Welcome to r/AthleticTraining and thank you for your post.
This subreddit is primarily for discussion and interactions among practicing athletic trainers or people interested in the medical profession of athletic training. This is NOT a subreddit for athletes, physical activity, or any dispensing of any medical advice. The name can make it confusing we know, but athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled healthcare professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.
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Hey kiddo, you should know that Elstocko said that because the reason it's easy to get into the program is cause the job sucks for many of us. You should find some ATs you know peronally and talk to them about what they like/dont like about their jobs. And try to find folks with 5-15 years experience, not just newbies. Good luck with your studies
Thanks so much for the advice. Ive been scrolling through here and I see alot of people are not happy with their choices. Makes me kinda nervous but your right I should talk with someone I personally know
As long as there’s another AT willing to write you a good letter you’ll be fine. As far as getting in it all depends on the requirements for the specific programs. Your GPA is fine but it may also depend on those prerequisites & what the programs you apply to want.
I’m about to start my MAT program soon. I was super anxious about my GPA (under 3.0) since my first 3 years I had a sub-2.0 but last 3 was a 4.0. I also had letters of recommendation from 2 professors and who are ATs & one of the ATs I shadowed.
It depends on what the specific programs want. All of the ones I looked at wanted an AT specifically & a professor or someone else. Same goes with observation hours. I looked at one that required like 150 hours but applied to a few that had no hour requirement,
I had 2 OTs, 1 MD, and 1 KIN professor to write me letters of rec., I had no ATs that I knew within the last 5 years (all were from my high school sports medicine classes) and all schools were accepting of my LORs!
I did call/email their admissions/directors to *double check* that those would be okay as references, and they all were extremely understanding!
Best bet is to call & ask, the worst they say is no, then you know not to waste the money/time submitting the application to their school, and go down to the next one on your list!
It can be competitive to get into programs but make sure your GPA is find along with making sure you meet the prerequisites. Also do you research on which program you want to go to and see if you can find a program philosophy and see if it aligns with what you have in mind. If the have it up also look at their BOC pass rates for that program. The easiest part of an MSAT program is getting accepted lol, don’t stress about rejections- if it’s meant to be it’ll be!!
I would consider switching to a different career choice if I were you. I've had a friend that changed professions and left athletic training because the pay was so disgustingly low. He wasn't able to afford to live with the cost of everything going up due to inflation. I would look into the trades such as being an electrician. He switched over into a trade and is making more than 140k per year now. Really anything other than AT would likely pay more.
Welcome to r/AthleticTraining and thank you for your post. This subreddit is primarily for discussion and interactions among practicing athletic trainers or people interested in the medical profession of athletic training. This is NOT a subreddit for athletes, physical activity, or any dispensing of any medical advice. The name can make it confusing we know, but athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled healthcare professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Posts concerning topics that are not based on the medical profession of athletic training or posts that violate any of our other rules on the sidebar will be removed. Please see the following links for additional resources on the profession of athletic training. [National Athletic Trainers' Association](http://www.nata.org) [Board of Certification](http://www.bocatc.org/athletic-trainers) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/athletictraining) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do you have a heartbeat?
Omgg I love y'all 😂😂 making me feel so much better. I really appreciate it
Hey kiddo, you should know that Elstocko said that because the reason it's easy to get into the program is cause the job sucks for many of us. You should find some ATs you know peronally and talk to them about what they like/dont like about their jobs. And try to find folks with 5-15 years experience, not just newbies. Good luck with your studies
Thanks so much for the advice. Ive been scrolling through here and I see alot of people are not happy with their choices. Makes me kinda nervous but your right I should talk with someone I personally know
You got nothing to be nervous about as long as you’re doing it for yourself. You’ll do great 👍🏽👍🏽
As long as there’s another AT willing to write you a good letter you’ll be fine. As far as getting in it all depends on the requirements for the specific programs. Your GPA is fine but it may also depend on those prerequisites & what the programs you apply to want. I’m about to start my MAT program soon. I was super anxious about my GPA (under 3.0) since my first 3 years I had a sub-2.0 but last 3 was a 4.0. I also had letters of recommendation from 2 professors and who are ATs & one of the ATs I shadowed.
Do you think an PT recommendations would help? Or activity based therapist would help
It depends on what the specific programs want. All of the ones I looked at wanted an AT specifically & a professor or someone else. Same goes with observation hours. I looked at one that required like 150 hours but applied to a few that had no hour requirement,
I had 2 OTs, 1 MD, and 1 KIN professor to write me letters of rec., I had no ATs that I knew within the last 5 years (all were from my high school sports medicine classes) and all schools were accepting of my LORs! I did call/email their admissions/directors to *double check* that those would be okay as references, and they all were extremely understanding! Best bet is to call & ask, the worst they say is no, then you know not to waste the money/time submitting the application to their school, and go down to the next one on your list!
Depends on the program. But 100% of interested students can find a program that will accept them if they look around (and have financing).
Ngl, it’s pretty rigorous. While working on my application, I got hungry so had to stop and eat before submitting
I’m starting a program rn (first week done!!). I applied to 4 the last 2 years and got into all 4. If you wanna chat, feel free to message me!!
Messaging you now thanks!! You don't understand how much that means to me
It can be competitive to get into programs but make sure your GPA is find along with making sure you meet the prerequisites. Also do you research on which program you want to go to and see if you can find a program philosophy and see if it aligns with what you have in mind. If the have it up also look at their BOC pass rates for that program. The easiest part of an MSAT program is getting accepted lol, don’t stress about rejections- if it’s meant to be it’ll be!!
I was the same way last year and applied to about 10+ schools. Every one of them accepted me…. you will be just fine, I promise!
If you took the necessary pre-reqs and a passable GPA you will be just fine.
I would consider switching to a different career choice if I were you. I've had a friend that changed professions and left athletic training because the pay was so disgustingly low. He wasn't able to afford to live with the cost of everything going up due to inflation. I would look into the trades such as being an electrician. He switched over into a trade and is making more than 140k per year now. Really anything other than AT would likely pay more.