Program-Specific Info / Q's Tufts vs. USC 2016

[sarah_futureot]

After being accepted, I'm trying to decide between USC and Tufts for occupational therapy graduate school. I'm currently living in Northern CA but I don't mind going out of state. I received a scholarship for Tufts ($15,000) so it is the cheapest option (by a total of $60,000 - USC= $120,000 for 2 yrs and Tufts=$66,000 for 2 yrs). I'm wanting to go into pediatric physical rehab (burns). Does anyone have any advice on deciding between 2 schools or any information about the two schools or their locations? Thank you!

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[hamburgundy]

I would say if your end goal is to get into research or become a professor, USC might be the better option. If your end goal is to work for a hospital or rehab center, both options would have pretty much the same value. With that in mind, it would definitely be smarter to pick the cheaper option (Tufts) with the less amount of student loan debt, since you would be landing the same jobs and making the same amount of money with either option. In the end, both are amazing schools, and you can't really go wrong with either. As cliche as it may sound, go with your heart. I'm sure you subconsciously prefer one over the other, and I would go with that.

 

[YayOT]

I sent you a private message, Sarah. Too long to post here.

After being accepted, I'm trying to decide between USC and Tufts for occupational therapy graduate school. I'm currently living in Northern CA but I don't mind going out of state. I received a scholarship for Tufts ($15,000) so it is the cheapest option (by a total of $60,000 - USC= $120,000 for 2 yrs and Tufts=$66,000 for 2 yrs). I'm wanting to go into pediatric physical rehab (burns). Does anyone have any advice on deciding between 2 schools or any information about the two schools or their locations? Thank you!

 

[OTGirl93]

Hi @sarah_futureot !! Congrats on getting into both USC and Tufts I'm still waiting on hearing back from USC but I was wondering if you've made a decision yet? I got into Tufts too (and am very happy/excited to possibly go there) but I'm from SoCal so I would prefer to stay if I do get into USC. Tufts gave me a scholarship too so right now it's the cheapest option for me.

 

[Prospective O T]

Both are very excellent options. I was fortunate enough to also get into USC's program, but I am worried about the cost. For that reason I voted Tufts. Regardless, I'm sure whichever option you decide on will be more than the right choice. Good luck!

 

[sarah_futureot]

@OTGirl93 Thanks! I still haven't made a decision yet! I think I would really enjoy the adventure of Tufts, but my family wants me to go to USC. I just don't know if I could handle the traffic of LA. USC gave me a scholarship now too (10,000) so it makes the choice even harder!

@Prospective O T thank you! Cost is definitely a huge deciding factor - but since Tufts program is longer, I'm also calculating loss of salary too. Have you decided where you will be attending?

 

[Prospective O T]

@sarah_futureot

I confirmed my seat with USC a few days ago as they wanted a confirmation by 3/10. I am still waiting to hear from two other schools (University of Washington and San Jose State University) which are much cheaper, but I feel as if my chances of getting in to either are also much lower than USC.

 

[OccTherapy]

@sarah_futureot

I confirmed my seat with USC a few days ago as they wanted a confirmation by 3/10. I am still waiting to hear from two other schools (University of Washington and San Jose State University) which are much cheaper, but I feel as if my chances of getting in to either are also much lower than USC.

Congrats on getting into USC! I'm still waiting to hear back from them, but I feel like since it's taking so long it may not be a good sign. I'm wondering though why you think your chances are lower for SJSU and U of Wash? Do they accept less students?

 

[OccTherapy]

Congrats on USC Sarah! I'm kind of in the same boat as you. IF I get into USC, then I'll have to decide between USC and University of Illinois, Chicago. My family is in California and would like me to stay here, but I'm very open to going out of state. I've heard that USC is very research heavy, but when I look at their field work opportunities, it seems pretty similar to other schools. Have you been able to go to their info sessions or anything to get more of a sense of their program? If you could pass along any information, I would really appreciate it! It's such a hard decision to make.

Were you able to visit Tufts? I went to visit Boston University's program and the city is amazing (a nice change from California). One thing I really liked about Tufts was that you can study abroad for one semester! That was something unique about that program that stood out to me. And then on the other hand, I hear the faculty is amazing at USC.

 

[sarah_futureot]

Congrats on getting into USC! I'm still waiting to hear back from them, but I feel like since it's taking so long it may not be a good sign. I'm wondering though why you think your chances are lower for SJSU and U of Wash? Do they accept less students?

Yes, those programs do accept less students because their programs are smaller and they usually have more applicants because the tuition is drastically lower. Though USC is rated higher it's actually easier to get into. USC has 120 student each year, but accept more because many turn down the offer.

 

[sarah_futureot]

Congrats on USC Sarah! I'm kind of in the same boat as you. IF I get into USC, then I'll have to decide between USC and University of Illinois, Chicago. My family is in California and would like me to stay here, but I'm very open to going out of state. I've heard that USC is very research heavy, but when I look at their field work opportunities, it seems pretty similar to other schools. Have you been able to go to their info sessions or anything to get more of a sense of their program? If you could pass along any information, I would really appreciate it! It's such a hard decision to make.

Were you able to visit Tufts? I went to visit Boston University's program and the city is amazing (a nice change from California). One thing I really liked about Tufts was that you can study abroad for one semester! That was something unique about that program that stood out to me. And then on the other hand, I hear the faculty is amazing at USC.

Thank you! Congrats on your acceptance to UI! That's a great school! It's a very difficult decision. I love each program but both have strong cons for me (USC- cost, Tufts- distance). I've been to a couple of info session and am going down this weekend for a reception. What I found helpful was looking at their curriculum and comparing it to others schools. Compared to Tufts, the course titles seem more vague and sound like they would be more theoretical or research based (it is an MA after all). For example, USC has Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis, Clinical Reasoning, Communication Skills for Effective Practice. While Tufts (an MS program) has Disease and Diagnosis, Anatomy of the upper limb, ect. My main concern of USC is the cost and living in LA. I've read many forums and heard from OT's that they regretted going there because of the amount of loans they had to take out. Though OT has a great salary, it's not really worth $120,000+ in loans (people said they paid $1,500 a month for 10 years! - which is so scary to me). Of course, some people found it worth it if they wanted to be a professor, researcher, or got scholarships or loved the area. Feel free to private message me for more info on USC if you have any specific questions! Hopefully, by visiting the school this weekend I'll get more of a feel for it.

I haven't visited Tufts yet! I'm so glad to hear you liked the city! I really should have visited it but I pushed it off because of the money. If I don't get enough financial aid from USC, then I think I'll go to Tufts! It'll be quite the adventure!

 

[YayOT]

Tufts!

Thank you! Congrats on your acceptance to UI! That's a great school! It's a very difficult decision. I love each program but both have strong cons for me (USC- cost, Tufts- distance). I've been to a couple of info session and am going down this weekend for a reception. What I found helpful was looking at their curriculum and comparing it to others schools. Compared to Tufts, the course titles seem more vague and sound like they would be more theoretical or research based (it is an MA after all). For example, USC has Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis, Clinical Reasoning, Communication Skills for Effective Practice. While Tufts (an MS program) has Disease and Diagnosis, Anatomy of the upper limb, ect. My main concern of USC is the cost and living in LA. I've read many forums and heard from OT's that they regretted going there because of the amount of loans they had to take out. Though OT has a great salary, it's not really worth $120,000+ in loans (people said they paid $1,500 a month for 10 years! - which is so scary to me). Of course, some people found it worth it if they wanted to be a professor, researcher, or got scholarships or loved the area. Feel free to private message me for more info on USC if you have any specific questions! Hopefully, by visiting the school this weekend I'll get more of a feel for it.

I haven't visited Tufts yet! I'm so glad to hear you liked the city! I really should have visited it but I pushed it off because of the money. If I don't get enough financial aid from USC, then I think I'll go to Tufts! It'll be quite the adventure!

 

[chocolover23]

I'd go with Tufts!

 

[OccTherapy]

Tufts!

Thanks so much for your input! If you don't mind, can I message you after you visit the school this weekend? I would love to know if you got any new information that helped make your decision.