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Olivia, Doctorate of PT – Bond University, Australia

Name: Olivia Ferrer

Accepted to: Doctorate of Physical Therapy- Bond University, Australia

Major: Kinesiology

Undergrad University: University of Minnesota- Twin Cities

Work at ACR: 9 months

Shadowing hours: 100+ (Courage Kenny Rehab Insititute)

Other volunteer hours: 50+ (Animal Humane Society)

How many programs did you apply to? 1- It was my top choice and since the seasons are different in Australia, the application and interview process took place during a different time than schools in the US. So once I got accepted, I did not need to apply to US schools.

How many programs did you interview with? 1

Anything you found surprising about interviews? Since my school was international, the focus of the interview was a lot about how I responded to adversity, along with my intentions for becoming at PT and how I knew it was what I wanted to pursue as a career path. However, I know of a lot of other schools that are much more formal and ask more situational examples. For these use the STAR method, which means situation, task, actions, result. They like when you give specific examples of the situations at hand, which thankfully ACR has so many different houses and procedures that you can use as examples for your answers!

Were there any helpful resources you used to get through the application and interview process? Keep an open mind! Don’t be afraid to look outside your comfort zone for schools that might be a better fit for you than you could have imagined. I also spent a lot of time talking to alumni of several schools to get an idea if a specific school is right for me. Lastly, volunteer and don’t be afraid to ask questions. So many people in the field are willing to answer questions that you might have, you just need to put yourself out there in order to learn.

Any other advice for other pre-PT students?

If you are able to, definitely consider doing the internship through ACR Homes. It was really helpful to have an internship where I could create a new PT program for one of my residents and it gave me a really good talking point during my interview. It was something that everyone found very interesting and creative!