carolinagirl1294 Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I am deciding between two PA programs - George Washington (big name, great program, but expensive tuition) and a relatively new public school where I would have in-state tuition (~$55K). The public school is affiliated with a major academic hospital and also one of the best public universities. However, it has provisional accreditation and no PANCE pass rates yet. Money is real, so I am strongly considering the in-state school. It has name recognition, but definitely not the status of GW. I have talked to students who had good experience on clinicals and really enjoyed the program. Perks of the program include a very small class size and a dissection cadaver lab. Perks of GW include being close to my parents (I could live at home during clinical year) and standing out from other PA students. At the end of the day, a PA is a PA. Is it worth the $30K+ difference in tuition and cost of living in DC to have the prestige and guarantee of a solid education ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Short answer, no. You'll likely end up teaching most of the stuff to yourself anyway no matter where you go. Remember, PA program's are professional degree programs. The information doesn't vary from institution to institution, just the way it is presented. There is no "guarantee" at GW, and what will make you stand out is your clinical ability and rapport with colleagues - not the program name on your resume. That being said, if you live at home you'd be saving a ton of money, and that might offset the difference in tuition cost. Overall, go wherever you feel most comfortable and feel you'd have the greatest amount of resources to succeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALC0313 Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 17 hours ago, carolinagirl1294 said: At the end of the day, a PA is a PA. Is it worth the $30K+ difference in tuition and cost of living in DC to have the prestige and guarantee of a solid education ? Nope. Once you're a PA-C no one in the real world cares where you went to PA school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Go to GW. While you make a case for the other school, GW is a established and strong program with institutional support. The networking opportunities are significant along with enjoying what a program like that has to offer. Plus ability to live at home without cost is huge and will result in savings that can offset the cost of GW. Good luck.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 No. I wish I would have gone to the community college with add-on masters, I rotated with several of their students. The tuition was half of mine, and their last 4-week rotation was an intensive PANCE review so I'd be willing to bet nearly all of them walked in the test center on the 8th day and aced it with zero stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinagirl1294 Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 11 hours ago, south said: No. I wish I would have gone to the community college with add-on masters, I rotated with several of their students. The tuition was half of mine, and their last 4-week rotation was an intensive PANCE review so I'd be willing to bet nearly all of them walked in the test center on the 8th day and aced it with zero stress. Are you referring to the Maryland community college program? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 I turned down my interview invite to GWU for this very reason. I couldn't justify paying the extremely high cost of living and almost $90,000 tuition to end up with the same degree as everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdabrowski Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I am in a similar situation about cost with programs after finding out one I am accepted to does not provide student health insurance and I am trying to balance cost of tuition with how much it could cost me to provide me own insurance. I may pick a different program due to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA003 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 No. I wish I would have gone to the community college with add-on masters, I rotated with several of their students. The tuition was half of mine, and their last 4-week rotation was an intensive PANCE review so I'd be willing to bet nearly all of them walked in the test center on the 8th day and aced it with zero stress.Which program are you referring to?Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GratefulPA29 Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Had a similar debate with Duke and recommend speaking with graduates of the program (a few years out preferably) - can help get the rose colored glasses off and give you a good idea of what you’d be facing post grad in terms of loans but also in terms of connections (alumni network) and job placement. It’s also important to know that even established programs can have hiccups during clinical years, as preceptors retire/move on and the larger class sizes of many top-ranked PA programs means you’d probably have less flexibility in terms of where you rotate. You can’t go wrong, really - good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajames Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Congratulations on your acceptance and the ability to choose! I am in a similar situation, and what really put things into perspective for me is making a cost analysis on a word document with the associated finances. It showed me that if I were to move at home, I could save myself 36k and lower the cost of one of my programs to less than the one I thought was less expensive. Still, I am looking to about 100k vs 108k in the end but originally it was 136k vs 108k. When looking at cost, the factors I decided to also include are accrued interest, the amount that piles onto your loan and becomes your principal if not paid off before deferment. As a graduate student, you are allowed two different types of loans and these are the Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan (max of 20,500/school year, 6% interest rate, 1.066 loan fee), and the graduated plus loan (no max, 7% interest, and 4.264% loan fee). Since I was able to lower the COA to an equal amount, I am leaning toward the program closer to home because the other one is an hour away from my current location and I'm uncertain if I could make the drive daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmero Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 (edited) On 10/19/2017 at 1:54 PM, HanSolo said: Short answer, no. You'll likely end up teaching most of the stuff to yourself anyway no matter where you go. Remember, PA program's are professional degree programs. The information doesn't vary from institution to institution, just the way it is presented. There is no "guarantee" at GW, and what will make you stand out is your clinical ability and rapport with colleagues - not the program name on your resume. That being said, if you live at home you'd be saving a ton of money, and that might offset the difference in tuition cost. Overall, go wherever you feel most comfortable and feel you'd have the greatest amount of resources to succeed. Do you think that this case for all PA programs ? I wonder if thats the case with all programs. Do you think higher prestigious schools like Duke, unc or other higher ranks schools have better teaching Edited April 15, 2020 by lmero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearDown Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Staring down 195k in 3 months when I graduate ---- If I had a cheaper option I would run like as fast as I possibly could to other option. Respect is earned through knowledge and rapport. This is only guaranteed through self and not any program, including Duke. In fact - entitlement is quickest way to blow the respect. Not saying this is you but it truly does not matter and will not grant you more $$ upon graduation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnesotaprepa Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 I would go to GWU because the program experience is really important to me. I was lucky enough to get to choose between two excellent programs (one of them was GWU!) so I did choose the cheaper option. But if I were in your shoes, I would choose GWU. I have talked to enough people who had a terrible time in a new program because they were "guinea pigs" and things were constantly changing and rotations were sub-par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD2012 Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 On 4/15/2020 at 12:46 AM, lmero said: Do you think that this case for all PA programs ? I wonder if thats the case with all programs. Do you think higher prestigious schools like Duke, unc or other higher ranks schools have better teaching Pretty much. It is impossible for lectures to teach you everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarwinStarwin Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Disorganized schools teach you to fight scrappy. Prestigious organized schools may offer better resources. Either way, you'll be fine [emoji846] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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