Deciding on a PT program based on tuition cost

[gailmarie95]

I was just curious on everyone's thoughts on choosing or not choosing a school solely based on tuition price. There are a lot of wonderful schools out there with more/different opportunities yet higher tuition and programs that may have less opportunities but are less expensive. I was just curious on everyone's thoughts when it comes to choosing between multiple programs and if tuition cost is one of your main factors.

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[DPSims]

Tuition and location were my two main factors, with licensure pass rate coming in third. I don’t care about the campus or esthetic factors. For me, I attribute this to being an older student. I’m 10 years out of my bachelors. I’m married. I have some roots. So I have no interest in picking up my family’s life and moving to a different area. And since I paid for my bachelors on my own with the help of numerous loans which I am still paying off, I know first hand the importance of keeping tuition costs down. Since PT is such an in-demand field (the national unemployment rate is less than 1%), so long as I pass my licensing exam I’ll get a job. I see no need to pay extra for it. I found the cheapest school within an hour from where I live with a pass rate of 99% and I focused everything in my application to their criteria. Luckily, it worked and I got in.

 

[ya1]

I think it's a great idea to choose school based on tuition price and other living expenses (moving and renting vs living at home, etc). The only other criteria I would consider is the length of the program since the shorter it is, the more challenging it will be. The rest does not matter, I believe.

 

[jb_pt123]

I was in the same boat, choosing between two schools based on tuition and environment. The school that is closer to me and my family is about $30,000 more and the cheaper program/school seems to have better facilities but be further and I would have to move. I made an expenses sheet and found out that they would come out to be about the same cost based on extra living and travel expenses.
I would make a similar expenses sheet with tuition, living, travel, extra added expenses (gym memberships, gas/oil changes, etc.). I tend to lean towards the cheaper school unless it ends up similar in price!