Admission Requirements

The Physical Therapist Assistant program utilizes a competitive admission process to select students. Program faculty designed the process to ensure maximum opportunity for student success. The Physical Therapist Assistant program admits students once per year at the beginning of Fall Semester. Prospective students may gain admission to the college initially as Health Care Science program students/applicants to the Physical Therapist Assistant program in order to complete any required learning support classes and general education courses.

Applicants must submit all required documentation to the Admissions Office by May 21 to be eligible for the competitive selection process. Applicants who are on academic probation or are academically dismissed from the college as of the application deadline will not be considered for selection. Applicants not selected for the program may reapply during subsequent admission intake periods. There is no waiting list between intake periods; applicants must complete the application process for each attempt for entry into the program.

Applicants must complete the following steps by the May 21 application deadline in order to be considered for selection to the program:

• Submit a completed and signed application for admission and $25 nonrefundable application fee.
• Provide proof of legal presence in the United States.
• Submit official transcripts from all colleges attended. Applicants who have not completed a minimum of 30 semester or 45 quarter credit hours at one or more colleges will be required to submit high school transcripts; a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required on college work attempted in order to be eligible for consideration.
• Complete the online Physical Therapist Assistant Interest Form for the current application period and submit electronically.
• Attend a mandatory Physical Therapist Assistant information session in the application period for which admission is sought. Applicants who have attended an information session during a previous application period must attend another information session. Documentation of attendance at an information session is maintained in the Physical Therapist Assistant program office.
• Submit scores from the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS V) that are less than five years old as of the application deadline. Students who take the TEAS V at another college or at a testing center must submit official scores to the Testing Center at Athens Technical College. Information about submitting official scores on the college website.
• Submit a signed document to the Admissions Office acknowledging that commission of a felony before or during their enrollment in this program may prevent graduates from taking the licensure exam to become physical therapist assistants and that they may be required to complete drug testing and/or background checks at their own expense prior to participating in internships, practicums, or clinical activities at certain host sites for these activities (see Drug Testing/Background Checks). Blank documents are available on the college website.
• Submit an observation form to the Physical Therapist Assistant program office documenting the completion of a minimum of 24 hours of observation in a physical therapy setting or through employment as a physical therapy aide. Blank observation forms are available on the college website. Although all other materials related to the selection process must be submitted to the office of admissions, observation forms must be submitted directly to the PTA program office for processing.

The Physical Therapist Assistant program faculty incorporated an observation requirement into the selection process in order to give prospective students the opportunity to gain an awareness of the job requirements of a physical therapist assistant. Additional consideration will be given to applicants who have completed a second observation experience of 24 hours in a different area of physical therapy practice. Applicants who have completed observation experiences during a previous application period may use those hours in a subsequent application period.

The selection process will be weighted toward students who have completed mathematics (MATH 1101, MATH 1111, or MATH 1113), anatomy and physiology I and II (BIOL 2113, BIOL 2113L, BIOL 2114, and BIOL 2114L), English (ENGL 1101), introductory psychology (PSYC 1101), and other core classes in the Physical Therapist Assistant curriculum with grades of B or better by May 21 of the academic year for which they are seeking admission to the program. Applicants transferring from other colleges must confirm the transferability of credit for these courses with the college's director of registration and records by the May 21 application deadline. If a course has been repeated, only the first two attempts will be considered in the competitive selection process.

The Admissions Selection Committee will invite a group of the highest-ranking applicants (based on the admissions criteria) to participate in a formal interview process to determine aptitude, intent, and suitability for employment as a physical therapist assistant. The points from the interview process will be added to the applicant file score to determine final selection to the Physical Therapist Assistant program.

Please send any questions to pta@athenstech.edu.