Help picking a school?

[oregonian19]

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This is a follow up to my previous post asking how people picked their schools....

I listened to some of the posters about how to pick a good school, however I'm having some difficulty deciding my course of action for the following circumstances

The schools I applied to are:
-Oregon State University
-University of Maryland
-Colorado State University
-University of Washington
-University of Texas

I have currently been accepted to Oregon State (home state) and have put down the $100 deposit. I have been accepted to the University of Maryland; they want an $800 (non refundable) deposit by Oct. 30th. I have an interview with Colorado in early November. I am still waiting on Washington and Texas; I should be hearing from Washington within the next week and Texas claims they won't offer an interview until at least December.

When empirically looking at rank, cost, safety, NAPLEX, residency match rate, etc. (various weightings with cost, residency, and rank being the biggest weights, 30%, 25%, and 15%, respectively), the best to worst order is Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, Colorado.

Given this info, I just want help deciding whether or not I should be turning down Maryland or if there is some alternative solution I should consider. I have been doing a lot of soul searching and talking with my family, but could use a fresh perspective.

Please feel free to ask any questions, I understand this may be confusing because of all the moving parts.

Thank you so much!

 

[Rouelle]

If you’re an Oregon resident, stay in Oregon. No reason to double/triple your student loans. Go there, forget everywhere else, done.

 

[oregonian19]

Actually, I did an analysis for the tuition (one year of OOS and three of in state) and cost of living.

In comparison to Oregon, the school costs (over all four years) are approximately):
-Colorado: +$25,000
-Maryland: +$24,000
-Texas: +$10,000
-Washington: +$50,000

Obviously some are worse than others for cost, but all of the schools are much higher ranked than Oregon and I feel like some of these extra costs are worth it.

 

[Pretzyum]

Ranking doesnt matter much when it comes down to established schools

 

[Rouelle]

Actually, I did an analysis for the tuition (one year of OOS and three of in state) and cost of living.

In comparison to Oregon, the school costs (over all four years) are approximately):
-Colorado: +$25,000
-Maryland: +$24,000
-Texas: +$10,000
-Washington: +$50,000

Obviously some are worse than others for cost, but all of the schools are much higher ranked than Oregon and I feel like some of these extra costs are worth it.

So you’re thinking that after going to school out of state for one year that you will qualify for in state tuition in the subsequent years? While this would be nice (and many hopeful students think it will happen every year), sadly this doesn’t usually happen. My school, for example, told us in the interview process that if we started as an out of state resident, we would graduate as an out of state resident. There may be a rare state that allows it, but don’t bank on it.

 

[radio frequency]

Actually, I did an analysis for the tuition (one year of OOS and three of in state) and cost of living.

In comparison to Oregon, the school costs (over all four years) are approximately):
-Colorado: +$25,000
-Maryland: +$24,000
-Texas: +$10,000
-Washington: +$50,000

Obviously some are worse than others for cost, but all of the schools are much higher ranked than Oregon and I feel like some of these extra costs are worth it.

Will you automatically get in state residency in those states after one year? It’s a BIG assumption that you can get it, and rules can change while you are in school. Don’t risk it if it’s even sort of an unknown.

 

[oregonian19]

I am making an assumption of sorts. When my sister got her Master's in New York, she got residency after one year, so I figured it would happen for me elsewhere.

I would of course try my best to make it happen by immediately getting a driver's license, for example.

 

[trailerpark]

You already got into Oregon! You're set. Go there! DUH

 

[radio frequency]

I am making an assumption of sorts. When my sister got her Master's in New York, she got residency after one year, so I figured it would happen for me elsewhere.

I would of course try my best to make it happen by immediately getting a driver's license, for example.

Big assumption. Highly unlikely in many states.

 

[Dalteparin]

So you’re thinking that after going to school out of state for one year that you will qualify for in state tuition in the subsequent years? While this would be nice (and many hopeful students think it will happen every year), sadly this doesn’t usually happen. My school, for example, told us in the interview process that if we started as an out of state resident, we would graduate as an out of state resident. There may be a rare state that allows it, but don’t bank on it.

Seconded. At my alma mater, the only way to go from out-of-state to in-state was to take a year off from school and just work in the state and then reapply. That's relatively easy to do as an undergrad but I imagine you won't be able to do that in pharmacy school unless you have some major extenuating circumstances like a health crisis.

 

[BidingMyTime]

When empirically looking at rank, cost, safety, NAPLEX, residency match rate, etc. (various weightings with cost, residency, and rank being the biggest weights, 30%, 25%, and 15%, respectively), the best to worst order is Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, Colorado.

Why is this even a question? By your own calculations Oregon>Maryland....you are already accepted to Oregon, which is your homestate? Why in the world would you even consider Maryland? Or any other schools besides Oregon? I highly doubt Texas offers anything spectacular enough to make up for you in-state tuition.....and Texas is the only school you rate higher than Oregon.

No, don't make the deposit on Maryland, go with your Oregon acceptance.

 

[deleted820760]

Why is this even a question? By your own calculations Oregon>Maryland....you are already accepted to Oregon, which is your homestate? Why in the world would you even consider Maryland? Or any other schools besides Oregon? I highly doubt Texas offers anything spectacular enough to make up for you in-state tuition.....and Texas is the only school you rate higher than Oregon.

No, don't make the deposit on Maryland, go with your Oregon acceptance.

Maybe OP wants to work at John Hopkins after Pharmacy school. In that case, Maryland would be the better choice.

If it were me, I would go to Oregon and call it a day.

 

[oregonian19]

So what I'm gathering is that I should just go to Oregon because it'll be the cheapest?

The only reason I was looking elsewhere is so I could see other parts of the country and seek a, hopefully, better education because Oregon is ranked 40. I know they used to be a lot higher not too long again, but it makes me wonder what made them stumble.

 

[lalaland33]

So what I'm gathering is that I should just go to Oregon because it'll be the cheapest?

The only reason I was looking elsewhere is so I could see other parts of the country and seek a, hopefully, better education because Oregon is ranked 40. I know they used to be a lot higher not too long again, but it makes me wonder what made them stumble.

Ranking doesn't matter. You learn the same thing everywhere.

 

[Dalteparin]

Ranking doesn't matter. You learn the same thing everywhere.

QFT. As long as you don't go to a diploma mill that opened up in the last 10 years, you'll be fine.

Edited to add that if you've lived in Oregon your entire life, you will probably hate Texas. Austin is a decent town, but pretty much everything outside of it sucks in terms of culture, and the entire state sucks in terms of climate.

 

[Rouelle]

Look at Southwestern Oklahoma State. You’ve probably never heard of it and it isn’t highly ranked. But it has been around forever, has pretty much a 100% NAPLEX pass rate year after year, strong alumni base, is dirt cheap and well respected by those who know. No, ranking doesn’t mean much at all for an established school.

(Disclaimer: I did not go there and have no affiliation with the school beyond coworkers who are alumni, including some who’ve done nice residencies. I am using them as an example and I’m sure there are many other “low-ranked” schools with great local reputations)

 

[Rouelle]

QFT. As long as you don't go to a diploma mill that opened up in the last 10 years, you'll be fine.

Edited to add that if you've lived in Oregon your entire life, you will probably hate Texas. Austin is a decent town, but pretty much everything outside of it sucks in terms of culture, and the entire state sucks in terms of climate.

Agreed. Have you been to Austin in the summer? Agreed, I wouldn’t wish that hell (climate wise) on anyone.

 

[deleted820760]

Edited to add that if you've lived in Oregon your entire life, you will probably hate Texas. Austin is a decent town, but pretty much everything outside of it sucks in terms of culture, and the entire state sucks in terms of climate.

This! I couldn’t agree more. And good luck finding a good pharmacist position in Austin. Since it’s the only decent place in the whole state, it’s super saturated.

Texas sucks.

 

[Pharmd = Phake Doctor]

So what I'm gathering is that I should just go to Oregon because it'll be the cheapest?

The only reason I was looking elsewhere is so I could see other parts of the country and seek a, hopefully, better education because Oregon is ranked 40. I know they used to be a lot higher not too long again, but it makes me wonder what made them stumble.

US NEWS & WORLD RANKINGS mean nothing in the pharmacy world. You're a gullible puppet if you think it has any meaning. A #1 school doesn't provide a significantly higher quality education than a #50 school. Pharmacy is the same subject no matter where its taught. The exception being schools that are stronger in industry (Rutgers) and schools that are stronger in research.

Instead of focusing on numerical rankings like a simpleton, I would advise you to look at the actual curriculum of the schools.

But in truth, going to the school that costs the least amount (tuition+living expenses) is more important. Don't become a debt slave.

 

[Seriously Serious]

What everybody here said is the truth. You can get that prestigious internship / fellowship from individual performance at any school (no matter the rank). Focus on minimizing your student loan debt.

I would like to give my biased input on Texas. The state is currently better off than most in terms of saturation. You have the alt-left who would rather get paid 40$/hr than work in a city with a population <100K and/or doesn't have a starbucks on every corner. Dallas has a strong pharmacist market (BFE), Houston has the largest medical center in the world, Austin is a likely candidate for the new Amazon HQ (jump on that ship before they dominate the pharmacy market), Corpus Christi is paying pharmacists mad money because of BFE demand in South Texas.

I would rank Oregon 1st (proximity to home and cheap tuition), and Texas 2nd on your list (better job market and cheap tuition).