New DPT program pending accreditation

[Harvey Singh]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got an interview date with a new DPT program starting in 2014. What is your guys opinion on new programs. I attended their open house and spoke with some of the faculty and staff. They had a presentation showing how their program was outlined and it looked appealing to me. According to them they passed their mock site review for accreditation and are having their real site review for accreditation in a month. what i like about the school is that it's close to where I live so I can commute from home. My questions are what are your guys opinions on the newer DPT programs? Are their any red flags i should look for?

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[PTMattI]

I am a first year at a school that just received its accreditation. From what I understand, a school can actually only become accredited once the first class graduates, so if you end up attending this school and you are the first class, you actually wont know until you graduate, which could be very stressful because you cannot sit for the board exam if you dont graduate from an accredited school. However, a lot of these new schools usually have agreements with other schools that allow the students to graduate from those other schools so that they dont end up wasting those 3 years and can actually sit for the board exam...

 

[Azimuthal]

If you need federal loans, that might be an issue also.

 

[PTMattI]

I had no issue and my school was not accredited when I started last august...

 

[bnwj89]

^This is interesting, because I was under the impression that you cant get student loans if you are attending a school that is not accredited.

My school became accredited last year, before I applied. But I have heard older students mention that they had to get loans from banks to pay for school.

By the way, my school was much cheaper before it was accredited. This may be the case for the school OP is talking about too. From what I have heard, once a school is a candidate for accreditation (every school must obtain this status before admitting their first cohort), then it is almost guaranteed they will succeed in achieving accreditation when they graduate their first class. So, attending this school may save you a big chunk of money.

 

[LadyCard05]

I actually noticed the opposite. I was waitlisted at a program that just received Candidacy of Accreditation, and their tuition is more expensive than the state school. By about $6500 a year, actually.

I will say that this is more of a state issue. The state of Kentucky wouldn't allow this school to begin the PT program unless they agreed to forego state funding for a few years. They agreed to go without some state funding, so that cost was deferred to the students.

 

[wrennywren]

^This is interesting, because I was under the impression that you cant get student loans if you are attending a school that is not accredited.

My school became accredited last year, before I applied. But I have heard older students mention that they had to get loans from banks to pay for school.

I believe as long as the school is regionally accredited, federal loans are available. That's how it was for the school I currently attend. When I first started, the school was not yet regionally accredited or CAPTE accredited. At that time, we could not get federal loans. A couple semesters into my schooling, the school became regionally accredited (but still not yet CAPTE) and at that point, we could get federal loans.

 

[Paypal]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got an interview date with a new DPT program starting in 2014. What is your guys opinion on new programs. I attended their open house and spoke with some of the faculty and staff. They had a presentation showing how their program was outlined and it looked appealing to me. According to them they passed their mock site review for accreditation and are having their real site review for accreditation in a month. what i like about the school is that it's close to where I live so I can commute from home. My questions are what are your guys opinions on the newer DPT programs? Are their any red flags i should look for?

Hi there,
Im in the same situation. What school is this? Alot of therapists have advised me against enrolling in these type of schools. But it's so tempting if theyre willing to give you interviews, and perhaps even a seat given my stats arent stellar.

 

[truthseeker]

Unaccredited schools are very motivated to become accredited. I would take the spot and run with it if it is in a convenient location and the price is right.