PDFE #5: Reflection

This reflection is over the power point about how undergraduates need to make themselves as marketable as possible for future graduate school options or careers.  As a senior currently applying to graduate schools and reading back through this power point, I feel that it is does a really good job at identifying options students have to take full advantage of their college experience.  One of the main points I took away from the power point is that students need to set their goals early and then always bear those goals in mind as they do what it takes to work towards them.

My goal for next year is to be in a physical therapy graduate school program.  In order to achieve this goal, I have kept my college GPA well above a 3.50.  I also have studied for and taken the GRE which is the test required by all of the schools.  I worked three internships in different PT settings and had a variety of academic honors, academic clubs, and service experiences.  I also did a study abroad in Costa Rica and I work in the Athletic Training Office at Berry. Based of these experiences, I feel like I worked hard to make myself a viable candidate for graduate schools and hopefully my hard work will pay off as I start to hear back from the schools in the next few months.

Another aspect I liked about this powerpoint presentation is that it recognizes that college is important for more than just academic experiences.  Employers want to know that their future employees are not only smart, but also able to communicate and present original ideas so things like getting involved and building relationships are just as important as good grades.  In fact, all of the graduate schools I am applying to require an interview as part of their admission process so they can make sure students are capable of holding an intelligent conversation as well as studying from a book.  The choices that students make as they go through college (and also beyond that into graduate school and in their jobs) will determine the kind of opportunities they receive later in life so it is important that they try to experience everything possible.