Nova vs. UF

[Ellyrolls]

Can anyone currently enrolled in these schools name some benefits and downsides of going to either of these schools?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dr2011]

I am in same dilemna.. i have been accepted to NOVA (West palm beach) & UF (Orlando campus)...
From what i read on both schools' websites and what i have heard from others.. i think uf would be better choice 1) very cheap & affordable 2) good reputation & one of the top 10 pharmacy schools 3) prepares u really good for research n clinical
but i have also heard that nova has very good program too. still i am a little lost on which would be the best for me.. i would have definetely chose one over other if one would have been on actual campus rather then satellite program.

​

 

[wynn]

I got accepted in Gainesville campus, and my family is in Gainesville too. But I like Nova more, so I will go for Nova because their program is really good. UF has a huge class, that is why I dont like.

 

[ethyl]

~20k per year at Nova vs. ~10k at UF.... It was an easy choice for me to go to UF

Adding to that: online lectures for UF that can be viewed anytime and a reputation at rotation sites as some of the best students in Florida.

 

[Dr2011]

nova also provides all its lectures online to students.. plus they have more classrooms on west palm beach which has a satellite program just like uf orlando campus.. where u can go to class and watch ur lectures on huge screen.. nova also provides mic to each student so you can ask question and get answer right away while u r watching ur lectures w/ ur other classmates.

 

[ethyl]

nova also provides all its lectures online to students.. plus they have more classrooms on west palm beach which has a satellite program just like uf orlando campus.. where u can go to class and watch ur lectures on huge screen.. nova also provides mic to each student so you can ask question and get answer right away while u r watching ur lectures w/ ur other classmates.

Ahh nice, they're taped and uploaded so everyone can view them later?

 

[fsupharmguy]

I have honestly not met a Nova grad, but I will say the main pharmacist I worked with at the Mayo Clinic told me that of the FL schools, UF students were the most well trained.

 

[h2o82]

both nova and uf provide their lectures online. nova is geared towards retail pharmacy more. uf is a ranked school, #11 in this year's usnews. uf is half the price for tuition. you have a dress code at nova and the cost of living in south florida is tremendous compared to uf.

 

[jessymint55]

Nova's satellite campus has a different setup than UFs. They broadcast from the main campus in Davie and you have to be present in order to see the lecture. They take attendance and everything, i hear they are very strict about that. While UF you can watch your online lectures from your bed, and you only go to class for like lab/group presentation type of work..meaning not everyday of the week. It more independent, since you can watch your lectures whenever. I guess it depends on your style of studying.

 

[selo]

both nova and uf provide their lectures online. nova is geared towards retail pharmacy more. uf is a ranked school, #11 in this year's usnews. uf is half the price for tuition. you have a dress code at nova and the cost of living in south florida is tremendous compared to uf.

I do not agree with you when you said nova is geared toward retail RX more.Are you a Nova Student?
As a nsu student i can tell that Nova is more oriented towards clinical rx.You can find out if you want.
I woud prefer UF because it is cheaper, and is ranked as one of the best rx school in the nation. But nova is also a very good school and have a very good reputation in south Florida. Again nova is more oriented toward clinical pharmacy

 

[Dr2011]

it is true that living in south florida is very expensive (especially west palm beach).. on top of it NOVA's tuition is 2 x UF's tuition
even thought nova's lectures are broadcasted from the main campus and u have to go to class to attend lectures.. u can still go back home n watch the lectures online again
i think i have made up my mind that i will attend UF since it is more affordable. my dad is going to pay for my tuition and also i will be able to live w/ my family.. so i dont have to pay for rent or anything..most likely i will graduate w/ no debt at all

 

[wynn]

All pharmacy schools are good . If you dont study hard, even you go for best school like UF, you still end up with nothing. I would say that we should choose school that we think we can study. Tuition fee is not a big problem. When we graduate from pharm school, we can make more than enough to pay back.

So, for me, I would choose Nova because their program, campus, and faculties I think I can study well.

 

[selo]

All pharmacy schools are good . If you dont study hard, even you go for best school like UF, you still end up with nothing. I would say that we should choose school that we think we can study. Tuition fee is not a big problem. When we graduate from pharm school, we can make more than enough to pay back.

So, for me, I would choose Nova because their program, campus, and faculties I think I can study well.

Well, i must agree with you. even If you go to best RX school in the country , if you do not make effort to learn , you will end up with nothing.

 

[dgroulx]

They are both good schools. You need to look at the curriculum of both schools and see which one fits you better. Ask about rotations, what they are in and where they are located. At UF, we only do one 4-week rotation in community pharmacy (retail).

At UF you also attend during your 3rd summer because you do 11 months of rotations, plus 2 semesters of compressed (16 weeks into 8 weeks) classes to cram in a 5th year of school. The pace is crazy, but at least you don't have to pay extra for the additional classes. UF charges a flat fee per semester for pharmacy school.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

I do not agree with you when you said nova is geared toward retail RX more.Are you a Nova Student?
As a nsu student i can tell that Nova is more oriented towards clinical rx.You can find out if you want.
I woud prefer UF because it is cheaper, and is ranked as one of the best rx school in the nation. But nova is also a very good school and have a very good reputation in south Florida. Again nova is more oriented toward clinical pharmacy

Agreed...NSU is definitely geared toward clinical rather than retail.

I'm a gator at heart, but more than happy I chose NSU

 

[Dr2011]

vow.. i am so confused again

so are you guys implying that i have to choose btw money or better education?
if i choose to save some money then i should stay here w/ my family n go to UF orlando campus?
and if i wanna attend better program.. i should go to nova?

but uf is ranked one of the top 10 pharmacy schools in U.S... and i seriously doubt it that it was ranked higher than nova just b/c it is cheaper.
i wish i knew somebody who attends nova and somebody who attends uf.. so i can talk it out..

 

[matotom]

i cant believe there is even a debate over this. I dont know anything about the COP's for the respective schools other than UF is higher ranked and cheaper.

But going to and getting a degree from UF makes you a gator for life. If that doesnt float your boat or you are already a gator, and you would enjoy going away to school to NOVA and can tolerate the pretentiousness/silliness of south florida, then go for it.

Both COP's are there to make money, at some point you will realize you are a 'number' at either school, the amount of knowledge you gain in school is completely up to you, not the instructors or the program, and you will learn more about Pharm in your first 4 weeks on your first job than you will in 4 years of school.

Go to where you will be happy. Gville and orlando are much different than south florida.


Go gators.

 

[ForTce]

A lot of very good pharmacy schools are not listed because the list is merely based on research grants. Those which are only clinical oriented will not likely be listed.

vow.. i am so confused again

so are you guys implying that i have to choose btw money or better education?
if i choose to save some money then i should stay here w/ my family n go to UF orlando campus?
and if i wanna attend better program.. i should go to nova?

but uf is ranked one of the top 10 pharmacy schools in U.S... and i seriously doubt it that it was ranked higher than nova just b/c it is cheaper.
i wish i knew somebody who attends nova and somebody who attends uf.. so i can talk it out..

 

[Trancelucent1]

I've seen a few posts where people keep stating that they wouldn't rank more "clinical schools" or NOVA is more clinical. I'd just like some clarification as to why people would say NOVA is more clinical than UF. I think both are clinically oriented. At UF (at least at the distance sites), we are taught by real practicing "clinical" pharmacists. We've had cases taught by ICU pharmacists, ID pharmacists, Ambulatory Care pharmacists, consultant pharmacists, etc. These were all practicing pharmacists and all of them would stress the importance of clinical pharmacists and residencies. Our curriculum is also very clinically oriented. I would say that our retail-oriented curriculum is practically non-existent. We have a few Self-Care cases where we role-play with "patients" but that's about it and that only comes in our third year. Our rotations are also mostly clinically oriented. We only do 4 weeks in retail. Of my 11 months of rotations, I'm not in a hospital for only 2 months. I hope this clears up any confusion on UF's clincial curriculum.

 

[PharmDJH]

I would disagree that NOVA is more "Clinical School" b/c when i had my interview in Jan the interviewer stated that our program is more focused on RETAIL and we put out about 80% retail pharmacists.

UF College of Pharmacy 2011

 

[selo]

I would disagree that NOVA is more "Clinical School" b/c when i had my interview in Jan the interviewer stated that our program is more focused on RETAIL and we put out about 80% retail pharmacists.

UF College of Pharmacy 2011

Well, i do not think what the interviewers said is true. though i do not think they said that. At NSu we are learning stuff that we will never see in retail such as Pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacokinetics. ...In p1 we even have compounding lab!

 

[PharmDJH]

Oh course most pharmacy program have those classes. I'm sure that they are important in your practice as well as for the NAPLEX. I'm not saying that's all they put out is retail but most of there focus is on retail b/c thats where the shortage is right now

 

[selo]

Oh course most pharmacy program have those classes. I'm sure that they are important in your practice as well as for the NAPLEX. I'm not saying that's all they put out is retail but most of there focus is on retail b/c thats where the shortage is right now

i agree with you. most pharmacy school have those classes because we use them in clinical rotations.

 

[Dr2011]

i think nova is more retail oriented.. b/c when i had my interview there in january 75% of the interview questions were retailed based. we talked a lot abt how retail pharmacy works & diff retail pharmacy scenarios. That did make me think that nova focuses more on retail part of the pharmacy, don't get me wrong i am pretty sure they train their students for clinical too.

​

 

[abt04]

i think nova is more retail oriented.. b/c when i had my interview there in january 75% of the interview questions were retailed based. we talked a lot abt how retail pharmacy works & diff retail pharmacy scenarios. That did make me think that nova focuses more on retail part of the pharmacy, don't get me wrong i am pretty sure they train their students for clinical too.

​

i think that though they ask senarios in regards to retail pharmacy, there really isnt anything that they can ask in regards to clinical, unless you work as a pharm tech in a hospital or have experience that is related to clinical pharmacy. if that was the case, then all the schools i went to for interviews should be retail oriented cuz they asked me retail pharmacy senario questions. but i dont think that is the case, they just want to see what kind of person you are based on the questions they ask and that some may just assume that you had your experience through retail pharmacy thus asking retail pharm senario questions.
Nova has residencies that are mostly clinical, so i am somehow assuming that though they may have some focus on retail, they also have a strong focus on clinical as they offer about 10 different residencies that are clinical-related.

 

[PharmDJH]

I don't agree or disagree weather NOVA is retail or clinical base. Just in my interview the interviewer gave me an impression that all NOVA puts out is retail. I told him i shadowed in a hospital, a clinical setting and have never had retail experience. He said well we put out mostly retail pharmacy like 80-90%. So i said wow i'm not sure what i want to do but i'm interest in both retail and clinical. Sound like to me they want to put out more retail pharmacists?

 

[dgroulx]

All schools teach you clinical skills such as pharmacokinetics, otherwise they would not get accredited. Geez, think about it.

At UF, the general feeling is that Nova is for students that don't get into UF. I do know someone who did not apply to UF because she wanted to go to Nova, so this is not always the case. It is just to point out to you that you cannot make generalizations about programs. The girl who went to Nova only went to private schools all her life. To her, a public institution was a step down.

Whichever school you go to, you will get a good enough education to get a residency if that's what you want to do. Every student in my class at UF who applied for a residency, got a residency. Some of us are going retail, some are going straight into hospital practice.

I'm glad I'm part of the Gator Nation. I love wearing those championship t-shirts. Athletics is a big part of college life. Even at distance campuses, we still get student tickets for games.

 

[selo]

All schools teach you clinical skills such as pharmacokinetics, otherwise they would not get accredited. Geez, think about it.

At UF, the general feeling is that Nova is for students that don't get into UF. I do know someone who did not apply to UF because she wanted to go to Nova, so this is not always the case. It is just to point out to you that you cannot make generalizations about programs. The girl who went to Nova only went to private schools all her life. To her, a public institution was a step down.

Whichever school you go to, you will get a good enough education to get a residency if that's what you want to do. Every student in my class at UF who applied for a residency, got a residency. Some of us are going retail, some are going straight into hospital practice.

I'm glad I'm part of the Gator Nation. I love wearing those championship t-shirts. Athletics is a big part of college life. Even at distance campuses, we still get student tickets for games.

I kind of agree with you.What you said may be true for me because UF was my first choice. I would suggest to anyone who got accepted to both school to go to UF because it is cheaper, and on top of that they have one of the best rx school .though i know many studens in my class who did not want to go to UF. But right now i am happy of being a student at NSU. I think they have a very good rx school. It does not matter too much the rx school you went to as long as you are willing to learn.

 

[TheHillCrew]

After much research and speaking with students from both schools I decided to go to UF. I am in the same situation, I was excepted to UF and NOva (WPB) and it was a no brainer for me. UF all the way.

 

[mirelseoane]

I am in the same boat. I don't like small towns, and Gainesville is really small and old. Also, I am 25, and I believe that most people in town are younger adn love to drink, which I don't. I live in Miami, so if I go to Nova, I won't have to pay rent, therefore, cost is not the big issue for me becouse in Gainesville I will be on my own. I just don't know what to do. Gaineville is one of the best school but I think I can be depressed in Gainesville, while Nova is good and convieniet but I will life forever thinking that I could had been a Gator.

I kow this question has been asked before, but please, I really need help

 

[StringTheorist]

I am currently an undergrad at UF, and am going to attend UF in the Fall. Nova is 1 mile away from my home in South Florida, and I went there for a pre-med school porgram as well as worked with many of their pharm students at Albertson's Pharmacy when they had rotations.

I can honestly say, UF is ranked much higher than NSU in many aspects of pharmacy college. UF is more affordable. UF is in a much more college-oriented city than the hustle-bustle concrete ridden South Florida NSU. For me, there is no competition. A higher ranked school at a lower price? UF all the way, baby!

Oh, and dont worry about not "fitting in" gainesville, there are a BUTTLOAD of TA's and grad students here, so there are plenty of older people. I, myself, am not into the bar and clubbing scene. I just enjoy how people here are of a more respectful variety here. People are NICE, unlike the majority of selfish old farts in south florida. Life is just of a much better quality here. And there's nature, forests and prairies and quarries... its great

edit: i remember talking to the NSU students in the pharmacy, and they told me if they had a chance, they wouldve gone to UF bc they are all 100k in debt right now...