How much is too much?

[kickballfan]

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Recently I have been admitted into PT school and I am very excited! With my excitement I have come to realize the amount of debt I will build while in PT school. I project that I will have to take out about $150,000 by the end of the three years (tuition+living costs). That scares me! I am confident that I will find a job after school but I am not sure if I have confidence in finding a job that will allow me to pay off my loan, my rent, my car, etc. and live comfortably for many years after graduating. My question is should I pass up this great opportunity and reapply next year to schools with lower tuition and living expenses or just take on the debt I do not feel comfortable with knowing I would receive a great education and get a chance to become a PT? I should have really thought about this before applying to schools this past year!

 

[PTGuy12]

Wow...that is alot of debt to look forward to. Just curious, but where is that pt program located?
You have good reason to be apprehensive...it seems that there is some uncertainty with the pt profession with the way medicare is going. Don't get me wrong, I believe pt can be a very rewarding career, but 150,000 dollar debt figure can severely hamper you financially. The general advice I hear around this forum is to go the cheapest school possible.

 

[MJHUSKERS]

150,000 is a lot, don't get me wrong. I will be a around $70,000 when PT school is done. However, I don't know why people get all crazy over this? I realize it's a lot of money, but it's worth every cent if it allows you to do what you want to do with your career. Also, why can't you live frugally for a few years after PT school??? I may move back home after PT school and just WORK my butt off to pay off loans for a year or two! I've been a poor college student for 4 years....I can handle eating PB&J sandwiches for a couple extra years.

I truly think if you love your work, you never work a day in your life.

 

[MuscleHead]

150,000 is a lot, don't get me wrong. I will be a around $70,000 when PT school is done. However, I don't know why people get all crazy over this? I realize it's a lot of money, but it's worth every cent if it allows you to do what you want to do with your career. Also, why can't you live frugally for a few years after PT school??? I may move back home after PT school and just WORK my butt off to pay off loans for a year or two! I've been a poor college student for 4 years....I can handle eating PB&J sandwiches for a couple extra years.

I truly think if you love your work, you never work a day in your life.

why would u even apply to a program that costs that much? that is a lot of money. my program is gonna run close to 80k i thought that was a lot.

 

[pttrac]

If it costs more than medical school than apply somewhere else and wait. I draw the line at $100k and that is already alot.

 

[johncronejr]

Amazing how big of a disparity there is in tuition at different schools. I am going to attend Univ. of Central Arkansas, which is a well ranked program if you believe in the US News rankings at all, and total in-state tuition is $30,000 for the entire program.

 

[ksiem]

Hey John, I'm going to UCA too. Any idea on your living plans yet?

 

[johncronejr]

Hey John, I'm going to UCA too. Any idea on your living plans yet?

I have been living right across the street from the school since starting my undergraduate. My wife and I have a nice duplex with a privacy fence. It takes me about 7 minutes to walk to the PT building! There are a lot of rentals around the school. They have just completed a brand new apartment building that is very close to the PT building, actually closer to it than I am.

Are you doing your undergraduate at UCA as well?

 

[ericdopt]

Recently I have been admitted into PT school and I am very excited! With my excitement I have come to realize the amount of debt I will build while in PT school. I project that I will have to take out about $150,000 by the end of the three years (tuition+living costs). That scares me! I am confident that I will find a job after school but I am not sure if I have confidence in finding a job that will allow me to pay off my loan, my rent, my car, etc. and live comfortably for many years after graduating. My question is should I pass up this great opportunity and reapply next year to schools with lower tuition and living expenses or just take on the debt I do not feel comfortable with knowing I would receive a great education and get a chance to become a PT? I should have really thought about this before applying to schools this past year!

You will find it hard to make up for that kind of debt with a PT degree. $150K is medical school range debt. Think about it, consider you make $80K (which is extremely generous for a PT with many years experience), you will have the debt plus (likely) 2 cars (if you are married), a mortgage, saving for retirement, kids, college, vacation, etc.etc....

I'm glad I did PT school years ago, I don't know if I could incur that kind of debt. In fact I make sure anyone who asks me re: PT school understands the kind of debt burden they will have. Sure, you will always have a job, but that kind of debt is nuts. And, you can only work a regular job PLUS home health/weekend part-time for so long before you burn out....just my 2 cents.

 

[GeevesDPT]

i'll graduate 170,000 in debt. i'm not worried.

why? lets suppose i get an average job (70,000 a year). that means that, after taxes, i'm making roughly 4500 a month. it is unlikely that i will be even engaged, let alone starting a family directly out of school, so i should have no problem living on 2000 a month. I would have half my debt paid off in three years. IF I was such an unlucky therapist that I didn't change jobs and get a raise, I would still have my debt paid off in another three years.

Living on 2000 a month - clearly I wont be able to own a huge house and a beamer, but i can certainly live very comfortably as long as I dont incur ridiculous other debts (credit cards, family, etc). I certainly won't be living in debt forever as some people seem to thinmk is the case (because why else would you be so worried)

 

[kickballfan]

Thanks everyone for the insight. I know that I will have no trouble finding a job after graduation and I will be working in a career that I enjoy and believe in, but I am not confident that I will find a job paying me $50,000 or more starting out. I also understand that the $150K loan is not the amount of money I will have to pay back (aka...interest!). I am 28 years old and realistically I will not be able to save enough money to buy a home/raise a family for along time. Maybe I am a little older than the average student going into a DPT program but I have life experience and believe that I could be asking for negative situation. It is unfortunate that some schools ask students to pay as much as they do knowing the many struggles their students may have paying back their loans.

 

[benchmadebali]

Thanks everyone for the insight. I know that I will have no trouble finding a job after graduation and I will be working in a career that I enjoy and believe in, but I am not confident that I will find a job paying me $50,000 or more starting out. I also understand that the $150K loan is not the amount of money I will have to pay back (aka...interest!). I am 28 years old and realistically I will not be able to save enough money to buy a home/raise a family for along time. Maybe I am a little older than the average student going into a DPT program but I have life experience and believe that I could be asking for negative situation. It is unfortunate that some schools ask students to pay as much as they do knowing the many struggles their students may have paying back their loans.

Hey at least you got in somewhere!

Im curious as well, which program accepted you?

I'm going on 26 and after a few rounds of retaking courses, reapplying, racking up more volunteer hours, etc. I've only managed to get onto 3 wait lists (Mount St. Mary's, FIU and UMiami) and I've got an interview coming up with USA sometime in July.

Ultimately it comes to your own cost/benefit analysis of what you think you can or cannot manage financially.

Many programs look at older candidates differently than someone fresh out of college, and not necessarily even in a negative way! (I've been at this for 3 years after getting my BS in Health Science from Stetson...)

I know if I don't get in anywhere this year I'm definitely reapplying to many of the same programs and even adding a couple more since I missed their deadlines. I've already enrolled in summer classes at my local cc, taking physics and trig, just as a precautionary measure.

Good luck and don't give up!

 

[GeevesDPT]

I am not confident that I will find a job paying me $50,000 or more starting out.

you're kidding, right? a $50,000 salary is the TENTH percentile nationally for salary. Erego, there's roughly a 90% of you getting paid at least that much.

havent you done any research on the prospective job market? or are you that low in your confidence of your own skills? i dont get it.

 

[oregonprept]

you're kidding, right? a $50,000 salary is the TENTH percentile nationally for salary. Erego, there's roughly a 90% of you getting paid at least that much.

havent you done any research on the prospective job market? or are you that low in your confidence of your own skills? i dont get it.

Yeah... except depending on where you work a $50,000 wage initially is realistic. At least in Oregon I've talked to PT's and they've all told me don't expect to make the big bucks right out of school. Best is to look for loan forgiveness and work your butt off for a couple years and then do what you actually want, where you want. Another aspect to note is where your employed effects your income greatly. I know a couple PT's who sit back, let their aides do all the work and see a LOT of patients in a day. This generates more income, but it drastically skews income in comparison to other PT positions that may have a more individualized schedule, as well as a tight salary.

I think the balance here lies in cost, your chances going somewhere else, and your desire to be a PT. Good luck with everything.

 

[kickballfan]

Interesting you say that. I am from the PNW as well and have also been told from several PT's I should expect to make around $50,000 starting out in this area. Salaries would depend on the type of clinic and the amount of exposure the PT has with the patient.

I have a lot of respect for this profession and I am thankful to have received an opportunity this coming year to attend a PT school. I just need to decide if this school is a good fit for me.

 

[benchmadebali]

Interesting you say that. I am from the PNW as well and have also been told from several PT's I should expect to make around $50,000 starting out in this area. Salaries would depend on the type of clinic and the amount of exposure the PT has with the patient.

I have a lot of respect for this profession and I am thankful to have received an opportunity this coming year to attend a PT school. I just need to decide if this school is a good fit for me.

Any reason you won't tell us which program you're referring to? 😕

 

[bigdan]

I'm (generally) quite positive thinking, but when "planning" on making a certain salary, don't forget that healthcare reimbursement is in a state of flux given the current political environment. I'm not doom & gloom - I think there will be jobs and money, but those of us that were in rehab to see the 1998 Balanced Budget Amendment changes to Medicare saw job offers go from $65-75K starting to around $40K over the course of one year.

Caveat Emptor.

dc

dc

 

[ericdopt]

I'm (generally) quite positive thinking, but when "planning" on making a certain salary, don't forget that healthcare reimbursement is in a state of flux given the current political environment. I'm not doom & gloom - I think there will be jobs and money, but those of us that were in rehab to see the 1998 Balanced Budget Amendment changes to Medicare saw job offers go from $65-75K starting to around $40K over the course of one year.

Caveat Emptor.

dc

dc

I agree with BigDan... I was "planning" on making 6 figures after 20 years (!) in the profession. Not even close, btw. I was told many times that my raises were going to be a paltry 1-2% because I was already "the highest paid therapist in the city"...and this was in a very big city with a company with many employees. Probably bunk, but it was their excuse. Just sayin'...don't expect to make the big bucks after shelling them out to the university of your choice for your degree. Shop around for the least expensive one...if you can choose where you go that is. If not, then do some soul searching to see if acruing that kind of debt is worth it for the dream of being a PT. It ain't that glamorous. It's fun, but I didn't work with a professional sports team or anything. Good luck and PM me if you want a veteran opinion. Oh, another thing they don't tell you in lala land...better known as the university...employers don't care if you are a PT/MPT/DPT/etc...They want to know if you can do the job and are going to be >85% productive in order for you to earn your salary.

 

[FLsurferDPT]

.

 

[ericdopt]

ericdopt.. I am more than thrilled that an actual veteran PT posted on this forum. It seems like all the advice is from future PT students hoping to become PT's and try to tell everyone that spending 150K+ for a school, for example USC or Duke, is a wise decision. A lot of people go into physical therapy later in life to pursue a profession that they will enjoy doing. One thing they don't realize is that they will not be happy working their profession when they have to work the job just to pay off a huge debt that they brought upon themselves.

Thanks. I don't want to discourage anyone from going to PT school or med school, like I did later in life. I just want to give my experience and hope that it may help. PT is great. You can travel, help people and most importantly, have a job. In the end, it is just that, a job albeit a rewarding one. The costs have become prohibitive and I don't know if I would do it now or not knowing the costs and the real salaries that are out there. Working full-time and having a part-time home health gig on the side may seem doable, but it becomes tedious and exhausting. Driving, paperwork, more driving and more paperwork with patient contact thrown in is what defines home health. I love the benefit my patients get from my help and enjoy my job a lot btw...but I'm very tired at the end of the week and just want to spend time with my family. Good luck to anyone who is considering PT school. I'm convinced the "educational-industrial complex" has become more harmful than helpful to the majority of people. Why make people go into 6 figure debt to be a PT? Makes no sense.

 

[GuyWithAQuestio]

Man, I really understand where you're coming from on this one, kickballfan.

I'm a later-in-life student (35 yrs) trying to go back for PT. I live in NC and applied to most of the schools here. Duke was the only one that had an astronomical cost of attendance associated with it. I did apply to one other school outside of NC and got in!! I was thrilled until I sat down with my spreadsheet.

If you're an in state student, the cost is "reasonable" ($80k by the time you're done in 3 years). However, I'd be out of state state student and then I took a closer look at their policies on becoming an in-state student. It pretty much made it impossible to do it as a PT student, and even if you made attempts, there is no guarantee... you wouldn't find out if you got in-state tuition until you applied for it the next year. That's pretty much after you're committed. The short of it is that determined that as an out of state student I'd be about $150k to $160k in debt. Plugging that in with interest rates on my loans and it didn't look good.

I would have been paying about $1,100 for 30 years or $1,400 for 20 years per month. On a PT's salary (guestimating about 65k starting off), I would have felt very trapped. I don't have a house, no wife, no kids, but I would like to start on these things near the end of my schooling at latest.

My only practical options are to A) do a few retakes on some classes to get my GPA up and reapply next year to the schools in NC that offer instate tuition B) find another career path (which I'm not willing to do at this time... I really want to be a PT) C) win the lottery in order to afford school or D) come up with another solution.

Option C would have been very nice.

 

[trichic]

To GuyWithAQuestion:

Don't forget Elon. They cost a little more than Duke! So what do you plan on doing? Are you going to re-apply for next year?

Judging from what I have been reading on the forum lately, it seems as if it is more competitive to get into a state school because the cost of tuition is so much lower. PT is a second career for me. I currently work in the financial industry. It drives me crazy that not only will I be taking a pay cut to be a PT, but the amount of debt I will incur with tuition. If I was one of my own clients, I would say it is not a sound financial decision. But, I guess you do what have to when you have a passion for something. As some of the others have said, I plan on living on next to nothing the first few years and paying off the debt.

 

[GuyWithAQuestio]

To GuyWithAQuestion:

Don't forget Elon. They cost a little more than Duke! So what do you plan on doing? Are you going to re-apply for next year?

The funny thing about Elon was that I was shadowing a PT a while ago who said she went to Elon and asked if I had applied there. I told her I looked into it, but their cost was slightly higher than Duke's, so I didn't bother applying to them. She was shocked and said that she had only graduated 6 years prior and the cost was nowhere near Duke's back then. I have no way of confirming that myself, but I didn't have any reason to doubt her. The sky rocketing cost of schools!

As for my next move, I'm lining myself up as if I'm going to reapply this next go around. Most of my prerequisite grades are either As or Bs, but I do have 3 that are C/C+ (Chem I, Chem II, and Physics I). So in anticipation of having to reapply, I'll retake all of these. In fact, my summer Chem II class just started last night at my local community college (Durham Tech).

How about this... can anyone name any schools (not in NC) that are "affordable" for out of state students? Anything under 90k for total cost of attendance?

 

[soccer31]

T

How about this... can anyone name any schools (not in NC) that are "affordable" for out of state students? Anything under 90k for total cost of attendance?

PITT is a little bit over 90k for 3 years of out-of-state However during your 3rd year, when you are having your year-long clinical, you get paid a monthly scholarship that as of right now is 1250/month. Therefore, if you take that out of the total cost you would paying around 80k.

 

[ericdopt]

PITT is a little bit over 90k for 3 years of out-of-state However during your 3rd year, when you are having your year-long clinical, you get paid a monthly scholarship that as of right now is 1250/month. Therefore, if you take that out of the total cost you would paying around 80k.

Pitt is also one of the top programs in the country. Very competetive.

 

[GuyWithAQuestio]

PITT is a little bit over 90k for 3 years of out-of-state However during your 3rd year, when you are having your year-long clinical, you get paid a monthly scholarship that as of right now is 1250/month. Therefore, if you take that out of the total cost you would paying around 80k.

Thanks for the reply guys, but I wouldn't necessarily call PITT cheap. That $90k looks to be the tuition alone:

http://www.shrs.pitt.edu/PT.aspx?id=322&nav=346

That's more than Duke's tuition. If you factor everything else in (fees, health insurance, rent, food, transportation misc, books), you'll be looking at about $55k+ per year. After 3 years, even with the $10k off for the monthly scholarship in your 3rd year, that still brings you to about $155k, which is what started this whole thread off. And that's without the interest factored in.

I wish that were cheap, but on a PT's expected salary, it doesn't appear to be.

 

[MuscleHead]

Thanks for the reply guys, but I wouldn't necessarily call PITT cheap. That $90k looks to be the tuition alone:

http://www.shrs.pitt.edu/PT.aspx?id=322&nav=346

That's more than Duke's tuition. If you factor everything else in (fees, health insurance, rent, food, transportation misc, books), you'll be looking at about $55k+ per year. After 3 years, even with the $10k off for the monthly scholarship in your 3rd year, that still brings you to about $155k, which is what started this whole thread off. And that's without the interest factored in.

I wish that were cheap, but on a PT's expected salary, it doesn't appear to be.

i'm nervous about this exact same issue. and theres no conclusive answer as to whether this is doable or not. some people seem to think that isnt as bad as it seems while others think its a step away from bankruptcy.

we shouldnt have to kill ourselves financially bc we WANT to work. we're literally trying to get a career going that helps people who need it. this is where all of our tax money should go...to relieve insane costs of education for those trying to better themselves and society. instead we send it all to people who want to sit on their as*es all day and live off the system. it infuriates me.

 

[ericdopt]

i'm nervous about this exact same issue. and theres no conclusive answer as to whether this is doable or not. some people seem to think that isnt as bad as it seems while others think its a step away from bankruptcy.

we shouldnt have to kill ourselves financially bc we WANT to work. we're literally trying to get a career going that helps people who need it. this is where all of our tax money should go...to relieve insane costs of education for those trying to better themselves and society. instead we send it all to people who want to sit on their as*es all day and live off the system. it infuriates me.

LOL. We could talk over many beers about this. Education is a scam these days. You pay too much for what you get. Soon you'll need a PhD to work the fry machine at McDonalds.

Question, does the $150K include undergraduate debt as well or is this for the entire 7 years it takes now to become a PT? I just don't know. Thanks.

 

[trichic]

The $150K is just for the PT program. It doesn't include the cost of undergrad.

 

[lee9786]

LOL. We could talk over many beers about this. Education is a scam these days. You pay too much for what you get. Soon you'll need a PhD to work the fry machine at McDonalds.

Question, does the $150K include undergraduate debt as well or is this for the entire 7 years it takes now to become a PT? I just don't know. Thanks.

The 150k estimate for me is for the undergrad + PT school. 55k is from undergrad which was justified due to the thinking the big ten school would open up opportunities elsewhere. Now I realize I shouldn't have listened to the propaganda.

At this point I am just looking to utilize all this education, find work that I respect, and pay off this debt. I plan on someday doing my own business venture probably non-PT related, but ideally I'd like to have a trade skill on the side. It seems like PT could provide this.

 

[ericdopt]

The 150k estimate for me is for the undergrad + PT school. 55k is from undergrad which was justified due to the thinking the big ten school would open up opportunities elsewhere. Now I realize I shouldn't have listened to the propaganda.

At this point I am just looking to utilize all this education, find work that I respect, and pay off this debt. I plan on someday doing my own business venture probably non-PT related, but ideally I'd like to have a trade skill on the side. It seems like PT could provide this.

You are right, PT can provide this. It is a great field. Good luck, from reading your posts, you seem very motivated and I know you'll do very well. It's a shame college has become so expensive. But, $55K is nothing compared to Ivy league or the cost of a small liberal-arts degree.

Keep up your hard work, it will be worth it.

 

[ericdopt]

The $150K is just for the PT program. It doesn't include the cost of undergrad.

Thanks for the info...ouch.

 

[PTboy]

Hello to all,

I am a PT with almost four years of experience and I know this is a growing concern among many of the interns and students that I meet in the hospital. I STRONGLY AGREE with what ericdopt has recommended. I graduated with a MSPT degree and was only $20K in debt total including both undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, I also worked 2 jobs during undergrad and saved up for PT school working several years as a rehab aid - I took a few years off before going to grad school.
During the first semester of grad school my class received financial advising and all of the advisors strongly recommended that as a GENERAL RULE OF THUMB A STUDENT SHOULD NEVER GO INTO MORE DEBT THAN WHAT HE/SHE CAN EXPECT TO MAKE IN HIS/HER FIRST YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT. Basically most of us just laughed because many of my friends had already exceeded that figure since most of us expected to start in the $55K to 65K fresh out of grad school. So the bottom line is that unfortunately PT programs are very expensive and I am glad that I did what I did but if I had to do it all over again and take out around $100k or more in debt I would not do it.

I am one of those very busy PTs who works full-time in an outpatient ortho hospital and I also work PRN at a private nursing home so my total combined income is always a six digit figure and I am doing this to pay my student loans/mortgage off quickly but this is very challenging at times and can really burn out any PT. Of course one can always live a very simple lifestyle after graduating from PT school, however, also consider that you went to school for a long time and many new grads typically are in the beginning stages of either getting married or considering starting a family in a few years and many need new cars or have to also pay off credit card debt, etc. So it may seem that it would be very easy to live cheap and pay so much more towards your loans but believe me as a beginning PT unexpected things always happen with one's car, house, health, etc. and it's always nice to have a little in savings for emergency purposes.
So as my simple pearls of wisdom I would recommend to all future PT/OT/rehab students to try and set a limit on the amount of debt that you are willing to acrue and try to stick with it - for me I would not want to go over $80K for both undergrad and graduate school and I know with the DPT degree that is extremely hard but I lived at home with my parents during undergrad and worked 2 jobs during undergrad and paid for all of my undergrd myself so that way I had no loans accruing interest during grad school.
I would also recommend to students who are contemplating various careers in allied health to also considers technical colleges that offer associate degrees or universities that offer B.S. degrees in allied health fields such as diagnostic medical sonography which usually has a really good return on your college investment (I know because I actually got very concerned with the amount of debt that I would possibly acrue with grad school and was accepted into an advanced placement medical sonography program but then decided that PT would be a better fit for me).
Lastly, I do not want to sound pessimistic but I feel that sometimes students do not fully realize the impact of accruing an enormous mountain of debt in a field that will typically pay anywhere from 60 to 70K starting out. Overall PT is a very rewarding field and you always have a day job which is really nice for raising a family and helping others succeed and heal is very self-rewarding in an of itself. One last piece of advice is to try and take the cheapest route to getting your PT degree because the bottom line is that an employer will pay you the same regardless of where you got your degree and as long as new grads choose work environments that foster a strong atmosphere of mentoring and team work you should excel.

Good luck to all who are considering a career in rehab but truly make sure this is what you want because a successful student truly needs a strong desire to become a PT or OT because this will be the fuel you need to keep you going for all of those late nights studying in grad school.

Josh, PT

 

[MuscleHead]

Hello to all,

I am a PT with almost four years of experience and I know this is a growing concern among many of the interns and students that I meet in the hospital. I STRONGLY AGREE with what ericdopt has recommended. I graduated with a MSPT degree and was only $20K in debt total including both undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, I also worked 2 jobs during undergrad and saved up for PT school working several years as a rehab aid - I took a few years off before going to grad school.
During the first semester of grad school my class received financial advising and all of the advisors strongly recommended that as a GENERAL RULE OF THUMB A STUDENT SHOULD NEVER GO INTO MORE DEBT THAN WHAT HE/SHE CAN EXPECT TO MAKE IN HIS/HER FIRST YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT. Basically most of us just laughed because many of my friends had already exceeded that figure since most of us expected to start in the $55K to 65K fresh out of grad school. So the bottom line is that unfortunately PT programs are very expensive and I am glad that I did what I did but if I had to do it all over again and take out around $100k or more in debt I would not do it.

I am one of those very busy PTs who works full-time in an outpatient ortho hospital and I also work PRN at a private nursing home so my total combined income is always a six digit figure and I am doing this to pay my student loans/mortgage off quickly but this is very challenging at times and can really burn out any PT. Of course one can always live a very simple lifestyle after graduating from PT school, however, also consider that you went to school for a long time and many new grads typically are in the beginning stages of either getting married or considering starting a family in a few years and many need new cars or have to also pay off credit card debt, etc. So it may seem that it would be very easy to live cheap and pay so much more towards your loans but believe me as a beginning PT unexpected things always happen with one's car, house, health, etc. and it's always nice to have a little in savings for emergency purposes.
So as my simple pearls of wisdom I would recommend to all future PT/OT/rehab students to try and set a limit on the amount of debt that you are willing to acrue and try to stick with it - for me I would not want to go over $80K for both undergrad and graduate school and I know with the DPT degree that is extremely hard but I lived at home with my parents during undergrad and worked 2 jobs during undergrad and paid for all of my undergrd myself so that way I had no loans accruing interest during grad school.
I would also recommend to students who are contemplating various careers in allied health to also considers technical colleges that offer associate degrees or universities that offer B.S. degrees in allied health fields such as diagnostic medical sonography which usually has a really good return on your college investment (I know because I actually got very concerned with the amount of debt that I would possibly acrue with grad school and was accepted into an advanced placement medical sonography program but then decided that PT would be a better fit for me).
Lastly, I do not want to sound pessimistic but I feel that sometimes students do not fully realize the impact of accruing an enormous mountain of debt in a field that will typically pay anywhere from 60 to 70K starting out. Overall PT is a very rewarding field and you always have a day job which is really nice for raising a family and helping others succeed and heal is very self-rewarding in an of itself. One last piece of advice is to try and take the cheapest route to getting your PT degree because the bottom line is that an employer will pay you the same regardless of where you got your degree and as long as new grads choose work environments that foster a strong atmosphere of mentoring and team work you should excel.

Good luck to all who are considering a career in rehab but truly make sure this is what you want because a successful student truly needs a strong desire to become a PT or OT because this will be the fuel you need to keep you going for all of those late nights studying in grad school.

Josh, PT

you do understand you basically just told all of us to consider a different profession right? there are basically no MSPT programs left and only a handful of "cheap" state school PT programs. the vast majority have a cost of attendance over $100k.

the $80k figure you mentioned is almost impossible.

 

[MJHUSKERS]

Musclehead is right. I've been running my numbers and I am going to be close to $100k in debt (including my undergrad) and I am going to a state school in my own state! This was the cheapest route for me.

I was not offered any grant money, scholarship money or anything like I was given as an undergrad. The only thing I feel that is on my side is youth, as I am going straight to PT school from undergrad and will have a lot of years to work after PT school.

 

[PTboy]

Just to clarify,

The $80K figure I mentioned is what my personal debt limit would be if I were to do it all over again and I am not trying to say that $80K should be everyone's limit. Obviously I realize that the MSPT programs are all switching to the DPT which is more than what I paid for, however, if a student were to take a nontraditional route to getting a PT degree, as I did, your overall loan debt is much less. This is one of the main points I was trying to make. I was slightly older than all of my peers but I took a few years off after undergrad to save for grad school and gain some experience as a rehab tech. This allowed me to develop exceptional letters of recommendation while also saving for grad school. Another route that some students have taken to minimize debt would be to go the AT to PT route and some of my interns worked as Athletic Trainers before grad school and even during grad school.
So once again the $80K figure is the amount of debt that I would be comfortable with if I had to do it all over again and I would probably take the same nontraditional route in order to minimize debt. If students are comfortable with going $100-180K in debt total to get their PT degree and if being a PT is truly what you desire to be than in the long run it will be worth it.

 

[rcheeley]

See my post on other forums about the cost of PT school vs your possible income.

Essentially you can make what you want to make, and the cost is not too high if you really are interested in the profession.