Hi all,
I just got the call from LECOM- Bradenton yesterday & I have basically until Monday to get back to them with my decision and deposit. I currently accepted Temple & am registered for orientation a week from today.
I've done my research on both schools but also heard that receiving a degree from LECOM-Erie and Temple is basically the same thing in terms of prestige and opportunities.
My question to you is... which is the better school or which would you prefer? Here's my pro's/con's list:
PRO's:
LECOM-Bradenton: I'm a Floridian... so in state tuition ($21,000 for LECOM in state vs $34,444 out of state for Temple)! Allows practicum rotations to be held in any city or state, and if they do not have one where you want to go they will work with you to make a contract. Very friendly students and staff, great building, cost of life is way less in Bradenton than where I live now, the pristine white powder sand beaches are 20 minutes away, and for big city life, Tampa is about an hour away. Cost for books is less than Temple for P1 year, laboratory looks new, and has more updated equiptment, medical professors and students allow P1's to go in and look at the cadavers when taking anatomy, P2 (aka bigs) are very friendly and say that they are more than willing to help the P1's adapt, and pass down any tips or textbooks they were given by their bigs. Also, high pass rate for NAPLEX, plenty of opportunities to redeem yourself for a grade (*) and I don't have to be booking flights for the holidays and for breaks to come back home since it's a 4 hour drive for me.
TEMPLE: Friendly and inviting the faculty/staff for pharmacy, the pharmaceutical companies are nearby (I'd like to work as a pharmacist in the the drug development/testing field within pharmaceutical companies), opportunity to have a scene change (cold weather/snow, new town, subway and train instead of cars for transportation, etc.), wellness center at main campus, university feeling (since they do have an undergraduate program as well), chance to live at dorms and meet new friends and potential new roommates, they give you 21 pages of free printing per semester, breaks in between classes allow students to relax or to study for the class before taking lunch or having another class, high NAPLEX passing rate and they pay for KAPLAN to give P4's a review for the boards starting 3 months before the exam.
CONS:
LECOM- (*) Plenty of opportunities to redeem a grade... it's a pro, but it's kind of scary to think that Temple tells you the moment you get a C the professors start calling you to ask how they can help you bring it up, while here they allow C's and if you get a D in a class, they have chances to bring the grade up, or you can take an exam at the end to pass the class - a friend's friend told us this happened to her at LECOM in her P1 year :/ Also, worried about rotation choices. From the sound of things at the interview LECOM- Bradenton is pretty community pharmacy oriented with opportunities for clinical, but I worry about being able to get experience with the pharmaceutical companies, very strict on no food/water policy, the school is literally 2 buildings with no wellness center or university feeling, no dorms so it's apartment or house living, and their "break" schedule is a little odd (longer thanksgiving break, but shorter winter break, spring break, and longer semesters (Some of my friends entering their P1 year have a schedule like Temple's which runs Aug. 26-Dec. 13 for fall and start up the last week of January while here they run Aug. 19-Dec. 20 and start again Jan. 15) . Also...compared to Temple, how good is a degree from LECOM-Bradenton? Is it about even or is one more advantageous than the other?
TEMPLE- Out of State Tuition for 4 years, plus fees, books and other expenses is roughly going to be $50,000 per year for me & I already have some debt from undergrad ( especially worried about hitting the $233,000 mark and the grad plus loans), Cost of Flights, City does show that dirty side in some parts as people have mentioned before, but then again, so does any city you go to. The facility itself hasn't been updated, and it can be seen in some of the rooms, and in the labs, I might be required to take the laws sections of the boards again if I return to Florida to be able to practice (they generally accept scores transferred from other states but have a disclaimer mentioning the possibility of having to retake the MPJE).
Safety- as an out of state student who's only been to Philly once in the day time, for the interview, it's not a great thing to hear from Philly natives, friends, and current students that the school is in one of the worst neighborhoods possible, and that it's pretty much a ghost town after 5pm (especially when one of the electives I'm looking at is a 6-9:30 pm class in P3 year) and that while the dorms are safer, they are still not in the best area. Also heard from Philly natives that broad street is not a great place to be when the Eagles are playing during Football season b/c things get crazy.
Basically what worries me is the cost per year, especially knowing I may have to max out grad plus loans), safety in Philly, and degree comparison- which is better or will stand out in the job market better?
Sorry about the long post, but any recommendations or additional POV's would be greatly appreciated!
I just got the call from LECOM- Bradenton yesterday & I have basically until Monday to get back to them with my decision and deposit. I currently accepted Temple & am registered for orientation a week from today.
I've done my research on both schools but also heard that receiving a degree from LECOM-Erie and Temple is basically the same thing in terms of prestige and opportunities.
My question to you is... which is the better school or which would you prefer? Here's my pro's/con's list:
PRO's:
LECOM-Bradenton: I'm a Floridian... so in state tuition ($21,000 for LECOM in state vs $34,444 out of state for Temple)! Allows practicum rotations to be held in any city or state, and if they do not have one where you want to go they will work with you to make a contract. Very friendly students and staff, great building, cost of life is way less in Bradenton than where I live now, the pristine white powder sand beaches are 20 minutes away, and for big city life, Tampa is about an hour away. Cost for books is less than Temple for P1 year, laboratory looks new, and has more updated equiptment, medical professors and students allow P1's to go in and look at the cadavers when taking anatomy, P2 (aka bigs) are very friendly and say that they are more than willing to help the P1's adapt, and pass down any tips or textbooks they were given by their bigs. Also, high pass rate for NAPLEX, plenty of opportunities to redeem yourself for a grade (*) and I don't have to be booking flights for the holidays and for breaks to come back home since it's a 4 hour drive for me.
TEMPLE: Friendly and inviting the faculty/staff for pharmacy, the pharmaceutical companies are nearby (I'd like to work as a pharmacist in the the drug development/testing field within pharmaceutical companies), opportunity to have a scene change (cold weather/snow, new town, subway and train instead of cars for transportation, etc.), wellness center at main campus, university feeling (since they do have an undergraduate program as well), chance to live at dorms and meet new friends and potential new roommates, they give you 21 pages of free printing per semester, breaks in between classes allow students to relax or to study for the class before taking lunch or having another class, high NAPLEX passing rate and they pay for KAPLAN to give P4's a review for the boards starting 3 months before the exam.
CONS:
LECOM- (*) Plenty of opportunities to redeem a grade... it's a pro, but it's kind of scary to think that Temple tells you the moment you get a C the professors start calling you to ask how they can help you bring it up, while here they allow C's and if you get a D in a class, they have chances to bring the grade up, or you can take an exam at the end to pass the class - a friend's friend told us this happened to her at LECOM in her P1 year :/ Also, worried about rotation choices. From the sound of things at the interview LECOM- Bradenton is pretty community pharmacy oriented with opportunities for clinical, but I worry about being able to get experience with the pharmaceutical companies, very strict on no food/water policy, the school is literally 2 buildings with no wellness center or university feeling, no dorms so it's apartment or house living, and their "break" schedule is a little odd (longer thanksgiving break, but shorter winter break, spring break, and longer semesters (Some of my friends entering their P1 year have a schedule like Temple's which runs Aug. 26-Dec. 13 for fall and start up the last week of January while here they run Aug. 19-Dec. 20 and start again Jan. 15) . Also...compared to Temple, how good is a degree from LECOM-Bradenton? Is it about even or is one more advantageous than the other?
TEMPLE- Out of State Tuition for 4 years, plus fees, books and other expenses is roughly going to be $50,000 per year for me & I already have some debt from undergrad ( especially worried about hitting the $233,000 mark and the grad plus loans), Cost of Flights, City does show that dirty side in some parts as people have mentioned before, but then again, so does any city you go to. The facility itself hasn't been updated, and it can be seen in some of the rooms, and in the labs, I might be required to take the laws sections of the boards again if I return to Florida to be able to practice (they generally accept scores transferred from other states but have a disclaimer mentioning the possibility of having to retake the MPJE).
Safety- as an out of state student who's only been to Philly once in the day time, for the interview, it's not a great thing to hear from Philly natives, friends, and current students that the school is in one of the worst neighborhoods possible, and that it's pretty much a ghost town after 5pm (especially when one of the electives I'm looking at is a 6-9:30 pm class in P3 year) and that while the dorms are safer, they are still not in the best area. Also heard from Philly natives that broad street is not a great place to be when the Eagles are playing during Football season b/c things get crazy.
Basically what worries me is the cost per year, especially knowing I may have to max out grad plus loans), safety in Philly, and degree comparison- which is better or will stand out in the job market better?
Sorry about the long post, but any recommendations or additional POV's would be greatly appreciated!
