Pharmacy Vs. Tuition Costs Vs. Prestige

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phar

The Pacifist
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Hey, Have you ever wondered how much pharmacy schools cost? Schools like lecom, western, usc and most private schools cost about $18,000+(just tuition). If you add all other factors, it may end up costing you about $40,000 or more a year. Those 3-year programs are the most expensive ones.
State schools are way too cheaper. So, i am wondering what those private schools are thinking?
1) Don't you think you will be at disadvantage by going to a private or 3-year school as you would owe $100k+?

2) Are you at an advantage by paying $40k a year or rather private school than someone who went to state school?

3)How much does it ot will it cost you to attend the pharmacy school of your choice?

4) How much does an average pharmacy graduate end up in debts?
 
1) The tuition will have a factor on my final choice. I'm 46 and don't have as many working years to pay off my student loans. My first choice, UF, has been a top ten pharmacy school for the last 15 years. It's old, been around since 1923. It is the most prestigious school in the state, even though it is public. It has a reputation of being impossible to get into as an undergrad and worse for grad/prof school. Oh, it has a decent football team AND basketball team, not just one or the other.

2) I attend private school right now. There are 9-15 students per class. The professors care about me as a person. I get individual instruction whenever I need it. I feel that small class size is an advantage. In pharmacy school, the class sizes are large whether it's private or public. It's not worth the extra money.

3) I have 18K of debt from undergraduate loans. UF will cost 7K-8K per year. I'll end up about 50K in debt with accrued interest.

4) I have no idea.
 
hey phar..you brought up some good points. is it really going to cost 18K for living expenses?? hey please don't forget to respond to all my pm's.
 
18k for living expenses...yes this is very plausible depending on location, metabolism, car and other living expenses. Contact your school for more info.
 
I think more times than not, the 'better school' is the cheaper school. That's a great little doggie treat to get good students to go there.
 
Hi...triangulation..what do you mean by this statements.

btw, could you please respond to my pm questions. I know you don't like pm, but i could use the info. btw, what's your email address.
 
Hey Tryinghard,

the idea is most students don't want to pay a lot for professional school, naturally they're attracted to schools that offer low tuition (like ucsf, ucsd, univ of washington, uf, other public institutions that are funded by the govt) So you're going to get a huge # of people applying to those schools and the most competitive of those students will be accepted. The idea is you've now got a highly qualified student body all because they didn't want to pay through the nose. A few decades of this and you've built yourself a pretty good school. That's why ucsd is gonna be kick ass in a few years i suspect.
 
From personal experience, I've found that a private school education does not equate to a superior education. You can get the same or better quality of education at a public university. Now, if personal preferences neccesitate more 1-on-1 time with the professor, smaller classrooms, and nicely maintained campus grounds -- then a private school would be the better bet.
Just be prepared to pay for all those extras out of pocket.

With respect to UCSD, a highly qualifed student body does not build a good program; a good program shapes its student body and grads. With that said, I think UCSD will be a "kick-ass" school because the program will be modeled after UCSF's -- another "kick-ass" school.
 
well-respected faculty members establish a well respected academic program, and this recruits the best students.

For example, UCSF's faculty members are world renowed (#1 in funding and research publication), and as a result, its academic program is also considered the best program in the nation (#1 in perception ranking). The best students in the nation are naturally drawn to the best program in the nation.
 
Nocsag,

On a certain level I agree w/you on another I don't, but this doesn't have much to do w/pharmacy, so I won't really pursue it. I will say that to make gold earrings you first need gold, if you get what I mean. Granted you need great administration and faculty to recognize good talent, but you do need to have the talent there too.

I think it's a chicken or egg kinda scenario. Just my thoughts.
 
I actually don't think UCSF students are the best in the nation, probably the best in California which is who it's suppose to serve. I got accepted there, and I hardly think I'm one of the best students in the nation. I'm not trying to be modest either, my GPA is way below they're average.
 
When I say the best students, I mean students with the highest GPA.

From my experience, students that apply to UCSF generally have good gpa. For most of these students, UCSF is their number 1 choice. However, this does not necassary mean UCSF students have the highest undergraduate GPA because UCSF places more emphasis on other criteria such as leadership skills. As a result, the gpa of their students is not as high as students from USC and University of Illinois, Chicago to name a couple.
 
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