  Next he asked me simply, “Why OU?” 

I discussed the similarities of the mission statement and learning outcomes of Siena Heights and the DPT program description at OU.  We chatted a little bit about undergrad and the GRE but before I knew it the ten minutes had passed.  He handed me his business card, I thanked him, shook his hand and walked out.

With the actual interview behind me, next on the agenda was the tour of the PT Department.  The tour was led by a first year DPT student and to my surprise graduated a year ahead of me from Davidson, my high school.  To make it an even smaller world she was actually a statistician for the volleyball team during my time as a player at Davidson.  We toured all of the faculty members’ labs and got a sneak peak of their current research.

Next we met with the current students.  They discussed the program, housing, clinicals and finances from a student’s perspective, nothing too exciting. 

Probably the coolest part of this experience was learning about Graduate Assistantship (GA) and GRS positions, but I can’t remember what the letters GRS stand for.  The primary difference between the two is GA positions are 15 hours a week and GRS positions are 6-8 hours a week.  GRS positions are also for first year students only whereas the GA positions are open to first, second and third year students.  To hold a GA position a student must maintain a 3.3 GPA, which is slightly higher than the regular 3.0 for graduate school in general.  GA positions cover FULL TUITION and provide a stipend!

Another cool aspect of this process was learning about clinicals.  During the first year students participate in a part time clinical within an hour of Athens.  The cool clinicals come during the second and third years and can be anywhere in the country.  Students provide a list of where they would like to complete clinical work and the faculty does their best to accommodate a student’s preference.

I believe that’s all.  Oh yeah, the program doesn’t waste any time deciding who is accepted into the program.  Emails are going to be sent out this Tuesday (1/22) indicating acceptance, wait list or denial.  Similar to my interview at the University of Toledo I was one of twenty students interviewed during my session.  There is another session this afternoon and two tomorrow.  So again I am 1 out of 80, but this time competing for 44 spots instead of 28.

More updates to come.  

My Future

My future was something that I really struggled with in the past.  Sure the plan is to attend physical therapy school BUT where will I end up?  I had a conversation with a close friend today and she said, "Isn't it weird to think that right now we have no idea where will be after we graduate?"  She named a few friends, all of which had the same thing in common...aspirations to attend grad school.

Every day there is someone else, today it was at church, "So where are you going to PT school Brandon?"  Well you see, I have no idea.  A while back this uncertainty really left me uneasy, and it has a lot of my friends uneasy as well but comfort can be taken in all of this knowing that God has a plan.  He knows where I will be attending school and living in 5 months even though I don't.

It is so relieving to know that I don't have to worry about a thing.  I'm trusting God and it's all going to work out.  Who knows I may not even end in PT and He could send my life in a different direction.  I encourage you whether you are worrying about YOUR own future or just having a rough day to cast all your anxieties on the Lord and He will take care of them.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The Goal...

I don't think this needs an explanation.

Interview -- University of Toledo

Today I attended my first PT school interview.  By the title of this post you can see that the interview was at the University of Toledo.  The interview process began at 12:30 PM and lasted until approximately 2 o'clock.

I was one of twenty interviewees in attendance today, one of four such groups.  Another group of twenty applicants were interviewed immediately following our group interview and two more groups are slated to be interviewed tomorrow afternoon.  In total I am 1 of 80 individuals competing for 28 spots in the UT's DPT program class of 2016.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the head of the DPT program at UT, Dr. Michelle Masterson, followed by an introduction of current PT students.  We were then divided into five groups of four students and each of the groups was directed to a separate conference room.  My group was comprised of myself, a 30-year-old military vet (coincidently from Morenci, Michigan and currently living across the street from Subway on Main Street in Adrian, Michigan), a senior from Manchester College (Ind.) and a senior at Bowling Green State University (Ohio).  We were met by two faculty and one current PT student in the conference room.

We began with personal introductions, stating where we were from/attend school and a few of our hobbies.  After the introductions the panel asked a total of five or six questions that all four members of the group were required to answer.  Some of the questions are listed below.

Besides helping others, why do you want to pursue a degree in physical therapy?
Describe some of your leadership experiences.
Talk about an instance where it is acceptable to not be a leader.

I don't remember the other two or three questions.  I felt that the interview went really well.

At the conclusion of the interview we all met together as a large group and discussed the UT DPT program: cost, credit hours, clinicals etc.

At this point the formal part of the process was over and the faculty offered a campus tour to any applicant who was interested, having never been to the University of Toledo I went on the tour.

There were ten or so of us who went on the tour.  We split up into two groups and were led by two current first year PT students.  It was a pretty short tour, we saw the Health and Human Sciences Building, the student center and "The Glass Bowl".  The Glass Bowl is the name of the football stadium, named for Toledo because it is the "Glass City" apparently.  You learn something new every day.  It would have been nice if the tour was a bit longer and we saw a little bit more but oh well.

More updates to follow.

Getting up to Speed

For those of you who don't know, I am currently deep into the process of obtaining admission into physical therapy schools.  There are currently countless PT schools across the United States and many reputable programs.

Graduate school for PT is a three year, year round program, which culminates in becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy, becoming a DPT is the goal in this process.  I applied to five schools at the end of August, three of which I have heard back from at this point.

As many of you could probably guess I applied to Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio).  In addition to OSU I also applied to the Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Florida (Gainesville, Florida), Ohio (Athens, Ohio) and Toledo (Toledo, Ohio).

I have heard back from the following schools:

Ohio University - interview scheduled January 18th
University of Toledo - interview completed January 3rd
University of Pittsburgh - wait list

As more information regarding the selection process becomes available I will first speak with my family and close friends.  After that, my intent is to post on here what all is going on, whether or not I remember to post remains to be seen.

Blog Overview

I frequently receive questions asking:

"How is school going?"
"Only one semester left right?"
"What are you doing after you graduate?"

So I figured I would record my journey all in one place, or at least try to, so everyone who asks questions can come and find answers here.  Creating this blog is also an excuse not to pack and head for my journey to Cleveland on Saturday and back to school for my final semester of undergrad on Sunday.

Here goes nothing.