Program-Specific Info / Q's Tuition Cost Temple vs. Thomas Jefferson

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coolrunnins

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Hi All,

I do not live in Pennsylvania so in-state tuition wouldn't apply to me for Temple University. I see many people speaking about the difference in cost between these two programs. I've looked up tuition rates for both programs and they seem basically the same (temple out state rate vs. Jefferson) except Jefferson seems to have more credit hours required. Am I correct? Can anyone provide me specifics my head is starting to spin trying to compare them more exactly.

Thanks!

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For out of state Temple would be $70,348. Thomas Jefferson gets tricky because I don't know if Summer's are included in the yearly cost, since they are part time semesters. However, if Summer's are included in the cost on the website, it would be around $70,522 with tuition and the fees for fall/spring. I'm not sure if there are more fees for the Summer, I'd imagine so, but it would probably only take it up to around 71k. Does anyone know more info about TJ's total cost and if the cost listed includes Summers?
Also, if you were in-state, there would be a difference in costs, with Temple being around $53,232 so that's probably what people have been referring to.
 
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For out of state Temple would be $70,348. Thomas Jefferson gets tricky because I don't know if Summer's are included in the yearly cost, since they are part time semesters. However, if Summer's are included in the cost on the website, it would be around $70,522 with tuition and the fees for fall/spring. I'm not sure if there are more fees for the Summer, I'd imagine so, but it would probably only take it up to around 71k. Does anyone know more info about TJ's total cost and if the cost listed includes Summers?
Also, if you were in-state, there were be a difference in costs, with Temple being around $53,232 so that's probably what people have been referring to.
Thank you so much I'll take a closer look to Jefferson's tuition and if it includes summers. I'm pretty sure they have more credit hours required though as compared to Temple's program.
 
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No problem! :) TJ does have more credit hours required, at 82 credits vs Temple at 67. TJ also has an extra summer in there, while Temple gives the second-year summer off. There's a lot to think about between these two programs including curriculum and location in Philly, but I don't think you can go wrong with either. But yeah let me know if you find out about Jefferson's tuition/summer situation, I'd appreciate it because I'm wondering the same thing.
 
So I just wanted to share this email sent to me from my Anatomy & Physiology professor, with insight he received from a student who is currently in their first year of Temple's MOT program.

I have some bad news. I got a message from a former student who is at Temple OT now and she is not happy. She asked me to spread the word. She was a top student in my classes. This is what she said:

"The OT program at Temple is disappointing. I had to teach myself Kines. for the most part and we have a crazy dept. head who either screams at us or ignores us completely. I honestly wish I had accepted Jefferson's offer of admission, but I thought I was being smart saving myself $17,000. If you have any OT students in the future, I would not recommend Temple's program to them at all. It's very disorganized and now we have U Science faculty who jumped ship, since their program is in danger of losing its accreditation from so many of its students failing the boards. The program has been a struggle mentally for me since the fall semester began. My health has been adversely affected and I honestly cannot wait to be done there. I am getting along, but it's not been an enjoyable experience.”

It is just one person's experience of course, but something to consider. Also, when I went to their open house a few months ago, they mentioned that they are in the process of completely changing their program structure. This includes changing from a 2 yr program to a 2 1/2 yr program (they said more info would be released on their website this summer.) They seemed to have a hard time articulating about it since they clearly feel it was a necessary change that would drastically improve aspects of their program, but these changes won't actually be applicable to those being admitted this year. I can see how being the last incoming class of the old program could perhaps be complicated and/or stressful. Temple definitely has a well-respected OT program going way back, and I have worked/volunteered with OTs who graduated from there 5-10 years ago who enjoyed it, but all schools have their pros/cons so just thought I'd share what I've heard, especially for anyone deciding between Temple and Jeff, or U Sciences. Good luck to y'all!
 
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Hmm I don't know what to make of this. Very discouraging to read this as someone preparing to enter temple. Anyone else have insight or thoughts?...
 
Yeah it is definitely concerning to read that. Thanks for sharing lcs2074! I like hearing input from students actually in the program. So if they switch to the 2 1/2 year program, we would still complete the 2 year program if we entered this year?
My thoughts on this: Do you mind me asking if the student who sent that email attended a small undergrad college? The only reason I ask is because Temple is a larger university and I attended a similar sized university for undergrad and I definitely found I was teaching myself some classes. When you get into larger universities with large class sizes, it tends to be a really independent learning environment, especially in labs. I feel we basically taught ourselves anatomy in my undergrad. We were really on our own. However, it's not always this way in larger schools, and I still feel I received a really quality education, but class size is something to think about when attending any university.
However, all the other info is very concerning to me. I don't like hearing that a program is disorganized. I also don't like hearing that they are making necessary changes to the program. For a student not to recommend her own school..I don't know how to take it. Usually you have great pride in the school you attend so this definitely bothers me. Temple does have some credit heavy semesters and I would imagine this would lead to extremely difficult times, mentally and physically. Coolrunnins, if you have concerns, I would ask the department for an email of a current MOT student and talk with them! I'm sure this would help get your questions answered.
 
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Yeah it is definitely concerning to read that. Thanks for sharing lcs2074! I like hearing input from students actually in the program. So if they switch to the 2 1/2 year program, we would still complete the 2 year program if we entered this year?
My thoughts on this: Do you mind me asking if the student who sent that email attended a small undergrad college? The only reason I ask is because Temple is a larger university and I attended a similar sized university for undergrad and I definitely found I was teaching myself some classes. When you get into larger universities with large class sizes, it tends to be a really independent learning environment, especially in labs. I feel we basically taught ourselves anatomy in my undergrad. We were really on our own. However, it's not always this way in larger schools, and I still feel I received a really quality education, but class size is something to think about when attending any university.
However, all the other info is very concerning to me. I don't like hearing that a program is disorganized. I also don't like hearing that they are making necessary changes to the program. For a student not to recommend her own school..I don't know how to take it. Usually you have great pride in the school you attend so this definitely bothers me. Temple does have some credit heavy semesters and I would imagine this would lead to extremely difficult times, mentally and physically. Coolrunnins, if you have concerns, I would ask the department for an email of a current MOT student and talk with them! I'm sure this would help get your questions answered.

Sorry for the delayed response! I already have an unrelated bachelors degree so took the prerequisites at the local community college, where I'm finishing A&P now. I believe it must have been a similar situation for this student, since she went to Temple MOT right after finishing A&P at the community college with my professor last year. I never met this student, my professor had written her letter of rec and kept in contact with her and he knew I was applying to Temple as well, so sent me the email. Therefore I don't know her background or where she got her bachelors, just that my professor had a really positive impression of her and she aced his A&P 1 and 2 classes, which is no easy feat. Of course its just one person's perspective, but figured it was worth sharing as I would want to know all the pros and cons before committing to a program. Personally, I got a bad feeling when I attended their info session, for reasons already mentioned and because the facilities/classrooms seemed kinda worn down. Doesn't mean you'll feel the same or that it won't turn out to be a good fit for you though! I would definitely call and ask about the changes they're making to the MOT program and any other questions you may have. Good luck!
 
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I just posted in the philadelphia applicants thread about my visit to Temple! Haha. Totally agree with you on the classrooms! I wasn't impressed either. The only great thing about the visit were the students I met with.
 
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For out of state Temple would be $70,348. Thomas Jefferson gets tricky because I don't know if Summer's are included in the yearly cost, since they are part time semesters. However, if Summer's are included in the cost on the website, it would be around $70,522 with tuition and the fees for fall/spring. I'm not sure if there are more fees for the Summer, I'd imagine so, but it would probably only take it up to around 71k. Does anyone know more info about TJ's total cost and if the cost listed includes Summers?
Also, if you were in-state, there would be a difference in costs, with Temple being around $53,232 so that's probably what people have been referring to.

For anyone wondering, I just emailed Thomas Jefferson and the listed yearly tuition ($34,397) includes summer courses. After calculating the costs per credit for out-of-state, TJ is about the same, if not a tiny bit cheaper. My SO will be attending Temple University for law school and did a lot of research about how easy it is to get in-state tuition your second year in Pennsylvania while you are in school and apparently it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to gain residency as a student. I was just accepted to Temple last week but given this information, I think I will be choosing Thomas Jefferson, if only because the prices aren't much different and I would rather be in Center City. Hope that is helpful for any fellow out-of-staters looking at both schools!
 
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So is the consensus that the tuition at TJU includes all Summer sessions, even the 8 credit one? Just want to be sure that we won't be charged per credit that semester because we will be part-time. Does anyone have information on this? :)
 
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