nickpate56
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Everyone share your application status and if called for an interview , please share us your interview experience.
Please share your experience about this school so far include pros and cons. TIA. Plan to apply this school in Fairfax campus but don't know much about itFellas,
Congratulations on your acceptances and best of luck to those who are still in the process or waiting on interviews. I’m a P2 at ICPH-Fairfax campus so let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Please share your experience about this school so far include pros and cons. TIA. Plan to apply this school in Fairfax campus but don't know much about it
The biggest con is the cost of attendance. Adding up all tuition and fees for all 8 semesters comes out to be $186,635 (https://www.su.edu/hornet-central/tuition-fees/2018-2019-graduate-tuition-rates/). If you include living expenses (assuming you manage to keep it low at ~$1500/month) and you will end up $258,635 in debt.
As you all know by now pharmacist salary are dropping quickly (https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/summary-of-community-pharmacist-layoff-pay-cuts-other-negatives-oct-2018.1351946/). Wages of $50/hr and 32 hr/week cap are already happening in some areas. When that becomes the norm, pharmacist salary will be $83,200 by the time you graduate. With $258,635 of debt upon graduating, you will be paying $3,002/month or $36,024/year (assuming 7% federal loan interest rate and standard 10 yr repayment plan). Thus your effective salary will actually be $47,176 per year as a working pharmacist.
This is LESS than what the average master's degree graduate makes which is ~$75k/year. In fact it is LESS than the median household income in the US which is currently $62,175/year. You are a pharmacist - you hold a doctorate degree which you sacrificed 4 years of your life. Do not settle for an income less than average. I recommend anybody considering this school to either attend a less expensive school or choose another profession altogether.
Please share your experience about this school so far include pros and cons. TIA. Plan to apply this school in Fairfax campus but don't know much about it
Damn! You sound very bitter man. Why are you discouraging him from attending the school? And where in the world did you get all this information? I need to see some references sir. SU is a private school and hell yes you will definitely come out with loans like any other student in any other graduate program which is no longer something to be astonished about. Private schools are more expensive than government schools so depends on which route he wants to go. But talking about the profession with so much hate and anger to someone who is passionate about it isn’t the right thing to do.
Which information are you wondering about? The school's tuition and fees per term are posted online. All I did was add it all up. Then You can use any loan payment calculator to find out your monthly payment (I used Loan Calculator | Credit Karma).
I don't think I've said anything hateful in my post? I'm just warning people to think about their finances. Being passionate is great and if pharmacy is your one and only dream, then I'm behind you 100%. But if you have other priorities in your life (e.g. buying a home, having kids, traveling, etc.) you better rethink your financial choices. I know most of you are stressed out about interviews and GPAs right now, but don't forget to pull out your calculator and plan for what you're going to do AFTER pharmacy school too.
And maybe I'm a little bitter, but you know what? I only ended up with ~$150k in debt when I graduated and my salary is $120k with +40 hrs/week guaranteed. I only got another 1.5 year left to pay off my loans so I'm in an okay situation. But for you future new grads, coming out with +$250k in debt with a salary of only $80-90k? It just isn't worth it. Not that SU is a terrible school, I'm sure it's a fine institution, but going another route (either cheaper school or alternate career) is the more financially sound decision - especially for those of us who have limited financial support.
110-120k is the current reported average as of early 2018. But why should it stay that way when pharmacist supply continues to far outpace demand? When I say 80-90k I'm talking about the way it's heading in a few years. Simple law of supply and demand. 2018 is the year corporations have started to make big changes. Here are a few threads for your reference:Salary of only 80-90k? Well I don't know about that and it all depends on the area so it will be better if you don't generalize because most areas average 110k per year. I have friends who graduated and got job offers from Walmart, Rite Aid etc in the DMV area making $60-62/hr. Medical students, pharmacy students etc all get into debt and its no news anymore, it wasn't my choice to come to a private institution, I just had no luck getting into a public institution and if I had the option to choose I will definitely choose public but then had no choice. I'm in my second year (P2) and I sure do not regret my decision. Yes, I will come out with more loans but the bottom line is creating connections, set your priorities(properly manage your finances) and gradually pay the loans when you start working. No one has ever died paying loans.
110-120k is the current reported average as of early 2018. But why should it stay that way when pharmacist supply continues to far outpace demand? When I say 80-90k I'm talking about the way it's heading in a few years. Simple law of supply and demand. 2018 is the year corporations have started to make big changes. Here are a few threads for your reference:
- Summary of Community Pharmacist Layoff,Pay Cuts, Other Negatives OCT 2018
- Walgreens pharmacist salary freeze 2018
- Kroger Staff Pharmacist 32 hours : pharmacy
- Walgreens to close 600 Rite Aid stores
- Walgreens to Purchase Pharmacy Files of 185 Fred's Pharmacies
What year did your friends graduate? I've heard there has been a huge drop in wages for 2018 new grads (in addition to huge drop in employment % as well). For example WAG new grad hire rate in FL has dropped to $47-49/hr. It may be only certain areas for now, but of course saturation will spread quick. People aren't going to sit around jobless with $200k of debt, they're going to move.
You're right every professional school will result in debt, but for pharmacy is currently the worst off by far due to fast decreasing salaries and slowest job growth all meanwhile schools are graduating pharmDs in record numbers and tuition is at an all time high. No one has ever died from loans, but doesn't mean you shouldn't at least take out your calculator and plan for your future.
Wow! Those are some alarming stats. Community/retail is really getting saturated since must recent grads just want to get into the job market after they graduate and very few do residency. I feel like having connections can also go long way, I guess it’s about who you know. My friends just recently graduated (may 2018) and had lucrative job offers from Walmart ($60/hr )and Rite Aid ($58/hr) respectively and started working 3 months ago. So the bottom line is it just depends where you are, location wise. I completely agree with you that some areas are super saturated which really increases competition. However, I recently read somewhere ( reliable source) that pharmacy employment rates will increase by 2020 due to baby boom generation and the need of pharmacists are drastically increasing. So let’s see how things unfold.