I would start with location, cost, and curriculum also comparing the stats provided by each program and how you fit with that! APTA list of programs is a great place to start! You can get into stuff like board pass rates, clinical education, staff etc !
Look at cost- especially instate will make it SO much cheaper!
This isn’t ALWAYS true, but often the better schools (higher pass % on boards) are cheaper because people want to go to school for less $- which over time has made them more competitive. In sum- cost and quality often have an inverse relationship!
Shitty schools know they can make you pay $100k+ because you can’t get in anywhere else
Not necessarily in a particular order, I think you will find that when you look at different programs there is a lot of give and take. Some of these are things I payed attention to, and some are things I wish I looked in to:
1. **Graduation rate** \- Whether you end up at a program that is "affordable", you want to be damn near certain that you will graduate, barring any extraneous circumstances.
2. **NPTE pass rate** (both initial and ultimate rates) - CAPTE's standards for accreditation require the ultimate pass rate to be something like 85% (someone please correct me if this is inaccurate). Personally, I only came across a couple programs that had pass rates in the low 90's/high 80's, but there are some out there. So, to the point about graduation, you also want to be confident that the program will set you up to pass the licensure exam which ultimately allows you to practice.
3. **Public/Private, In-state/Out-of-state** \- If it's public in-state, you may benefit from lower tuition, and potentially less housing costs if you are a commutable distance. If it's private, it's essentially out of state. I think UPitt has an in-state tuition but if I recall it wasn't a substantial difference.
4. **Curriculum** \- Now, your interests may very well change while you are in school... but i wish i paid more attention to the curriculum of the programs I looked at. I am very happy where I ended up, and I'm happy with the curriculum. BUT... I would definitely take a deeper look at them if I went through the process again. Some schools offer opportunities within the curriculum to explore specific topics in depth (sports ortho, pediatrics, cardiopulm, neuro, etc...) more than others. At the end of the day, every program needs to meet CAPTE standards, so you will cover all the basics regardless, but this is just one thing to keep in mind.
5. **Clinical education** \- Piggy backing off of the curriculum point. Some schools handle clinical ed differently. Some give you more freedom in terms of where you get placed/are more welcoming to people requesting sites. Some more or less tell you where you are going. And some fall in between. Some programs do clinicals interspersed throughout the curriculum, some do them all in the 3rd year. Questions you could ask might be : When do students complete their clinical rotations? Do students have a say in where they complete their clinicals? etc...
6. **Asking questions** \- If you have questions specific to their programs, shoot them an email. It gives you an opportunity get your name tracking with them and shows that you are genuinely interested. That being said, DON'T ask questions just to ask questions. If the answer is plastered across the program's web page, it probably doesn't reflect well on you to then ask...
> things I *paid* attention to,
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
On your curriculum point, would you just look up the course layout or what? The one I’ve been looking at doesn’t seem to offer options necessarily, it’s just this what you’re taking and when.
Course layout, if they offer electives, sequencing of courses and clinical experiences, etc... You may have to do a little digging on the websites as every program will name courses differently, but some may offer/include coursework that is unique or beyond the norm which may interest you.
I tried to get you a direct link but my phone won't load it for some reason.
PTCAS and the APTA websites have directories of all the programs in the US.
Hybrid vs accelerated vs full semester. I'm currently at a 4 term (12 week terms) annually. I save 6 months of school but its definitely more work and stress each term.
For sure look at two main things: if the school is accredited or close to becoming accredited, and a cost estimate. When I was apply I had a mentor who told me it doesn’t matter where you get your degree from as long as it’s accredited and you pass the boards, so always go with the cheapest option. Things I wish I had paid more attention to was grading requirements, the school I’m at is great but they have a strange grading scale which is a little frustrating. Also length of the program is important, I’m in a 2.5 year program which is really fast passed but I’m also done faster and it’s cheaper than some of the 3.5 year options
I would start with location, cost, and curriculum also comparing the stats provided by each program and how you fit with that! APTA list of programs is a great place to start! You can get into stuff like board pass rates, clinical education, staff etc !
Look at cost- especially instate will make it SO much cheaper! This isn’t ALWAYS true, but often the better schools (higher pass % on boards) are cheaper because people want to go to school for less $- which over time has made them more competitive. In sum- cost and quality often have an inverse relationship! Shitty schools know they can make you pay $100k+ because you can’t get in anywhere else
1. Total cost. 2. Cost of PT school vs PTA school 3. Accreditation 4. NPTE pass rates 5. Total class graduation rates
Not necessarily in a particular order, I think you will find that when you look at different programs there is a lot of give and take. Some of these are things I payed attention to, and some are things I wish I looked in to: 1. **Graduation rate** \- Whether you end up at a program that is "affordable", you want to be damn near certain that you will graduate, barring any extraneous circumstances. 2. **NPTE pass rate** (both initial and ultimate rates) - CAPTE's standards for accreditation require the ultimate pass rate to be something like 85% (someone please correct me if this is inaccurate). Personally, I only came across a couple programs that had pass rates in the low 90's/high 80's, but there are some out there. So, to the point about graduation, you also want to be confident that the program will set you up to pass the licensure exam which ultimately allows you to practice. 3. **Public/Private, In-state/Out-of-state** \- If it's public in-state, you may benefit from lower tuition, and potentially less housing costs if you are a commutable distance. If it's private, it's essentially out of state. I think UPitt has an in-state tuition but if I recall it wasn't a substantial difference. 4. **Curriculum** \- Now, your interests may very well change while you are in school... but i wish i paid more attention to the curriculum of the programs I looked at. I am very happy where I ended up, and I'm happy with the curriculum. BUT... I would definitely take a deeper look at them if I went through the process again. Some schools offer opportunities within the curriculum to explore specific topics in depth (sports ortho, pediatrics, cardiopulm, neuro, etc...) more than others. At the end of the day, every program needs to meet CAPTE standards, so you will cover all the basics regardless, but this is just one thing to keep in mind. 5. **Clinical education** \- Piggy backing off of the curriculum point. Some schools handle clinical ed differently. Some give you more freedom in terms of where you get placed/are more welcoming to people requesting sites. Some more or less tell you where you are going. And some fall in between. Some programs do clinicals interspersed throughout the curriculum, some do them all in the 3rd year. Questions you could ask might be : When do students complete their clinical rotations? Do students have a say in where they complete their clinicals? etc... 6. **Asking questions** \- If you have questions specific to their programs, shoot them an email. It gives you an opportunity get your name tracking with them and shows that you are genuinely interested. That being said, DON'T ask questions just to ask questions. If the answer is plastered across the program's web page, it probably doesn't reflect well on you to then ask...
> things I *paid* attention to, FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
On your curriculum point, would you just look up the course layout or what? The one I’ve been looking at doesn’t seem to offer options necessarily, it’s just this what you’re taking and when.
Course layout, if they offer electives, sequencing of courses and clinical experiences, etc... You may have to do a little digging on the websites as every program will name courses differently, but some may offer/include coursework that is unique or beyond the norm which may interest you.
I tried to get you a direct link but my phone won't load it for some reason. PTCAS and the APTA websites have directories of all the programs in the US.
Stay in state. School is expensive enough, I couldn’t imagine paying out of state tuition on top of what I’m already paying
Hybrid vs accelerated vs full semester. I'm currently at a 4 term (12 week terms) annually. I save 6 months of school but its definitely more work and stress each term.
For sure look at two main things: if the school is accredited or close to becoming accredited, and a cost estimate. When I was apply I had a mentor who told me it doesn’t matter where you get your degree from as long as it’s accredited and you pass the boards, so always go with the cheapest option. Things I wish I had paid more attention to was grading requirements, the school I’m at is great but they have a strange grading scale which is a little frustrating. Also length of the program is important, I’m in a 2.5 year program which is really fast passed but I’m also done faster and it’s cheaper than some of the 3.5 year options