now what?

[Surrah]

---

Members don't see this ad.

so i got my acceptance letter today in the mail into uconn. BUT there are some problems...
tuition alone is 23,000 and im out of state so i would need an apartment and a car and money for food and books. im in a big family so its not that easy to do and i'm broke!
i got into uconns exploratory program for prepharmacy then after this next year, i can transfer into their main campus which has housing and also a pharmacy school. im scared though...what if i spend all this money next year and don't get into pharmacy school?? it seems liek all these doors have been slammed in my face and maybe it means pharmacy isn't right for me or it won't work out...im a firm believer in everything happens for a reason...but then why was i accepted to uconn??

in the month waiting for my acceptance letter i decided with my parents to go to community college and figure out what i want to do and started leaning towards neonatal nursing. not nearly the same salary but another option..and the more financially wise option but now that ive been accepted what do i do

ultimately i want to be able to care for a family of my own when im older and not have to struggle. i need some advice/comments!! thanks guys

 

[ladifantasy]

Like you said, getting into their prepharmacy program doesn't mean that you will get into their pharmacy program. If you don't have the money for their undergrad program, then I would suggest you to just go to a nearby university or community college and do your prereqs there. Just as long as you earn a high GPA and PCAT score, you will have a good chance of getting into their pharmacy program later on. Good luck.

 

[tellsarah]

Get some volunteer experience with both pharmacy and nursing. I would caution you about nursing unless you have first hand experience in the field and know that is exactly what you want. I would suggest working as a nurse aid before seeking that route.

The nurses I have met have left the field(pediatrics, NICU RN's). I know that nursing appears to be a really good field to go into: job security, high pay vs. time in school, opportunities for advancment, flexible schedule, part-time opportunities, etc.. I understand paying for school is a HUGE stresser but it could end up costing more in the long run if you are unsatisfied with earlier career choices and must return.
Good luck and just give yourself time

 

[HOTRP]

If it was me, if I knew that by attending their pre-pharmacy program I would have a better chance inorder to get to their pharmacy school, I would get loans and go to their pre-pharmacy program.

 

[Surrah]

i also should have added that right now im a freshman at suny albany..but by now i've missed the housing deadlines here i wasn't expecting to come back

sure i could take loans for tuition but the problem is an apartment and car........ahhhh i dunno!
i just don't want to spend all this money to be stuck again

 

[Sparda29]

I take out loans from either Astrive Direct Loans or from Chase Direct Loans. The difference in these loans is that they are NOT processed at the Financial Aid office at your school.

Basically, they either send YOU a check or just wire the money into YOUR bank account. It is really convenient and allows you to buy extra things you need, but the downside is that you can have a high interest rate.

Right now, I don't even care about the interest rates and having to pay back $200,000+ when I'm done, pharmacists can make that back in 2 years, and just requires some good money management and learning to live on a little.

I'm probably gonna live with my parents for maybe 2 years after graduating. I don't know about other cultures, but Indian families don't boot their kids out of the house until they get married.

 

[PCPharm]

If the uconn pre-pharmacy doesn't guarantee you a spot in their pharmacy program, I'd also suggest you to just take your pre-req's at a CC near home. Try to A's all the pre-req's and gain pharm tech experience plus some volunteer work. This should give you a much higher chance of getting accepted.

 

[Surrah]

its not guaranteed but uconn prepharmacy students have an advantage to those from other schools

 

[DoctorRx1986]

I take out loans from either Astrive Direct Loans or from Chase Direct Loans. The difference in these loans is that they are NOT processed at the Financial Aid office at your school.

Basically, they either send YOU a check or just wire the money into YOUR bank account. It is really convenient and allows you to buy extra things you need, but the downside is that you can have a high interest rate.

Right now, I don't even care about the interest rates and having to pay back $200,000+ when I'm done, pharmacists can make that back in 2 years, and just requires some good money management and learning to live on a little.

I'm probably gonna live with my parents for maybe 2 years after graduating. I don't know about other cultures, but Indian families don't boot their kids out of the house until they get married.

I agree with you about other cultures valuing family and having their adult children living at home even after they're old enough to be on their own. Personally, I happen to feel that Americans just think differently and do not or value the social ties of family life. All too often, they kick their kids out of the house at age 18 and that's sad. But then again, this is the United States...family life, values, morals, ethics, tradition, etc... continue to go down the drain and are being replaced with the vain ideals of money, material possessions, promiscuity, and violence. It is no wonder most of the world has an aversion for a nation in which family life is being destroyed because of capitalism. It is sad and most unfortunate when people spend most of their life at work in pursuit of the almighty dollar in place of allocating time to spend with wife, husband, and children at a simple dinner each night. But oh well...we all reap what we sow in the end...

 

[sammy15]

so i got my acceptance letter today in the mail into uconn. BUT there are some problems...
tuition alone is 23,000 and im out of state so i would need an apartment and a car and money for food and books. im in a big family so its not that easy to do and i'm broke!
i got into uconns exploratory program for prepharmacy then after this next year, i can transfer into their main campus which has housing and also a pharmacy school. im scared though...what if i spend all this money next year and don't get into pharmacy school?? it seems liek all these doors have been slammed in my face and maybe it means pharmacy isn't right for me or it won't work out...im a firm believer in everything happens for a reason...but then why was i accepted to uconn??

in the month waiting for my acceptance letter i decided with my parents to go to community college and figure out what i want to do and started leaning towards neonatal nursing. not nearly the same salary but another option..and the more financially wise option but now that ive been accepted what do i do

ultimately i want to be able to care for a family of my own when im older and not have to struggle. i need some advice/comments!! thanks guys

At this time UCONN doesnt even accept applications to their pharmacy school from any student that hasnt taken all of their prerequisite courses AT UCONN. Up until last year they guaranteed entry into the pharmD program as long as you maintained a 2.2 GPA in prereqs.. needless to say many were failing out of the professional portion. It will be competitive to get in, but most likely not nearly as competitive as it will for you applying to pharm programs that accept applications from around the nation. BE CAREFULL as to what you take at a community college... UCONN may no longer consider you for their professional phase of the program if you do, and you will not have the option to repeat the courses at UCONN. (I know from experience) They want you all four years of undergrad work done there. I'm sure there are many other options available to you, but my guess is that if you do attend UCONN (the courses there are of moderate difficulty) and do not make good enough grades to get into the professional phase, than you will def not get in to a competitive school else where. Call them and find out what the average pre-pharm student is making for a GPA. The best part is that you are only competing with UCONN students in your major... not students from the entire country. Hope this helps a little.

 

[jspwinter]

I don't understand why more students don't go to a cc for 2 years and transfer out to a 4 year? It will def be cheaper and if the classes are easier like some say, you have more options to transfer to different 4 year universities after the 2 years.

 

[sammy15]

I don't understand why more students don't go to a cc for 2 years and transfer out to a 4 year? It will def be cheaper and if the classes are easier like some say, you have more options to transfer to different 4 year universities after the 2 years.

Some pharm programs prefer 4 year level prereq work over CC level work. I personally think some CC course are equally as hard, but I do think holding a full time course load at the 4-year level is harder. The best thing to do is know what schools you are applying to and if having prereqs at the CC level will be a problem for them. The first thing MCP told me when I met with them early on was to transfer to a 4-year school and remain full time. (I was accepted at a school which had this policy with about 1/4 my prereqs coming from a CC, but only the basics like comp, speech, general chem I, etc. All of the big math/science classes I took at a 4 year school.)

 

[RxWildcat]

Suck it up, take out the loans.. thats what most of us have to do anyways.