Western Michigan vs. Wayne State

[PAmomof3]

Hello

Of course I am planning on applying to both schools (Western and Wayne). I would just like to know, in your opinion, why did you choose Wayne State University? How is Wayne State University's PA program (the good, the bad....). It seems like in doing the research that Western has better test scores on the PANCE. However, it seems that because Wayne State is by the medical center in Detroit, that more job opportunities are there. Feedback is appreciated

[PAtoB]

Wayne State's been No. 1 on my wishlist since day 1 for a few reasons, two of the biggest being: I don't want to relocate, and value - like Detroit-Mercy or Toledo, you get to be trained on a medical campus, but at a fraction of the cost of those programs, and all 3 programs are generally ranked within each other. I don't know anything about Western's program besides its PANCE rate, which is very, very similar to WSU's, imho, and its tuition cost being significantly higher than Wayne State's tuition.

[PAtoB]

I just compared the PANCE overall pass rates over the last 5 years and last year, and Western's 5-year is about 98 percent, compared to WSU's 96.8 percent. But for 2012, Western's first-time pass rate is an alarmingly low 88 percent, compared to WSU's 2012 first-time rate of 94 percent.

[rpackelly]

Look carefully at PA Program tuitions in Michigan.  Given that all the programs but one are state schools, there is an amazing variation of tuition, from very economical to very high.   There are no bad programs but man, are there some different debt levels out there.