Serious Advice-Please help

[wacokid]

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Ok, so I have been accepted to the Hunter DPT program, which I am quite happy about. However, I am still waiting to hear from other schools. The problem is that Hunter needs a decision very soon, in the next few weeks. The only other schools I am truly interested in are NYU and Northwestern. The program director at Hunter said he can easily find out what my status at NYU is for me, and I have been told I'm probably on the waiting list at Northwestern. Basically, my question is this: excluding the issue of cost, between Hunter and NYU, what would you pick? I am very interested in being onvolved in research both during and after my DPT, perhaps even doing a PhD afterwards. I like that NYU is considered extremely good for clinical training and that they have a revamped curriculum, but I also got a good impression from Hunter. Can anyone give me some advice to help make this decision (assuming I am admitted to NYU, of course), or at least to help guide the process?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MinnDasota]

Great question and congrats on Hunter. I have always liked Hunter's program and felt like the profs were very personable. (I applied there a few years back). It's an underrated program and definately worth it for how cheap it is...especially vs. NYUs tuition. Of course NYU is a good program so you may be in for a tough decision. If you had to base it on tuition (especially with the cost of living in the city) I'd go with Hunter. From what I hear (which is just hearsay) is that Hunter and NYU share some of the same resources throughout their curriculum. I don't know too much about NYUs research although I would guess they have more opportunities than Hunter as they have probably have access to the medical center (and their Institutional Review Board which approves research projects). It would be a good idea to call NYU (or talk to any of the students you may have met there) and ask about the research options available and compare to Hunters. Dont know much about Northwestern but I hear its a great school too.

My former PT aide was accepted into NYU for next year and she can't wait. She didn't give me specifics about why she chose the program though.

 

[PTWannabe]

I have the same problem except I'm debating between NYU and UMDNJ-Newark!! I was already accepted to both. The one thing that is holding me back from NYU is the cost. The school has a great reputation, is ranked well, is in a great/safe area, has great facilties/resources, has great connections, and has a 100% board passing rate. Personally, there is no other school I'd rather go to. I would be really sad to turn it down, but I realize money is a significant issue. Help!!

 

[wacokid]

Thanks for the prompt responses!

Tuition is something I have to figure out, of course, but my parents are really pushing me to choose the school, not the tuition, so I want to decide with a clear head based on the program. I asked in the interview at NYU about research and they seem very willing to let DPT students work in labs, but they don't have research requirements. Hunter has research requirements every semester, I think. NYU's rationale was that the amount of stuff you'll be doing in a small research project is almost a waste of time, and that it is much more important to learn how to read and interpret research, and learn to do it separately and thoroughly. This actually does make sense to me, but I'm hoping to get a paper or two done as a DPT student so that any subsequent PhD won't take as long (I'm already going to be published twice, once for work I've been doing on a paper about CP, so it's a good start). Anyone currently at Hunter (or any graduates) want to weigh in on the research there, what it's like, whether they got published, etc.? I know both schools do share many affiliations and are in the same area. I hope I get into NYU so I can have the option!

I also have an interview at Columbia this Friday, but I am so far unimpressed compared to the other two schools.

 

[MinnDasota]

I also have an interview at Columbia this Friday, but I am so far unimpressed compared to the other two schools.

Sorry, I went to Columbia (graduated last May so I may know some of the students you may meet in the Q&A session..at the least 2nd and 3rd years) and loved every second of it. (It's also much cheaper than NYU). Did a lot of research there and actually chose it over Hunter. As a student at Columbia, I studied hard and had tons of fun with my classmates as well as with the classes above me and below me. When I spoke to my friends at the other schools that you mentioned, they were actually jealous that as a program, we were so involved and have loads of fun also. Every year I was at Columbia, quite a few research projects were presented at national meetings. So I wouldn't dismiss Columbia. It opened a ton of doors for me and I got to experience a lot in the PT field. To me it was the perfect school with the exception that it was in Washington Heights...which actually wasn't so bad. Good luck in your choice but you know where my heart lies🙂