The PTA Program begins every year in August and is a two-year continuous program requiring daytime attendance. All prospective students are required to meet the admission criteria and should be free of illegal drug use. Applicants with a criminal conviction should contact the program director as this may prevent an individual from becoming licensed by the state. Applications for admission will be accepted beginning the first business day in December and continuing through the first business day of March each year. Application Packets may be downloaded from this web page (or contact the program to have a packet mailed).
Application requirements include the following:
- General admission to the college (online via http://www.applytexas.org including successful completion of or exemption from the Texas Success Initiative
- Submission of the following to the PTA Program Director or Karen Wells at the Mineral Wells Education Center (application materials can be mailed):
- Completed Allied Health Application (form in Application Packet)
- TEAS V for AH admission exam scores (register for online exam at the Testing Center 817-598-6383 or 817-598-6439; cost is $60.00.
- Documentation of forty hours of observation/volunteer/paid work in a physical therapy facility (form in Application Packet)
- Three personal references (forms in Application Packet)
- Copies of transcripts from all colleges attended (student copies are acceptable)
- Proof of at least the first Hepatitis B vaccine (three dose series) or a positive Hepatitis B titer
PLEASE NOTE:
- To be considered for admission, all application materials must be complete and received by the deadline of the first business day in March.
- Anatomy and Physiology courses must have been taken within five years prior to program admission.
- General education courses must be completed with a minimum grade of “C.”
Once Selected for Admission, the Student Must Meet the Following Requirements:
- Pass a criminal background check
- Obtain a TB screen test, required immunization and/or titers, remaining Hepatitis B vaccine, medical clearance for participation and pass a 10-panel urine drug screen
- Submit proof of major medical health insurance
- Obtain American Heart Association Health Care Provider CPR certification (maintained throughout program)
Information and specifics on completing the above requirements will be made available to the student upon acceptance into the program. Start-up costs for immunizations, titers, CPR, medical clearance, urine drug screen, background check and health insurance vary but could run as much as $400. Criminal background check is approximately $25.00; urine drug screen is approximately $42.00.
English Proficiency Requirement: Before being accepted into the Physical Therapist Assistant Program an applicant whose native language* is not English must submit an acceptable score on the TOEFL-iBT. Additional information may be obtained from the Allied Health Department or PTA Program. *A native language is a language that is acquired naturally during childhood and is usually spoken at home, as opposed to a language that is learned later in life; for example, as a part of a person’s formal education.
Acceptance into the Program
Those students who have successfully completed the application procedure and have met all deadlines will be considered for admission. Acceptance into the program is determined by a point system based on:
-
Admission exam score (TEAS for AH)
-
Academic record
- Number of general education classes completed, excluding A & P (up to 10 points total)
- Anatomy and Physiology grades (A – 5 points each, B – 2.5 points each, C – 1.25 points each)
-
Letters of reference
-
Interview
-
Writing sample completed at the time of the interview (a response to a prompt evaluated on the basis of grammar, sentence structure and ability to express thoughts in a written format)
Not all applicants will progress to the interview stage of the process; the top thirty, based on point totals prior to the interview, are selected for an interview. Upon completion of the interview and writing sample, acceptance is determined by total numbers of points; the top 20* applicants will be accepted. The relative weighting of points for each component of the process can be found in the following chart. *Number of applicants accepted is subject to change based on availability of appropriate clinical placements.
| Component |
Percentage |
|---|
| Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) V for AH |
30% |
Number of General Education Courses Completed
(excluding A & P) |
15% |
| Grades in Anatomy & Physiology |
15% |
| Reference Letters |
5% |
| Writing Sample (completed at the interview) |
10% |
| Interview |
25% |
| TOTAL |
100% |
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