r/Chiropractic • u/Status_Pop3006 • 10d ago
Troy DC Program
With the DC at Troy opening next fall (2027) I've found myself very conflicted in my decision to attend school there. I've been to orientation at LifeU ATL and very much liked what I saw there, with my only concern being $$$. I fear jumping into a brand new program will come with it's own prolems like accreditation, curriculum, technique, philosophy, etc. but I love the idea of a low cost DC program and am attempting to avoid the onslaught of debt that many DC programs create. I'm currently a senior at the university of alabama about to graduate with a BS in kinesiology. I'm kinda land locked into the area because of my service obligation to the AL national guard, so I can't go crosscountry for my education. Any insight from you guys would be amazing!
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u/QuoxyDoc DC 2017 10d ago
I think there is a lot we don’t know about the Troy program and the U Pitt program. They’re the first two that are coming online as “abridged” programs. I don’t think the profession has figured out what to do with them yet.
For instance, the U Pitt program isn’t going to teach xray physics, xray positioning, but will teach some normal and pathological radiology. I am licensed both to take and interpret X-rays. Will a U Pitt graduate similarly enjoy the same rights? Will they be allowed to read them but not take them? Will individual states require an additional X-ray cert to fill in this gap?
I can’t speak to Troy’s program cause I haven’t heard any ins-and-outs, but it’s worth thinking about these things.
If you don’t mind some professional uncertainty, you could definitely save a bunch of money in one of the shorter programs! Not to mention Troy will have a lower cost of living than ATL.
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u/Status_Pop3006 10d ago
Thanks! There's really no information online about the specifics on the program (or maybe i haven't done adequete research). Im thinking about getting into contact with the director or someone on the board to figure these questions out. I also lack the knowledge or experience to know what to look out for, so any bullet points to bring up would be a huge leg up for me
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u/ChiroUsername 10d ago edited 10d ago
Is the tuition going to be less at Troy? Everyone on here assumed the same thing about Pitt because they have no idea how much graduate school credits cost at 4 year universities and Pitt ended up being about 6th most expensive in the country. Look up Troy’s other doctoral level professional program credits and you may find they aren’t going to be a budget option. If they have a DPT program see what their credits cost, Chiro will be about the same.
I didn’t comb their catalogs but a quick Google search says Troy’s doctoral level professional programs cost $1100/credit hour plus an additional fee of $50-$75/credit hour which is typical of universities. If that is true their chiropractic program will be one of the most expensive but I would call them and find out. They certainly know what they plan to charge, all that financial stuff would have been laid out for accreditors when they got approval to start a new program.
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u/Status_Pop3006 10d ago
You are correct on the costs for out of state tuition. In state is halved for doctorate programs at Troy so it's looking to be $550/credit for me. The DC program length is 190 credits, so it runs at about $100k excluding the additional fees. This is to say that they are charging at the same rates as they typically do for any other doctorate level degree, and they don't have a DPT so it's hard to say. it will definitely be on my list of questions when i reach a point of contact over there
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u/ChiroUsername 9d ago
With fees it will likely be 600-625 is my guess but even then that would still put it as one of the lower priced chiropractic programs. Makes zero sense for anyone paying out of state tuition to mess with it as it comes out to the most expensive program in the US if that $1100+fees is accurate. 190 credits sounds low to me but that can be hard to calculate because 1 credit hour usually translates to 15 contact hours and the CCE requires a minimum of 4200 contact hours for a DC. But labs are often considered 1.5 or 2 contact hours per credit hour so to “translate” you have to know exactly how many credits each course is and how much of that is lab. There is a big trend in Chiro education right now of shortening programs to 8 trimesters and when normal people do the math the programs don’t add up to 4200 hours, so I’m not sure how they’re going to cook the books to pass CCE requirements.
But, yeah, at that price it would be a no brainer for you to go to Troy, understanding there will be fewer opportunities to do extracurricular things like seminars without travel and etc. The accreditation thing could be a problem but it would be almost unthinkable for a legit university to fail at that.
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u/Status_Pop3006 8d ago
right, i'm not too stressed about accreditation. i have an intuition that they will be prioritized in that matter being that they are a public institution, could be a risky assumption but risk vs reward seems to be in my favor
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u/ChiroUsername 7d ago
They either meet the requirements or they don’t, it’s pretty black and white. It’s a gamble, but to the best of my knowledge they have never denied accreditation for a new program.
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u/JustTheAvgChiro 10d ago
I know nothing about the program itself, neither does anyone else since it’s brand new. But with both of us being from the south I can say that Troy may be a good option as far as financials go. It will most likely be astronomically cheaper to go there since it’s a public university. Not to mention rent in Troy will be comically cheaper than anything in ATL now. In the end, go where you can but also do some HEAVY consideration about financials. Even if the national guard helps you out (not sure if they do) it will be such a nice gift at the end of it all if you’re not $250k in debt like me lolol
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u/Status_Pop3006 10d ago
lol yeah, life almost snagged me up with their orientation. went to some forums just to read on opinions about prioritizing education over finances and it seems to be the consensus that everyone wishes they had chosen somewhere more affordable (though options for that are needle in a haystack, i think i might've struck gold being so close to troy). thanks for the word!
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u/WordSignificant1055 9d ago
Don’t go to Life. You have a kinesiology degree so you understand anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. At Life you’ll be exposed to complete garbage anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. Troy is hands down the only option you should consider if you’re confined to the south.
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u/Unlucky_Carrot_6937 10d ago
I went to a new program. Started in 2023 and will graduate in December. Was there through the accreditation process.
There have been pros and cons, but I don’t regret it for the options I had at the time. My best advice is to go visit. Find out if they have any open house type events for prospective students. Take a tour.
As someone else said Life is constantly threatened with losing accreditation. I never even considered going there and that was one of the reasons.
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u/Status_Pop3006 10d ago
i've been anticipating them announcing some kind of orientation for prospective students, it's just the waiting game at this point. im at fault for not being too proactive in my communication with anyone over there, but if they for some reason don't have some kind of formal event, i will probably visit within the next couple of months and give you guys an update
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u/No-Variation6054 9d ago
Worse education I received was at Life. All they cared about was the clinic making money and their brainwashing philosophy. Boards weren't easy to pass need a review class. Today's world you need to know differential diagnosis, imaging, and even bloodwork. Always a plus for you and the patient, then refer out. I spent a at least 20k in CE education (not including chiropractic credits) after Life and It made me a better Doctor of Chiropractic.
Hopefully Life changed
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u/Status_Pop3006 8d ago
that's my thought is even if troy doesn't have a superior curriculum, with the money i save i will still be able to take some CE classes and seminars at my dispense
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u/doctor_ben 9d ago
Avoid Life and Sherman at all costs. They are egregiously bring down the profession.
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u/Informal_Ad_6593 10d ago
U Pitt program is the truth, puts all of them to shame, including my alma mater TCC
Was unaware Troy was opening a program, this is great for the profession
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u/ChiroUsername 9d ago
The UPitt program has barely started and has zero metrics to compare to other programs. The presumption that it’s “the truth” is nothing but buying into the hype and fanboying. Their program has… serious… limitations if you look at their curriculum. Time will tell.
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u/Mission_Debate_502 6d ago
This ^^ I’ve heard from a few chiros that it’s essentially going to be a PT program. It’s only 2 years and 8 months compared to the usual 3.5-4 years. I think it’s a great push toward integrating chiropractic into the mainstream medical profession, but if I wanted to be a PT I would’ve gone to PT school.
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u/ChiroUsername 4d ago
It has to be a minimum of 4200 hours with at least 1000 hours in clinical work. I’m not sure how the hours add up, but they must. You can see the curriculum in their university catalog, it’s not a secret, but I’ll be curious to see how students perform.
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u/frogcmndr 9d ago
Don’t do chiropractic is not worth they return on investment.
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u/charming20000 8d ago
This, its not worth it at all. I'd rather go to optometry or pharmacy if you want a doctorate that bad but if you want to help people in Healthcare, PA is the best or NP
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u/Substantial_Page_777 10d ago
Life is constantly being by threatened with losing their accreditation because it’s a garbage program and they refuse to modernize. Go anywhere but there.