You should major in athletic training because you want to be an athletic trainer and not merely as an undergraduate degree before you enter another profession. Combining professions can make sense for certain students who want to use elements of both in their future practice as health care providers, but not for someone who doesn't plan to use what they learn. Athletic training and physical therapy can be a good combination of professions for students interested in sports medicine and orthopedics, but is probably not the best choice if your interest is in other areas of physical therapy.
Although there are areas of overlap, our traditional jobs are quite a bit different. Athletic trainers traditionally are the health care providers who work with teams and athletes on an every day basis in their competitive setting in athletics and on the sidelines during practice and games. Our care in these settings includes elements of emergency medicine, primary care and others areas of health care that are not usually part of traditional physical therapy practice. Physical therapists more traditionally work with athletes in outpatient rehabilitation settings rather than on the sidelines and usually see these athletes on a referral basis rather than being present when their injuries occur. Their professional preparation also includes areas of practice not typically seen by athletic trainers such as stroke and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Most athletic trainers who go on to earn a DPT degree leave the athletics setting and work primarily in an outpatient rehabilitation setting.
For students mostly interested in other areas of physical therapy (e.g. inpatient hospital care, neurological and stroke patients, pediatrics, geriatrics, etc.), athletic training may not be the best choice as an undergraduate major.
The Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training (BSAT) program requires an extensive clinical time commitment that isn't necessary for students who don't intend to make sports medicine an important part of their future practice. As a program with competitive secondary admissions, and more applicants than we can accommodate, it is very difficult to admit students who do not plan to practice in a sports medicine setting.
There are any number of other undergraduate majors that do a fine job of preparing students for physical therapy and other graduate entry professions. Speak with an advisor who can help you determine which of these majors will best meet your needs. You can learn more about physical therapy at Ohio State by visiting the
Division Physical Therapy Division website.