What would you do.... private or public?

Question

My major is Occupational Therapy. Because it is a rehab profession in the healthcare field, graduating from a public vs a private institution would not hinder me in finding a job with competitive pay.

I was accepted into a program, was in it for 7 weeks, completed the class, but because of extenuating circumstances, did not continue the summer quarter. That 7 weeks cost me $7,000. With interest over the next 10 years, the school calculated my costs to be $24k for that 7 weeks. Great school though.

On the other hand, the public state school has the same accredited program for $2,000/semester, but is not a well known university.

Would you pay $18k for an affordable, not-so-well-known institution OR pay $80k for the entire program at a well known school (which would eventually amount to $300k over the course of 10 years plus interest) Is it worth it?

Answer 1

Go to the best school pay for it,

Look NYU dental school is 48,000 a year and that was in 2002

Answer 2

It depends on what you want - if you have a dream company to work for or want to live in a specific city, then you should go for the most prestigious degree you can earn - which is most likely a private institution.  It will open a lot of doors for you as far as networking and beating out competition.  But education-wise, the two options are probably nearly equivalent (and that part is really up to how much you put into it anyway).

For my education, I went the private route and I would definitely say it was worth the extra money.

Answer 3

honestly, i think when you get into the business, people won't care too much about whether or not you went to a small public college. if you are great at your profession, love what you do, and have respect and care for your patients, you will be fine.

if you have the money to do the more expensive program, go for it.

but if you don't, or it would put a strain on your financially, then go for the good public one.

Answer 4

If you are able to afford paying off 300K, then go for it. Would you be able to even make that much money in a certain amount of time if you go to that college? Even though it looks good on an application somewhere, it's your work that should count. I'd go with the affordable one, at least you can pay that off.  

Answer 5

Is the "well known" school well known because it has a great OT program or because of unrelated reasons?  If it's the latter, I really don't see how going to that school will be more beneficial than going to the public school unless you have a non-academic reason (e. g. location) to prefer it.  If it really does have an amazing program, I might consider that school, but ultimately, as long as you get the experience, you will become a good OT.  It doesn't hurt to minimize your educational debt!  Good luck!

Answer 6

Compare the two programs and see how they look compared to one another. If they seem like they are tied in the education then it won't make much of a difference whether it is public or private as long as the program is good.