Why is pharmacy school so expensive? what can we do?

[tolkien]

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Hey everyone,

Im going into my second year of pharmacy school a private pharmacy school; my name is Mark and i'm from Canada! (attending an american university)

Even though I dont have american citizenship; my school still charges everyone the same amount (approx 33,000-35,000 per YEAR).

I was wondering, how do you guys handle this much amount of money?!?! it seems like too much, do you get loans? anything??

Will we all be in debt for the rest of our lives?!?!

Thanks!

 

[jas15]

wow more than 30,000 a year for tuition? That is a hell of a lot of money. I am taking out loans, about 30,000/yr for tuition and living expenses. Sucks that you are going to a private school although a state school would probably charge almost as much with out of state tuition. If you do only loans then you will probably be in debt about 200,000 which can be paid off, just not very quickly. The only advice I can give is get loans, live thrifty and go to work. It will be hard but it can be done.

 

[BiOGoly]

Many of us can empathize with your situation. My tuition, including fees, increased by over 14% for this year (to $35500)...and I still have another year to go after this one. It's very discouraging to think about the vast amounts we are spending, especially considering the same education could be had (in a three year program) for nearly a third less just 4 years ago. Fortunately, pharmacist wages are still climbing and if you work hard, you should be able to pay back your loans without too much impact on your quality of life. However, the pats on the back and reassurances I get from administrators whenever high tuition prices come up makes me sick. After taxes and interest and expenses, a +150k student loan is a lot of money...i don't care if you are making 100k (gross!) a year.

 

[tolkien]

And that is assuming that we actually pass!!!

What if the university puts up some ******ed course where everyone fails and then boom - massive loss of money.

How can we possibly ensure our spot in the school? We can't. 200k and we're not even sure of a PharmD

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Damn, I only shell out 8k/year and the wife goes for free....and I"m still going to be a good $120k in debt when its all said and done...

 

[KARM12]

And that is assuming that we actually pass!!!

What if the university puts up some ******ed course where everyone fails and then boom - massive loss of money.

How can we possibly ensure our spot in the school? We can't. 200k and we're not even sure of a PharmD

The passing rates for students once starting the PharmD is actually pretty high. It is like anything in life in the fact nothing is a guarantee. When someone doesn't pass, it usually isn't the school's fault, but the student's. Just work hard to make it through (or at least hard enough to just pass). Pharmacy school really isn't that bad.

 

[njac]

that's just what it costs to attend many universities in the US. I don't think there's much we can do about it other than sponsor scholarships when we finish. Heck, I know people who were paying those sorts of prices for undergrad. I've gone to state schools so I think mine is something like $14K/yr for pharmacy school (my undergrad was morelike $4K/yr) but that's the payoff for staying local.

 

[ZpackSux]

Put this into perspective.

I started pharmacy school in 1991. The tuition was $15,500. My lasty year's tuition in 1995 was $18,500. In 1995, pharmacist average salary was $60,000 per year in CA. I borrowed $50,000 which I paid off without even knowing.

I also worked a lot..virtually every weekend and every summer while in school.

And if you're in pharmacy school now, you will most likely come out expecting a salary close to $120,000 in next few years.

Borrow the tuition...then pay it off. And don't worry about it.

 

[no-see-um]

As Susie Orman would say: "There's good debt and then there's bad debt". Taking out loans to pay for a professional degree is the GOOD debt. Buying the newest model of Mercedes S class would be BAD debt. 😀 Good luck.

 

[Gearhead-Rx]

I hear you on this one. Im considered an out of state student at my school so I go to the business office and touch my toes 😡

I pay $ 16,000 a semester in tuition...thats excluding books and other expenses.All the same I consider it a worth while investment. If I wasnt in
Pharm school, I dont know where else Id be.

 

[RZArectah]

i only pay 14k/yr, and this out-of-state tuition. this is very reasonable when compared to most private and other out-of-state tuitions.

Ole Miss
C/O 2011 😀

 

[Old Timer]

I guess I shouldn't tell you that my tuition was $6,000.00 per year way back in 1982. The starting salary was $26,000.00 per year. You do the math. It's much harder for students now. There are two schools in the Philadelphia area. Temple (Go Owls) is $19,000.00 and USP (Used to be PCP&S) is $28,180.00 for years 3-5 and then pull down your pants (skip the KY) and fork over $39,921.00 for your sixth year while the school has limited costs as you are on rotation.

Temple: 2 years at $10,00.00 and four years at $19,000.00 = $96,000.00

USP: 2 yrs at $25,618, 3 yrs at $28,180 and 1 yr at $39,921 = $175,697.00

Neither of these includes room and board or other expenses.

I have no idea how kids are doing this today. To come out of school in hock for $200,000.00 is scary.......

 

[nikkai]

As Susie Orman would say: "There's good debt and then there's bad debt". Taking out loans to pay for a professional degree is the GOOD debt. Buying the newest model of Mercedes S class would be BAD debt. 😀 Good luck.

I hate that chick. =P