Does rank of school matter?

[ajs5532]

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When deciding on which school to go to, does the rank really matter for physical therapy schools?

I was admitted to Pitt (3) and Arcadia (14) and I have 2 days to decide which school I want to go to. Does that #3 spot really matter though? As in, do employers see that I went to a school with a higher rank? If an employer compared two equal candidates (in every way), except one candidate went to Pitt and the other Arcadia, would they hire the Pitt candidate over the Arcadia candidate? Would that employer also offer a higher starting salary to the Pitt candidate?

Any responses would greatly help my decision!

Thanks

 

[Azimuthal]

Not at all sir or ma'am. 🙂

 

[_FNG_]

Go to the cheaper school! Some clinical affiliations will be better with certain schools and the emphasis may be different depending on the school but at the end of the day the differences are probably minimal and not worth the drastic difference in cost between some schools i.e. private vs public.

Pay won't likely change because of school. I can't speak about hiring between candidates but would think there are a lot of factors that would be higher on the decision making process.

Regardless of school, you won't graduate an expert. That comes with a lot of clinic time, good mentors, and hard work. I think this process can be expedited by attending residency program but I'm biased.

 

[truthseeker]

Agree with FNG. Go cheap and accredited.

 

[ptisfun2]

This question has been showing up a lot. I think now in 2013 (and historically) it did not matter. Not even a little bit. But, with the advent of residencies, and talk about requiring them, school rank may matter. To get into the 'best' residencies (even now), programs are looking at where you went to school and who is writing recommendation letters. I am not advocating going to a higher ranked school, but I think it may warrant consideration in the future... or now if you want to do a residency.

 

[Azimuthal]

This question has been showing up a lot. I think now in 2013 (and historically) it did not matter. Not even a little bit. But, with the advent of residencies, and talk about requiring them, school rank may matter. To get into the 'best' residencies (even now), programs are looking at where you went to school and who is writing recommendation letters. I am not advocating going to a higher ranked school, but I think it may warrant consideration in the future... or now if you want to do a residency.

👍 More of this residency talk is popping up at my program also.

 

[NewTestament]

It matters as much as a high-school popularity contest. Seriously. It's not scientific at all. Earning potential is not a function of where you went to school. The director at UMiami took great pride in her school's rank, but the director at UDel completely dismissed it, even though his school is #2 in the country.

The better question to ask is, Is rank worth an extra $30k in tuition? The answer is no.

Kevin

 

[DPTinUTAH]

Newtestament is dead on accurate. Rank means absolutely nothing. Save as much coin as you can, cheapest option is your absolute best option if your set on doing PT and not looking at another allied health profession in which your earning potential is higher and your debt is lower....

 

[Sheldon]

Ranking does not matter. Go to the school that seems like the best fit for you, regardless of cost. Bust your butt for the ~3 years, learn, and then enter residency. You'll thank yourself later, and so will your patients.

 

[jesspt]

This question has been showing up a lot. I think now in 2013 (and historically) it did not matter. Not even a little bit. But, with the advent of residencies, and talk about requiring them, school rank may matter. To get into the 'best' residencies (even now), programs are looking at where you went to school and who is writing recommendation letters. I am not advocating going to a higher ranked school, but I think it may warrant consideration in the future... or now if you want to do a residency.

If this is true, then I would think that it is the faculty member that was responsible for teaching the coursework most applicable to the residency that would influence their admissions decision. For example, if you went to a PT school with an instructor or instructors who were well published in the area of orthopaedics, I would think a residency would look favorably on that more so than the overall rank of the PT school as a whole.

 

[ptisfun2]

If this is true, then I would think that it is the faculty member that was responsible for teaching the coursework most applicable to the residency that would influence their admissions decision. For example, if you went to a PT school with an instructor or instructors who were well published in the area of orthopaedics, I would think a residency would look favorably on that more so than the overall rank of the PT school as a whole.

In what I have seen (both in who we accept for residencies and our graduating students' experience) it is a combination of both. And I think most of my colleagues at my institution would say the same. But that is only one school's (solid reputation, etc) experience.