General Admissions & OTCAS Torn between two schools...

[cailahOT]

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Hi guys! I have finally heard back from all the schools I applied to and I was accepted to a few places. YAY! But now comes the hard part, deciding where to go. Right now I am torn between U of W, Seattle and SJSU. SJSU is right in my backyard. I won't have to move and the price is right. Also, I'm getting married this year and my fiancée has a job in the area. But UDub is tearing at my heartstrings. I'd love the opportunity to move to Seattle and have an adventure, but I know that would cause some difficulties for my family. So I'm looking for some advice. What are the big factors your considering when choosing between schools?

 

[FINGERS_CROSSED]

Congrats on your acceptances! Wouldn't you rather be home with your fiancee every night rather than having to take a plane to see him/her?

 

[OT_Dreamer]

Hello! I'm still waiting to hear back from a few more schools, but wow, I know exactly how you feel! I also applied to SJSU since I'm from CA. It's closer to my family and the affordable tuition is a big plus! I interviewed with Pacific up in Oregon over the weekend and honestly, I really didn't expect much (they have such a high tuition and it's 3 years instead of 2). However, I was very surprised to see how much a smaller cohort can affect the entire grad school experience. The faculty is so accessible, involved, and really care about each individual student. I graduated from a big university here in CA, so I know what it's like to feel lost in a crowd. Like you, I was suddenly filled with excitement as I thought about the possibility of living and exploring a new state. I've always been very adventurous but I'm an older applicant, so I won't always have the luxury of moving whenever since I'd like to start a family with my partner after grad school (who is also here in CA). Tuition was always a big factor for me, but recently, it hit me hard that I won't get another chance to go to school to learn all about my future career. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to miss out on an exciting opportunity that won't come again. I also don't have any kids, so it's easier for me to move right now.

So basically, my big factor used to be tuition. Now, it's switched to the learning experience and quality of education. I'm going through the same process as you, so I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

 

[PNW_OT]

Hi guys! I have finally heard back from all the schools I applied to and I was accepted to a few places. YAY! But now comes the hard part, deciding where to go. Right now I am torn between U of W, Seattle and SJSU. SJSU is right in my backyard. I won't have to move and the price is right. Also, I'm getting married this year and my fiancée has a job in the area. But UDub is tearing at my heartstrings. I'd love the opportunity to move to Seattle and have an adventure, but I know that would cause some difficulties for my family. So I'm looking for some advice. What are the big factors your considering when choosing between schools?

I was accepted to UW as well and live a short 30 minute commute from campus. I was also accepted to AT Still and my husband was really set on having an adventure because he's never been able to travel much. Although my husband was a bit disappointed we weren't packing up and road tripping down to AZ, we've come to terms with how beneficial it is to stay in WA. The tuition is significantly cheaper, we can move in with my mom for 6 months while he finishes up school and I won't have to work, and all of our family is here. In my opinion, the comfort of having a job in your area and not having to worry about finances so much will take a lot of stress away from the grad school stress.

UW's campus is beautiful and the professors are top notch, but I would honestly hate living in Seattle. The construction boom is ever present, there's a lot of homeless youth/adults in the U District which unfortunately can make the area unsafe especially at night, and the rent is incredibly expensive. Not to say Seattle can't be a great place to live, but those are my personal drawbacks that I've seen.

 

[OldHopeful]

I too was deciding between a couple schools and after lots of pro/conning, I decided to go with the cheaper school in an area I'm familiar with. I don't want to be haunted by my loans for the next 15-25 years and with some schools, the tuition is so high and the interest will just continue to grow. I also wanted a change of scenery and completely fell in love with the town the more expensive school is in but the programs are very similar so I don't feel like I'll be missing out on anything education wise. And the town will always be there so I plan to visit at some point in the future. I've heard most programs don't leave much room for extra curricular activities so I decided to take that factor out of my decision. Good luck with your decision! Only you will be able to figure it out!

 

[cailahOT]

Hello! I'm still waiting to hear back from a few more schools, but wow, I know exactly how you feel! I also applied to SJSU since I'm from CA. It's closer to my family and the affordable tuition is a big plus! I interviewed with Pacific up in Oregon over the weekend and honestly, I really didn't expect much (they have such a high tuition and it's 3 years instead of 2). However, I was very surprised to see how much a smaller cohort can affect the entire grad school experience. The faculty is so accessible, involved, and really care about each individual student. I graduated from a big university here in CA, so I know what it's like to feel lost in a crowd. Like you, I was suddenly filled with excitement as I thought about the possibility of living and exploring a new state. I've always been very adventurous but I'm an older applicant, so I won't always have the luxury of moving whenever since I'd like to start a family with my partner after grad school (who is also here in CA). Tuition was always a big factor for me, but recently, it hit me hard that I won't get another chance to go to school to learn all about my future career. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to miss out on an exciting opportunity that won't come again. I also don't have any kids, so it's easier for me to move right now.

So basically, my big factor used to be tuition. Now, it's switched to the learning experience and quality of education. I'm going through the same process as you, so I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

Sounds like we are having a similar experience! I was totally surprised when I received my acceptance to UW, which has a fairly small cohort of 24. In comparison, SJSU's cohort will be 80, which seems huge! I currently work as an administrator at UCSC and I see the differences between a large cohort and a small cohort with our graduate programs and so I can imagine what some of the benefits/pitfalls would for the different cohort sizes for OT school. That said, I think a lot of your graduate school experience depends on what you make of it.

At this point, I am leaning towards SJSU because tuition is a huge factor for me. I have a small amount of loans from my undergrad, and I'd prefer not to add a significant amount to that. As SJSU is only $8,600 a year, I don't think I can justify the out of state tuition for UW as much as I do want to have an adventure. I keep telling my self that if I still want to have an adventure, I can get a fieldwork placement out of the area. A handful of the OTs I shadowed with did this. Also, my fiancée has asked me to stay. Originally, he was more comfortable with the idea of me leaving but now that it is decision time he has realized that he'd prefer to have me around. He also absolutely loves his job. If I were to leave and he were to join me eventually, he would probably take a pretty sizable pay cut because this area pays pretty well for his field.

There is one thing that SJSU offers that I'm pretty excited about too. One of the requirements is that students have to have an international experience. So we get to go abroad with one of the professors, OT students, and students in other health-related graduate programs. Some of the options are Finland, Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand. I think this is a great opportunity to learn about a different culture and how treatment may differ based on cultural norms.

So at the end of the day, I think I'm going to go with what is most logical for me. If I go to SJSU, I won't event have to move, which is also a plus.

 

[cailahOT]

I was accepted to UW as well and live a short 30 minute commute from campus. I was also accepted to AT Still and my husband was really set on having an adventure because he's never been able to travel much. Although my husband was a bit disappointed we weren't packing up and road tripping down to AZ, we've come to terms with how beneficial it is to stay in WA. The tuition is significantly cheaper, we can move in with my mom for 6 months while he finishes up school and I won't have to work, and all of our family is here. In my opinion, the comfort of having a job in your area and not having to worry about finances so much will take a lot of stress away from the grad school stress.

UW's campus is beautiful and the professors are top notch, but I would honestly hate living in Seattle. The construction boom is ever present, there's a lot of homeless youth/adults in the U District which unfortunately can make the area unsafe especially at night, and the rent is incredibly expensive. Not to say Seattle can't be a great place to live, but those are my personal drawbacks that I've seen.

Thanks for the reply! I keep having to remind myself that as fun as it sounds to move to Seattle, I probably won't have any time to enjoy the perks of the city because I'll be so busy with graduate school. I live in an area currently that has a lot of the same downsides that you mentioned but some great benefits as well. Leaving family is a something I'm also struggling with. Both my family and my fiancée's family live relatively closes and I think they'd be pretty disappointed if I chose to leave.

 

[PNW_OT]

Sounds like we are having a similar experience! I was totally surprised when I received my acceptance to UW, which has a fairly small cohort of 24. In comparison, SJSU's cohort will be 80, which seems huge! I currently work as an administrator at UCSC and I see the differences between a large cohort and a small cohort with our graduate programs and so I can imagine what some of the benefits/pitfalls would for the different cohort sizes for OT school. That said, I think a lot of your graduate school experience depends on what you make of it.

At this point, I am leaning towards SJSU because tuition is a huge factor for me. I have a small amount of loans from my undergrad, and I'd prefer not to add a significant amount to that. As SJSU is only $8,600 a year, I don't think I can justify the out of state tuition for UW as much as I do want to have an adventure. I keep telling my self that if I still want to have an adventure, I can get a fieldwork placement out of the area. A handful of the OTs I shadowed with did this. Also, my fiancée has asked me to stay. Originally, he was more comfortable with the idea of me leaving but now that it is decision time he has realized that he'd prefer to have me around. He also absolutely loves his job. If I were to leave and he were to join me eventually, he would probably take a pretty sizable pay cut because this area pays pretty well for his field.

There is one thing that SJSU offers that I'm pretty excited about too. One of the requirements is that students have to have an international experience. So we get to go abroad with one of the professors, OT students, and students in other health-related graduate programs. Some of the options are Finland, Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand. I think this is a great opportunity to learn about a different culture and how treatment may differ based on cultural norms.

So at the end of the day, I think I'm going to go with what is most logical for me. If I go to SJSU, I won't event have to move, which is also a plus.

Sounds like you know what the right choice is for you 🙂 congrats!