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.