Some advice on grad school school from existing/graduated PT students

[deleted752005]

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[runner618]

Current student here. Trust me, GO TO THE CHEAPEST PROGRAM. I'm at a program that was about 30k more than another program that I was accepted into and regret my decision every time I look at my loans (and estimated loan payments). Stick it out for three years then move

 

[noyceguy]

I need help on which pt school to choose. I'm a nontraditional student after 6 years of working in the finance industry in New Jersey. I've lived in Philadelphia for the last 6 months. Career switch time.

I got into my top two choices given my limited prereqs:

Regis U is in Denver, ranked 27. Tuition is ~100k and it's a great program. I'm really attracted to the fitness and leadership culture I saw in Denver and the program. I really like the healthy and activity-based culture. It'd also be a good intro to the other half of America.

Drexel U is in Philadelphia, close to home, ranked 51. Tuition is ~100k, but I got a 35k merit scholarship. It's a good program in its own right. I like how it's close to friends and family. I've been living in the city for a while and it's not a bad place to live... I'm slightly concerned that Philadelphia won't have as many fun social activities as Denver, but it might be my imagination running wild.

Because some people bring it up, I'm neutral to marijuana, don't smoke myself.


I'm usually decisive, but this one's tough for me. What do you think?

Pick the school which results in the least amount of student loan debt.

 

[runner618]

^yes. trust me. so many students need to look into cost more. I went to the "better" program, but I will certainly be making the same salary as someone who went to a less prestigious school

 

[DesertPT]

If it was me, I'd go to Drexel. Rankings don't matter and the job market/starting pay for new grads in Colorado is already pretty rough from what I've heard. $30k cheaper (assuming cost of living is comparable for you) and close to family/friends sounds good to me. If you are someone who wants to see your family regularly, coughin' up hundreds every time to want to fly home for a few days probably isn't gonna float your boat. What constitutes a "fun social activity" changes a bit in PT school compared to undergrad too. I think everyone in my class who isn't married and who isn't from here originally pretty much hangs with people from school on the weekends lol.

 

[JSigalDPT16]

I'm going to say go to Drexel as well. As long as you have a DPT after your name, that's all that counts. As a new student, you will most likely be making the same as any other new student, regardless of which school you went to. No one is going to care about the ranking of your school (my school chose not to participate in ranking so it's like 61 , however in NYC it's considered one of the better programs) or your GPA, only that you passed the NPTE and able to work. You can always take CEUs in other things you are interested in.

 

[jblil]

Drexel, hands down. The PT job market in Denver is rough, according to alumni from my school I met at CSM. Lots of folks are attracted to CO so there is a supply-demand imbalance.

 

[starrsgirl]

Drexel. Then you can look to move to CO as a PT (I echo that the PT job market is rough there).

 

[NewTestament]

Go to the cheapest program but make sure that program has a high graduation and high pass rate on the NPTE (at least 90%). Don't go to a cheap program that ejects 25% of the students it accepts.

I didn't realize Colorado is such a bad market. Can anyone explain why?

 

[DesertPT]

I didn't realize Colorado is such a bad market. Can anyone explain why?

lot of health and fitness nuts in Colorado is what I've heard

 

[Bones26]

Because so many people want to live there. It's the Sunshine Tax. That doesn't exist in places like are undesirable. Like border towns in South TX.

 

[astarblaze]

Echoing the crowd- my vote would be for Drexel.

Rankings are pretty much meaningless. Both Drexel and Regis are well-known, strong programs with great graduation and pass rates. From their respective websites: Drexel has a 96% three year average graduation rate and 100% state board pass rate; Regis is pretty much comparable with a 95% three year average graduation rate and 98% licensure pass rate. (Drexel even looks vaguely better from those numbers.)

35k more in debt is a lot of money to pay to try out a new part of the country. Having lived in Denver and visited Philly several times, I don't think Denver is that much more 'fun' than Philly to justify that kind of debt. In any case, you won't have a ton of time to enjoy the city while you're in grad school. You can always move after you graduate!

 

[PApt]

I need help on which pt school to choose. I'm a nontraditional student after 6 years of working in the finance industry in New Jersey. I've lived in Philadelphia for the last 6 months. Career switch time.

I got into my top two choices given my limited prereqs:

Regis U is in Denver, ranked 27. Tuition is ~100k and it's a great program. I'm really attracted to the fitness and leadership culture I saw in Denver and the program. I really like the healthy and activity-based culture. It'd also be a good intro to the other half of America.

Drexel U is in Philadelphia, close to home, ranked 51. Tuition is ~100k, but I got a 35k merit scholarship. It's a good program in its own right. I like how it's close to friends and family. I've been living in the city for a while and it's not a bad place to live... I'm slightly concerned that Philadelphia won't have as many fun social activities as Denver, but it might be my imagination running wild.

Because some people bring it up, I'm neutral to marijuana, don't smoke myself.


I'm usually decisive, but this one's tough for me. What do you think?

I have nearly the exact same dilemma. I got into Drexel with a merit scholarship as well but my other choice was U Del (ranked 2). I did not receive a scholarship to Udel and the tuition is 107k (with a projected 4% increase for our incoming class). I have pretty much been debating back and forth for the last few months on what to do. It is a very tough decision to turn down one of the highest ranked programs in the country, but a ~35k difference in student loans is a HUGE difference. Like most people in this thread said, ranking of schools does not matter much for getting a job. I have asked multiple PTs and every one of them told me to go to Drexel because of the huge price difference. Although I have not pulled the trigger yet, I will most likely be going to Drexel. My suggestion would be to do the same, but that is just my opinion. Let me know what you end up doing, we may be future classmates!

 

[aroszko]

I have nearly the exact same dilemma. I got into Drexel with a merit scholarship as well but my other choice was U Del (ranked 2). I did not receive a scholarship to Udel and the tuition is 107k (with a projected 4% increase for our incoming class). I have pretty much been debating back and forth for the last few months on what to do. It is a very tough decision to turn down one of the highest ranked programs in the country, but a ~35k difference in student loans is a HUGE difference. Like most people in this thread said, ranking of schools does not matter much for getting a job. I have asked multiple PTs and every one of them told me to go to Drexel because of the huge price difference. Although I have not pulled the trigger yet, I will most likely be going to Drexel. My suggestion would be to do the same, but that is just my opinion. Let me know what you end up doing, we may be future classmates!

RANKING DOES NOT MATTER, if that is the reason you are thinking U DEL just drop it, go to the cheapest school possible.

 

[deleted752005]

Thanks guys. Was tempted by the fitness nut community, but a good deal is a good deal. Put in my deposit for Drexel

 

[PTMattI]

Once you graduate, no one really cares where you went to school