Four Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduates Achieve Highest Score on Licensure Exam

ATLANTA—Four physical therapy graduates from the class of 2025 achieved the highest possible scores on the National Physical Therapy Exam in April, the most at one time in the history of the GSU degree program.

The national exam is required by states to become a practicing physical therapist. The national average for passing the exam on the first attempt is 93.3 percent, and Georgia State’s graduates had a 100 percent pass rate.

The program previously had five students achieve the highest score, with two students each in 2019 and 2020. Four from one class speaks to the quality and rigor of the program, said Sujay Galen, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Physical Therapy in the Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions.

“We don’t recommend that every student take the scheduled April exam before graduation, only our strongest students who meet all requirements take the early exam,” Dr. Galen said. “Students can take advantage of a few more weeks/months of study time and take the exam in July. But this class was particularly strong, and 31 out of our 43 students took the exam in April.”

This year’s high score achievers are Tamera Mistry, Emilee Miller Poppell, Caroline Sandler and Jillian Tucker.

“The exam was hard but felt similar to the practice exams I had taken at home and at school,” Mistry said. “Knowing I had taken the practice exams and passed gave me more of an idea of what to expect and more confidence going in the real exam.”

The graduates said their study guides and practice exams, along with reviewing material related to incorrect answers, helped get them ready. “Each week I probably spent 10 to 15 hours studying for the exam,” Miller Poppell said.

“You don’t get the satisfaction of knowing your score right away, but Georgia State really prepares you well to pass this exam,” Tucker said.

Sandler, too, said she felt confident coming out of the exam, with the hardest part being the wait for her test result.

“I was excited that it was over,” Miller Poppell said. “I knew I always wanted to sit for the exam early so I could have ‘one last summer’ before the real world.”

With the exam out of the way, Tucker said she is going on vacation before seeking a job as an inpatient rehabilitation physical therapist. Mistry is working in outpatient orthopedics at a privately-owned clinic in Atlanta, seeking to specialize in ACL rehab and working with runners and other athletes, and Sandler is working in acute care at Northside Forsyth Hospital. Poppell recently moved back to her hometown near Bainbridge, Ga., where she is working at a hospital and looking for a PT position.