What's the best to major to major in if I'm looking to be a physical therapist?

They're several different majors that would work well with pursuing a DPT. In my PT class, we had psychology majors, engineering majors, biology majors, etc. I would say the majors that match up the best with PT school and that would prepare you the most would be exercise science, kinesiology and biology. They're pre-PT majors out there as well. Another aspect to keep in mind are the pre-requesites for the PT programs that you are interested in. It would serve you well to have the pre-reqs already included in your undergrad major to avoid having to take too many additional courses. Personally, I was a bio major/chem minor and that helped me a ton in PT school. I would also HIGHLY recommend going to any PT school open houses and ask them directly, not only to gain some knowledge on the topic, but to meet some faculty and staff and get your name out there. Picking an undergrad major that you enjoy is also immensely important, who wants to spend four years pursuing a degree that you are not interested in?

While you do not have to be a specific major to get into PT school, I would highly recommend a major that is directly related to physical therapy as a profession. Post-baccalaureate physical therapy programs include gross anatomy, kinesiology, and pharmacology as part of the initial coursework, for example. Classes in physics, biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology are likely prerequisites of the program, and if they are taken through a health sciences program, sometimes the content is specialized to that major: for example, Northeastern University offers Chemistry for Health Science, Biology for Health Science, and Physics 1-2 for Life Sciences for rehab science majors, which have content more related to allied health sciences like PT. That said, if you know as a high school student that you want to enter Physical Therapy, I highly recommend looking into Direct Entry / Combined Degree programs which take your from the beginning of your bachelor's degree through the end of your DPT. Northeastern University and Quinnipiac University are two examples - the coursework of the bachelor's degree and the doctorate overlap, so the coursework and clinical education is completed in 6 years rather than 4-5 of a bachelor's degree then 3 years of a DPT program. I also benefitted from co-op at Northeastern that gave me an additional 12 months of paid experience in the field, integrated into the 6 year program. I highly recommend a major or program that gives you the opportunity to get relevant experience in the field (part time job, research, internship, or volunteer). Not only will you get insight into the breadth of the field, but you will gain applicable experience that will boost your application to PT school and aid your skills moving into clinical rotations and entry level work. Best of luck!