Jefferson vs Hawaii

[pharmgirl2009]

I need advice and was hoping that asking people who know what I am going through would be my best bet. After three years of applying I have finally gotten accepted to Pharmacy School! So...of course I am totally excited. I got into one of my tops choices Jefferson and I'm from the Philly area. But this week I got an acceptance call from U of Hawaii.

Three weeks ago (a week after I received my Jefferson acceptance) my boyfriend of almost 9 years decided that we just didn't belong together anymore. Three weeks ago this would have been an easy decision- stay in Philly. Now, I'm not so sure...the experience of going to pharmacy school in Hawaii would be amazing...one that can't be beat. And I can escape him. But I still love Philly.

Neither school is fully accredited yet...but I think Jefferson will end up being the better program and I will have more opportunity there. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have to decide by Monday.

And by the way...for those of you who didn't get in this year...KEEP TRYING! If pharmacy school is what you want- you will get there when the time is right. I, by no means, have stellar stats and I've had more luck this year than any other- and pharmacy school admissions get more competitive every year!

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[BearDown]

Neither school is fully accredited yet...but I think Jefferson will end up being the better program and I will have more opportunity there.

I think you just answered your own question here. I got accepted to Hawaii too, but facing moving, extra $80k of tuition, non-accredited school and leaving my comfort zone, I chose to stay in-state.

You won't be seeing your bf anyway, so stay where you are. It may not have the appeal of Hawaii, but with extra money you'll be saving you can vacation to Hawaii every year after you graduate.

 

[stkyrice]

I need advice and was hoping that asking people who know what I am going through would be my best bet. After three years of applying I have finally gotten accepted to Pharmacy School! So...of course I am totally excited. I got into one of my tops choices Jefferson and I'm from the Philly area. But this week I got an acceptance call from U of Hawaii.

Three weeks ago (a week after I received my Jefferson acceptance) my boyfriend of almost 9 years decided that we just didn't belong together anymore. Three weeks ago this would have been an easy decision- stay in Philly. Now, I'm not so sure...the experience of going to pharmacy school in Hawaii would be amazing...one that can't be beat. And I can escape him. But I still love Philly.

Neither school is fully accredited yet...but I think Jefferson will end up being the better program and I will have more opportunity there. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have to decide by Monday.

And by the way...for those of you who didn't get in this year...KEEP TRYING! If pharmacy school is what you want- you will get there when the time is right. I, by no means, have stellar stats and I've had more luck this year than any other- and pharmacy school admissions get more competitive every year!

I had the same decision to make earlier this year. The big minus of Hawaii is that it's super expensive to move (and you'd need a car when you're there since the public transportation isn't that great outside of Hilo), and there's no way to gain residency in Hawaii while you're a student there. The big plus is that it is Hawaii, and the market for pharmacists isn't saturated, so you'd have a better chance finding a job when you're done.

I found out about Hawaii a month before I found out about the other schools I applied to, so I had to put down my deposit in case I didn't get into either of them. Fortunately, I got into UCSF, but I then had to withdraw my acceptance to Hawaii and lost $500. But I get to stay in SF.

There's always residencies in Hawaii too so you can always do that when you're done.

 

[confettiflyer]

I was under the impression HI was saturated with pharmacists (but not the big island).

I was faced with this same decision last year, ultimately I chose Jefferson primarily for its extensive hospital network and its proximity to other big hospitals/industry in the northeast in general. While I was greatly impressed by UH Hilo's faculty, I was less impressed about its facilities and general location.

The difficult thing to let go of with HI was the weather and all the outdoor stuff, I knew what I was getting into with northeast winters. It was extra hard coming from California as the attitudes are also different on the east coast.

 

[stkyrice]

I was under the impression HI was saturated with pharmacists (but not the big island).

I was faced with this same decision last year, ultimately I chose Jefferson primarily for its extensive hospital network and its proximity to other big hospitals/industry in the northeast in general. While I was greatly impressed by UH Hilo's faculty, I was less impressed about its facilities and general location.

The difficult thing to let go of with HI was the weather and all the outdoor stuff, I knew what I was getting into with northeast winters. It was extra hard coming from California as the attitudes are also different on the east coast.

Yeah, it was more the Big Island though I'm not sure about the rest of the islands. When I interviewed there last year and got waitlisted, the lady who was giving us a tour had said that Walgreens had been planning on building a number of pharmacies and hiring crazy numbers of interns from Hawaii-Hilo to meet demand. Obviously, I'm not sure how true that is nowadays. I remember seeing on the residency websites that there's a hospital in Maui that's applying for accreditation for a PGY-1 residency, so who knows if the market will get better?