Things I should have known BEFORE applying to OT school

[hotpebbles]

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This is a question. So need some help from the ones that graduated OT school or near graduation.

i'm in the process of waiting for the decisions, so won't be too much help for myself, but i believe this maybe helpful for future applicants.

Here are my thoughts:
1. How hard is it to pay back the loans after graduating. Maybe private school tuition isn't really worth it? OR too cheap tuition may have a reason for it and therefore avoid it?!

2. clinical vs. resersach base: Higher the school ranking, usually more research, which is how they get more money and therefore hire more "famous" professors. If research based, is it to the extent that you are not adquately prepared for the job after graduation? Some say you don't use the things that you've learned at school, so have to earn the real thing at the actual job sites.

 

[BHSUStudent]

This is a question. So need some help from the ones that graduated OT school or near graduation.

i'm in the process of waiting for the decisions, so won't be too much help for myself, but i believe this maybe helpful for future applicants.

Here are my thoughts:
1. How hard is it to pay back the loans after graduating. Maybe private school tuition isn't really worth it? OR too cheap tuition may have a reason for it and therefore avoid it?!

2. clinical vs. resersach base: Higher the school ranking, usually more research, which is how they get more money and therefore hire more "famous" professors. If research based, is it to the extent that you are not adquately prepared for the job after graduation? Some say you don't use the things that you've learned at school, so have to earn the real thing at the actual job sites.

1. It depends on the lender, and how much you have borrowed. Avoid private lenders and try to borrow from the government. Look for fixed interest rates. Private corporations have been screwing people over with their variable interest rates. They will start at a low percentage, then increase it until the student can no longer afford to pay the principle with the interest. This leads to snowballing accrued interest in addition to the principle. Some people borrow 100k, and end up owing twice as much. Unfortunately, many people do not read fine print, or understand how compounding interest works.

After graduation, you can look for agencies offering loan forgiveness, or work for agencies in under-served areas to help pay off the debt. The faster you pay it off, the better you are financially in the long run.

Right now the job market is so tight, that it may be better to take the risk and invest in OT school. IMO, OT is a window of opportunity that will eventually close due to what I refer to as hyper-saturation of the job market. Because the "recovery" is failing to keep up with population growth, various job markets are being saturated as universities continue to pump out graduates. As people fail to find jobs despite their degrees, many will look to OT school. It will only get harder and harder to get in as more people hear about the OT profession.