Recommend a school for a California resident?

[Prosperity90]

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Hi Guys.

I am a California resident who is looking into becoming a pharmacist and was wondering what schools would be best to attend.

My criteria from most important to least important:

1.) I want to work in California after I graduate.
2.) Tuition matters to me.
3.) A school with good shot at landing a FT job after graduation
4.) A school that will give me the opportunity to get into a residency if I choose to.

Yes, I understand pharmacy is saturated, but that is the field I want to go into. I also understand that since Pharmacy is saturated, I might not get all those criteria, but I am asking what schools will give me the BEST chance at getting all those criteria or at least most of them. Any recommendations would be great. Thanks!

 

[nublar]

Are you very rich or very smart?

 

[Sine Cura]

"I want to work in California" never means "I want to work in Crescent City or Alturas or Bakersfield or Tulare or Barstow."

Why would tuition matter when all programs, both public and private, are pushing 40k a year?

At this point in time, it is little about the program you attend and mostly about you to prove that you are more than a commodity. Just "working hard" and "networking" is the bare minimum, necessary but hardly sufficient. Otherwise you are just a license on the wall.

 

[PharmtoCS]

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming, engineering, finance, etc. that are in high demand in California and do not require you to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years in school. Jobs in these fields are plentiful in California, whereas if you become a pharmacist, you will most likely have to move out of state due to the saturation. You can fulfill criteria 1-3 by switching to something other than pharmacy.

 

[MatCauthon]

I can't recommend any California schools. The tuition plus fees is 37,000 per year at the state schools and it only gets more expensive from there.

 

[Prosperity90]

Are you very rich or very smart?

Smart

"I want to work in California" never means "I want to work in Crescent City or Alturas or Bakersfield or Tulare or Barstow."

You're right about "working" in California haha. I wouldn't mind living 1 hour from a decent city if you want to more specific details. I also wouldn't mind doing my time in rural and eventually moving a place more desirable. I understand you gotta pay your dues early in your career in any profession.

Why would tuition matter when all programs, both public and private, are pushing 40k a year?

Yeah, sadly, being a California resident sucks. I guess low tuition is not an option then. Is there a cheaper OOS that I will be able to move back to Cali and still be competitive for jobs?

At this point in time, it is little about the program you attend and mostly about you to prove that you are more than a commodity. Just "working hard" and "networking" is the bare minimum, necessary but hardly sufficient. Otherwise you are just a license on the wall.

I understand. Are there specifics on what I need to do to achieve my goals?

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming, engineering, finance, etc. that are in high demand in California and do not require you to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years in school. Jobs in these fields are plentiful in California, whereas if you become a pharmacist, you will most likely have to move out of state due to the saturation. You can fulfill criteria 1-3 by switching to something other than pharmacy.

Sadly this is not taught to us coming out of high school. This information would have been great 2-3 years back. You should preach this to high school grads and save them from this path haha.

Also, is finance really that great in California? Wall St is located in New York and the market runs on East Coast time so I am guessing most finance jobs are out there right? There are Venture Capital and Asset Management firms here in CA, but are those as lucrative as other finance jobs?

I can't recommend any California schools. The tuition plus fees is 37,000 per year at the state schools and it only gets more expensive from there.

What do you recommend then? It seems like as a Cali resident, its either high tuition or no pharmd haha.

 

[MatCauthon]

What do you recommend then? It seems like as a Cali resident, its either high tuition or no pharmd haha.

If you go to school in California you will be looking at 250-300k in student loans. If you can live with your parents and go to a state school in California that would be my only recommendation.

I haven't looked at private school tuition around the country. Are there any private schools less than 30k?

It is actually OK to discard pharmacy as a career choice. I would say that pharmacy and medicine, especially pharmacy, are professions to be wary of entering right now. We get stacks of applications for our hospital jobs and the entry requirements keep getting more competitive.

 

[exiangwsu]

Not necessary. I think ucsf and ucsd still have reasonable price. The tuition based on my financial aid is 33000. They gave out university grant if u have a lower to middle family income. I receive a decent amount of grant to cover almost half of the tuition.

They r competitive to apply though. Usc can be a lot more expensive. I would avoid tat school.