PTA Admission Policy
PTA student admission procedures and practices adhere to applicable law, are nondiscriminatory, assure equal opportunity to all applicants and are consistent with the Heartland Community College Equal Opportunity Statement. The PTA program at Heartland Community College is a selective admission program.
The Physical Therapist Assistant Program enrollment is limited to 16 students per year. Decision for admission is based on achievement of minimum academic criteria and the quality of the applicant's credentials in relation to those of other applicants.
Academic Requirements
- Pre-admission courses specific to the HCC PTA Program must be completed with a "C" or higher or in progress during the fall semester of the application deadline.
- A GPA of 2.5 is required in Pre-admission courses specific to the HCC PTA Program.
- If the student has completed Advanced Placement exams it will be scored as follows: 5 = letter grade A; 4 = letter grade B; 3 = letter grade C. Scores below 3 will not be considered.
- If a transcript utilized in the application process has a Credit or Pass in lieu of a letter grade for a required program prerequisite course taken during or after January 2020, HCC will verify that the Credit or Pass equated to a letter grade C. If the Credit or Pass does not meet this standard, that course will not be accepted as passed. This provision shall only be allowed when there is documented evidence that this grading policy related to Credit or Pass is in effect. HCC reserves all rights in determination of utilization of letter grades versus other grading mechanisms.
- HLTH 225, BIOL 181 & 182 or equivalent must be completed within the last five years or obtain a waiver. This will be counted from the Spring semester of the application cycle (i.e., Apply in Spring 2016 - the five years would be Spring semester of 2011).
- If a candidate is completing one or more Pre-admission course specific to the HCC PTA Program during the fall semester of the application cycle, the grade utilized for that course will be the mid-term grade.
- In the event a candidate elects to re-take a Pre-admission course specific to the HCC PTA Program in an attempt to improve the grade that is on their transcript, the following will be utilized in the selection process:
- If the candidate completes the re-take prior to August 1 of the application cycle, the highest grade will be utilized.
- If the candidate is retaking the course during the fall semester of the application cycle, the grade utilized for that course will be the mid-term grade and not any previous grade.
- All Pre-admission courses specific to the HCC PTA Program must be passed with a minimum grade of 'C' and the candidate must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. If the candidate was provisionally selected for the program but does not meet these requirements, they will not be allowed to enter the program. The candidate would need to submit a new application for the PTA program during a subsequent application cycle.
Residency
- Applicants on F-1 visas are not eligible for admission into this selective admission program. Applicants on other visa types will be evaluated individually for program eligibility.
How to Apply
Step 1. Apply to Heartland Community College (Current HCC students do not need to apply.)
Step 2. Apply to the PTA Program. Application only available April 1-September 1**
- Application Dates
- Application open: April 1
- Application due: September 1
- Documentation due: September 1
- Submit the following required documentation:
- PTA Application — PLEASE NOTE: Firefox is the suggested browser for completing the application document.
- Official copies of transcripts from colleges where general education courses were completed (if not previously submitted). There is no need to submit a transcript from Heartland Community College.
- Midterm grades if enrolled in general education courses in the fall semester of application deadline (due October 29).
**Applications may be reopened at a later date if seats remain available.
Transfer Students
Students with credits from another physical therapist assistant program may apply. PTA credits will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis. All other credits are subject to Heartland Community College's transfer policy. Transfers will be admitted as space permits, after regular admission and re-entry students. The following materials must be submitted:
- Letter requesting transfer into the HCC PTA program
- Heartland Community College application for admission
- Official copies of all college and PTA school transcripts
- Syllabus and detailed content outline of each PTA course completed with a 'C' or better
Re-entry Students
Please see HCC PTA Program Handbook (PDF) for readmission and re-entry criteria.
How Applicants Are Selected
All qualified applicants will be ranked, and the top 16 will be offered a seat.
In the event that a seat opens after the original top 16 have been offered, those applicants that were determined to be qualified but did not make the original top 16 list will be ranked and the remaining seats will be filled. This process will continue until all seats are filled, until all qualified candidates have been exhausted, or until the program's mandatory orientation.
Applicants provisionally selected and who accept a seat but then turn it down may elect to submit a new application for the PTA program during a subsequent application cycle. However, if the applicant accepts and then turns the seat down in 2 successive admission cycles, the applicant will not be considered for selection during the next immediate application cycle.
The following outlines the scoring system utilized to rank candidates:
| Ranking Criteria |
| Weighting |
Criteria |
| 95% |
Normalized GPA on general education courses [(Pre-admission GPA / 4.0) X 100] |
| 5% |
Prior Academic Achievement
- Master Degree or higher (100)
- Bachelor Degree (75)
- Associate Degree (50)
- College Certificate in CNA, EMT, Massage Therapy (25)
- If none of the above (0)
|
| [Normalized GPA] × 95% + [Prior Achievement] × 5% = SCORE |
In case of a tie, the applicant with the highest GPA in the general education courses will be given priority.
Please see our admission recommendation (PDF) sheet for additional information.
Notification of Acceptance
Applicants will be notified of their status regarding admission via their Heartland email by November 15.
Applicants not accepted during an application cycle will receive an email explaining why their application could not be approved at this time. These individuals should work with an academic advisor to satisfy basic admission requirements and reapply when admission requirements have been made.
Applications and waiting lists are not maintained from year to year. Qualified candidates who are not selected will need to submit a new application for the PTA program the following year so we are aware of their continued interest in the program.
Applicants who are offered a seat in the program must meet the following requirements prior to official acceptance into the program.
- Complete currently enrolled pre-admission courses with a 'C' or greater AND a GPA of 2.5 in the pre-admission courses
- Attend Orientation
- Submit to a criminal background check and drug testing and disclose any previous criminal convictions (see Program Handbook)
- Fulfill all clinical education requirements (see Program Handbook)
- Satisfy all financial obligations to the college
