I recently received a message from a reader, girlscouse, who requested me to write a post on what my application process was like. Girlscouse, I am more than happy to help you and other readers with the application process! In a nutshell, it was a rollercoaster, full of exciting highs, and nerve-racking lows, but I learned in retrospect, that a perfect applicant is too beautiful to be true and that an imperfect applicant is always real. Take pride in what you have learned, whom you have learned from and understand why you want to be an athletic trainer!
To start off, I'll give you a little background of where I came from. I graduated from UC Davis, majoring in Exercise Biology with a minor in English. I had a subpar GPA (if you want to know, you can message me privately), but I had a lot of hands-on experience as a student athletic trainer at UC Davis and at Davis Senior High during my undergraduate career. I knew going to a Master's program in Athletic Training was the next step for me because I wanted to advance my knowledge and education in the profession that I want to be in. I applied to three programs, CBU (California Baptist University), Stephen F. Austin State University, and Weber State University. I got into CBU and Stephen F. Austin State, and was rejected by Weber State University. Looking back at my application process, I have a few tips that I can give you from personal experience, and things that I could have done differently.
1) Research, Research, Research: It is something that I should have done more of, but it is very important to know what you would get yourself into if you were accepted into the program. For the most part, it is difficult to contact program directors, but it is not impossible. Any form of professional communication (especially calling) will help you get the information that you want. Look for how each program's curriculum is structured and what classes do they offer. Find a list of clinical rotation sites and see what clinical experiences does the program offer. With CBU, they offered a class on manual therapy, something that I was very interested in and hearing from my friends that CBU is very big on manual therapy techniques, so this is an opportunity to not pass up on. For instance, other schools may have opportunities to work in NCAA Division I SEC (Southeastern) conference or have graduated alumni or preceptors with connections to professional sports and military. Doing the homework on each program will give you a clearer picture and can narrow down your choices. With all that information, don't forget how much tuition costs and whether if you need financial aid! Many programs will not want you to have a part-time job, for your time will mostly be occupied with classwork and clinical rotations, so take that into consideration as well.
It also helps if you know anyone or of anyone who are in athletic training programs now. I was fortunate enough to know alumni that graduated from different programs and that came from the UC Davis Athletic Training Internship program. I was able to get into contact with some of the alumni and sending e-mails back and forth with questions really helped me understand what the programs were like from a student's point of view.
Aside from the program, research about the city and living situations. I applied to Stephen F. Austin State without realizing that the nearest airport is two hours away from Nacogdoches, Texas, which is where Stephen F. Austin is located. Being from California, it would have been a pain to plan out how to even get to the airport if I were to ever go home.
Taking the many factors into consideration, create a ranking list for yourself and what you want to get out of a Master's in Athletic Training program. This may change around as you find more and more information about the program and the city, but it will definitely give you a direction when the time comes and you can choose ONLY one school.
2) "If you can't be funny, be interesting.": This famous quote by Harold Ross, the founder of The New Yorker Magazine is a quote I now live by ever since I got into the program. Knowing that my undergraduate GPA was lower than the minimum required, I knew the program faculty would wonder how will I keep up with graduate school work. If you feel that you need to retake classes, retake them! I retook two courses at a local community college while I was applying and it was a great decision to make because I was already in a studious mode upon arriving to graduate school. While a GPA is important, lacking it is not the end of the world. There is the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) you can take that can help with a lacking academic record. I studied for and took the GRE due to my low GPA and it helped me score two interviews with CBU and Weber State. During my interview with Dr. MacDonald, she told me that if I hadn't submitted my GRE score, I would not have gotten an interview with her and the faculty.
All programs look for students who are passionate about athletic training and want to make a difference in this allied health profession. Having a lot of clinical experience in any setting that has a certified athletic trainer will definitely boost your identity and taking great learning moments to share really proves your passion. Also, it is required by programs that applicants have completed observation hours!
3) Tell your story: Most programs also have a comprehensive essay requirement in their application. In my opinion, this is the best way to put yourself on a paper without it being a redundant resume. I could talk about an experience and what motivated me to apply to the program on this essay. This essay is the pre-interview of the application process, giving the faculty a sneak preview of the great applicant you are (without it sounding arrogant, but confident). Every program will also ask you to define athletic training and what it means to you, since the majority of the world don't know what an athletic trainer is. This is a very important question because it will show that you understand this allied health profession and why we are important in the health field. Make sure you have your essay, personal statement, etc. read over by yourself or someone else, but also do not make too many drafts. I had my essay edited 10 times and editing it several times made me more nerve racking as the deadline crept closer.
4) Recommendation letters: Ask your mentors early for recommendation letters and make sure that the program directors have received your recommendation letter. Make sure you choose mentors whom you have worked with well and have developed a great rapport with to write your recommendation letters. Know what format the program directors want the recommendation letters to be in, whether if it is an actual letter, or a recommendation form. When I sent in my application, I found out that one of the recommendation letters was not sent in, so being updated on this part of the application is key to making sure that you have recommendation letters in. If you feel that three letters is not enough to recommend you to a program, it does not hurt to send in an extra!
5) Interviews: Although interview scheduling does not happen until a couple of weeks after submitting the application, do not be afraid of the phone/ Skype interview. I wish I had more time to prepare for the phone interview with Weber State, and I could have given better or more confident answers over the phone with proper preparation. If you have the budget to travel and meet with the faculty, I would definitely take advantage of that only if the program offering an interview is your top choice. Some program directors will give you a tour around the campus before conducting the interview. This is not a priority, but it is something to consider if you do get offered an interview.
I hope these five tips can help guide you in a direction when applying to graduate school programs! Feel free to message me if you have any other questions and I hope you apply to CBU (shameless plug) and other schools as well!
P.S. Do not forget the deadlines! A great way to not forget is to send in your application a week before the deadline if possible.
P.P.S. Make copies of your application in case if your application does get lost in the mail, and always keep the program directors updated on what you have sent to them and if they have received parts of your application!
