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How do I get started into physical therapy after high school?

I am high school senior who has an interest in physical therapy from my past life in sports playing sports all my life leads me to a life of physical therapy.

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Mrinalini’s Answer

You can do it either after school or before school, depending on your schedule. If you also have extra classes or work, plan for a time that fits best. You could also choose to do it on weekends, which might help you manage your work better and keep your weekdays less stressful.
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Lauren’s Answer

It is a very competitive program so make sure to stay up on your grades. Get into a college and try to put a focus on the anything about the body, it's mechanics (even lifting, yoga, dance, anything that can help you dissect and analyze the body in motion) and even a psych course (you deal with a lot of emotions when someone is injured). I would shadow a person or two, you will likely be dealing with more than just "sports" related patients (that's a small portion of what the average PT sees).

If you really want to get experience before hand you could try being a tech at a clinic. It will give you a fair idea of what to expect.

I mean, the only steps to get started is to go to school do good. If you are looking for experience, shadow or tech. Stay passionate and keep learning.
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Suzanne’s Answer

I believe you are asking about how to get into a career as a physical therapist once you graduate from high school. Great career choice and one which makes a lot of sense for an athletic person who is interested in how the body works and helping people return to and maintain function.

To become a physical therapist in the US, you first go to college on a pre-healthcare track (typically 4 years to get your bachelors degree) and then get a doctoral degree in physical therapy (typically a 3 year program). You then need to take an exam to become licensed.

Below I am putting links to the Michigan State University pre-health program for students interested in P.T. If you look at what classes are required to apply to PT school (at U of M- Flint as an example) you will see that they are: anatomy with lab, biology, chemistry, developmental psychology, exercise physiology, math, physics, physiology with lab, psychology and statistics. They also highly recommend that you have some hours of observing physical therapists.

Suzanne recommends the following next steps:

https://prehealth.natsci.msu.edu/health-careers/physical-therapy/michigan-physical-therapy-schools.aspx
https://prehealth.natsci.msu.edu/health-careers/physical-therapy/index.aspx
Review the above websites and talk to your academic/guidance counselor now about which colleges to apply to.
In applying to colleges be sure that they have a pre-healthcare track so that you can take the necessary classes to then be able to apply to PT graduate programs. As soon as you start in college, connect with the pre-health advisors.
Go to a local PT office or hospital-based PT setting and ask if you can do some shadowing. Good luck, best wishes!
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