Advice on which DPT Program to choose? U of Washington(out-of-state) vs CSUN

[shlee9]

Hi, I just heard back from both CSUN and U of Washington this week, and have been having a hard time deciding which program to choose.
I am from California and have never lived outside of California, but I applied to U of Washington because it's a great school and I have heard Seattle is a great city.
Although I would be excited to live in Seattle during school, I ultimately want to come back to California to practice after school. Would it be better to choose the school that is in the state where you want to practice after school?
And I know both schools have great programs, but can anyone please give me any insights into either/both schools?
Since I am a California resident, CSUN total tuition is about 50k less than that of UW, which is a huge factor in deciding the school. However, if I were to put money out of the equation, which school would be better in terms of education and experience?

Thank you so much for reading this post and putting your time to comment! I truly appreciate it.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[rushingtide]

Congrats!! I'd love to know your stats and how many schools you applied to.

I'm a CA resident myself and I'm looking to apply in state and out of state, with the intention that when I apply out of state, I'm generally going to stick to being in that area. Price is a huge factor for me, because I don't want to incur too much debt in PT school. UofW has an AMAZING campus and I checked it out earlier when I went to visit the in-laws over New Years Eve/Day weekend. I also checked out CSUN and they're on my list too!

I think you're looking for input from current students at either UW or CSUN, so I can't speak to that. I can say that one of my former coworkers got accepted to CSULB and CSUN and went with CSUN and LOVES it so far. According to him, it's perks are that it's near home, it's a reduced price, and it's a wonderful campus with great teachers. If I were in your shoes, I'd lean more CSUN. Good luck in choosing!! It's a tough choice!

 

[shlee9]

Thank you! I am leaning more towards CSUN as well since I want to stay in CA after school.
Here are my stats.

Undergrad School: University of California, San Diego
Degree: B.S. in Neuroscience & Physiology / Minor in Music
Cumulative GPA: 3.62
Prerequisite GPA: 3.8-3.9 depending on the program
GRE: 161V, 166Q, 4.5AWA
Observation Hours: Outpatient: 1600+ hrs in a Free Standing PT setting as a PT aide(General ortho)

Experiences: Language Teacher at an Elementary school (2 years)
Choir Director at church (1/2 year)
Medical Assistant at an Orthopedic clinic (2 years)

Schools Applied To: UW, CSUN, Chapman, Azusa
Interviewing:
Admitted:
Accepted: UW, CSUN
Rejected:

I worked as a full-time PT aide for 2 years in two different PT clinics, both general ortho. I did not have any inpatient experience :/

 

[JbgDPT]

Did you happen to get pulled off the waitlist of UW? I am waiting to hear back and am curious if they started contacting waitlisted people. Thanks!

 

[DPSims]

Hi, I just heard back from both CSUN and U of Washington this week, and have been having a hard time deciding which program to choose.
I am from California and have never lived outside of California, but I applied to U of Washington because it's a great school and I have heard Seattle is a great city.
Although I would be excited to live in Seattle during school, I ultimately want to come back to California to practice after school. Would it be better to choose the school that is in the state where you want to practice after school?
And I know both schools have great programs, but can anyone please give me any insights into either/both schools?
Since I am a California resident, CSUN total tuition is about 50k less than that of UW, which is a huge factor in deciding the school. However, if I were to put money out of the equation, which school would be better in terms of education and experience?

Thank you so much for reading this post and putting your time to comment! I truly appreciate it.

Hi, I am attending CSUN in the fall. Since I live in LA I have been able to visit the program multiple times so I feel I have a decent grasp of the program if you have specific questions. I choose CSUN because of cost and location but there are many things I like about the program including the smaller class size (CSUN is 32, U of W is 48), and the on campus PT clinic at the student health center which allows for a ton more clinical experience in addition to just the standard summer semesters.
I will add that, though I don’t personally think the good views are a strong enough reason to choose a school, I did a summer program at U of W and the campus is stunning. If that is important to you, Washington has CSUN beat.

 

[ya1]

Would it be better to choose the school that is in the state where you want to practice after school?
Doesn't matter at all.

And I know both schools have great programs, but can anyone please give me any insights into either/both schools?
All PT programs are standardized, so you cannot really say one program is better than the other. They are pretty much the same.

if I were to put money out of the equation, which school would be better in terms of education and experience?
Same. Your experience will be limited since you will be spending most of the time at school and studying. If you want to experience Seattle, you would have more time to do so after graduation (move there for work for a while).

CSUN sounds like a better option since it's cheaper. You will find relatively inexpensive housing in CSUN area or within reasonable distance if you want to. (Not sure about the area in Seattle.)

 

[nic2994]

Cost is a huge factor, so northridge has Washington beat there!!!

 

[shlee9]

Did you happen to get pulled off the waitlist of UW? I am waiting to hear back and am curious if they started contacting waitlisted people. Thanks!

Yes I was initially waitlisted!

 

[ssummerss]

Hi there,
I was in a similar situation you were in. I'm a California resident graduate of UW 2019. Let me start by saying, I always dreamed of living at some point of my life in Seattle. So when I was accepted to UW, I chose to take on 133,000$ of tuition for out of state. This was compared to Chapman, who accepted me requesting 90000$ total. My years in Seattle were some of the best of my life, the program is great, I made friends and colleagues for life. Teachers were knowledgable, research opportunities were abundant. I returned to California and have now started working at the site that was my last clinical internship, a non-profit hospital.
Now I owe 210,000$ (got to factor in cost of living) and if I were to pay it off in ten years, I'd have to pay 2,300$ a month out of my 4000+ salary per month. cost of living in california is around 1000 per person. Add on every other expense, thats a rough ten years. I'm pursuing PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) so that if I remain nonprofit, my loan payments are lower and I will be forgiven tax free in ten years. I still pay 70,000$ worth of my tuition, but about 200000 will be forgiven. This is a risk too, considering the federal government isn't looking too hot at the moment.
So. would i take back my experiences at UW? Not in a heart beat. It's beautiful in the PNW. If I were you though, and hadn't been dreaming of Seattle your whole life, I'd say go to the cheaper school. A PT program is what you make of it, and you will find rewarding opportunities where you make them. Don't get yourself into the debt hole that I'm now in. Hope that helps. To whichever decision you make, congrats on choosing PT!