I need some advice

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

ginaw623

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
87
Reaction score
2
Hello everyone. I am in quite a situation and need some advice from fellow OT hopefuls/students/graduates! I am struggling between two options that I have. I was accepted into a private school's program in my area, which starts Fall 2012 and I have all pre-reqs completed for. The downside is it is very expensive and doesn't offer much in the way of scholarships/grants/assistantships. Basically I would be taking 80-90 grand in student loans by the end of this thing. The school is small and I love it and the staff is SO friendly. I feel very comfortable there. My other option is to go into a 3 year BS/MS program in OT at the state school as a transfer student. The problem is I would be an undergraduate student again and I wouldn't be able to start until Fall 2013! I do not have pre-reqs done for this program and would spend the next year trying to complete them before Fall 2013. The school is SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive and offers aid other than loans. My boyfriend is advising me to go this route because he is concerned with the debt i was incure attending the private school. I feel a heavy weight on my shoulder and I don't know which decision to make. Help!
 
Hello everyone. I am in quite a situation and need some advice from fellow OT hopefuls/students/graduates! I am struggling between two options that I have. I was accepted into a private school's program in my area, which starts Fall 2012 and I have all pre-reqs completed for. The downside is it is very expensive and doesn't offer much in the way of scholarships/grants/assistantships. Basically I would be taking 80-90 grand in student loans by the end of this thing. The school is small and I love it and the staff is SO friendly. I feel very comfortable there. My other option is to go into a 3 year BS/MS program in OT at the state school as a transfer student. The problem is I would be an undergraduate student again and I wouldn't be able to start until Fall 2013! I do not have pre-reqs done for this program and would spend the next year trying to complete them before Fall 2013. The school is SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive and offers aid other than loans. My boyfriend is advising me to go this route because he is concerned with the debt i was incure attending the private school. I feel a heavy weight on my shoulder and I don't know which decision to make. Help!

There is a lot you need to consider..
Don't worry about "being an undergraduate again".. I wouldn't let something like that impact this decision.
Do you have student loans already from undergrad?
-if so the less expensive option might be better
How long is the grad program at the private school?
-it sounds like you are going to have to go to school for another 4 years if you go to the state school (1 year of prereqs and 3 years of ot work) which seems like it would be quite a bit of money to fund those 4 years even if it is cheap.
-if the private school is somewhere from 1-2 years less lengthy than the state school you should also consider the fact that that would mean you would be out in the world making a good pay check a whole year or two sooner. Say you would borrow 50k more in loans to attend the private school, but you'll end up making 80k more in the time that you will be working as an OT for a couple years instead of still being in ot school attending classes. The sooner you graduate the sooner you start earning money.

You sound like you're going to think this through wisely, I'm sure you'll make the right decision! Congrats on having options. There are some people on here that would love to just be accepted somewhere even if that meant paying 80-90k for a grad program 🙂 Good luck!
 
Don't let your boyfriend factor into your decision; pick the place that feels like a good fit for you. If the program you love costs a bit more but will provide you the environment you need to thrive in, take it! It'll be worth the investment later on.
 
Top