OT School Cost Decoded

OT School Cost Decoded: Student Loans, Prestige & the Program Math Nobody Tells YouThe tuition number on an OT program’s website is NOT what OT school actually costs, and choosing a “prestigious” program without running the numbers can quietly shape your career for the next decade. In this episode of Occupied & Unlocked: The OT Student’s Playbook, Dr. L breaks down total OT-school cost, the August 2026 federal borrowing reality discussed in the episode, potential funding gaps, the prestige trap, NBCOT pass-rate trends, entry-level OT salaries, and the payment-to-salary math that can determine how much career flexibility you actually have after graduation.This isn’t about automatically choosing the cheapest MOT or OTD program. It’s about knowing what you’re buying before you emotionally commit to a school. Dr. L gives you a four-filter framework for evaluating OT programs using financial viability, NBCOT outcomes, accreditation status, and your projected loan-payment-to-salary ratio. Data first. Emotion second. Because the goal isn’t just getting into OT school, it’s becoming an occupational therapist with options. Federal loan information is time-sensitive; the discussion in this episode is explicitly time-stamped to August 2026, so always verify current requirements and borrowing rules.#OccupationalTherapy #OTSchool #PreOT #OTCAS #OTAdmissions #OccupationalTherapySchool #OTStudent #OTSchoolApplication #OTAdmissionsTips #PreOTStudent https://linktr.ee/mariposasconsulting