Florida v. Mercer

[Feniche]

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Okay. So I have been accepted to UF. I love the school, bleed orange and blue.. yada yada. I would say I am 87.678% sure I will choose Florida.

But...I love the atl, best city in the south. I have heard Mercer's program is great, but I have some questions, and if there are any Mercer students that could assist me with the answers, I would appreciate it immensely!

*What's your objective opinion about the quality of the education?
*Is the curriculum diverse? i.e. Getting up in front of class routinely and giving presentations
*Are the lectures recorded to watch online?
*Do the students have ambitious aspirations? i.e. getting a residency at Johns Hopkins
*What is student life like?
*Do you feel like people respect the Mercer brand?
*What types of things are there to get involved with?
*Does the University have special connections that will help further your career?

Sorry if these questions are vague, but any help would be great!

Thanks

 

[tech1234]

I see so far noone else has written to help give you more information and sorry I can't help either but I actually just wanted to ask you a question. I am in a similar situation. I am undecided between UF (satellite campus) and another school. I know you said that you love Atlanta, but are there any other reasons why you were thinking of not going to UF?
Although it's very good and the inexpensive tuition is great, I'm not sure how I feel about UF because I, too, went there for undergrad and had several classes there online/video lecture and wasn't too crazy about that whole thing. I'm also very worried that I won't do well and that it will be too difficult. (of course I know any pharmacy school will not be easy). In your case, do you know from anyone at those schools if they are comparably difficult
Good luck making your decision!

 

[Feniche]

Well what I can tell you is that UF is VERY difficult. But that being said, you come out ready for anything at Florida. I in no way want to offend, or start an argument with people on this website, but I have heard from some people that have attended other pharmacy schools in Florida that they were not nearly as prepared for their residencies as they wanted to be.

If you have some lofty dreams about practicing at a major hospital or working for a big pharmaceutical company then Florida may be a better option for you.

Honestly I know Florida has a great program, but if you don't like watching online lectures you might want a change. As for me I kind of want to leave the state of Florida and I know Mercer is regarded as a really good school. Also my fiancee can simply transfer up to Atlanta for her company, where as in gville she will have a harder time getting a good paying job. So my reasons for possibly turning down Florida are a little bit different probably.

 

[SHC1984]

I attend Mercer and I really like the school a lot. Do you like block scheduling? If you don't then don't go to Mercer b/c they have block scheduling.

Overall, I have no complaints about this school.

However, if I had gotten into my state school UNC (I missed the deadline and couldn't even apply!🙁) which is ranked #2 in the country. I would have gone there for sure. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Mercer, I like the school, but I always recommend going with the better (higher ranked) school. Money is also an important factor for me.

I would go to UF if it's my state school over Mercer b/c it's ranked #9 in the state and the tuition is cheap.

Lastly, I would recommend picking the HARDEST school. UF is hard? I would go there. As a pharmacist it would be to YOUR advantage to learn as much as possible. I know the slackers on here will disagree, but it really IS to your advantage to learn as much as possible and attending the school with the most challenging classes is the way to go.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[Namishin]

Haha I can testify that UF is indeed challenging, but if you made it in, they must have saw something in you.

Tech, there are plenty of online lectures to watch but you spend a lot of time on campus interacting with other students and faculty. You can also be as involved as you want to be in the many organizations around.