Students Attending a High Tuition DPT Program--please give input!

[asdfsoup]

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For those who are attending a school/program with a tuition over 100k...did you have no other program choices? Or did you purposely choose this program over less-expensive ones?

If you could go back in time, would you choose a program that was a lot less pricey (if you had the option)?

 

[jesspt]

For those who are attending a school/program with a tuition over 100k...did you have no other program choices? Or did you purposely choose this program over less-expensive ones?

If you could go back in time, would you choose a program that was a lot less pricey (if you had the option)?

Seems like a better question for recent graduates of a private PT school, as they are starting to pay back their loans, and will have better insight as to how that has affected their quality of life, as well as how their education stacks up against some of their peers from other institutions in the clinic environment.

 

[NewDPT31]

Yeah it does def. affect quality of life. I went to a entry level 6 year program with 3 summers and got my DPT this past may. Made the decision as an 18 year old and you get too pot committed to leave. My state had no PT programs so I had to go private. Came away with $240K in student loans(and thats after getting close to 88K off for the undergrad part). I have several friends who have the same kind of debt. I loved my college and the friends I met, but go to the cheapest accredited PT school possible! I work in a SNF and after taxes take home about $4300 per month. Right now I'm making payments of 2500 per month to try and pay down loans. I live with a roommate and I have a used car and am single, so I really don't spend much per month. The worst part about the debt is when thinking about the future and that is why I'm focused on paying it down as fast as possible, so my future family doesn't have to suffer. If I didn't have the loans, I would have a very comfortable life-but it is what it is. The workday and week flies by, I come home happy each night and you get to charm old people all day into exercising.

 

[rangardrum]

While this post doesn't directly address your question, I thought I'd post a few figures since it's related to the concern over an expensive program. Below are monthly payments required to pay off debt at various levels. These figures assume a 6.8% interest rate and 10 year loan term. Obviously you'd pay less interest if you can pay off your debt faster.

Initial Debt Level : Monthly Payment for 10 Years : Cumulative Payment

$25,000 : $287.70 : $34,524.14
$50,000 : $575.40 : $69,048.28
$75,000 : $863.10 : $103,572.43
$100,000 : $1,150.80 : $138,096.57
$125,000 : $1,438.50 : $172,620.71
$150,000 : $1,726.20 : $207,144.85

EDIT: That 6.8% rate assumes Stafford Loans are being used ($20,500 annual limit), but the interest rate could be much higher if other loan options are required!

 

[NewDPT31]

These figures assume a 6.8% interest rate and 10 year loan term.

GradPlus loans through the gov are at 8.25-8.5% fixed. However, with those you can pay 10% of income for 10 years at nonprofit place, or 25 years in private sector...and the rest forgiven. My problem is that the gov. hadn't acted and took over student loans until i started grad school, so all my undergrad(85K) is private loans and variable interest-so I'm trying to pay those off first.

 

[rangardrum]

GradPlus loans through the gov are at 8.25-8.5% fixed. However, with those you can pay 10% of income for 10 years at nonprofit place, or 25 years in private sector...and the rest forgiven. My problem is that the gov. hadn't acted and took over student loans until i started grad school, so all my undergrad(85K) is private loans and variable interest-so I'm trying to pay those off first.

Yeah, that's a good point. The amounts of debt I listed above couldn't be covered solely by the current $20.5k annual limit at the 6.8% rate, so the higher levels would require the GradPlus rates and/or private loans. Also, there's no more subsidizing of these loans, so they will start accruing interest from Day 1 rather than after your graduate. Scary.

Good luck paying off that debt, NewDPT31. That's good that you're trying to target the highest interest loans first.

 

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