Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Physical Therapists
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Northeastern and UMass Lowell.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider UMass Lowell and American International.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Simmons College and MGH Institute of Health Professions.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider BU, Northeastern, and UMass Lowell.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of BU, Northeastern, American International, and Simmons College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of BU, Northeastern, American International, and UMass Lowell.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Northeastern and BU.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Northeastern, BU, and Simmons College.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at MGH Institute of Health Professions, BU, Simmons College, and Northeastern.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Boston University • Boston, MA
Studying DPT (completion in 2010)
• 5/7/2011
"I loved my experience. the one and only draw back is how expensive school is (approximately $50k per year)."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend BU. The program is fantastic. The professors are leaders in the field, are very involved, and love teaching. It was an amazing experience. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I believe BU is ranked pretty highly for PT schools. It was one of the first schools to offer a DPT program. |
| Program Quality | 9 | BU was fantastic. I came out feeling very prepared for the real world and a real job. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors are very willing to work with you and answer questions. They also really enjoy getting to know their students which was a good change of pace from undergraduate school where professors wanted nothing to do with you. |
| How Difficult | 9 | There was a great deal of work. Classes were difficult, but I really feel like they prepared me well. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's very hands on. There are many practicals, and these can be very overwhelming. But you'll quickly realize that you learn a lot more in these hands-on classes that you do in traditional classrooms. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The schedule was pretty rigid and classes were only offered once per year. Therefore, one had to be able to keep up with all the material. Summer classes are offered only because it is part of the three year program. There are no opportunities to take classes on the weekends or online. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Sargent College has its own physical therapy facility and there are opportunities in the school's amazing gym facility to work with the PTs there. They have their own cadaver lab on campus and you have all your classes in one building so you are not running all over Boston to go to school. People form their own study groups and the professors always have office hours and are available by email. |
| Social Life | 5 | Being a professional student, I did not go to any parties or too many school-run events. Boston does have many bars and venues for outside of school activities. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I did not have to use the school's job placement or career services. From what I have heard, though, they are very good. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The school offers opportunities to help you find a job by connecting you to past graduates. Everyone from my graduating class also stays in touch through a Facebook group. |
Simmons College • Boston, MA
Studying Physical Therapy (completion in 2014)
• 7/10/2011
"I'm pretty darn happy with my choice of school. I don't really know where else I would have liked to go this close to home."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a good program if this is what you really want to do. They know how to teach it. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | The program is definitely well known. |
| Program Quality | 9 | It's a very hands-on program. Also, the instructors were knowledgeable in the latest techniques. |
| Instruction | 6 | I didn't always feel like I got personal attention. However, I definitely learned a lot from the professors. |
| How Difficult | 7 | We had to learn a great deal of related biological sciences. It was definitely a challenge to remember everything. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's a very hands-on program in general. I think some of the biological studies could only be learned from books, though. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | The program was very medical in nature. There wasn't a lot of room for much else. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The facilities were pretty good. I commuted after my first year so I didn't experience them as much. |
| Social Life | 7 | Commuting made things harder. I did meet some cool people and became friends with some. |
| Placement Services | 6 | I didn't have a great deal of contact with career services. They emailed us some useful information occasionally. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | It's a pretty good network. I wouldn't say that they are very interested in being contacted, though. |
Simmons College • Boston, MA
Studying Physical Therapy (completion in 2009)
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend my school to those who can financially afford it. I would suggest that those who depend on student loans think twice about attending this school. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Everywhere I go, when I mention where I went to school, people say they heard good things about my school. I have encountered many PTs from Simmons in my career so far. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I received a good education; however, I encountered a few unprofessional professors/university staff. I feel that more could have been done to help maximize my educational experience. |
| Instruction | 7 | Some professors were better than others. There were many educators who were very dedicated and interested in helping in any way possible. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The workload was heavy and a lot of it was "independent study" time. The most challenging thing was having to learn about all areas of physical therapy - including the areas you have no interest in. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Sometimes I wish there had been more hands-on learning. Sometimes there weren't enough "book" studies to supplement the hands-on stuff. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Individual classes were not flexible. However, when I became pregnant during my 2nd year of graduate school, they were flexible enough for me to decrease the number of classes taken during the rest of the semesters to finish the program. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Updated library, good access to advisors, tutors, study groups, etc. Laboratories and most classrooms were outdated and falling apart. |
| Social Life | 8 | School in general was lacking school spirit. Within the PT program, social events were plentiful. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I don't think we had such services/assistance. However, the academic advisor was very helpful in helping polish my resume and going over interview strategies. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Alumni network was always thrown out there in words, but there was no real talk of how to get in touch with alumni. If you happened to know them while in school (upper class) or they were friends of friends, they were very helpful; however, otherwise, there was no education on how to contact alumni. |
University Of Massachusetts - Lowell • Lowell, MA
Studying Physical Therapy (completion in 1998)
• 2/21/2012
"It gave me everything I needed to start a whole new career. Now I own a successful clinic, when I didn't even really know the field before going to UML."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Absolutely. I was so well-prepared by the program, and the rotation students are so well-prepared. You can't argue with results. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It's a hidden gem in an area where there are a lot of well-known programs in well-known universities. Students leave prepared -- I even take students from UML for their last rotation at my clinic, and often extend job offers when they graduate. |
| Program Quality | 10 | They had excellent professors. There was a wide variety of knowledge, and there was a great willingness to share knowledge with the students. Also, as a state university, it was a great bargain for the quality of education. |
| Instruction | 9 | Some areas of instruction could be expanded upon (ie, TMJ and vestibular issues). Otherwise, we were well prepared. |
| How Difficult | 8 | It was a lot of information in a short period of time that you were expected to grasp quickly. The sheer volume was challenging and could be overwhelming. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a very strong balance. We had both classroom and lab time. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The class is so small that there can be minimal classes. Although there are no weekend options, there are online options for some classes. (Or at least, there were. Now I don't think the online classes are actually an option.) |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | It's been a long time and things may have changed... but I was always able to get to the professors. We had enough classroom and lab space, but I don’t remember anything about the academic advisors or study support. |
| Social Life | 7 | I had three young kids at home, so I didn't have much of a social experience. But we did okay within the program. |
| Placement Services | 3 | There is minimal assistance. You can sign up for email blasts, but that is often the extent of support. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | The alumni association is strong for the larger areas of study like engineering and nursing. The PT program is small, so the alumni association gives it very little attention. Most who continue to network do so independently of the association. |
Boston University • Boston, MA
Studying Physical Therapy At Sargent College BU (completion in 2002)
• 3/18/2012
"I loved everything about BU. It gave me all I needed for life."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is the best job ever. Working with athletes and training. Staying in amazing shape. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Sargent College at BU is phenomenal. Only good things are said about it. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The teachers were absolutely amazing. The work that I had to do prepared me greatly. |
| Instruction | 9 | Excellent teachers. They gave me all the right training. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Sargent required intense work. I had to take a huge number of courses. The workload was incredible. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We did everything - training with athletes and studying in our books. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | It wasn't too difficult to get the classes I needed. Some nights were tough. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The gym and facilities are amazing. They are beautiful and well financed. |
| Social Life | 9 | Though I had a huge amount of work, I was always able to remain social. This kept me going. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I am working in Georgia. It is a hotspot for physical activity. Physical therapy is thriving here. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | BU alumni are located all over the country. The world is filled with connections. |
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