January 6, 2025: By Rhyan Caruso
For this article, I am writing in present tense as I currently have about a week before the deadline by which I have to submit a deposit to confirm which physical therapy school I will be attending. I have currently narrowed my choices down to 2 PT schools, one in state institution and another a private in state institution. Through the process of deciding which school to choose, I realized some specific factors in why I should choose one school over another, due to my own personal preferences, which may differ from others. Below I will be explaining the five factors I took into account for myself, in order of importance to me, which ultimately helped me narrow down which physical therapy school I will be attending for the next few years.
1.) Accreditation
This is the very first thing I would consider when looking at PT schools. Make sure you choose a school that is accredited by CAPTE, or the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. If a program is accredited by CAPTE, it means that have met all of the high standards of quality required for physical therapy education. This is VERY important as it is REQUIRED to graduate from a CAPTE accredited program to take the licensure exam after PT school. Some programs are on “probation” or in jeopardy of having the accreditation revoked, and if you have other options, I would not choose a school with this current status to save you from paying tens of thousands of dollars for a PT school, only to finish and not be able to take the licensure exam because your PT program had its accreditation revoked while you were a part of the program.
2.) Cost
For me personally, the cost was a driving factor into which PT school I am choosing from. However, the cost of PT school goes way beyond just the surface level of how much the entire program costs from the schooling. There are a variety of resources to choose from, but most PT schools have information regarding the entire cost of their program, as well as most recent financial fact sheets with the information of the most recent class that graduated from that program with the average debt they graduated with. Looking at two schools to choose from, one may be cheaper from just a raw price of the educational costs of the program, however, the school that might look a bit more expensive, may offer more financial aid, and be in a location with a cheaper cost of living and lower average debt than the first school that appeared cheaper. Be sure to discuss with financial advisors from each program to get an estimate of your personal total costs that you may build up throughout PT school. Once you receive this information, my personal choice would simply be, go for the cheaper school. However, if the prices as a whole are quite similar, like within a couple thousands of dollars, go with the school you want to go to the most. This is just my opinion, as my main goal is to graduate from PT school with the least amount of student debt as possible. My rule of thumb would be to aim to graduate PT school with an average debt to first year average salary ratio of no more than 1:1. I would also aim to choose a PT school that is less than 100k for the entire program, which usually means choosing an in-state PT program.
3.) Graduation Rates and NPTE Pass Rates
This is self-explanatory but be sure to look at both the graduation rates and NPTE pass rates for programs. When I was looking at PT schools, I was looking specifically for programs with at least a 90% graduation rate, and at least a 90% first time NPTE pass rate, which is the National Physical Therapy Exam which is what you take at the end of PT school to receive your license. Both of these stats show how good the program is at retaining students, and how well it prepares its students for passing the NPTE, which is one of the main goals of PT school. Anything lower than the 90% I listed above would make me a bit skeptical about choosing that specific school.
4.) Length of the Program
Just like how I was looking at the cost, I also would have preferred a PT school that is done quicker than the others, as for me personally, I would like to begin working as soon as possible, especially after being in school for so long. Most physical therapy programs are about 3 years, pretty much year-round with some breaks, but others are shorter at around 2.5 years. If I had the opportunity, the perfect school for me would be one that is cheaper and shorter. However, these shorter programs also mean a bit more of information being crammed in less time, so keep that in mind if you are choosing a PT school that takes less than three years to complete. I would also recommend you research the 3+3 physical therapy programs, which is something I would have done had I known I wanted to be a PT earlier. These are essentially for students beginning undergrad at a school that also has a PT program, which allows them to complete undergrad in 3 years and go right into that same schools PT program for 3 years after, usually resulting in cheaper prices and an effective way to become a PT.
5.) Location
After going to a small undergraduate school, I became a bit too focused on going to a larger institution in a larger city for PT school. However, once I did a bit more research, I realized that although these public institutions may appear cheaper, living in these larger cities will definitely accrue into the student debt column more than they would say living in a smaller suburban university. When choosing a PT school, I would not stress too much on the location, unless you plan on working and living in that same location after PT school, if not, it should not be that significant of a factor as you will only be there for 2.5-3 years, spending most of that time studying and grinding out PT school.
At the end of the day, and you have taken into account all of these factors and where they stand with you, go to the PT school that you ultimately want to go to, but choose in a smart and calculated way with taking your future in mind.