Which would you choose?

[Futuredpt2023]

Hey guys! I’m struggling to choose between 2 great schools and would love some input.

School 1: Closer to home, in a major city, 3 years, no research

School 2: Halfway across the country in a place that gets very cold (I hate cold weather), small town feel, 2.5 years, offering scholarship to make it same price/ potentially cheaper, big research component

I really like the location of school 1 and like the DPT program better at school 2

Any thoughts?

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[Razj37]

That is a super tough decision that only you could make. If it helps any, I spent most of my life growing up on the sunny, warm West coastal, and ended up moving to the cold Midwest seven years ago after graduating from undergrad. Although the cold weather, I'll admit, is brutal, the experiences I've had in this city and the life I had built far outweighed any regret. However, I'll say that seven years later and I'm ready to move back

Where do you see yourself getting the most out of the program? Which program do you believe will set you up for better success as a DPT? Which program offers clinical experiences in other locations so you could explore/escape the cold for a bit? I would choose on those questions more or less. If the price is too similar, then that won't really matter as a factor. And how important is research to you?

Hope that was helpful, and not just more confusing!

 

[ya1]

School 1.
Why:
-closer to home (I assume you will not need to spend money on rent and are ok living at home)
-DPT program will be about the same wherever you go (they all have to meet standard requirements and do not have time to go much beyond that)
-6 months difference does not matter. School 1 may have less units per semester which will make you life a little bit easier.

 

[Futuredpt2023]

Thanks for all your replies! It’s made me think about a lot of different things. And for school 1 it’s 4 hours from home compared to 13 hours for school 2, so there would still be living costs for each school.

 

[katieburrito]

If you can live with being 13 hours away from your family, go with school 2. If you want to be able to see them more often then major holidays, school 1. Ive lived in the Midwest my whole life and I still hate the winter lol, but I promise it’s not as bad as you think it would be. If all else fails, my go to trick is to flip a coin, and if I’m disappointed by the result I know to pick the other choice.

 

[kdubz7w7]

Hey guys! I’m struggling to choose between 2 great schools and would love some input.

School 1: Closer to home, in a major city, 3 years, no research

School 2: Halfway across the country in a place that gets very cold (I hate cold weather), small town feel, 2.5 years, offering scholarship to make it same price/ potentially cheaper, big research component

I really like the location of school 1 and like the DPT program better at school 2

Any thoughts?

This is entirely driven by personal choice, but my perspective -
I have an MS in exercise science, which was mostly research, including completing a master's thesis. I loved research a lot and originally wanted to do a PhD. I'm now finishing up my second year in DPT and we have to do a doctoral project (research). I was excited for this program because it includes research....but once I started it, I now hate research. I'd personally just rather spend my time learning to be a competent PT and the research component drives me nuts.
I guess I'm just (poorly) saying - be clear on if you *actually* do want to do research while also learning PT...because I sure wasn't. Other people love love love research and for them, school 2 might be the better fit.
Also - 3 years versus 2.5 - as someone else said, if the 2.5 years has more credits stuffed into each semester to get you done faster - I would choose school 1. It'll be slightly less overwhelming and you can absorb info better if you aren't choking down a ton of credits each semester.
And as for location....I think you should place the least amount of importance on that. Affordability and program should be the top decision-makers. You can live anywhere for 2.5 to 3 years.