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

How to pay for Andrews School? - Mino

Posted: Feb 10, 2015

If I could choose a school right now for coding, Andrews would be first choice. I was hoping that someone could share some suggestions for paying for the course. Right now AAPC is having a "sale" on their course which is now 50% off. From my research, though, I think that would not be my first choice, but is muc more affordable than Andrews. Has anyone used any of the Andrews payment plans? How did that work out for you? The cost seems prohibitive to me, but I think it is definitely the way to go. Thank you for your comments.

Payment - Check it out

[ In Reply To ..]
I think Andrews offers installment payments, you would need to speak with a school representative. You could get a bank loan and pay it back right away since as an Andrews grad you are certainly guaranteed a high paying job immediately upon completion of the course. Which program is half price, AAPC or Career Step? The other posts are confusing.

Guaranteed???? - LOL

[ In Reply To ..]
Not everyone who completes the course finds a job immediately or even at all. Depends on where you live and what jobs are available. How can you make such sweeping generalizations?

To the OP, check the jobs in your area, make sure you can find a job when you're done. If you want to do outpatient coding, go for the AAPC course. Then when you find a job and save some money, take Andrews and get the CCS to help you move into inpatient coding if that's what you want. Don't just believe the above poster that you are guaranteed a job. Take what you read on this board with a grain of salt, you never know who is posting. Do what's best for you.

Guarantee - Check it out

[ In Reply To ..]
That was sarcasm, sorry.

Andrews does offer payments, with no interest...sm - Current Andrews Student

[ In Reply To ..]
The "trick" is coming up with the down payment. If you take out a loan from a bank, etc., then you pay interest on the loan. In my case I was able to come up with the down payment amount, and I have been making small payments on the balance with no interest. Unless something has changed recently, I believe you have approximately two years to pay off the balance. If you're currently working, you shouldn't have too much trouble making the payments. Hope that helps a bit.

Just to point out ... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Just to point out, again, that coding courses do not cover the same things.

1595 + 1595 + 1595 + 895 = more than Andrews, so I am not seeing why you think it is "more affordable."

Sure, 1595 is less, but each of those AAPC courses covers only one-third (actually less than that) the material of Andrews. If that is all you want, then it is a good buy for you.

As well, if you can come up with 1595 for that, you can come up with the down payment for Andrews. They do offer a 2 year payment plan with no interest.

You need to consider the likelihood of getting a job when you finish, as well as your potential income after that. A half-off bargain is no bargain if you can't finish because there are no instructors or if you can only get a low-paying doctor's office job, or if you can't get a job at all.

Just an observation - Check it out

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT all of my life and went through a recent layoff due to closure of my department. I completed a coding program thinking that would be the obvious and easy transition for me but I gave up and instead ended up working as an HIM tech and doing transcription QA because truthfully I was overwhelmed by all the hoop jumping required in order to even be considered for a coding job. One certification? So sorry, that isn't enough, you need at least 3 in addition to 2 years of experience plus memberships in AHIMA and AAPC to keep your credentials current. The Only coding program that doesn't suck appears to be Andrews but I didn't take their course. I was in my late 50s when I started this and I guess for me it wasn't worth going through all of it when I had less than 10 years until I could retire for a job that probably contains more stress than MT, while I worked my way back up the pay scale. I know that all of you are trying to help new coders, but the information here changes daily in regard to educational, credentials and employment opportunities. Certainly Andrews is not the only viable option but nearly everyone who asks for advice here is steered in that direction. I am of the opinion that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I live in a rural area so breaking into coding would have been difficult for me anyway, but I just wanted to share. Everyone has a different situation but I would advise new students to know what you are getting into. Please go outside of this forum for advise and weigh all your options before spending any money. That is all I wanted to say, thanks for reading this.

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:) ...

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