Silence1113

You might not see a lot of cases like me. But here is my case:

During the times of college registration I applied to Cornell. I truly wanted to go in like millions of students want to each year. Around February I started loving pharmacy and finally decided after a long debate and research between pharmacy and medicine, that I want to be a pharmacist. So at around half of February I applied to St. John's University 0-6 pharmacy course. I got in.

For those who don't know: The 0-6 pharm course does this:
-You don't need to take the PCAT exam
-It's just 6 years, instead of the traditional 8 (4 undergrad, 4 grad)
-Ill only have to pay the full tuition of 2 years of grad...instead of 4 if I were to go the traditional way.

Logically it would make sense for a person who wants to go to pharm, to go to a 0-6 pharm school.

So I sent my deposit and that was that.

Then what I feared happened. Today I got my acceptance to Cornell CAS.

Now I am LOST. Is going to a prestigious school, worth all that?

I would go to St. John's pharm, but the idea of rejecting an ivy stings.

Any advice?

I V

You have to decide that for yourself. If you had a plan that you thought would work well for you, then stick with it.

Silence1113

That's what my parents are saying.

*** seriously...I wish I had been rejected. I would have been much more relaxed atm.

englandern

Do what you think is best.

to me - it seems like a no brainer - go with the St. John's pharmacy program - over any school, cornell or any other, if pharmacy is what you want. It makes no sense to give up your opportunity at st johns. An ivy or top ranked school helped, but success takes getting there and you have a great opportunity.
Even if you got into a school like Stanford, I personally would still take the st john's pharmacy opportunity if that is what you want to do as a career.
than is just my opinion
good luck to you

Silence1113

Very true.

Maybe it has to do with maturity, but it seems so painful to reject an ivy. :/

At least I'll always have the acceptance package and shove it into anyone's face igniter say I couldn't get into any ivy.

You guys think this pain will go away over time? I'm somewhat depressed at the situation.

englandern

don't be caught up on the ivy name,
get caught up on your goals
the ivy name is just a name, heck, there are many would not compare some of the ivys to the prestige of stanford or mit or williams or Duke, etc. so don't worry about ivy or any other name. name is only a name.
go to a school that works for you, goals, location, price, student body, etc.....
it is not a depressing situation. you are lucky - just pursue what is best

Wittlefelluh

you become a pharmacist 2 years earlier and save money. Doing that makes sense. Once you start there, the pain will be non existent.

Silence1113

Thanks for your advice you guys. It put me back into my senses. I guess it was how I doubted I would get into Cornell, and got in that messed my mind a bit.

I'll focus on the bigger goal, PharmD.

Thanks guys.

ashtonconner

i know exactly what you mean. i have decided to go into nursing and get my rn license and ive become very fond and comfortable with attending an in state school where i have a full ride and i got into honors. but i was accepted into cornell, which does not offer nursing, and now im receiving alot of pressure from my parents and school officials (ivy acceptances at my school are extremely rare) and when i explain my situation im basically told id be stupid for turning down an ivy. its extremely stressful, i know exactly what you mean :/ youll have to let me know what you decide

zephyr15

@silence

If you're 100% sure you want to be a pharmacist, I think you have your answer. The only drawback to St Johns I can see is what happens if you change your mind in a year. Cornell would offer you flexibility. Quite a number of people do, in fact, change their minds a year or so in to college.

As to cost, are you in state? If so, what is the Cornell tuition vs the St. Johns tuition. Four Years in-state Cornell plus 4 years grad school may not be that much more expensive than 6 years St. Johns. We don't know.

In any event, you have a tough decision with no clear cut answer. Good luck!!

morrismm

Congratulations on your Cornell acceptance. You will always have that claim. Now go be a pharmacist.

Be the best you can be!

Silence1113

@Ashtonconner: I'm almost set on St. johns since it makes sense, but I will finalize my decision very soon in this topic, for you

@zephyr: true. You made good points. But you see... I KNOW for a fact that I wanted to be either a med or pharm. This wasn't hard for me to decide. What was harder to decide was whether to go with med or pharm. I read about both jobs. Went on a forum made for the health fields, and I came with the conclusion that I'll be more comfortable in pharm. So I indeed know what exactly both professions are about...I'm not just taking a jump.

I'll even go further and take me teachers' advice on Monday.

EDIT: Also for grad there is no financial aid, only loans.

Got2BeGreen

Think about it this way - you've already rejected every Ivy you didn't apply to. What's one more?

Silence1113

@Morrism: heh, true. the fact of being accepted won't change whether if I accept or deny it.

Got2begreen: haha unique thinking there :P

Alright as a final thing, I'll speak to a teacher an GC. then I should be set.

prairie_dad

you are 18, how could you know what you want to be? Cornell is incomparably better than st johns, go there!!