What's most important?

Started by MartialArtDPT
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MartialArtDPT

MartialArtDPT

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What are the factors that you think are the most important to you when you're looking at a school? Let's say that cost is equivalent because I know that, for the vast majority of us, cost is the number one concern. I'm curious, cost aside (and that includes cost of living!), what you think is important.
 
For me, I want a program that is committed to community service/outreach and diversity because those are two things I value. Getting as much time as possible in the clinic is important as well, so I love programs that do integrated clinical experiences during the first year. And with that I also look at how the curriculum is structured and when different types of classes are offered. Lastly, I look at first time pass rates for the board exam, as well as graduation rates. I'm sure there's more... but off the top of my head that's what I can think of. I also go off of the "feel" of the program. I interviewed at one and was accepted but did not feel it was a good fit for me.
 
For me, distance from my family (hometown), clinical opportunities, and program length matter most to me. I want to be close enough to my family that I could get home by car in a day. For clinicals, it’s important for me to have a wide range of opportunities available. Not just length, but amount of places I could potentially go and the amount/variety of settings we are required to do. I want to be able to explore multiple settings, instead of 1 or 2 for a longer duration. Program length is something to look at. I personally am deciding between two schools; one is 7 terms in 2.5 years (July - December 2022) and the other is 8 terms (August - May 2023).However, the 8 term school has longer clinical experiences whereas the 7 term one has the same amount of settings, but they are only 9 weeks long instead of 12 weeks. Hope this helps, goodluck!
 
For me, distance from home is number one. I chose a program that is close enough (7 minutes to be exact) so that I could save costs on living. I also wanted a program that pushes me beyond my comfort zone. The program I chose makes their students do a clinical more than 60 miles away, I liked this aspect as I would probably never leave my immediate area if it was not for this clinical.
 
As someone who is in their second semester of PT school I can't stress location enough. It needs to be a city that you feel comfortable in, but can also be a new city if you're up for that and need a change.
Also look into class size as you will go to class with the same ppl for 3 years, as well as how they choose their clinical sites, faculty experience in the field, and any other aspect of the school such as student resources, housing, etc... that you deem as important to you.
Cause at the end of the day you have to commit at least 2 years to living in that city and attending that school.
 
MartialArtDPT said:
What are the factors that you think are the most important to you when you're looking at a school? Let's say that cost is equivalent because I know that, for the vast majority of us, cost is the number one concern. I'm curious, cost aside (and that includes cost of living!), what you think is important.
Click to expand...
- ability to choose placements vs arbitrarily being placed (it is VERY important to me that I choose the settings I do clinic in)
- clinical rotations close to home (this is purely because I cannot afford to pay rent somewhere far away)
- not front-loaded with number of credits/semester (eg not a program that stuffs 20 credits into the first semester)
- my program requires a capstone and I would really love to not have to do it, it's just a frustrating waste of time (this is an opinion, of course)
- idk if this exists but I would have loved the option for elective courses (especially vs capstone)
- my school does not do this but the idea of integrated clinic for first year sounds like something I would have liked, but I would not call it a deal-breaker
My personal deal-breakers are the first three bullets.
 
kdubz7w7 said:
- ability to choose placements vs arbitrarily being placed (it is VERY important to me that I choose the settings I do clinic in)
- clinical rotations close to home (this is purely because I cannot afford to pay rent somewhere far away)
- not front-loaded with number of credits/semester (eg not a program that stuffs 20 credits into the first semester)
- my program requires a capstone and I would really love to not have to do it, it's just a frustrating waste of time (this is an opinion, of course)
- idk if this exists but I would have loved the option for elective courses (especially vs capstone)
- my school does not do this but the idea of integrated clinic for first year sounds like something I would have liked, but I would not call it a deal-breaker
My personal deal-breakers are the first three bullets.
Click to expand...
I know Emory has electives. They're also front-loaded, but not as significantly as Mayo. 21 credits the first several semesters.
 
My top three!

- faculty/staff (probably my number 1, from what I've personally experienced I believe it makes a huge difference on whom you're taught by)
- clinical affiliations (close number 2, similar reason as the 1st)
- research opportunities (I'm looking into doing PhD a little later after)
 
kdubz7w7 said:
- ability to choose placements vs arbitrarily being placed (it is VERY important to me that I choose the settings I do clinic in)
- clinical rotations close to home (this is purely because I cannot afford to pay rent somewhere far away)
- not front-loaded with number of credits/semester (eg not a program that stuffs 20 credits into the first semester)
- my program requires a capstone and I would really love to not have to do it, it's just a frustrating waste of time (this is an opinion, of course)
- idk if this exists but I would have loved the option for elective courses (especially vs capstone)
- my school does not do this but the idea of integrated clinic for first year sounds like something I would have liked, but I would not call it a deal-breaker
My personal deal-breakers are the first three bullets.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with your 1st bullet point!
 
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