Congratulations on your journey towards PT School! If you’re navigating this page, that means you’ve already applied, and you’re either waiting to hear from schools, or you’ve received an invitation to interview with them! That’s amazing!

We offer a free interview template on our website which can be found by clicking the button below:

Feel free to use this tool to help you prepare for some questions you may be asked. At the end of the page, there is a section you can use to write down any questions YOU want to ask at the end of your interview. 

While it’s not completely comprehensive, as many schools will still ask their own questions that may not be on the list, we put the most common questions, as well as some thought-provoking “atypical” questions that you may encounter. 

You’ll notice that you don’t have many lines for each question. The point of this is to deter you from straight reading from your notes. Write down short sentences or key notes you want to discuss, and PRACTICE them. We offer a 30 minute interview session with feedback if you’d like any practice with current PT students!

Here’s our 17 questions guide on how you should approach each question. We hope these resources help you to achieve your dreams of getting into PT school!

Head over to our storefront to Download: Interview Q+A Template

Applied/Interview/Accepted

This section mainly is for you to keep track of what schools you’ve applied to, what schools you’ve received an interview invitation + date of interview, and acceptances. We’ve found that having everything together in this fashion helps keep things concise and organized.

1. Tell Me About Yourself

There’s a few ways you can go about this, but honestly, most schools just want to get to know YOU. Just tell them about yourself, which I know can definitely be difficult. Be creative! Tell stories! 

We’ve learned from some students that they would use this opportunity to connect who they are to physical therapy. That’s great! My friend actually talked about Dungeons and Dragons during his interview, and he made that connection back to PT. His answer had a lot of creativity to it, which definitely helped during the interview.

If you’re still struggling, have some friends or family describe the type of person you are. It may help you figure out how to answer this.

2. What Are Your Greatest Strengths/Weaknesses?

In terms of strength, talk about what your strongest points are. Are you a strong leader? How so? Are you able to apply what you learned quickly? Give an example. Do you work well with people? Tell me about it. Whatever your strengths are, provide a brief description during your interview. It’s just like writing an essay: show, don’t tell. 

In terms of weaknesses, actually answer the question. Don’t say “I don’t have any weaknesses.” We as human beings all have some weak points. That’s okay! This is your opportunity to talk about your weaknesses, and while you’re doing so, discuss how you’re working on to improve it. For example, if your weakness is public speaking, talk about examples of how you’re working on that. This can mean doing more presentations in front of your peers. Whatever it is, make sure to make that connection to improve your weakness. 

3. How Do You Handle Stress?

This is a question many schools will ask. They want to know you’ll take care of yourself during your studies. PT School is very intense, so you want to have some hobbies or habits that can help you de-stress. This can be doing things like meditation, working out, watching a movie, reading, etc. Whatever helps you manage your stress!

4. Who Was Your Role Model Growing Up? Why?

Be honest here. This is just another “get to know you” type of question. Respond with actually telling them who you looked up to and why. The professors will be able to tell when you’re “fibbin”. 

I had a friend who recently said she was her own role model, as she didn’t have anyone to use as a role model. Instead of coming up with a random, unfulfilling answer and lying, she was truthful. She spoke briefly that she wanted to become better than her circumstances, which I believe communicated very clearly the type of person she is. 

5. Describe Your Biggest Challenge and How You Overcame It?

Try to find a meaningful time in your life when you came across a problem, and how you worked to find a solution. Don’t use this opportunity to talk about a bad test grade and how you studied harder and did better. Schools want something deeper than that. 

This can be about a dispute that occurred between you and your boss, something that occurred while working in a group, maybe even an accident that occurred and how it was resolved. 

As with most professions, you’ll encounter difficult situations or challenges in physical therapy. PT schools want to see how you handle conflict. This will show them how you’ll face challenges while in school and after!

6. Why [Insert School]? What About This School Interests You?

You applied to this school, why? What stood out to you? Was it their research? Their clinical affiliations? Do some research about the schools you’re interested in, and get the chance to talk to any current students. Some schools offer an open house so you can learn more about the program, and gives you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

7. What Makes You A Good Candidate?

This is definitely a tough one to answer, and there are a couple ways to go about it. You could summarize what you put in your PTCAS application, but do so very briefly. The schools have your application, so they’re already aware of what’s on there. 

    Expand on some of your experiences, and show them how that makes you a good candidate. For example, if you were the president of a club, explain how that leadership experience will help you in PT school. 

Talk about your interactions with patients. How were you able to help them? What did that mean to you? How does that translate into making you a good candidate for school? 

Describe your pull towards physical therapy. If you’re truly driven towards this career, you’ll work hard no matter what to succeed. Schools can sense that drive. Just show your passion for the field and how you want to be a part of it.

8. What Can You Bring To The Program

Schools may ask this question to learn more about your strengths, and see if you have confidence in your abilities. 

They will also ask to see if you’ve done your research on their program. 

To answer this question, take any examples of your accomplishments or contributions from previous experiences and connect that to what you’d bring to the program. My colleague, during his interview, talked about starting a club on campus to educate students about exercise and nutrition. He described how he gained leadership skills and how that would translate to physical therapy school. 

Think about your interests and achievements, and think on how you can make that connection to what you can bring to PT school.

9. Out Of All Professions, Why Did You Choose To Pursue Physical Therapy?

Pretty much every school will ask this, so expect to be asked this. Just like with the essay, avoid being generic. The story of getting hurt as an athlete and going to PT is a story told very frequently. Try to think of “out of the box” reasons to share. 

    I talked about puzzles during my interview. My friend talked about Dungeons and Dragons. It can really be about anything. If you can trace it back to PT, and express your passion, you’ll be golden.

10. Describe, What You Believe, Makes A Great PT?

Talk about the PTs you got to shadow. What made them so great? What could have made them better? How did they interact with patients? Did their patients get better? How did that inspire you to become a PT yourself? Answer these questions yourself, so that when a school asks you, you’re ready to answer.

11. How Can You Contribute To The PT Profession?

This is a similar question as #8. You can provide a similar response, but add how you plan to use the skills you learn in school, and the connections you made to build a better profession as well.

12. What Are Some Of The Current Issues PTs Are Facing In Healthcare?

Schools may ask you this to see if you’re up to date with the issues many physical therapists are dealing with. You can discuss finances, insurance, COVID, etc. Bring up a couple topics to discuss.

    If you’re unsure of where to start, ask the PTs you shadowed. They should have some examples of issues they’re facing. You can look into the APTA website and see what topics are being discussed. Try even googling “physical therapy current issues”, and a wide variety of topics will pop up.

13. Where Do You See Yourself In 5-10 Years?

This is well past graduation. What are you doing now? What are your goals for the future? How do your values play into your goals? Talk about your interests and expand on them.

14. What Means More To You: Passion or Compassion? Why?

You need both in PT. Passion for the profession. Compassion for the patient. Discuss what is important to you. What are your values?

15. When Working In A Group, Are You A Leader Or A Follower? Why?

In my personal opinion, I believe there are moments when leaders can be followers, and followers can be leaders. Use your leadership examples. If you’re going into physical therapy, we need more leaders. This profession is still young, and we need people to help maintain its growth. 

While answering this question, describe a time you were a leader. Show these schools your leadership skills.

16. What Does The APTA’s Mission Statement Mean To You?

“Building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.” – APTA

What does that mean to you?

17. What Would You Do If A Patient Doesn’t Want To Participate In PT?

This will happen a lot in physical therapy. Schools want to see how you would respond in a situation like this. In general, there are a lot of reasons why a patient may not want to participate, even if they really need it. What will you do in response? How will you advocate on behalf of them? What will you try to do?

Your Questions