PT or PTA school

Thanks PTAstudent. I notice more and more people are interested in this field as well the more I do more research. I will definitely call around and see about shadowing. My situation right now and my drive calls for PTA (as in, shortter schooling) and I will be surely calling places soon and checking out the settings, as well as looking at school programs. Very excited.

Thanks again.

Hi I had a quick question for doing PTA. Do you have to have an AA before you enroll for PTA, or do you only need the pre req's which are anatomy, physiology, sociology, nutrition, and some other class?

Also, if you do not need an AA before you enroll, do you have to have an AA when you graduate the PTA program?

Im 21 and I was going to get my bachelors in Kinesiology, but that would take me another 3 years at least of school and thats full time. If I did PTA I would be able to start next spring, take the 21 month course, and be done around the same time as getting done with my bachelors. Eventually i want my bachelors but in this economy it just seems smart to do the PTA first.

Thanks for any help guys!!

@PTAstudent in Sykesville, Maryland and others that might know, I've posted this question in a different thread but haven't gotten a response. If anybody here could give me feedback, it would be greatly appreciated. I applied to the PTA programs at Baltimore City Community College and Carroll Community College. I've finished prerequisite classes for both programs. The cost of the program is about the same and the overall pass rate per fsbpt.org is also close. Does anybody have any info or opinion on which program might be better quality, have better teachers, clinical sites, etc? BCCC is closer, and I would have to still take a computer class or test out of CCC's computer literacy requirement (don't know how hard testing out would be).
Thanks in advance for any information.

Hehateme in Yuba City, California said: Hi I had a quick question for doing PTA. Do you have to have an AA before you enroll for PTA, or do you only need the pre req's which are anatomy, physiology, sociology, nutrition, and some other class?

Also, if you do not need an AA before you enroll, do you have to have an AA when you graduate the PTA program?

Im 21 and I was going to get my bachelors in Kinesiology, but that would take me another 3 years at least of school and thats full time. If I did PTA I would be able to start next spring, take the 21 month course, and be done around the same time as getting done with my bachelors. Eventually i want my bachelors but in this economy it just seems smart to do the PTA first.

Thanks for any help guys!!

Hi, I am going to start my PTA degree this fall here in Maryland. You do not need an AA degree to start. You need certain prerequisites classes and those depend on the PTA school you are applying to. When you graduate you will have an A.A.S., and Associates of Applied Science. I am in my 40's, going back to school and for me, PTA was a no-brainer. I would suggest to look at the PTA programs you are interested in, talk to an advisor there, find out about the prerequisites (which ones they require, do they have to be completed in a certain order, etc.), and start doing observation or volunteer hours in PTA settings. Hope this helps.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound confusing. An A.A.S. IS an Associates of Applied Science.

futureptajo in Havre De Grace, Maryland said: @PTAstudent in Sykesville, Maryland and others that might know, I've posted this question in a different thread but haven't gotten a response. If anybody here could give me feedback, it would be greatly appreciated. I applied to the PTA programs at Baltimore City Community College and Carroll Community College. I've finished prerequisite classes for both programs. The cost of the program is about the same and the overall pass rate per fsbpt.org is also close. Does anybody have any info or opinion on which program might be better quality, have better teachers, clinical sites, etc? BCCC is closer, and I would have to still take a computer class or test out of CCC's computer literacy requirement (don't know how hard testing out would be).
Thanks in advance for any information.

FuturePTAJo,

I can really only speak about BCCC. I am currently a student there. BCCC is the oldest PTA program in MD and the staff has been there for some time. The education there is top notch. I was very surprised at first and they have exceeded my expectations. I have to warn you. It is NOT a cake walk. We lost 11 our first semester. But this shows they are weeding out the ones that aren't serious. It is intense, but I have learned an incredible amount in a short period of time. They prepare you very well, and the pass rate for the boards is close to 99%. They have clinical affil's all over Baltimore. I don't know how long Carrol has been around, the staff seemed nice, but not sure if it is as intense. So alumni have joked about Carrol, but that means nothing. All I can say is you will not go wrong with BCCC. I will come being a well prepared clinician.

I will warn you, if you have any classes to take, i'd take them over the summer or winter. It is too demanding of a program to take classes with the PT classes in the program. < 75% is failing.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

PTAstudent in Sykesville, Maryland said: FuturePTAJo,

I can really only speak about BCCC. I am currently a student there. BCCC is the oldest PTA program in MD and the staff has been there for some time. The education there is top notch. I was very surprised at first and they have exceeded my expectations. I have to warn you. It is NOT a cake walk. We lost 11 our first semester. But this shows they are weeding out the ones that aren't serious. It is intense, but I have learned an incredible amount in a short period of time. They prepare you very well, and the pass rate for the boards is close to 99%. They have clinical affil's all over Baltimore. I don't know how long Carrol has been around, the staff seemed nice, but not sure if it is as intense. So alumni have joked about Carrol, but that means nothing. All I can say is you will not go wrong with BCCC. I will come being a well prepared clinician.

I will warn you, if you have any classes to take, i'd take them over the summer or winter. It is too demanding of a program to take classes with the PT classes in the program. < 75% is failing.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

PTAstudent,
thank you so much for the information! You have been very helpful!
I have all general education and prerequisite classes already. That is one thing I have heard over and over, do everything before the PTA program starts because of the intensity. I do have one more question about the clinicals. The advisor I spoke to there said they try to place you in your county for clinicals but how realistic is that from your experience? Also, are clinicals typically daytime hours or does it vary? Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

futurePTAjo in Havre De Grace, Maryland said: PTAstudent,
thank you so much for the information! You have been very helpful!
I have all general education and prerequisite classes already. That is one thing I have heard over and over, do everything before the PTA program starts because of the intensity. I do have one more question about the clinicals. The advisor I spoke to there said they try to place you in your county for clinicals but how realistic is that from your experience? Also, are clinicals typically daytime hours or does it vary? Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

I actually start my clinicals in a few weeks, your second semester you do 7 weeks. As far as the county, I would say they do their best. If you live in a further away county, it might be less realistic, but if you call around to local facilities ahead, you can get them to set up that connection.

As far as the times, yes, they are during the day time. Mostly, its one day during the week. You do the shift of the facility you go too. The last semester Spring, is 40 hours a week of clinicals. In the summer you do 40 hours/wk for 3 weeks. It would be tough to hold down a job during this time.

PTAstudent in Sykesville, Maryland said: I actually start my clinicals in a few weeks, your second semester you do 7 weeks. As far as the county, I would say they do their best. If you live in a further away county, it might be less realistic, but if you call around to local facilities ahead, you can get them to set up that connection.

As far as the times, yes, they are during the day time. Mostly, its one day during the week. You do the shift of the facility you go too. The last semester Spring, is 40 hours a week of clinicals. In the summer you do 40 hours/wk for 3 weeks. It would be tough to hold down a job during this time.

Thank you so much for all the information. I know you are very busy being in the program already and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I wish you all the best:)

Did anybody take courses at ECC in NJ? Can somebody give me some ideas? Thanks a lot

Are any of you from Arizona? Is it easy to find a job here after PTA school? I too am concidering going into PTA school. And does PTA school teach you how to give massages as well?

^I think whether it is easy to find a job in AZ depends on what you want. If you want to work in a SNF, I think you could find a job fairly easily. Outpatient is tougher I think. It seems like a lot of OP clinics in AZ don't really utilize PTA's for some reason, at least in my experience.

My wife worked as an aide in AZ and this is what she seemed to see as well. And yes, you'll learn how to give massages in PTA (we call them soft tissue mobilizations though, just fyi) ;-)

This is what you wrote correct?
I am 30 yrs old. 3 kids...
2 in school and one baby...
I have been a massage therapist for 10 years. I always wanted PT, PTA, or sports med etc...
Realistically... to be the mom I want to be, to be self secured nomatter waht happens in life, and to be happy!!! I cannot find any PTA schools that even offer the program at night.
What decision did you make?
I am scared to make the wrong choice due to what the outcome will be... I dont want to be bitter making 40 grand a year as a pta after 2 years of school, when I could have put it towards 2 years of 6 years for PT...
What are your views now? Since its been 3 yrs since these comments?