West Coast University DPT vs Azusa Pacific University DPT, need help making a decision ASAP

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bigslamdog20

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Hey guys,
I am faced with a huge decision in my career and need to make this decision ASAP. I am indecisive and need help choosing which program to go to, West Coast DPT this fall 2020 in LA or Azusa Pacific DPT for spring 2021. I need whatever advice you guys have to offer. I am currently leaning towards WCU because of the location (hollywood, will have more fun in my free time) and that the education is not faith-based. However, I have already placed my deposit at APU for spring 2021 and understand that APU has a top-notch DPT program and brand new 2-story facility. I made a list of pros and cons. Please help. Any input helps.

***DISCLAIMER: some of the following information may be incorrect/inaccurate, PLEASE correct me if I am wrong!

WCU:
Pros:
-location (hollywood)
-first semester 0% interest on loans (covid)
-fridays off (when in-person instruction returns)
-accredited program
-nice facility
-not religious

Cons:
-more expensive than APU (122k vs 113k)
-possibility of limited clinical rotation opportunities
-short notice, school starts Sept 7
-must pay for textbooks
-not the best national rank
-new program, just got accredited (may not be a con)

APU:
Pros:
-PhysioU app with textbooks and all PT resources on iPhone app
-Brand new 2 story DPT facility only for DPT students
-better quality program overall/national ranking, more widely known
-better connections and clinical rotation opportunities
-more time before school starts (Jan 2021)
-2.5 year program

Cons:
-religious based practice
-location (Azusa)
-friday classes
-can live in LA but must commute

Unknown: when both schools will return to on-campus instruction

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from my standpoint, it seems like the pros for APU outweigh the pros for west coast. There's probably more to think about and I'm sure you might have already thought about it but would classes be longer then if you have Friday's off and would you prefer longer days? Also Azusa isn't that far from LA if you are looking for stuff to do in your free time, you can possibly living somewhere in the middle between the two cities. Tuition being cheaper by almost 10k for APU might be the way to go and it seems like they have better resources than west coast.
Do you know if religious aspects are going to be incorporated into the curriculum? If not, i don't think it should matter if the school is affiliated with a religion but I'm not sure what you mean by religious-based practice like no cadavers?
Another thing is to go visit the schools and see which campus you prefer even though it's all remote right now but I'm sure at some point you will be on campus for lab when you start school.

In the end, having less debt from student loans and getting better clinical rotations will outweigh the cons of being further from LA as it is not far away but I'm not sure about the religious aspect. I guess it depends on how heavily it is incorporated into their curriculum.
Just something to think about :) hoped that helped somewhat.
 
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Hey guys,
I am faced with a huge decision in my career and need to make this decision ASAP. I am extremely indecisive and need help choosing which program to go to, West Coast DPT this fall 2020 in LA or Azusa Pacific DPT for spring 2021. I need whatever advice you guys have to offer. I am currently leaning towards WCU because of the location (hollywood, will have more fun in my free time) and that the education is not faith-based. However, I have already placed my deposit at APU for spring 2021 and understand that APU has a top-notch DPT program and brand new 2-story facility. I made a list of pros and cons. Please help. Any input helps.

WCU:
Pros:
-location (hollywood)
-first semester 0% interest on loans (covid)
-fridays off (when in-person instruction returns)
-accredited program
-nice facility
-not religious

Cons:
-more expensive than APU (122k vs 113k)
-possibility of limited clinical rotation opportunities
-short notice, school starts Sept 7
-must pay for textbooks
-not the best national rank
-new program, just got accredited (may not be a con)

APU:
Pros:
-PhysioU app with textbooks and all PT resources on iPhone app
-better quality program overall/national ranking, more widely known
-better connections and clinical rotation opportunities
-more time before school starts (Jan 2021)
-2.5 year program so same grad time as WCU

Cons:
-religious based practice
-location (Azusa)
-friday classes
-can live in LA but must commute

Unknown: when both schools will return to on-campus instruction

Seems to me like APU's pros outweigh WCU's. Azusa is still close to LA/Hollywood (40 minute drive) so you'd still be able to have that experience. Also $10k less is a huge plus, especially for a program like APU that's ranked better.

I have an interview for the APU spring 2021 cohort in 2 weeks. Any advice? Do you remember what questions they asked? Is it a group interview? If everything goes well with my interview and you end up choosing APU, we'll end up in the same class. I'm not super religious as well but I feel like they wouldn't force religion upon grad students.
 
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Seems to me like APU's pros outweigh WCU's. Azusa is still close to LA/Hollywood (40 minute drive) so you'd still be able to have that experience. Also $10k less is a huge plus, especially for a program like APU that's ranked better.

I have an interview for the APU spring 2021 cohort in 2 weeks. Any advice? Do you remember what questions they asked? Is it a group interview? If everything goes well with my interview and you end up choosing APU, we'll end up in the same class. I'm not super religious as well but I feel like they wouldn't force religion upon grad students.

Thanks man, I really appreciate the input! They interview 2 people at a time via zoom. Tbh I don't exactly remember what they asked me, but it is along the lines of why you want to do PT but its pretty laid back and the department chair that interviews you is super nice. I dressed nicely even tho it was on zoom. Anyways, good luck!
 
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Thanks man, I really appreciate the input! They interview 2 people at a time via zoom. Tbh I don't exactly remember what they asked me, but it is along the lines of why you want to do PT but its pretty laid back and the department chair that interviews you is super nice. I dressed nicely even tho it was on zoom. Anyways, good luck!

I appreciate the info, good luck to you as well!
 
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When it comes to APU being religious, I have only heard from current students that the professor and students sometimes pray together before an exam. Or sometimes professors may relate their spirituality with a certain subject. Besides that, religion is not a formal part of the curriculum.
 
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Hi, I wanted to know if anyone who interviewed for Spring 2021 at APU heard back yet?
 
Hi, I wanted to know if anyone who interviewed for Spring 2021 at APU heard back yet?
I was actually wondering the same thing. It's been over 2 weeks since my interview but haven't heard back yet. They did say they'll notify you within a month if you've been accepted or not but I'm starting to stress a little
 
I was actually wondering the same thing. It's been over 2 weeks since my interview but haven't heard back yet. They did say they'll notify you within a month if you've been accepted or not but I'm starting to stress a little
Yeah I am in the same boat as you. I interviewed on the 11th, I am starting to get a little nervous
 
Yeah I am in the same boat as you. I interviewed on the 11th, I am starting to get a little nervous
I interviewed on the 11th as well and just heard back from the university. I’m sure you’ll hear any day now. Hang in there !!
 
I interviewed on the 11th as well and just heard back from the university. I’m sure you’ll hear any day now. Hang in there !!
Heard back on Tuesday that I was accepted! Good luck to both of you :thumbup:
 
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I got accepted early, back in May. Hope to connect with those that got accepted soon!! Does anyone know how our spring semester is going to look like? Back in August, I was told we will have all in person. I'm wondering if there's any changes to that at the moment.

I've also created a facebook group for those attending starting spring 2021. search APU DPT class of 2023!
 
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I got accepted early, back in May. Hope to connect with those that got accepted soon!! Does anyone know how our spring semester is going to look like? Back in August, I was told we will have all in person. I'm wondering if there's any changes to that at the moment.

I've also created a facebook group for those attending starting spring 2021. search APU DPT class of 2023!
I was wondering if someone was gonna make a facebook group soon. I appreciate you doing that, I just requested to join :thumbup:
 
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Hi! I have my interview this week for Spring 2022. Any tips? How is the interview structured?
 
Heard back on Tuesday that I was accepted! Good luck to both of you :thumbup:
Hi! I'm interviewing next week for January 2022 cohort. Any tips? Do you remember what kind of questions they asked you and the structure of the interview?
 
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