Public or Private PHarmacy School

[Snipy]

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I'm having trouble deciding whether or not I should complete a bachelors degree which entitles me to apply to all public schools or should I complete my prereq in 3 years then apply to a private school.

If i do decide to complete my bachelors it will take me 5 years because of pharmacy prereq + my school's reqs.

Most of the accredited private schools I've looked at are 40k a year for tuition ( not including living expense).

I have two questions. First, are there are public schools that accept students without a bachelors and second what is the best route financially for me to take.

Assume my grades will be stellar and my extra curricular as well. Currently I have a 4.0 my first semester and I'm also CpHT certified + training right now.

Also I plan to only apply to accredited schools.

 

[flrx]

Are you sure they are 40k/year for tuition alone? That doesn't sound right. I think most are 40k/year including living expenses.
Also I don't think there's a difference with public vs private pre-requisites. I know there is some variation but it is not like public schools require a bachelors degree whereas private schools don't. Either way having a bachelors degree will increase your chances of getting accepted in either private or public schools.
Public schools cost a lot less so I would rather go to a public school for that reason.
Keeping good grades is great but make sure you're not going to a community school or small college...pharmacy schools will look at this and think you got good grades because the school you went to was easy. Not good.
Good luck

 

[Filler]

Best resource to find school tuition is..

http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/Documents/PSAR1011_Table11.pdf

Seems that most private schools range from high 20's to mid 30's in terms of yearly tuition, but only some are 40k. Best financial route to take would obviously be in-state public institution. OOS public schools and private schools seem to be close in terms of tuition cost.

 

[Snipy]

I currently attend cal state Fullerton, although it may be a state school it should be adequate.
I know that some public schools don't explicitly say they require a bachelors , for example UCSD but looking at the percentage of students that are accepted without a bachelors pretty says it all. For UCSD's case, that would be 0%, at least for last years class.

The problem for me is that all the public schools in my state (CA) pretty much require a bachelors to get in. UCSD and UCSF

 

[flrx]

Yes it is a good idea to get a bachelors...About 50% of the students in my class, which is in a private school, have a bachelors degree. I think in the future it will be required in all schools, public or private.

 

[Snipy]

No one has answered my question yet though. Which route is more financially sound, getting a bachelors or not getting a bachelors.

If you get a bachelors you stand a chance of getting into cheap costing schools but if you don't get one you'll more likely have to go to a more expensive school.

But if I don't get my bachelors i'll be able to work 2 years earlier.

In the end which route will help me pay off my loans fastest?

 

[cheeseboy2]

No one has answered my question yet though. Which route is more financially sound, getting a bachelors or not getting a bachelors.

If you get a bachelors you stand a chance of getting into cheap costing schools but if you don't get one you'll more likely have to go to a more expensive school.

But if I don't get my bachelors i'll be able to work 2 years earlier.

In the end which route will help me pay off my loans fastest?

by no means am i doubting you or your ability but your posts beg the question: can you get in to UCSD or UCSF?

even applicants with 3.6's from UC undergrads are getting rejected from the UCs because of the high amount of applications.

right now I wouldn't worry about the money, especially with UC tuition rising. If i were you, I'd take my prereqs while applying, if you get in to private or public, ditch the B.S. and go for the PharmD. If not, you can continue to work towards your bachelors.

 

[Snipy]

I did not mean to sound cocky , that was not my intention. I just wanted to know which route would be more financially sound. I come from a financially disadvantaged background that is why I want to get rid of my loans as quick as possible.

Thank you everyone for your quick replies :].

 

[cheeseboy2]

I did not mean to sound cocky , that was not my intention. I just wanted to know which route would be more financially sound. I come from a financially disadvantaged background that is why I want to get rid of my loans as quick as possible.

Thank you everyone for your quick replies :].

yeah i wasnt trying to call you out or anything, its just my concern for you right now is getting in somewhere, not saving money. once you are accepted to programs, then you can start making the decisions which you posted.

apply while you are en route for a b.s., once you get in somewhere, you can evaluate tuitions, accelerated programs, availability of loans, and program tradition (which can help with finding jobs/residency).

 

[Filler]

]No one has answered my question yet though. Which route is more financially sound, getting a bachelors or not getting a bachelors. [/B]

If you get a bachelors you stand a chance of getting into cheap costing schools but if you don't get one you'll more likely have to go to a more expensive school.

But if I don't get my bachelors i'll be able to work 2 years earlier.

In the end which route will help me pay off my loans fastest?

You can just grab a sheet of paper, a calculator and a pencil to calculate that out yourself. There are far too many variables for any of us to calculate which route is more financially sound for you, (or for anyone for that matter) without any real data.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I just wanted to know which route would be more financially sound. I come from a financially disadvantaged background that is why I want to get rid of my loans as quick as possible.

I'd get the Bachelor's, because with how competitive schools are getting, do you want to risk the mere possibility that not having one could reduce the amount of schools you could apply to? This is particularly important, as you noted, in California.

When it comes to your education, you really shouldn't look too much at expense. Indeed, student loans are problematic, however, they are low-interest loans and if you short-change yourself on your path to pharmacy school, and don't get in, what will you do then?

Granted, there's no guarantee that a BA/BS will expressly improve your application to the point where you can get a 100% chance to be admitted somewhere. Nothing is 100%, but you should probably do everything you can to get as close to 100% as you can. The chances I'm going to get into a car wreck when I drive to work later are low, but I'm still going to wear my seat belt, I'm still going to pay more ridiculously high car insurance and I'm still going to obey traffic laws...

In short, sure, you can get into pharm. school without a BA/BS, but as Joel said on his latest "From the Pharm" update blog-type-deal, the number of applicants without 4-year degrees is dwindling... it's almost the gold standard for all applicants at that school, and we will likely see that trend continue instead of dissipating.

Bang for your buck will be getting your degree, for more reasons than just Pharmacy too. Everyone needs a Plan B. Say 3 years pass and you're still throwing money at PharmCAS - Then what? Going to keep trying, or are you going to pick up Plan B? Plan B will be much harder sans a Bachelor's degree, particularly in the future, where they are so commonplace especially in a competitive arena.

Just my $.02