Help with choices..please!

[RachGator]

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Hi, I am new to this forum. How I wish I had found you all months ago. This aplication process has been so hellish. Thankfully, I am doing pretty well in the acceptance department. I was wondering if I could get some guidance from you all about pros and cons of different schools.

U.C.S.F.
UF (to do Pharm D/JD)
Purdue
UT Austin (haven't heard from them yet but they are my first choice)
VCU (haven't heard from them yet-but they just got my PCATs)

I am Florida resident so Florida would be cheapest but I did my undergrad degrees there so been there done that with Gainesville. Nice place though. Like I said, I am so thankful that I have choices, I am just overwhelmed. I want to let places know ASAP so they can go to waitlists. Have a great day!

 

[cdpiano27]

I assume you are Florida resident, right?

Then go to UF, it is by far the cheapest.

In terms of the best school, however, the best five pharmacy schools in the country in MY opinion are.

1. UCSF by far

2. UNC-Chapel Hill

3. Michigan

4. UCSD

5. UT-Austin

And if money was NOT an option go to UCSF, they teach you gross anatomy and probably have the hardest curriculum.

Do you want to go into pharm industry?

VCU, is not in the same league as the four other schools.

Out of the other four choices they are good, but I believe UCSF is the best.

But do you want all that debt?

Living in san francisco = 1500 a month plus out -of-state tuition and you are
$150,000 in the RED!!!!

At UF you are about $80,000 in the RED.

I am sure the others are very expensive out-of-state.

Is it worth being twice as much in debt? What goals do you want to accomplish?

Remember retail pays the most UNLESS you go into the business side in the pharmaceutical industry.

If you want law, then go to UF. I think their law school is very good.

I guess you are thinking Austin because you think their law schoo is better than UF, but I do not think that the extra debt would be worth it.

 

[ginephre]

dont let money guide your decision of where you will be for the next four years!!!!! if you really love a school, go there. a pharmacist's salary will pay off your loans, no problem. we make so many decisions in life based on money... why not just decide with your heart for once! i say if UT is your first choice, go there. if you have to make a decision about a school before you know about UT, put down a deposit just to be safe. i paid deposits at two schools.

 

[RachGator]

dont let money guide your decision of where you will be for the next four years!!!!! if you really love a school, go there. a pharmacist's salary will pay off your loans, no problem. we make so many decisions in life based on money... why not just decide with your heart for once! i say if UT is your first choice, go there. if you have to make a decision about a school before you know about UT, put down a deposit just to be safe. i paid deposits at two schools.

I gave money to UCSF and UF doesn't require any. I do want to let people get to their waitlist spots though. One weird thing, I guess PharmCas will tell other schools about your acceptances and UCSF said you had to turn down everyone else by May 1. Is this true?

 

[ginephre]

I gave money to UCSF and UF doesn't require any. I do want to let people get to their waitlist spots though. One weird thing, I guess PharmCas will tell other schools about your acceptances and UCSF said you had to turn down everyone else by May 1. Is this true?[/QUOTE

i think pharmcas does put the information out there for other schools to see... what will UCSF do if you don't turn everyone else down by may 1? take away your acceptance? that seems unfair, especially since not all schools have made all their decisions by then... does anyone else know anything about this?

 

[imperial frog]

I am Florida resident so Florida would be cheapest but I did my undergrad degrees there so been there done that with Gainesville.

You're not going to have that much time free to experience much of a life except for the first two summers anyway, so I'd stick with UF considering the money you'd save. As a bonus though, there's no guarantee that you will be going to the Gainesville campus so you just might wind up at one of the satellite campuses.

 

[Chambo]

I am Florida resident so Florida would be cheapest but I did my undergrad degrees there so been there done that with Gainesville. Nice place though.

I know how you feel about Gainesville; I am graduating from UF this semester with a BS and decided to get out here for pharmacy school. I decided to go with the Orlando campus for UF, that way I get out of Gainesville and still get to attend UF (and get cheap tuition).

 

[sdn1977]

Well - I'm biased since I'm a UCSF grad - a long time ago!!! I know my education has held up for many decades which I attribute to the way they approached how we learned. Having said that...I think there are many, many good pharmacy schools because I've worked with many wonderful pharmacists from all over the country.

I'd suggest you base your decision on a couple of things:
1. Is money an issue? Well - of course, it is for all of us. But...are you able to handle the debt of going out of state, living in an affluent city, travel back home? You must have thought of it since you applied....Many of us are scared of debt - you need to think of it in terms of not just the educational (& therefore the job..ie salary, benefits, etc) reward, but also the life experience it gives you. Would you view a trip to Grand Canyon the same as an opportunity to travel to Europe? The length might be the same, you'd still have pictures...its the experience which would be different - equally great, just different. Educational debt is usually paid off in 20+ years & in N CA, both inpt & outpt pharmacists are paid comparable incomes, so it is a similar thought process as purchasing a home.

2. Do you have an SO you are leaving? Its hard to do this long distance - especially across the country since travel is several hundred dollars. No one can answer this except you & your heart.

3. Individual schools - you have an interesting choice - why did you pick each one? Really think about the curriculum - what do they offer. I always advise people to choose the one with a good foundation - good basic science to start - good pharmacists will always be able to fall back on their pharmceutical chemistry to understand why one drug might be better for a patient than another. You can never know too much about kinetics, IMO. If you are at an institution that does pharmaceutical research, you'll always hear about cutting edge therapies & actually see them used. Do they offer a wide & varied opportunity for clerkships? Who knows what you might want to do in 3 years - it nice to know there is acute surgery, pain management, outpatient medicine, infectious disease, etc.. to choose from - check each schools curriculum.

Good luck & welcome!