Paying for Pharmacy School

[Sukie]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Just curious to know how people are paying for/planning on paying for pharmacy school.

 

[Sukie]

Any good scholarships or loans out there that y'all are aware of?

 

[Shanana]

I will be paying with loans - hopefully good federal loans (subsidized Stafford or Perkins loans).

I have maxxed out my undergraduate eligibility for subsidized Stafford loans, so if I go to a school where I am considered an undergrad for the first 2 years, I might be screwed!

Anybody know any good private scholarships? One of the schools I am interested in only starts giving out scholarships to second year students. The other school is out of state and gives all of its scholarship dollars to state residents.

The major retail chains all seem to have a program where they give you a loan that turns into a grant if you work for them for a few years after you graduate. I might look into that for year 2 if I don't get enough scholarship money from my school.

Shannon

 

[jason UCSD2000]

Check out this link:
http://www.aacp.org/site/page.asp?VID=1&CID=691&DID=4745&TrackID=


hmm...I don't know why my link doesn't work...sorry.
Anyways, got to www.aacp.org, and click on students, then click on financial aid. There should be several options from there.
-jason

 

[Sukie]

Thanks for the link Jason 🙂 It was very helpful... especially the scholarship database.

BTW, for everyone else... take out the comma when you click on the link... or else it won't work.

 

[moobymaster]

One word...wife. Of course the payback is going to cost me much more than any finance charge on a loan. I had to promise a new car and a European vacation as repayment when I get out.

 

[Heyyyyy]

loans baby loans!!!. In pharmacy school, there is hardly any scholarships and if you find one it is like $100-5000(max) from the many sources that i have seen. If you are interested in research then your chances of finding scholarship is high but still very limited which makes it not worth anything.
One of my friends bought a brand new lexus with his student loans(his parents paid for his tuitions fees/living expenses but he still took out loans;;what a ****en idiot! but its all cool cause i get a ride in that bling bling car). Oh ya, he still owes money on that car but he will pay it off in next year's loan refunds.

loans baby loans!!!

 

[MNnaloxone]

mooby: I hear you about the wife. I have borrowed money from a similar program, called fiancee. Lucky for me she's a PharmD, so she understands...kinda.

 

[Sukie]

Originally posted by moobymaster
One word...wife. Of course the payback is going to cost me much more than any finance charge on a loan. I had to promise a new car and a European vacation as repayment when I get out.

Good investment on her part. And for you, a lasting pharmacy education and career, rides in her new car, and a European vacation (it's a trip for two, right??). Looks like a win-win deal you've got going there 😛

 

[moobymaster]

Originally posted by Sukie
Good investment on her part. And for you, a lasting pharmacy education and career, rides in her new car, and a European vacation (it's a trip for two, right??). Looks like a win-win deal you've got going there 😛

Aw, man...I didn't clarify that point with her...I may be in trouble.

 

[goheel]

Do you get grant from the government? like in undergrad.

 

[Sukie]

Originally posted by kim31kim
I plan on having federal loans for part of it, part of it I'll pay for with savings.... The retail pharmacy I work with also has a tuition program where they give you money in exchange for you working for them when you get out of school. I'm still trying to decide if I want to go that route though, I am not sure I like the idea of being tied down when I get out.

Yeah, I mean... free tuition AND a job guaranteed and waiting for you the day you graduate... sounds too good to be true... but being committed to one location for a certain amount of time does seem a bit scary.

 

[goheel]

You don't get grant in pharmacy schools?

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by Sukie
Yeah, I mean... free tuition AND a job guaranteed and waiting for you the day you graduate... sounds too good to be true... but being committed to one location for a certain amount of time does seem a bit scary.

Trust me, it's hardly free. The largest amounts out there are rarely over $3,000/year. If your tuition is 15k, 20k, or 30k/year, then how much difference does 3k/year acutally make? If you think that the lender can't think of a good way to screw you out of that 3k/year when you get out of school, you're mistaken. As for a job upon graduation... is anybody concerned that they will have a hard time finding a job?

The money sounds tempting now, but I know plenty of people who are either sweating it out with companies that they hate, or paying it back (with interest) because they went for another job.

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by goheel
You don't get grant in pharmacy schools?

No, not that I've ever heard of. Maybe if it was a PharmD/PhD program?

 

[Roxicet]

Originally posted by goheel
Do you get grant from the government? like in undergrad.

Some public pharm schools still consider you an undergrad for your P1 and P2 years (like UT Austin), so if you qualified for grants as an undergrad, and you don't already have your bachelor's degree (prereqs only), then maybe you can still get grants until your third year. Then you'll be considered a professional student.

 

[goheel]

So professional students are not qualified for grants?

 

[gdk420]

There are generally no grants for professional students unless u go to a public school. Usually, public schools cost less and get more federal funding, so they tend to have some grants to cover the students. However, u would still need loans because the grants can't cover everything since this is professional school, the tuition for ur professional program is more than the undergrad within the same school. However, there are some tiny grants and scholarships out there if u fit the category. There are grants for students from poor families, if u are of eskimo descent and want to work in Alaska, and etc.. However, it is nothing when compared to the tuition (2-3K at the most) Certain pharmacy organizations offer scholarships to students who fit their vision, are active members, and write a pretty good essay on why they should get the scholarship. For example, I think NCP (not sure what the organzation is) gives a 10K scholarship each year to the student who wants to own his own pharmacy, is an active member, and has the right vision for the future of independent pharmacies.

I know at ucsf, if ur gpa is high enough, they tend to give u descent amount of grant to cover ur tuition, but it won't cover everything. Private schools like usc, hmm even with a 4.00 gpa, forget it, u getting nothing, especially if they see u have some money from ur bank account from ur previous job before u enter pharm school.

If you were to do the pharmD/phd, then they are willing to pay for everything. Reason being, the school owns ur research and later on, they can sell ur research to whoever they want. They basically will make money off of u.

 

[gdk420]

I almost forgot, but I think by California law, that if ur spouse pays for ur education, he/she is entitle to half ur earnings when u divorce. So becareful about having someone else pay for ur tuition. Not sure if this is true or not, heard it from a lawyer.

 

[Sukie]

Originally posted by jdpharmd?
Trust me, it's hardly free. The largest amounts out there are rarely over $3,000/year. If your tuition is 15k, 20k, or 30k/year, then how much difference does 3k/year acutally make? If you think that the lender can't think of a good way to screw you out of that 3k/year when you get out of school, you're mistaken. As for a job upon graduation... is anybody concerned that they will have a hard time finding a job?

The money sounds tempting now, but I know plenty of people who are either sweating it out with companies that they hate, or paying it back (with interest) because they went for another job.

Well, the company that I work for offers $10,000/year for every year of commitment after graduation. That sounds like a lot to me, and since I'll be attending USC, I'll take all the help I can get. But you're right, job satisfaction is more important to me than tuition money. I can't wait to be a pharmacist... and hating my job is definitely not an option. Those big chain companies sure do know how to tempt young, broke pharmacy students.

 

[dgroulx]

Originally posted by Sukie
Those big chain companies sure do know how to tempt young, broke pharmacy students.

And also old, broke pharmacy students.