PT School Admissions Interview

The interview process can be very intimidating so you need to be well prepared. Make sure you are prepared by having adequate experience by volunteering or hospital work before you go into the interview. Below are some helpful questions that might be asked during the interview. Also, there are some websites that can help you prepare for the interview process in the Resource section.

Interview Questions

• What’s the difference between PT and OT?

• What is your most memorable experience working with a patient?

• Describe your work or volunteer experience in PT.

• What are your strengths? Weaknesses?

• How do you deal with stress?

• What motivated you to choose PT?

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years (after graduation)? Do you plan on specializing? In what area?

• What would you do if a patient came in 3 days in a row, saw three different therapists, and then came to you complaining about how nothing they did was working?

• In your opinion, what kind of a profession is Physical Therapy?

• What are your strengths? Weaknesses?

• What do you do for fun (in your free time)?

• What would you do if a member of a group was not giving his or her all?

• Describe an event that was a big learning experience in your life.

• How did the changes in health care in the recent years (HMO’s, managed care) affect the field of PT?

• What made you choose PT over the other health care/helping professions?

• Why are you applying to this school?

• Describe your ideal job.

• What criteria will you use to decide if you are accepted to more than one PT school?

• What are your plans if you are not accepted? Will you reapply? Then what?

• What are the most effective teaching strategies you have encountered? (environments and strategies which have inspired you to learn) What are some ineffective ones?

• What event interested you in PT?

• How would your friends describe you?

• What place does research play in the field?

• How would you balance everything if you got in to PT school?

• What qualities do you have that you feel would contribute to the field?

• How do you plan on finance your education?

• If you could dine with one person, living or dead, who would it be?

• Be prepared to answer questions like “what did that event teach you about yourself?”

• What 3 items would you retrieve if your house was on fire?

• If your friend revealed that he or she was is possession of illegal drugs in the car and you all of a sudden got pulled over for speeding, what would you do?

• What was a crisis you encountered in your life and how did you deal with it?

• What have you taught yourself?

• Think of an instance in which you were the minority? How did you feel? What did you do?

• Think of an instance in which you dealt with a minority. How did you deal with it?