Need advice to make school decision.

[pharm7jp]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello,

I have applied a bunch of PT schools for this cycle. I am still waiting to hear from about 7 or 8 schools.
So far I got accepted to a couple of PT schools. I am trying to make a decision so I can just send my deposit to hold my spot for one school for now.

Are there any general advices or concerns, or personal thoughts to help me and future PT students, who might need some help to make school decision as I do?

Thank you in advance!

 

[jblil]

All other things being equal, go to the least expensive one (taking into account tuition + living expenses) that's accredited.
A PT license is like a driver's license, school pedigree is irrelevant.

 

[pharm7jp]

All other things being equal, go to the least expensive one (taking into account tuition + living expenses) that's accredited.
A PT license is like a driver's license, school pedigree is irrelevant.

Thank you for your response!
I don't really have information about state PT license. If you can give me some information about it, I will really appreciate it; Is it relatively easy to get different state PT license and get job to work after finish DPT programs in different state school with passing National PT Board Exam?

Thank you again!

 

[Kuhdaytee]

The #1 factor for deciding which school I wanted to attend was the total tuition and cost of living. Once I got into a cheap school, I turned down all the programs that had a much higher tuition.

You can make a pro-con list to help you decide which program to attend. Here are some topics to think about:

• Tuition
• Cost of Living
• Location
• Graduation Rate
• NPTE Pass Rate
• Accreditation Status
• Private/Public
• Program Length
• Class Size
• Faculty – Number, Experience, Specialties
• Student/Professor Ratio
• Teaching Approach (Traditional, Problem Based Learning…)
• Clinical Education
• Research Opportunities
• Electives
• Community Outreach
• International Programs
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Teaching Assistant Positions
• Nice Facilities/Technology
• Is there a cadaver lab? How many students per group?
• Campus environment
• On-site PT Clinic?

Thank you for your response!
I don't really have information about state PT license. If you can give me some information about it, I will really appreciate it; Is it relatively easy to get different state PT license and get job to work after finish DPT programs in different state school with passing National PT Board Exam?

Thank you again!

Each state will have different requirements, so look up the practice act for each state. I'm going to school in a state that I likely won't work in, so I'll have to figure that out eventually. You don't have to take the NPTE for the state where you go to school, so if you know which state you want to work in, then just take the NPTE for that state.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting your license in other states. It might take a few weeks to process though.

 

[pharm7jp]

The #1 factor for deciding which school I wanted to attend was the total tuition and cost of living. Once I got into a cheap school, I turned down all the programs that had a much higher tuition.

You can make a pro-con list to help you decide which program to attend. Here are some topics to think about:

• Tuition
• Cost of Living
• Location
• Graduation Rate
• NPTE Pass Rate
• Accreditation Status
• Private/Public
• Program Length
• Class Size
• Faculty – Number, Experience, Specialties
• Student/Professor Ratio
• Teaching Approach (Traditional, Problem Based Learning…)
• Clinical Education
• Research Opportunities
• Electives
• Community Outreach
• International Programs
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Teaching Assistant Positions
• Nice Facilities/Technology
• Is there a cadaver lab? How many students per group?
• Campus environment
• On-site PT Clinic?

Each state will have different requirements, so look up the practice act for each state. I'm going to school in a state that I likely won't work in, so I'll have to figure that out eventually. You don't have to take the NPTE for the state where you go to school, so if you know which state you want to work in, then just take the NPTE for that state.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting your license in other states. It might take a few weeks to process though.

I really appreciate for sharing your categories, pros and cons that help to make school(program) decision when you were on my shoes.
Also thank you for the information about concerns of NPTE depending on states.
Thank you again! It helps a lot!

 

[HughLee]

The #1 factor for deciding which school I wanted to attend was the total tuition and cost of living. Once I got into a cheap school, I turned down all the programs that had a much higher tuition.

You can make a pro-con list to help you decide which program to attend. Here are some topics to think about:

• Tuition
• Cost of Living
• Location
• Graduation Rate
• NPTE Pass Rate
• Accreditation Status
• Private/Public
• Program Length
• Class Size
• Faculty – Number, Experience, Specialties
• Student/Professor Ratio
• Teaching Approach (Traditional, Problem Based Learning…)
• Clinical Education
• Research Opportunities
• Electives
• Community Outreach
• International Programs
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Teaching Assistant Positions
• Nice Facilities/Technology
• Is there a cadaver lab? How many students per group?
• Campus environment
• On-site PT Clinic?

Each state will have different requirements, so look up the practice act for each state. I'm going to school in a state that I likely won't work in, so I'll have to figure that out eventually. You don't have to take the NPTE for the state where you go to school, so if you know which state you want to work in, then just take the NPTE for that state.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting your license in other states. It might take a few weeks to process though.

Lots of good advice.

The following link goes to information on ultimate pass rates on the NPTE for all schools.
https://www.fsbpt.org/FreeResources/NPTEPassRateReports/NPTEThreeYearUltimatePassRatesbySchool.aspx

With regard to clinical experiences, if you have an idea of where you would like to practice as a PT, check to see if the school has clinical sites in that state/region and how easy/hard it is to get into one of those sites. Often, the last clinical experience or two may serve as an interview for a job. At a minimum, you would be familiar with PT practice in that state.

 

[Kuhdaytee]

I really appreciate for sharing your categories, pros and cons that help to make school(program) decision when you were on my shoes.
Also thank you for the information about concerns of NPTE depending on states.
Thank you again! It helps a lot!

You're welcome! Again, I don't know too much on the topic yet, but I know that there are other threads about getting your license in other states too. I think you have to take an exam that covers the practice act for the state (from my understanding, but again the exact requirements depend on each state). You won't have to take the NPTE in every state you want to work in though which is really nice.