While I tend to make as many articles on this website applicable to PT students all over the globe, this article applies specifically to DPT students within the US. It is, however, still applicable to all students.

The Student Loan Crisis in the United States

Everything is bigger in America. Big trucks, big houses and… massive student loan debt.

With the student loan crisis in the US being a very real thing, it pains me to say that I’m currently one of the approximate fourty-three-million students (that’s 43,000,000) who collectively have more than one-and-a-half-trillion dollars ($1,500,000,000,000) in federal student loan debt within the country.
I guess you could call me a team player on this one – but the student-debt team is a team I don’t want to be a part of.

A quick note: I am not trying to steer anyone away from pursuing DPT school – all I’m trying to do is help provide resources to potential students, current students and DPT grads so that they can make the most well-informed choices for themselves. Information changes situations, and information that can help you NOT become a slave to a mountain of debt will surely change your life situation.

The quick takeaway of this article:

• Borrowed Future is an eight-episode podcast series that explores the rise in the student debt/loan crisis within the United States. Additionally, it explores the risks of taking out student loans and acquiring debt.

• The podcast interviews multiple, well-intentioned college and university students and graduates who (just like DPT students) are having to put their lives on hold and/or facing financial hardship as they try to pay back their student loans, despite graduating.

• The podcast interviews multiple experts who offer valuable insight on how to minimize the debt you acquire along with features about student loans and loan companies that you are likely not aware of.

• The podcast offers tips, insights and resources for how students can avoid the disaster of taking out student loans and becoming slaves to the loan providers.

• Overall, I would highly encourage future PT students and even current students to listen to this podcast series. NOT in order to try and impart fear into those who want to go to or are in PT school, nor to try and tell them to avoid PT school, but rather to be as well-informed as possible of the seriousness of student loans and how they can seriously hamper or ruin your life if not careful.

You can find the Borrowed Future podcast series on all major audio/podcast platforms such as Spotify, iTunes and so on.

Episode list:

Episode 1: What No One Told You About Student Loans
Episode 2: Is College Even Worth it?
Episode 3: What College Should You Go To? Avoiding the Traps of Higher Education
Episode 4: How Student Loans Ruined My Life
Episode 5: Sallie Mae is Not Your Friend
Episode 6: Don’t Bank on Student Loan Forgiveness
Episode 7: How to Pay for College Without Student Loans
Episode 8: Own Your Future: A Life Without Student Loan Debt
Each episode is about 45 minutes in length.

Who this podcast series is for?

While the podcast itself is intended for anyone considering or currently in post-secondary school within the US, for the context of this blog post, I would recommend this podcast to the following populations:

• Students looking to pursue their mandated undergraduate degree before being eligible to apply to PT school

• Students who have completed their undergraduate degree and are preparing to apply or have already been accepted to PT school

• Newly graduated PT’s who now must begin the journey of repaying their student loans (if they graduated with student loans).

Essentially, there is something for everyone within this podcast series.

This eight-episode podcast will enlighten and/or remind you that the game of student loans is a serious game to play.

While the intention of this article is NOT to tell the reader how to live their life when it comes to finances (you are certainly free to do what you want), I will say that I am becoming passionate about helping other students (PT or otherwise) understand as much as possible when it comes to the financial realities of paying for school and taking out student loans. Especially those individuals who are already looking for financial resources and are serious about minimizing their student loan debt.

Most students would agree that graduating with as little student loan debt is the best option possible and that the fewer loans you have to pay back the better.

DPT students would be wise to – IF NOTHING ELSE – break the toxic belief that graduating with massive and exorbitant amounts of student loan debt is simply a right of passage.

I’m not saying that I regret doing DPT school – nothing could be further from it.

I have student loan debt from DPT school and quite a decent amount. Thankfully, I’m on pace to pay it back at a fairly quick rate. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all new grad PT or DPT students.

But I am saying that debt is a serious issue, and is DPT’s are very vulnerable to getting our financial backs broken if we’re not careful. No doubt my student loans that I’m currently repaying are holding me back from the future that I want to create for myself.

Why you (and all DPT students) need to listen to this podcast

The biggest reason I would encourage others looking into pursue PT school to listen to this podcast is to simply avoid feeling blindsided anywhere down the road. Blindsided by anything the student loan companies may try to tell you or blindsided by the potentially overwhelming feeling of repaying your student loans.

Closing remarks

I was absolutely all-in when it came to going to do my DPT. Thankfully, as a mature, non-traditional student, I was able to draw upon money I had saved up from working full-time for nearly six years before heading back to school.

Even then, there were loans I had to take out. I moved across the continent which meant paying rent and all other monthly expenses that came along with it. Thankfully I lived rather frugally and applied for lots of scholarships and received some grants as well. This helped, but still have a decent amount of federal loans to pay back.

My hope is that you take time to do as much research when it comes to ALL THINGS pertaining to the financial costs of school. Make sure all your financial and loan decisions are well-informed and well thought out.

Use this podcast as one of many resources for learning how to better equip yourself for the financial decisions that will be presented to you when pursuing DPT school. The student loan crisis in the US is indeed a very real one, and NOT becoming a part of that statistic would be a life-giving move on your part.

Being a DPT is an absolutely amazing thing, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other degree out there. In no way do I want to talk you out of becoming one as well, if that is your truest desire. But, I don’t want you to make the mistake of becoming a slave to your schooling by having a ball-and-chain of debt welded around your ankle that will take a decade to pay back.