What is the max amount your willing to pay for your DPT degree?

[flyingsquirrel]

Obviously tuition has been rising up and up. I know that everyone has a different financial situation than others. That includes grants and loans etc...

What is the max ceiling, before you're willing to say "I'm moving to a different career."

The highest I have seen is around 135k through USC. Avg being 70-80k.

Would you still be in your program if you had to pay 200k? how about 500k?

There is always a limit. What is that limit for you?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Kuhdaytee]

I applied to out of state schools, so some of the schools were around 100k for just tuition. That's not including living and travel expenses. Thankfully I got into a cheaper out of state school, so I've been declining the expensive ones. I'm expecting to pay somewhere around 100k for tuition, housing, and other expenses, but that's not including the interest I'll have to pay on the loans I'll need to take out.

I don't know if I would pay much more than this. But, I'm OK with the amount I'll have to pay for now. I was also pre-vet before pre-pt, and that would have resulted in twice as much debt with a lower pay than pt, so that might be why I'm not worried about getting loans.

 

[Rgvmed]

The school I've been accepted represents the max tuition I'm willing to pay at this point, roughly 68k including fees for all three years. This is a fair price in today's DPT market, especially for an out of state students. There are two programs I'm waiting to hear back from that are cheaper.

 

[Schland]

As a new grad, I would say it is very unwise to take out 200K on a PT salary. 500K... and you will be paying back for the rest of your life.

 

[NewTestament]

A DPT should not cost more than $60k when an entry-level therapist can expect to ethically make $65-70k in his first year. According to PT in Motion the median cost at a private school is $92k. Unless there is nothing else you want to do, then you should pay whatever it takes to become a PT. If you have alternatives, you should seriously consider them.

 

[engmedpt]

80k tuition. I applied to four...the range being from 43k-78k Be careful.....some schools will suck the funds right out of you. Just because cali or new york sounds like a fun place to live doesn't mean the OOS tuition will be manageable come graduation and during your post grad life. By the way, you shouldn't be doing ANY career where your "school" makes you pay 500k in tuition and living expenses. That is absolute abuse and I hope that number doesnt exist somewhere (i.e. you were using it as an example only). I think cali schools are the worst where you end up with 200k in debt.....(you went to a super highly ranked school tho! wooh! =0) .......great. aka you were a title chaser)

Make sure you enjoy the DAY TO DAY and the lifestyle before even applying honestly. You will live in an apartment for a few years paying back debt for a bit unless you get crazy lucky for some mortgage options. And when I say day to day, I mean it. I was a kid that was super competitive with my grades and did a million extracurriculars until I got sick and withdrew a semester. Then I shadowed for literally work weeks. LITERALLY. That was how I found this profession most conducive to my lifestyle and values (sorry medicine.........).

Main point: You better like it. Our whole generation is abused by a debt struggle and secondary institutions making tuition what they please. Although it seems normal to us as we seek a career, it's not. Other overlapping generations didn't have this struggle. At the same time, it's ultimately your choice. Crunch some numbers and see if the intrinsic value you gain from it matches up.

 

[engmedpt]

^New Testament made a fantastic point...............much more concise than mine.

 

[starrsgirl]

I faced this decision head on last year.....I was accepted into a private school that I LOVED. I was excited to go and felt it was a great fit. But I started to have a lot of cold feet about it. I finally realized most of my cold feet feeling was coming from the debt load and the fact I truly didn't feel it was equal to the outcome. This particular school put me right on my maximum line which I now know to be $80K TOTAL debt load. For me, the maximum debt I'm ok with is somewhere between 1-2 years of full time PT salary. Anything more than that makes my take home pay (after loan repayment each month) less then I could each in a regular bachelor's level job.

 

[ashnicolee43]

200k and 500k are not an option for me considering I have undergrad loans out as well. I'm not 100% sure what my limit is yet, I'm just hoping to get accepted right now and then if that happens I'll start thinking about cost. If I am lucky enough to have to choose between two programs then I will most likely choose the cheaper one.

Has anyone thought about signing on with companies that will help with your loans after PT school? A PT I shadowed did that and she loves her job. I know that generally these are in undesirable locations but I feel like it's worth it considering the alternative of paying back all those loans.

 

[Watson27]

I luckily have no debt from undergrad. I applied to 4 public in-state schools that are all under $70k. If I go to the cheapest it would be around $50k. And if I got an assistantship, it would probably be half of that. I would only go to one of the three out-of-state schools I applied to if I did not get in to any of the in-state schools. And then I would probably choose the cheapest. But if I had to, I would be willing to have around $100k in loans.

My brother got his MBA from USC and the amount of debt he has for a two-year program seems insane. But he is now making way more money than a PT ever could. So it balances out.

 

[twsurfsnow]

Tree fiddy


Posted using SDN Mobile