Advises? U of Toronto vs U of Waterloo pharmacy school?

[BubbleDIA]

Hello, everyone.

Since I have been given offer to both schools, I am having difficult time choosing between two schools.

I haven't made the comparison chart by myself. I actually got from other thread that I forget now, but there are few things in my mind.

The most important thing is getting employed ASAP after getting diploma and license.
2nd being able to work in hospitals in more clinical setting.

Factors Influencing me to choose U of Toronto
1. I live in downtown Toronto, close to U of T, and I have a lot of stuff. So, not having to move is great plus.
2. U of Toronto has ranks higher in general, pharmacy school is much older and have history.

• But I am not sure if ranking is of great importance when it comes to searching for jobs. Any inputs about rankings in Canada and how they affect job search? I feel like employers from pharmacy, hospitals, and maybe university (since I wanna teach part time later on if possible) don't really care where you graduated, but instead be more concerned about experience and soft skills.

3. Maybe education quality is better? Not too sure about this. Help! Current U of T students!
4. Close to many hospitals for clinical experience but landing a position there might be highly competitive since class size is 240 people.
5. School facilities are close together in main campus. Easy to walk to hospitals, libraries, and school athletic centers.
6. Toronto has a lot more things to do (eat, entertainment, etc.) but honestly, getting tired of the city after living for 7 years in downtown.

Factors Influencing me to choose U of Waterloo
1. Financially, I am not concerned because tuition for 4 years are pretty much the same. But, house/room rent and auto-insurance will be definitely cheaper than downtown Toronto.
2. Double the amount of coop experiences and perhaps, will be much better when I look for jobs.
3. Newer school. So, facilities might be better?
4. Only 120 students per year. Get to know friends and same year students much better.
5. I feel Waterloo's curriculum is less intense since U of Toronto have curriculum with continuously studying in school while Waterloo switches coop term and study term back and forth after year 1, giving mental breaks and chances to apply concepts to real world. I feel like I am gonna survive U of Waterloo's curriculum better.

Let me know what you guys think!

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[pharmgl2018]

Great chart bubbleDIA,
You've hit most of the points, but IMHO I think Waterloo is the better choice. I'm fortunately in the same position as you where I must choose between which school to go to.

Ultimately, getting employed is why we choose to go to school. Waterloo's coop program would allow us to get a range of experience (in hospitals as well), before we officially graduate, giving us a much better position in the future. While the city of Toronto is tempting, we'd mostly be studying anyways. Housing is cheaper in Waterloo, and food is actually quite good. The city of booming because of the student population and is poised to grow more in the next few years.

You're right that ranking isn't as important. what's important for employers is that we are prepared to do the job correctly. At the pharmacy I work part time now as a tech, pretty much 8/10 employed students are from Waterloo and they are quite good at thinking on their feet.

These are just my opinions though, but I hope to see you as a future classmate at waterloo next year!

 

[Ayase]

As a 2018 UofT grad, I would say go to UW.
You 100% get better experiential placements with UofT, but the way the curriculum is structured is...suboptimal.

 

[pharm1245]

As a 2018 UofT grad, I would say go to UW.
You 100% get better experiential placements with UofT, but the way the curriculum is structured is...suboptimal.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by suboptimal?