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 Grand Valley State, Grand Rapids Community College, and Oakland University.
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 Wayne State, University of Michigan-Flint, Oakland University, and Andrews.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Andrews, Wayne State, and Lansing Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Andrews, University of Michigan-Flint, Wayne State, and Central Michigan University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Andrews, Gogebic Community College, and Wayne State.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Andrews, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State, and Wayne State.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Grand Valley State.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Andrews.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Andrews, Wayne State, Grand Valley State, and Alpena.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Grand Valley State University • Traverse City, MI
Studying Health Science (completion in 2010)
• 8/7/2011
"Grand Valley is a great school. I got a great degree and had fun while doing so."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | You are able to get a great degree. You also meet a lot of great people. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | A lot of people look forward to going to Grand Valley. It's a popular school in Michigan. |
| Program Quality | 10 | It is a very fun school with a great learning environment. |
| Instruction | 10 | I feel the instruction made me very qualified for my job. I learned everything I needed to know. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It wasn't the easiest course, but it wasn't impossible either. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There is a good mixture of hands on learning and book work. There isn't too much of one. That way you are really learning the material. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | You are able to take online classes. You are also able to take evening courses if needed. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There is a lot of academic support, such as tutors. Media resources are also always available. |
| Social Life | 8 | School spirit is great. There are always a lot of parties and social interaction. |
| Placement Services | 9 | It wasn't very hard finding a job after graduating. I was hired within months. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I would say it was fairly normal. I work with some fellow alums. |
Grand Valley State University • Allendale, MI
Studying Physical Therapy (completion in 2010)
• 10/29/2011
"I am very satisfied with my school and education. Again, the only area where I feel my education could be improved would be the neurological evaluation class - it could be a bit stronger."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend, and do recommend, Grand Valley for anyone considering a career in physical therapy. I have no regrets about choosing it at all! |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I've heard very good things about the GVSU PT program from other PTs and health-care workers. In fact, the company I work for specifically stated that they like to hire GV grads compared to grads from other Michigan schools because of our knowledge base. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I was very prepared to take my boards and practice. I did feel our Neurological evaluation courses could have been a bit stronger. |
| Instruction | 9 | I learned so much (again, neurological evaluation could be a stronger class) and felt very prepared by the curriculum. I felt GVSU did a great job of preparing me for the clinical world. |
| How Difficult | 6 | I felt the course-work was difficult, but by no means was it impossible. I also think the amount of work at the beginning of the program was heavy, but it also was a good way to "weed out" those who realized this was not the program or career for them. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Of course there was reading, studying, and homework, but so much of the program was very hands-on oriented and involved hands-on learning. After all, you cannot be a good PT if you never touch anyone! We practiced each and every technique multiple times on our classmates. Each of our classes had a hands-on lab associated with it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | It is fairly inflexible. Classes are scheduled as it works out for the university and professors and we generally did not have many options as far as times of classes since we were all often in the same class at the same time (there were 40 people per class in my program). All classes were offered in class or lab; there were no online options nor weekend options. It would not be possible to hold down a full-time job, or even a busy part-time job during the day, and complete this program. This program is your job. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Accessibility of professors was absolutely wonderful. They often provide additional office hours, will answer email everyday (multiple times per day), and some even gave out their cell phone numbers if they were out of the office or out of time. Also, since your advisor is a professor in the PT program, they are readily available too. GV also has amazing facilities for their PT program with great labs, including a hospital simulation lab, mock patient labs, and all high-low tables. Computers, libraries, medial resources, and labs were always available to us, and we were allowed to get our own key cards each semester as well so we had access to any tools or resources we needed. |
| Social Life | 9 | Grand Valley often has many events going on each week/weekend and a great football team to cheer for! People are very friendly. Also, while in the PT program, our entire class became quite close and would often hang out - study parties, movie parties, dinners, both in and out! |
| Placement Services | 4 | As mentioned above, it is nice that we get emails forwarded to us about job postings, but I don't feel there is really any other assistance as far as job placement. However, many of us were offered jobs through our clinicals or through networking we had done ourselves. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I feel it is probably average; there are emails updating us on job postings, which is nice. Also, there's a facebook page so everyone has the chance to stay in contact. |
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