r/PTschool • u/AnHONEYmous • 7d ago
Should I cancel this interview/drop this program?
I have a few interviews lined up. 1 school is higher rank (school A) top 60 and expensive. I already booked the interview date for that school. Another school (school B) wants to interview that day too. They are lower rank but not bad! A shorter program length, and about $60 grand cheaper! I have been accepted to another program already (high 200s rank) so I have my safety school.
The question is, should I just drop the school A interview? I fear the only reason I want to go to it is for the chance at a high rank school but it is so expensive! And the pros are better for school B. If I got into school A I'm not sure if I would choose it over my safety school bc the price. But there's a part of me that feels like I would feel validated if school A accepted me.
Please help me reason this out, I am so nervous.
Edit: ok I was pretty sure I should just not do it since I didn't even wanna pick it over my safety school. Also ranks are stupid, got it. I needed you all to help me squish the stupid feelings so I could do the logical thing! I'm dropping it, gunna schedule the interview with school B. Thank you!
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u/dogzilla1029 7d ago
If the interview is virtual, dont drop it, bc it is good practice. but go to the vheapest school with good passing rates you get in to.
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u/IndexCardLife PT, DPT 7d ago edited 7d ago
For the love of god, I will continue to say this over and over again.
Read the methodology on the us news reports
It has nothing to do with anything that matters
Don’t go 60k extra in debt for no reason outside of “vibes”
My boss (who hired me) literally didn’t even know where I went to school
You don’t get paid more cause your school has more popular alumni…
Edit to add: U.S. News & World Report ranks Physical Therapy (DPT) programs based entirely on a peer assessment survey sent to academic leaders in the field
Edit again : Unlike other graduate areas, the physical therapy ranking does not use objective statistical data. It omits metrics such as: [1]
Licensure pass rates (NPTE scores)
Graduation and employment rates
Faculty research output or funding
Admission selectivity or GPA/GRE averages
Tuition cost and student debt [1, 2]
:
Those rankings are all based on….”vibes”
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u/FearsomeForehand 7d ago
Lemme guess… USC?
In any case, school rank won’t matter. Nobody is offering you more money because you came out of a top ranked school. This is a career where expanding credentials and associating yourself with academic prestige generally has almost zero direct benefit.
If it is a school like USC, the only benefit I can think of is maybe a larger network of alumni, and you also get to rub elbows with students from well-to-do families - which could present other opportunities if you’re business-minded.
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u/aeroluffy 7d ago
The smartest PT is the one with the lowest amount of debt. My department has graduates from Columbia, NYU, Rutgers, Marist, etc. And I can genuinely say no one cares what rank their college was because we all work for the same company and get paid basically the same (minus negotiations/years of experience/specializations - that is not dependent on what school they went to). If your family comes from money and values the prestige of higher ranked schools, go for it. If youre family is not that financially comfortable and just wanna be a physical therapist, the cheapest option is the smartest option. Good luck!