General Admission Information:
The program administrator and faculty, in cooperation with appropriate institutional
personnel, establish admissions procedures which are non-discriminatory, contribute
to the quality of the program, and allow a selection of students with the potential
to successfully complete the program.
There is an established admissions committee which includes the program administrator
and an advisory selection committee.
Before applying to the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program, please review the
following admission requirements and recommendations.
- You must have the ability to communicate safely, accurately, and effectively in both
written and spoken English. If English is your second language, you must take and
receive a score of 110 or higher on the Accuplacer ESL listening test. You are also
encouraged to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) to enhance your success.
- Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance.
- For students attaining their prerequisite courses at another college, we will offer
an online section of Clinical Kinesiology. Please note other Kinesiology courses will
not transfer because this is a specific PTA Program Clinical Kinesiology course.
- General Education prerequisite courses MUST be completed by the end of the Spring
semester in the year that the student is applying to the PTA Program. Please refer
to your degree plan for prerequisite information.
- As part of the application process, students are required to attend three different
physical therapy clinics for three hours each for a total of nine hours of observation.
- Applicants must have a physician complete the Physician Certification of the PTA Essential Functions and Physical Demands.
- Schedule an appointment with the Director or Advisor
- If admitted, students will complete a drug screen, background check and CPR certification
How to Apply:
1. Apply for admission to NWACC. - If you are not currently enrolled at NWACC, you need to apply for admission to
the college in addition to applying to the PTA Program. Apply now to NWACC.
2. Complete your PTA application packet.
Submit your
PTA application packet to Tana Beenken, Center for Health Professions building, 2002
Selection Criteria:
The selection of students into the PTA Program is based on a point system. Students
with the highest total points are selected for admission.
292 total possible points:
100 points are possible for PHTA 2105 Clinical Kinesiology in PT
72 points are possible for the combined points for pre-requisite courses:
- 32 from BIOL 2214 A&P I
- 32 from BIOL 2224 A&P II
- 8 from AHSC 1001 Medical Terminology
72 points possible from science pre-requisite courses excluding PHTA 2105
Points will be awarded based on the following formula for science courses: Multiply
the # of credit hours for the course by the student earned grade with an A = 4; B
= 3, C = 2; then multiply that number by 2.
For example, if a student earns a B in BIOL 2214 A & P I, the points earned would
be calculated in the following way: 4 credit hours x 3 (B in course) = 12 x 2 =
24; the student would have earned 24 points of the possible 32.
Starting with the 2015 applications, a 10 point penalty will be assessed to the overall
point total if Clinical Kinesiology has been taken 3 or more times.
60 points possible from other General Education Pre-requisite courses which include:
- A student has work experience or another form of meeting prerequisite criteria other
than a single course with an earned grade, those credit hours are not utilized in
the calculation.
- Grades less than a "C" are not considered as having met the prerequisite requirement.
- If a student has repeated a class, the highest earned grade is used for the calculation
- If a student submits a course substitution and it is approved for the PTA degree plan,
the grade from that course will be used in the calculation.
60 total possible points*:
All applicants will be interviewed by the PTA Selection Committee and must complete
9 hours of observation and complete the required observation form (with signatures). The points possible and then percentile toward total rank for admission approved by
Advisory Board.
Students are ranked based on the following selection criteria:
- 100/292 = 34.2% - PHTA 2105 Clinical Kinesiology in PT (no course substitutions for
this course)
- 72/292 = 24.7% - A&P I, A&P II, Medical Terminology
- 60/292 = 20.5% - ENGL Comp I & II, General Psychology, Intro to Computers, College
Algebra or Survey of Technical Math
- 60/292 = 20.5% - Interview/Observation
*Receiving a score below 50 deems a student ineligible to apply for that year.
Program Acceptance:
We will notify applicants to the Physical Therapist Assistant program by email or
phone one to two weeks after the end of the spring semester.
Upon acceptance to the program, you will receive a detailed email on all required
steps that must be completed before the mandatory orientation day.
If you have questions or concerns about the background check, we encourage you to
make an appointment to discuss these concerns with the PTA director.
Non-Native Speakers of English
Non-Native Speakers of English, seeking admission into Health Professions programs
are required to complete an ESL Listening Test. Students can receive more information
and/or schedule to take this test through the NWACC testing center, 479-619-4354 or
visit www.nwacc.edu/web/ldc_testingcenter/. The ESL
listening test is designed to assess a student’s ability to understand Standard American
English. A score of 92 or higher on the COMPASS ESL listening test (taken within
the last three (3) years) OR a score of 120 or higher on the Accuplacer ESL listening
test is REQUIRED for NNSs students seeking entrance
into Health Professions Programs at NWACC. The minimum score or higher indicates
the ability to understand linguistically complex discussions, including academic lectures
and factual reports. NNSs students seeking career paths in Health Professions scoring
below the minimum will need to retest and successfully pass by July 1st.