A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

I DID IT! I enrolled in DeVry University! I'm pretty excited too. - SM

Posted: Apr 03, 2012

I have been talking about going back to school for years now. Then I did the whole researching of schools and still couldn't make the decision. Well, last week was the worst week of my life. I got fired from my main job, by main I mean the one I carried my benefits through (I always have 2 jobs because of the precarious nature of our the MT industry). My 19-year-old son took my car in the middle of the night while I was asleep without asking and totalled it.

So after having a total mental breakdown, screaming, crying, and just vegging. I got up Monday morning and said I'm taking control of my life. I worked twice as hard at my remaining job and made excellent money for 8 hours of work and then enrolled at DeVry. Filled out all the financial aid paperwork, admission paperwork, took the assessment tests today, and will start classes on April 30th.

Of course, I will have student loans when everything is said and done, but I will also have a new career with a degree in health information technology. I will be able to take the CCS and RHIT exams when I'm through which, after my other college credits transfer, will be in about a year.

I just wanted to toot my horn today instead of ranting like I normally do!

YEAH! Good for you!! - bp

[ In Reply To ..]
Congratulations!! You should be so proud for taking control of your life! I am so happy for you and wish you the best!

DeVry University - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
Congrats!! I just graduated from DeVry University (Chicago) in October of last year. I majored in Web Graphic Design!!! Now, I do that on the side in addition to transcription. After I was laid off my main job in 2009, I decided to go back to school. Its expensive, but its a great school. I took both online and on campus classes. I like the fact that the on campus classes are small. Many blessings!

Woohoo! - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Congratulations! This will be a great degree for you to have and it will open many doors for you. I finish my health information technology degree next month and will sit for the RHIT. I've already been offered a job, conditional that I get my RHIT certification next month, and the pay is awesome, benefits are awesome and room for growth. Good for you!

Congrats, and please be sure you . . . - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Get the transfer credits agreed to IN WRITING and preferably already put on your transcript BEFORE you register for class. If you do not, you may find that they don't transfer and that you will incur up to twice as much debt as you intended. Credit transfers are a major source of student complaints.

The rest of these suggestions are not intended to disparage the school or you. They are legitimate concerns you need to address before you incur one cent of a loan. Some of the things I will say may be scary, but you need to understand how scary they are so that you will understand how hard you have to work in this program. You cannot settle for just barely passing, or even a B. You need to excel and may need to learn EVEN MORE than they are teaching if you intend to pass that CCS. That is your best shot at a well-paying job, so you need to aim for that above all else.

Check to be sure that your debt burden after interest does not exceed 1 year's pay in your CURRENT job. You are obligated to pay those loans back no matter if you finish or not, pass a certification exam or not, or decide you hate HIT. Many debt-burdened students describe their situation as "a death sentence."

Be sure you understand what kinds of jobs will be available to you in your area with just the degree and no certification. Can you get a job with just the degree? You might need to. What is the pay for HIT jobs in your area? Not the highest jobs, but the lowest, because you have to plan on the worst-case scenario, not the rosy recruiter view.

Check to be sure you understand what the pass rate on the RHIT exam means. More people fail it than pass it. What is DeVry's pass rate on that exam?

Check to be sure the program prepares you for the CCS. How many graduates took it and passed? DeVry has an AHIMA-accredited program. Those programs normally do not prepare you for the CCS, feeling that 3 years of work experience is required to learn enough to pass it. They might prepare you for the CCA. What is the school's pass rate on that? If you do not want to work as a coder, the CCA/CCS issue won't be a problem for you.

I went to DeVry but I'm a - Dropout

[ In Reply To ..]
I was taking the HIT classes but found the credits to be so expensive that I could only take 1 class per session. I transferred to my local community college where I could offered more credits per semester.

My concentration sounds different than yours really. I wanted to be a medical coder and study for my coding certifications. I did enjoy my classes at DeVry, except the cost that is.

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