My (Hard) Decision.

Well, after weeks of debate, stress and decision making I have finally decided what offer I would like to accept for PT school!

When I wrote the last time, I was in the middle of a really hard time... choosing the right school for me. And after a LOT of consideration and time I decided on School B, the smaller, unranked school.

My reasoning?

1. This school is significantly less expensive tuition wise than School A.
2. School B gave me an amazing first impression & was cemented when I visited again for the interview.
3. School B had my interviewer personally call me to congratulate me on my acceptance and offered his direct line should I have any questions/comments.
4. School A couldn't even bother to send me anything official in the mail; all I received was an email.
5. School B is actually more well-known in this area than I gave it credit for; a lot of people sound impressed that I'm going to attend there.
6. I couldn't visit School A before the School B's deadline of acceptance and I wasn't willing to risk choosing a school I never visited.
7. I have heard from a lot of people that School A is very number oriented whereas School B really gets to know its students and helps them succeed as individuals, not numbers.
8. School B felt like it fit my personality better than School A; and I am excited about the curriculum.
   
9. And... as a bonus; School B is a 2.5 year program, not a 3 year program so I can graduate in December 2013 instead of May 2014. :)
   

My best advice to anyone having to make a decision is to take your time and don't rush into a decision... It really helped that I had a few weeks (I wish I would've had longer) to really sit down and talk about it with anyone/everyone, and put all the information down on paper. I also called someone from each school to talk more specifically about tuition, possible scholarships, clinical opportunities, etc after I received the acceptances to get more details or to clarify things that I had heard about previously.

It was really a curse with the multiple acceptances, but it taught me to be very thorough in decision-making and I 110% believe that I made the right choice for me.

The Curse of Multiple Acceptances.

So, I think that there is an unsaid curse when it comes to being accepted to multiple schools. Instead of putting myself out there and having one school tell me yes, I am having 2 schools tell me yes and now the decision is actually mine to make. I think I'd much rather prefer having the decision made for me... now I find myself panicking over "what if" I make the wrong choice.

I have a hard decision between attending the Highly Ranked School versus the Smaller Unranked School. I can't deny the highly ranked school; it's highly ranked for a reason... but, I can't help but remember the feeling of "home" and "friendliness" when I visited the unranked school.

I've been having a HUGE struggle with this and talking to just about everyone that I can; even those who are sick of listening to me. In fact, I even made a spreadsheet to weigh out the pros and cons. That has definitely helped a lot, and so did talking to the PT that encouraged me to go DPT instead of PTA.

The thing is, even after all of this, I am still debating. Back and forth, back and forth. That's how it's been... At first I was Highly Ranked School all the way! Then, I visited the Unranked School and was like "This is it!", but then I got accepted by the Highly Ranked School and so then I wanted to go there again, then as soon as I got my acceptance for the unranked school I wanted to go there! And back and forth I keep going.

I'm running out of time to decide. The deadline for accepting the offer to the Unranked School is December 15th and they are unable to give me an extension. The open house for the Highly Ranked School isn't until January 15th. Can I really choose to go to a school I've never visited?

This is driving me bat crazy... and so, back to the pros/cons spreadsheet it is... and anyone else who wants to listen to me ramble about the choice that I have to make.

Acceptance #2 - School B!!

WAHOO!! :) Got my ACCEPTANCE email from School B today! :) They are sending a packet of information & my official letter soon!

After the interview, I thought for sure I blew it, but I guess that maybe I'm not as crazy as I thought I was and they did see the potential in me! I am so relieved!

I can't believe it! Two acceptances! And just a month ago I was bawling my eyes out feeling like I wouldn't get in anywhere!