Choosing a pharmacy program based off of the Financial aid package.

[Queen Of Pharmaceutics]

Right now I am deciding between UHCOP and UNTHSC. UHCOP has higher NAPLAX first time pass rates and is an older more established school. Their curriculum is more hands on students start learning actual pharmacy work during P1. The down side is that their Cost of attendance is pretty low compared to other pharmacy schools. Financial aid does not cover anything over the COA and it would be pretty much impossible to work during the program.

On the other hand UNTHSC looks as though their COA is more realistic and I wouldn't be worried about covering my expenses. Am I missing something? Is the Houston area that cheap to live?

Any advice would be appreciated.

ETA:

Please do not derail my thread with unwanted comments about job saturation...Thanks!

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[BC_89]

Cost of Living in each city is nearly identical when using the COA comparison tool I have below...For both schools, I used the same Cost of Living to compare apples to apples as dedicated on each of their websites.


Cost of Living Comparison Tool:

2022 Cost of Living Calculator - Cost of Living Comparison Tool - SmartAsset

Our free cost of living calculator allows you to compare the cost of living in your current city to another city you might be interested in moving to.

smartasset.com

UH College of Pharmacy:

Tuition & Fees

Tuition and Fees

www.uh.edu

Total COA Debt: $193,744

UNT Health Science Center:

https://www.unthsc.edu/financial-aid/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/Budget-Info-for-SCP-Students-2018-2019.pdf

Total COA Debt: $191,487

In terms of living comparisons, they're roughly the same according to the Tools calculator. If your main concern is getting enough federal grad plus loans to assist you, then the question is did you obtain a bachelors or will you have a bachelors by the start of your pharmacy school? If the answer is no, then you qualify for additional grants from FAFSA on the studentloan.gov website that will help alleviate some of the debt. If the answer is "yes" with having a bachelors, you would qualify for grad plus loans from each of the established universities. Some schools may have a cap that you cannot cross, so the ultimate question is How good is your credit score? If you really need to borrow from a private lender, then I would go to a program of which you will not have to do such a terrible act. The other option under the studentloan.gov website is to have your parents fill out a parent-loan to add on top of what you would qualify for if it means getting a cheaper interest rate that's capitalized on your principle debt rather than going after a private lender such as Sallie-Mae. I don't advise doing this for your parents sake (At least for me, I will never do this if my kids asked me...)

Many work as interns even if its short hours, but those hours add up and can help alleviate further compounded debt. Personally if you have to take out private loans, then I would consider your education a deficit career cost that is not in your favor... I suggest military or working a 501(c)3 job or working with Indian Health Services after graduation to help with your loans.... In the end, pick your poison...

 

[Queen Of Pharmaceutics]

Cost of Living in each city is nearly identical when using the COA comparison tool I have below...For both schools, I used the same Cost of Living to compare apples to apples as dedicated on each of their websites.


Cost of Living Comparison Tool:

2022 Cost of Living Calculator - Cost of Living Comparison Tool - SmartAsset

Our free cost of living calculator allows you to compare the cost of living in your current city to another city you might be interested in moving to.

smartasset.com

UH College of Pharmacy:

Tuition & Fees

Tuition and Fees

www.uh.edu

Total COA Debt: $193,744

UNT Health Science Center:

https://www.unthsc.edu/financial-aid/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/Budget-Info-for-SCP-Students-2018-2019.pdf

Total COA Debt: $191,487

In terms of living comparisons, they're roughly the same according to the Tools calculator. If your main concern is getting enough federal grad plus loans to assist you, then the question is did you obtain a bachelors or will you have a bachelors by the start of your pharmacy school? If the answer is no, then you qualify for additional grants from FAFSA on the studentloan.gov website that will help alleviate some of the debt. If the answer is "yes" with having a bachelors, you would qualify for grad plus loans from each of the established universities. Some schools may have a cap that you cannot cross, so the ultimate question is How good is your credit score? If you really need to borrow from a private lender, then I would go to a program of which you will not have to do such a terrible act. The other option under the studentloan.gov website is to have your parents fill out a parent-loan to add on top of what you would qualify for if it means getting a cheaper interest rate that's capitalized on your principle debt rather than going after a private lender such as Sallie-Mae. I don't advise doing this for your parents sake (At least for me, I will never do this if my kids asked me...)

Many work as interns even if its short hours, but those hours add up and can help alleviate further compounded debt. Personally if you have to take out private loans, then I would consider your education a deficit career cost that is not in your favor... I suggest military or working a 501(c)3 job or working with Indian Health Services after graduation to help with your loans.... In the end, pick your poison...

Thanks for answering . I’m prior enlisted and a non traditional student so asking my parents to help with loans is out.

I am at the moment contacting officer recruiting centers to start applying for HSCP military scholarships.

I also have a bachelors so I know I would qualify for extra unsubsidized loans. The problem I am having is that the cost of attendance for UH seems pretty low, and you can’t receive grants or loans over the cost of attendance. It looks as though I’m going to have to make due with rent , utilities , and groceries with s monthly budget of 800 dollars. As a medical professional student that isn’t able to work that estimate seems low.

Is it me or are my calculations wrong?

Unthsc seems to have calculated an extra 5000 dollars in living expenses compared to UH.

 

[BC_89]

The problem I am having is that the cost of attendance for UH seems pretty low, and you can’t receive grants or loans over the cost of attendance.

Many programs when it comes to grad plus loans do allow for cost of living over the cap of tuition. When you sign the promissary-note for grad plus loans on the gov website it can also allow for “transportation” and “food” related disbursements released from your financial office of the institute. At least most should....

If your prior service have you used up your GI Bill eligibility (post 9-11 or Montgomery)? I’m assuming, but if you enlisted into MEPS while in Texas you also qualify for the Hazelwood Act to cover 150 hours of credit exemption:

Hazlewood Act - Texas Veterans Commission

www.tvc.texas.gov

On a final note, depending on your age you may still qualify to join an ROTC and commission as a pharmacist upon graduation with your schooling covered altogether. Those schools you listed have an AMEDD medical recruit liaison or an ROTC liaison to assist if the medical corps interests you.

 

[sunshine802]

I think it’s important to recognize that saturation exists when you make this decision (please keep reading). It’s a valid reason to pick a school that will leave you in the least amount of debt. I would ask the schools what percentage of the classes of 2018&2019 had *full time employment, not including residencies and fellowships* at the time of graduation. Ask what the average salary being offered to these students is. Ask what the NAPLEX & MPJE passing rates were of graduating classes from 2015-2018.

I advise all students to work as an intern for a pharmacy chain that’s prominent in the area they want to live in after school. I worked 30 hours a week on average throughout pharmacy school. I found it to be beneficial for the classes I was taking. You get to hear pharmacists counseling on the medications you’re studying, which is incredibly helpful. I got to skip studying things like brand/generics, common counseling points, etc because I’d learn them while working. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

I think it’s important to recognize that saturation exists when you make this decision (please keep reading). It’s a valid reason to pick a school that will leave you in the least amount of debt. I would ask the schools what percentage of the classes of 2018&2019 had *full time employment, not including residencies and fellowships* at the time of graduation. Ask what the average salary being offered to these students is. Ask what the NAPLEX & MPJE passing rates were of graduating classes from 2015-2018.

I advise all students to work as an intern for a pharmacy chain that’s prominent in the area they want to live in after school. I worked 30 hours a week on average throughout pharmacy school. I found it to be beneficial for the classes I was taking. You get to hear pharmacists counseling on the medications you’re studying, which is incredibly helpful. I got to skip studying things like brand/generics, common counseling points, etc because I’d learn them while working. Just my 2 cents!

You should also clarify with the schools what kinds of jobs these are. Being a full time pizza delivery boy does not count as “full time employment.”

 

[lord999]

Talking with some internal discussions from ASD(HA), I expect HPSC service agreements to either be more curtailed if not outright eliminated for pharmacists in the next couple of years as targets are certain to shrink, I would never plan on financing something that requires competition if you can avoid it.

Houston and Dallas, you can make do pretty well on a student budget. That said, your Grad Plus should more or less cover matters, though debt loads are anxiety inducing.

In terms of programs, NAPLEX passage rates are pretty comparable between the TX schools except TSU. Either school would be fine from an academic standpoint, but I have a positive bias toward UH. I'm also of the general opinion that any public school in TX is fine except UT-Tyler (tuition) and TSU (academically poor).

I know that you don't want to talk about job saturation, but hear me out over this, you are more likely to place locally if your pharmacy school is local just due to market dynamics. This might not be an issue for you if you're doing residency and hospital practice where you take what you can get, but for most jobs, it really does not hurt to already be local to the area to know the unwritten rules of location and placement alone.

Congratulations on your placement, both schools are rather good, and much better than the private schools!

 

[Modest_anteater]

Right now I am deciding between UHCOP and UNTHSC. UHCOP has higher NAPLAX first time pass rates and is an older more established school. Their curriculum is more hands on students start learning actual pharmacy work during P1. The down side is that their Cost of attendance is pretty low compared to other pharmacy schools. Financial aid does not cover anything over the COA and it would be pretty much impossible to work during the program.

On the other hand UNTHSC looks as though their COA is more realistic and I wouldn't be worried about covering my expenses. Am I missing something? Is the Houston area that cheap to live?

Any advice would be appreciated.

ETA:

Please do not derail my thread with unwanted comments about job saturation...Thanks!

Advice? don't go to pharm school. There are literally zero jobs 6 years from now. 15k new grads a year, only 3k new jobs a year. This is financial suicide.

THAT BEING SAID, GO TO THE CHEAPEST SCHOOL. WORKING AT BURGER KING AFTER GRADUATION IT WILL TAKE LESS TIME TO PAY OFF THE DEBT IF IT'S SMALLER.