Is a More Expensive PA Program Worth It?
PA School Decision: Colorado Mesa vs. UNE vs. Drexel — would love advice from current students/alumni
I’m fortunate to be deciding between three PA programs: Colorado Mesa University (CMU), University of New England (UNE), and Drexel University, and I would really appreciate some outside perspective.
For context, I’ve been working in rural EMS in western Colorado for several years and ultimately hope to practice in rural/underserved medicine. Cost is definitely important to me, but I’m also trying not to make such a major decision based on money alone. My biggest priorities are quality of education, clinical rotations, faculty/student support, PANCE preparation, and overall quality of life during school.
Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO)
- Strong rural focus
- Close to where I currently live and work
- Small class size is a huge plus
- I could stay relatively close to my existing support system
- Biggest hesitation: newer/smaller program, so there is less long-term history to look at compared with the other two
University of New England (Portland, ME)
- Strong rural/underserved focus
- Clinical opportunities throughout New England
- I completed my Master of Biomedical Sciences through UNE, so I already have a positive impression of the university and its academic support
- Only 24 months, which is appealing
- Biggest hesitation: moving across the country and the higher recent attrition numbers
Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
- Large academic medical environment with potentially a lot of clinical exposure
- Longest clinical phase of the three
- Philadelphia would offer a very different patient population and healthcare environment from what I’m used to
- Biggest hesitations: cost, much larger class size, relocation, and being responsible for some clinical relocation expenses
Right now, CMU seems like the most logical choice on paper. It is approximately $23k less than UNE and $50k less than Drexel, has a very small class size, excellent recent PANCE/attrition numbers, two electives, and fits extremely well with my interest in rural medicine. I also genuinely like Grand Junction and would be close to my current community/support system.
However, I don’t want proximity and cost to make me overlook something that UNE or Drexel could offer educationally or clinically that would make the additional expense worthwhile...
I know there probably isn’t a “wrong” choice here, but I’d love to hear other perspectives rather than relying entirely on websites and spreadsheets. Thanks!