Email Interviewed a Physical Therapy Student 

 

After reading the essays from the students and sifting through the blogs from current physical therapists, I wanted to hear from PT students and other students directly. I wanted to be able to ask them direct questions that I had. I was able to contact two people that gave me great answers and advice. One of those people was John Liddell, a current PT student at Marquette University. The questions that I asked him were:  

 

1. I recently found out that Physical Therapy school is a total of 4

years after college. I was wondering if 4 years of school is rewarding

in the end?

To my satisfaction, Mr. Liddell explained that PT school is three years beyond a bachelor’s degree not four. Your experience in school can add up to eight years total if you decide to do an extra year in residency. As for Marquette, some students are direct entry, which means they are admitted to PT school straight away from high school. This track would be for the student who is set on becoming a PT. On the other hand, I would not want to because I am still deciding between a few professions. Even with PT school still being three years past a bachelor’s degree, Liddell explained, “It is super rewarding - we have some amazing experiences that keep us inspired and energized.”

 

2. With PT school being very competitive, do you have any advice that

can help an applicant set themselves apart from the rest of the

potential students?

His answer to my second question gave me great advice that I could apply to several profession that I could see myself studying in the future. Liddell explained that to set yourself apart from other applicants you need to, “Do lots of contact hours - get in touch with a rehab coordinator at a local hospital and shadow a physical therapist for inpatient, outpatient and rehab settings. Each setting is very different so you will get different experiences. Volunteer your time while you are in high school and keep it up while you’re in undergraduate. Find a cause or group that inspires you; if they’re in the health/wellness/mobility field, it’s even better.”

He also elaborated on this more at the end of the email. John Liddell said that in order to know what field you want to go into you need to experience it. I agree with that because after my interim I realized that I really want to have a hands on job in the health field. Until then, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.