Do PT School Rankings Matter?

Do PT School Rankings Matter?

When we talk about university rankings, we usually mean the rankings done each year by US News & World Report. In this post, I want to talk about rankings specifically, not necessarily a school’s name or reputation. I think I could make a case that their rankings for undergrad matter to many people, but I can’t say the same for their PT school rankings. Part of this is based on the criteria behind the rankings. While the undergraduate rankings are based on 17 different factors and information from each school, the DPT program rankings are based solely on peer assessments.

If you care about rankings, who are the rankings for? Your future employer? Future patients? I don’t think most employers even know about the rankings. The same goes for patients. Most don’t even understand what a physical therapist’s education consists of, forget trying to figure out if their PT went to a highly ranked program. 

So, while there are many factors to consider when trying to pick which physical therapy schools to apply to and attend, US News’s rankings shouldn’t be one of them. 

But my colleague Joey has tried to subvert the conventional rankings system. His website through his startup, NuHealth Solutions, aims to inform PT school applicants so they can decide for themselves which program is best for them.

Joey is a practicing physical therapist, sits on his alma mater’s DPT program advisory board, and has a passion for empowering PTs and SPTs to elevate the field. He’s a firm believer that the “right” program for one person might not be right for another, but while “best” can be subjective, every decision should be informed and backed by data.

According to him, “The problem with the most popular PT school ratings and rankings is that they don’t offer a single detail about what one program does better than another. Consumers are just supposed to take the rater’s word for it. Not something I recommend when the difference can be tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. What’s more, a school’s rank is in no way linked to post-graduate success in the field of physical therapy. Success and performance in PT is so multifaceted (as well as subjective) that it is difficult to correlate outcomes to much of any one thing a program offers. The best we can do is provide you with as much information as possible and let you decide what program is best for you.”

NuHealth ratings are based on aggregate data to allow people to compare DPT programs in categories such as cost, faculty/class size, curriculum, fieldwork/hands-on learning, and graduate outcomes; all areas current students and practicing PT’s have reported as being important. This allows you to weigh a school’s strengths based on your own personal preferences. A custom report will also provide you with information on why certain categories are important to consider and provides even more insight about the specific programs to which you may be applying..

So if you’re applying to PT school soon, check out NuHealth to learn more about the PT schools you’re considering!