Pitt vs. Slippery Rock

[breexox]

I'm currently an undergrad at Pitt. I'm pretty confident that I could get into Pitt for DPT; however, the tuition at Slippery Rock is so much cheaper. But Pitt is supposed to be such a good program... I love Pitt and would absolutely love to spend more time here for my DPT but I would graduate with probably 150k in loans including undergrad.

I know this topic has been covered a few times but I'm hoping someone could offer some specific insight based on these two schools. Slippery Rock is accredited and everything so does it really matter which one I choose? The other thing about Slippery Rock is that I like that you can decide to do your clinicals anywhere, including abroad. At Pitt, you are forced to work with UPMC.

People on here generally say that it doesn't matter where you go, just go to the cheaper one and pass your exam. I'd just like to know if there is some great disparity between an education like Pitt's and one like Slippery Rock's?

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[callmecrazy]

First, there is an opportunity for a clinical abroad during your second summer at Pitt.

Have you visited SRU yet? To be honest, I had my SRU application filled out and after visiting the school for an open house, I decided to not apply (even though I've always liked the school in general). I just didn't feel like the program was a good fit for me. The campus, program, etc are all very different in comparison to Pitt. This isn't a bad thing, but they felt like two different worlds to me. That being said, they are phenomenally cheaper, and living in Slippery Rock is more affordable too. However, with the rural location, you are going to have more significant travel to clinicals. Additionally, SRU took at minimum a set number of their DPT students from their own undergrad classes, which means the spots for "outsiders" are less. If the money is a concern for you, the tuition is hard to beat though, and SRU also offers some significant assistantships which would greatly reduce the already low tuition.

I don't know if that was any help, but I think both programs would prepare you well to be a PT. Some of the SRU PT students even end up doing residency with Pitt. I would recommend spending a little more time visiting each program though to see which is a better fit for you.

Good luck!

 

[breexox]

Thanks for the reply. Did you go to Pitt? I haven't visited SRU yet. When you do the clinicals, do you need to stay near SRU or can you go anywhere you want? Like, could I leave SRU after my second year and move somewhere else to do my clinical rotations? I don't want to go there but if I could get a graduate assistantship there, I feel like it would be foolish to go somewhere else.

What exactly was it about SRU's program that you didn't like as compared to Pitt's?

 

[callmecrazy]

Thanks for the reply. Did you go to Pitt? I haven't visited SRU yet. When you do the clinicals, do you need to stay near SRU or can you go anywhere you want? Like, could I leave SRU after my second year and move somewhere else to do my clinical rotations? I don't want to go there but if I could get a graduate assistantship there, I feel like it would be foolish to go somewhere else.

What exactly was it about SRU's program that you didn't like as compared to Pitt's?

I am in my second year at Pitt now. I'll admit that my reason for not applying to SRU was just that I didn't get a good "feeling" when I went for the open house. No one involved seemed at all enthusiastic about the program at all. It was much more a personal thing than anything to do with the quality of the program. And it was a big decision to say I'd rather take on a significant amount of debt than choose a school I was less than interested in. I would definitely suggest going to visit though, and to visit with people from the PT dept in particular; I'm sure it's a good fit for some people. I actually really like SRU's campus, but it would have meant a longer commute for me and there is lots to love about Oakland too.

 

[breexox]

What do you think are the educational differences between Pitt and SRU?

This makes me so sad.. I'd LOVE nothing more than to go to Pitt because I love this school so much but I just don't know about the money.