​Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Application Process

Application Filing Period – Information Session

An application information session is scheduled during March and October each year. Applicants who attend the March application session will be able to obtain an application packet. After this March date, applicants may download the application packet or pick up a packet in person at 1400 Market Street, Suite 8204, Redding, CA 96001.​ 

Next Application Information Session: September 30, 2024 at 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Application Filing Period: Monday, August 26, 2024 – Friday, September 27, 2024

Application packets will be available following an annual Information Session each March for the following August/September filing period. It is imperative to submit all required documentation for the application packet to be accepted/qualified. Please make sure to gather all required documentation prior to the August 26 filing date. If you have any questions, please contact the Health Sciences Office at (530) 339-3661

Completion of Application Packets

Completed packets must be hand-delivered to the Health Sciences Division Office according to the instructions on the Featured Announcements page or postmarked no later than 4:00 pm on the final date of the application-filing period. Health Sciences personnel will only accept application packets that are in a sealed envelope. Email submissions of the application packet will not be accepted.

A Completed Application Packet includes all of the following:

*OFFICIAL RECORDS/TRANSCRIPTS are those that have been received from another educational institution.

  • Physical transcripts must be in a sealed envelope and remain unopened. DO NOT OPEN.  If an envelope has been opened (seal broken) prior to arriving at Shasta College, it cannot be accepted for the purpose of application to the PTA Program.
  • Electronic transcripts must be sent to admissions@shastacollege.edu, and you must include a copy of the receipt from your transcript request transaction with your application packet.

Additional information related to the completion of the application packet:

  • Shasta College work will be obtained from the Admissions and Records office and made an official part of the application filing packet. 
  • Failure to include ALL other college and/or high school records will result in the automatic disqualification of the application filing packet.
  • Other college records that may already be on file with the Shasta College Admissions and Records office CANNOT be used for this initial application packet. 
  • If an applicant is determined to be ineligible or is not selected for admission to the program, the applicant must re-submit a new completed application packet in the next application filing period ​EXCEPT: all other college and/or high school records.  Shasta College will retain official transcripts and allow students re-applying to use these previously submitted records

Application Requirements

Invitation into the PTA Program is a format of "first come/first served". The first 24 qualified applications are invited into the program, but TIME of submission does not matter - only DATE of submission.
Exceptions to this include:

  • If more than 24 qualified applications are received on DAY 1 of the filing period, those applications will be placed in a randomized drawing for the top 24 placements.
    • If necessary, applications on subsequent dates may be randomized to fill remaining positions. For example, if there are 4 remaining positions on Day 3 but 8 applications are submitted, those applications will be randomized for the 4 remaining positions.
  • All applications that are COMPLETE, no matter the date of submission, will take precedence over those applications with requirements IN PROGRESS.

It is important to understand that the earlier an application is submitted, the greater the chance of being invited into the program. However, early submission does not guarantee a spot in the program.

There is no Wait List for the PTA program, but there is an Alternate List of 12 qualified applicants chosen following the same format (applications 25-36) that may be invited into the program should any of the 24 selected applicants decline.

If a qualified application is submitted and the applicant is not invited into the program, they will need to reapply to the program next year during the filing period. If the application is submitted on Day 1 of the filing period in the first attempt and Day 1 of the filing period for the second attempt, that applicant will have two numbers placed in the randomized drawing for Day 1 of the second attempt (if randomization is necessary).

Selection Criteria for Qualified Applicants

Final selection of qualified applicants is based on successful completion of all pre-requisites and other requirements. Applications submitted with all pre-requisites completed will be given priority. Applications submitted with "in-progress" work will be accepted. Course work that is “in-progress” must be satisfactorily completed prior to admission to the Physical Therapist Assistant program. If an applicant fails to meet this requirement, they will be removed from the cohort and an applicant on the Alternate List will be invited.

Notification of Acceptance

The first 24 randomized qualified applicants will receive an Enrollment Invitation Letter by the Health Sciences Division Office via email within 6 weeks after the close of the filing period. If an applicant declines their invitation into the Physical Therapist Assistant Program, they will be removed from the applicant pool and the applicant will need to re-apply during a subsequent application filing period to be considered for admission.

Students who are not selected for the class have the option of re-applying during a subsequent application filing period for consideration to another class. Students who have been notified of disqualification may contact the Health Sciences Division at hsupconnect@shastacollege.edu to discuss actions required to meet qualification standards. 

All application placements are based on space availability.

Current Information

It is the applicant’s responsibility to maintain current information (name, address, telephone number, email address) with the Health Sciences & University Programs office. Please make sure that we have your current contact information (especially email address) by filling out our online Contact Information Change Forms. 

Contact Information Change Form - Health Sciences Programs  

Typically emails to AOL and Hotmail accounts from Shasta College are not reliably delivered.  We highly recommend that students & applicants establish e-mail accounts with services such as gmail.com or yahoo.com, as we have found that emails to these accounts are more reliably delivered.