University of Colorado or Ferris State University?

[mjmjoa]

If you were in a position to pick a prestigious school, but far from home, ~120k + higher living costs, or a pretty much unknown school (do people outside Michigan know what Ferris is?), close to home, ~76k tuition, which would you choose?

This is the dilemma I'm in right now. Obviously Colorado is the better school, but do I choose convenience over the school I attend for the next 4 years?

If you were in this situation, which would you choose and why?

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[HealthCareProfessional]

I would go with the Ferris because its in state so cheaper tuition for the same program. Also rankings dont mean much since it's based on popularity of the school, and once you're done pharmd everyone has equal opportunities in the market no matter what school you attend.

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[neitzman]

Colorado, hands down. Colorado has a bigger class and a lot more organizations. You can make plenty of national connections from going to national conventions for organizations like APha, CSSHP, etc. Colorado is also a great opportunity for all pharmacy and living in Colorado is the experience of a lifetime. There's so much to explore and do here.

However, it is where you truly feel that you will be the best.

 

[mjmjoa]

Colorado, hands down. Colorado has a bigger class and a lot more organizations. You can make plenty of national connections from going to national conventions for organizations like APha, CSSHP, etc. Colorado is also a great opportunity for all pharmacy and living in Colorado is the experience of a lifetime. There's so much to explore and do here.

However, it is where you truly feel that you will be the best.

The class is only bigger by 10 people lol.

I'd love to live in Colorado. It's very beautiful but there's also the higher cost of living and moving away from friends/family part of it which is difficult.

 

[mjmjoa]

I would go with the Ferris because its in state so cheaper tuition for the same program. Also rankings dont mean much since it's based on popularity of the school, and once you're done pharmd everyone has equal opportunities in the market no matter what school you attend.

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If the job market is as saturated as people are predicting, won't going to a better ranked school help my chances of getting a job? Or do you think it won't really matter?

I mean everyone has to pass the Naplex, but I'm not sure.

 

[jokersmiles]

the "prestige" of Colorado is nothing to write home about, highly doubt it will matter at all in the long run anyway.
in the end both schools will graduate pharmacists who will have a lot of trouble finding a good job

pharmacy is over saturated and what you need to focus on is keeping your debt as low as possible.

 

[musicplease]

If you were in a position to pick a prestigious school, but far from home, ~120k + higher living costs, or a pretty much unknown school (do people outside Michigan know what Ferris is?)

there is no such thing as prestige in pharmacy, you think people are going to respect you when you're a pharmacist? no

rankings do not matter, the only thing that matters is keeping debt low and making connections to try to find a job
besides, does anyone outside of pharmacy applicants know that Colorado is a "prestigious" school? no

you will be happier and will be able to save so much money in Michigan, don't let the prepharm mentality get to you.

and if you want to go to Colorado for the chance to specialize, theres no point, like as if everyone that goes to Colorado ends up in clinical pharmacy right.

 

[Trishna28]

I would pick Colorado considering the fact that just graduating out of pharmacy school doesn't land jobs these days from all the horror stories I keep reading. Name recognition does seem to matter and will matter a lot when we graduate 4 years from now. Even more so, if you want to do residency.

 

[mjmjoa]

I would pick Colorado considering the fact that just graduating out of pharmacy school doesn't land jobs these days from all the horror stories I keep reading. Name recognition does seem to matter and will matter a lot when we graduate 4 years from now. Even more so, if you want to do residency.

I haven't really heard of any pharmacist not being able to land a job because of the school they went to (yet). Can you point me to one?

Seems like half the people say it matters, and the other half say people don't really care which school you attended.

 

[HealthCareProfessional]

^lol! Im curious to see what the verdict is...

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[6874899601]

I was in a very similar situation, but for med school (lesser known Michigan school near home vs CU, which is extremely expensive for med school too). I went to CU and it was 100% the correct decision (I'm a fourth-year now).

Yes, you'll benefit from going to a higher-powered school, but what is even more significant than that is that these are good years of your life, so really think about where you want to be. Denver is an awesome city, and the freaking mountains are right there! I go skiing or hiking every week depending on the season, and take advantage of all the other amenities that a diverse city like Denver has to offer as well (for example, the food out here is fantastic, so many great cuisines that you just don't find in Michigan).

I'll have more debt when I graduate, but the experience of living out here during prime years of my life was worth it. And to my knowledge, as a pharmacist you'll have no problem repaying those loans.

But with that said, if nothing I said is all that intriguing to you, and you value being near your family more than being near the outdoors activities Colorado has to offer, maybe you should stay in Michigan. The advice you get will hinge upon the values of the people giving it - so hear what people have to say, consider your own values, and make a decision from there. I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to reply or PM me if it would be of value.