Pharmacy School Decisions...

[pharm.dancer]

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I have been fortunate enough to receive acceptances from CU Skaggs, UNC Chapel Hill, and UW in Seattle, with two more interviews at UT Austin and UCSF. I am having an extremely hard time deciding between them as ranking isn't everything and I would like a school I will be happy at. Choosing a pharmacy is a big decision and I want to make sure I put a lot of effort into the decision.

In terms of what I'm looking for...
I would like some flexibility in my education in the sense that I would like to be able to pursue interests within pharmacy, but perhaps outside of the traditional track. Like a certificate program, electives, or other opportunities.
I would like a Global Initiative and the ability to take an IPPE or APPE outside of the country and a global focus. (Some sponsorship would be an extra bonus.)
I want good faculty that actually enjoy teaching and are there to support you throughout the entire process.
Finally, I would like some fellow classmates who are serious about pharmacy, but also know how to have fun and are well-rounded. I do occasionally like to go out and would love to have a group who would love to do that with me.

If anyone attends one of these schools, please respond with why you picked that program or any experiences you've had. Even if you don't attend these schools, any info about how you picked your pharmacy school, any suggestions, or why you denied a pharmacy school would be helpful!

 

[oregonian19]

I personally applied to CU Skaggs, UW, and UT Austin. While I only chose to attend my interview for CU, I can give a little insight into how I picked to attend CU over the other schools I got into.

1. Cost was the biggest factor.
If cost is important to you and you are OOS, thoroughly research whether or not you can get in-state tuition.
If you are OOS, I would not consider Texas because they will only consider you as OOS for all four years. HOWEVER, you can get in-state tuition if you marry a Texas resident, own property for at least a year (needs to be habitable), or work in Texas 20+ hrs/week for a year. I personally feel like these conditions are really unreasonable.
UW does allow you to get in-state tuition after the first year. Though, tuition is still somewhat high and the cost of living in Seattle is outrageous.
CU is very lenient about getting in-state tuition after the first year. Still a little expensive in comparison to other schools. Though, they give out scholarships (I personally got a nice merit scholarship for being OOS) and the cost of living in Aurora/Denver is a lot cheaper than Seattle.
For cost of these three schools, I did a really detailed analysis and it goes from cheapest to most expensive, CU, UW, UT.

2. Residency
I want to do a residency and the match statistics were very important to me. I got 5-year stats from the three schools. CU ~75%, UW ~73%, UT ~72 for all five years; this is in comparison to a national rate of ~65% over the same period.

3. Internship opportunities
The size of the city the school is in may help you pick because there will likely be more internship jobs for you to pursue during school. UW, UT, CU are all in big cities, but this may help you rule out schools in more rural locations. Personally, this helped be eliminate my state school.

4. Feel of the school
While I didn't go to these other schools for an interview, CU was able to wow me at their interview, something I didn't feel at the other schools and interviews. If it feels right, that's a good way to know.

5. Know yourself
Consider the people and environment of the city where the school is. Size of the city (do you like urban or more suburban/rural places?), cost of living (what are you willing to pay?), weather (do you like hot/cold, dry/humid, rain/snow?), attitudes of the population (liberal/conservative?), crime (how safe do you feel in the place?). This really helped me pick out that I would like Denver more than Austin or Seattle.

I hope that was helpful advice for identifying what school is best for you. If you have any additional questions, feel free to DM me!

Let us know what you go with and congratulations on your success thus far!

 

[seattlelover4]

Any tips that you can give me for the UW interview, pharm.dancer?

 

[pharm.dancer]

Any tips that you can give me for the UW interview, pharm.dancer?

I would say to be yourself. They really loved the honesty and just being 100% you! I personally loved the faculty I was with and they really do try to put you at ease. No stress! I wish you luck! You got this seattlelover4!

 

[seattlelover4]

Awww, thank you!! Did you apply to UW as an out-of-state or in-state student? If you were out-of-state, or if you heard from other out-of-state students, are travel expenses and lodging provided for by UW? I just want to make sure to budget out the trip, just in case.

 

[pharm.dancer]

I applied as OOS and they don’t pay for any travel, unfortunately. I did stay in a motel fairly close by for $70 a night and I flew at some weird times. I feel ya on the budget thing though... it’s been hard.

 

[Kass3562]

Hi!

What did you think of UNC when you interviewed there? I have an interview there this Friday, but I was unsure whether to cancel it or actually go. I live in MN, so the flights out there are really expensive and the tuition there is crazy! I also have been accepted to Madison and Pitt and loved both of the schools, so I wasn't sure if Chapel Hill was something worth checking out. What do you think?

 

[pharm.dancer]

Hi!

What did you think of UNC when you interviewed there? I have an interview there this Friday, but I was unsure whether to cancel it or actually go. I live in MN, so the flights out there are really expensive and the tuition there is crazy! I also have been accepted to Madison and Pitt and loved both of the schools, so I wasn't sure if Chapel Hill was something worth checking out. What do you think?

I personally really loved it, and it's where I ended up accepting! I understand the costs of all the interviews and travel certainly add up, but I thought it was worth going to all the schools so I knew I was picking the right school for me beyond a shadow of a doubt. I loved the students and the faculty especially, but the program was also amazing. I would say for me it was worth it, but it varies per person. If you don't feel like it might be an option either financially or anything else, then I would understand your decision to cancel; but if you believe it would be a good fit for you, then I'd keep the interview. Congrats on your acceptances so far too! No small feat for sure! I can answer any additional questions if you would like as well. 🙂