University at Buffalo vs St. John's University

[christy101]

I'm currently in high school and I want to go into pharmacy. I can't seem to decide which school to go to. I was wondering which one of the schools is better and if anyone can give me some advice, and if anyone attend UB or St. John's can share their experience.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[STAR3URY]

u got into St. Johns? If so go to St. Johns, UB the campus suckS!!!!!!!

 

[christy101]

u got into St. Johns? If so go to St. Johns, UB the campus suckS!!!!!!!

yea i got into St. Johns, how come UB campus sucks? is it really old or something? my friends were telling me its pretty nice and they said St. Johns is too small and stuff.

 

[bklyngirl]

Consider the fact that with UB (a 2+4 program) you are NOT guaranteed entry into the third year of the pharmD program. I'm pretty sure that with St. John's (0-6 program) you gain automatic acceptance as long as you maintain a certain average. Unless St. John's is joining ACP in doing away with 0-6 and changing to 2+4. You should look into this, because it may not seem very important right now, but it definitely should be an important factor since the competition only gets MUCH, MUCH harder later on.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

The major pro of St. Johns is that it is committed to you. You are guaranteed admission into a great school with great students and a great staff. The major con is that it is expensive. Depending on your scholarship, you can expect to come out with an average of 100k in debt.

The major pro of UB is that you can come out with 40k in debt. However on the side note, you can get distracted more easily (more parties than SJU, closer to Candian border where strip clubs and casinos = 18 +, etc), if you live in NYC, you are about 7 hours drive away (get to see family less), crappy cold weather, and NOT GUARANTEED admission after two years.

My opinion is go with SJU.

 

[jh2]

I'm currently in high school and I want to go into pharmacy. I can't seem to decide which school to go to. I was wondering which one of the schools is better and if anyone can give me some advice, and if anyone attend UB or St. John's can share their experience.

If St.John guarantee a seat in the profession phase, you should go there. UB does not take their own school students a lot, they take more students from other schools. If you messed up one semester, not matter what you did in the past, they definitely won't take you. UB sucks

 

[christy101]

they told me in UB that if I maintain a 3.5 GPA the first 2 years and pass an interview, I can have a seat in the professional phase. I don't know if I can do that...keeping a 3.5... i think its hard and im not guaranteed a spot. I live in NYC, so if I go to SJU, I don't think I would dorm and its like, I won't be having the "college experience" and get to have more freedom and not have your parents looking over you the whole time. SJU is expensive tuition alone, I have to take out 10k in loans a year, and thats only the first year...dont you get less money in aid as years go on?

How does tuition differ when I get to my 5th and 6th year, when it is consider graduate school?

will I get less financial aid and scholarships in my 5th and 6th year?

UB has a better reputation and ranking than SJU, but I don't know if I should base my decision on that....but people say UB is a better school and has a better program and competitive.

anyone currently in one of these school can share their experience?

 

[slaitken]

I'm a current UB student, and I have no complaints at all. I'm originally from Long Island, so I was debating between SJU and UB out of high school, but UB's cost wound up being a deciding factor for me.

I got into the pharmacy program through UB's early assurance curriculum, which was a 3.5 GPA in science and math classes. Unfortunately, you're not guaranteed a spot if you drop below that total, and you have to apply with the general pool. That isn't to say it's still impossible to get in, but the application process becomes much more competitive.

As far as tuition goes, the first 3 years at UB (undergraduate and P1 year) are all relatively cheap (~$4,500/semester last time I looked), but that number almost doubles once the last 3 years come around.

I've lived on campus all three years I've been at UB so far, and I've definitely grown to love the campus and the atmosphere it has.

UB does have a higher ranking than SJU, but the rankings are fairly arbitrary from what I've seen. People will get what they want out of school, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Good luck.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

In pharmacy schools, ratings do no matter. Ratings are usually based on a school's research money which has nothing to do with the education of pharmacy itself. However you are right in about what each person makes of it. The key is the school providing enough resources for that student to reach its highest potential. This means that all things being equal, I would pick the school with the better resources. I wonder how does UB rate compared to SJU in terms of access to medical journals (online). I was using NYU's medical online library and literally, i have access to almost every article i needed from pubmed for my research!

 

[bwsalvas]

What a well writ reply, Sam. That sounded awfully presidential...haha

Here's how I look at it:

You can't go comparing 0-6 schools and 4yr graduate schools. There are so many important differences between them.

Now, I say that from the comfort of my UB desk studying for my physical pharmacy exam in the morning.

To some, the comfort of knowing you're in pharmacy school ~April of your senior year of high school is invaluable.

To others, having the ability to stay at the same school and study just about anything your heart desires without leaving friends etc is also invaluable.

The latter is why I chose UB over Albany or St. John's. I wanted that flexibility because people change their minds often, and I've been known to do it frequently myself. Everyone is different.

If you visit UB you won't be disappointed.

 

[bwsalvas]

If St.John guarantee a seat in the profession phase, you should go there. UB does not take their own school students a lot, they take more students from other schools. If you messed up one semester, not matter what you did in the past, they definitely won't take you. UB sucks

Welcome to the world of competition. Also, I suggest you think twice before you judge any school.

UB takes many of its own students year to year, in fact a majority. Now, how many they take is up to the students, really. The 3.5 science gpa is hard, but not impossible and assures you acceptance without having to take the PCAT. Besides, ~3.5 seems to be about the average gpa it takes to get into pharmacy school these days.

No school is right for everyone.

 

[BlueCrayon]

I'm a current UB student, and I have no complaints at all. I'm originally from Long Island, so I was debating between SJU and UB out of high school, but UB's cost wound up being a deciding factor for me.

I got into the pharmacy program through UB's early assurance curriculum, which was a 3.5 GPA in science and math classes. Unfortunately, you're not guaranteed a spot if you drop below that total, and you have to apply with the general pool. That isn't to say it's still impossible to get in, but the application process becomes much more competitive.

As far as tuition goes, the first 3 years at UB (undergraduate and P1 year) are all relatively cheap (~$4,500/semester last time I looked), but that number almost doubles once the last 3 years come around.

I've lived on campus all three years I've been at UB so far, and I've definitely grown to love the campus and the atmosphere it has.

UB does have a higher ranking than SJU, but the rankings are fairly arbitrary from what I've seen. People will get what they want out of school, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Good luck.

I think it's now ~6200/year for undergrad and p2-p4 is around 15,000

 

[bklyngirl]

You should find out from admissions what percentage of UB pre-pharms have been accepted into pharmD program (and their average GPA.)
From there you can get an idea as to what your chances would be based on the average GPA required.
Good luck!

 

[Sparda29]

If you have a guaranteed spot at a school take it. It's not worth it to have to compete for spots.