Things You'll Need:
- school catalogs (if you prefer that sort of researching)
- the internet (MUCH more efficient and really useful...I'm sure you knew that already)
- time and patience
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Step 1
You should have either have a bachelor's degree already, or will have graduated by the time the school's physical therapy program begins for the year you wish to start. Most schools only have one start date for the entire program each year. Your degree can be in anything, as long as you have the prerequisite courses required by a particular school.
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Step 2
Go to the American Physical Therapy Association website www.apta.org for an entire list of accredited schools in the United States. There are also a few international schools that are accredited by the Association. I'm sure there are some decent non-accredited programs out there also, but you're more likely to learn what you will need to pass the licensure exam to actually practice physical therapy at a school that has met the standards of the Association.
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Step 3
Start thinking about geographic location of schools you'd like to attend, and go to their individual websites (usually there is a link directly to their PT program on the apta website) to look at their prerequisite courses and tuition, usually the two most important deciding factors.
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Step 4
Take the GRE (graduate record exam) if you haven't already. Every school I looked into required it, although they all required different scores. This may dictate which schools need to be ruled out, or perhaps if you need to retake the exam to try for a higher score.
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Step 5
Be mindful of the number of required hours of observation each school requires. Of the schools I looked into, most required at least 50 hours; some require up to 100 hours and in different settings (usually acute care and outpatient).
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Step 6
When you find a school (or, ideally, a few schools) that fit your tuition limit, prerequisite courses, and GRE exam score, go ahead and start the application process. Many schools will require an interview after approving your application and travel arrangements are up to you.
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Step 7
Good luck! Be prepared to work hard for the next couple of years, but it will be well worth the effort.
