What to ask at the schools' info sessions?

I tried finding a picture of a cute nerdy girl in a thinking pose but thought this pics was much cuter.... on to the subject matter.

It was really important to me to grill the faculty at the schools that I'm going to commit all this tuition money to and find out if I am going to enjoy learning with them and in their environment for the next 3 years. Below is a list of questions I came up with based on reading a bunch of forums from students that have gone through the process.

1. How long has the program been around? How long has it been graduating students with a DPT?

Its good to know how long the school has been developing their DPT program.

2. How many clinical affiliations? What is the total amount of hours?

Some schools boast to have 350+ affiliations. Some schools can actually give you a list like on Hunter's website. You can gauge how organized the faculty is by how they answer how many clinical affiliations. As for hours, most programs are all pretty similar around 35-40 weeks. You just want to know if there are any programs that deviate from this and why.

3. Do you get to pick your affiliation? How do they get selected? What is your process in selecting locations for affiliations and assessing clinical instructors?

This helped me understand how much control that you have in picking your affiliations. At some schools, you get the feeling that you get whatever they hand to. Other schools will actively help you get an affiliation in your hometown (say if you moved from Cali and wanted to go back home for your affiliations). On the most part, from the programs that I visited, it seemed if you actively seek a certain affiliation, the school will try to accommodate it, esp. if you are persistent. But info session is a good time to ask to see how the faculty responds to needs of their students.

4. How does the program prepare the students for the licensure exam?

This one is a BIGGIE! Your education will mean nothing if you don't pass this exam. You want to see how active the program is in helping you pass this exam. Do they have review classes? Does their testing/curriculum reflect the type of questions on the licensure exam? How do students study for this exam in your school? Before you pick a school, you want to know how much the school will prepare you for this exam.

5. Does the faculty still practice? How much?

I hate the idea of being taught by a person who does not regularly treat patients. Its just not practical to learn from someone that does not have real-life experience with the material that you are learning. That person cannot gauge if the course material is pertinent to the issues of today's patients.

6. What is the pass rate of the licensure exam of the last class? (Average in 2009 is 87% of First-Time Candidates – Graduates of US Accredited Programs)

This is obvious. Again, you cannot practice until you pass the licensure exam. You want to know how good the program is in preparing their students for the exam. By knowing the pass rate, you can tell if the program produces

7. What is the graduation rate of the past few classes? (Average in 2009 is 88% of First-Time Candidates – Graduates of US Accredited Programs)

You want to see how much many people cross the finish line.

8. What is the class size? How many apply?

Then you can see how much attention you will get.