My S24 daughter applied to a number of programs leading to a 6 year PharmD. She was accepted oos into Pitt & Binghamton with there pharmacy school guarantee after two years (2+4) and to URI directly into the pharmacy school (0-6 program).
In terms of costs, Pitt is the most expensive (currently no merit offer) Binghamton offered her merit for the first two years (12K per year), which would make it about 40-45K cheaper than Pitt and if she decided not to the pursue the pharmD she would get the merit for the next two years of an undergraduate degree. However, for the PharmD portion (last 4 years) they would be about the same, URI offered merit over all 6 years making it at least 70K cheaper than Pitt
Pitt offers some advantages - it is the highest ranked program, the UPMC hospitals would likely provide some early opportunities for relevant work experience, there is generally more to do, and my daughter really liked the campus, but I question whether this is worth it. My daughter would have to contribute more and I question whether it is worth it and also whether in the end the perceived benefits of the city will not really be used
Binghamton seems to have a similar reputation to Pitt academically and has a nice campus, but the pharmacy school is new and less established. On the other hand, it takes less students than the other two, so she might get more attention. It also seems to have a high match rate for pharmacy residency. There seem to be some things to do around Binghamton but clearly not as much as Pitt.
URI is a bit less competitive academically, but the pharmacy school is well respected and ranked fairly high. They seem to look after the pharmacy school students from day 1 with an effort to make sure they make it past the first two years and into the professional stage. They also encourage study abroad and have had many pharmacy students do this. Generally, this is hard within an accelerated program. The campus is in a rural setting and there does not seem to be too much around apart from being close to the beach. The campus is nice, but the dorms don’t seem as good as Pitt and Bing. Some freshmen have to share triples.
I think Bing is a good idea because if she changes her mind about her major, she still gets the nice scholarship. Pitt costs a lot regardless but still seems like she could switch majors. At URI is she locked into the program? (that would personally make me a bit nervous).
Don’t know much about Pharmacy school but I would check the career outcomes. I think it’s a field that is under supplied. I have a feeling all will be really good outcome wise.
I think there’s been some comments here on CC that I’ve seen suggesting otherwise. Can’t remember where or I’d link them. I think minimizing cost and keeping flexibility for a major change is wise (unless OP truly won’t miss the money).
ETA: found a couple of those comments. Don’t want to discourage OP, just want them to have info.
Again I’d look at outcomes from each school. I’ve always been under the impression there are jobs but I do see pharmacies like Rite Aid failing - but online services starting. The one I know went to Samford - she works specialty.
I’d pick Bing because of the flexibility and because it sounds like a happy medium for what she wants. In addition, if she changes her mind, Bing has a solid reputation.
It used to be a field that was under supplied with graduates. That has changed. Still relatively easy to get a pharm job if one is flexible about the type of job, and the location.
It sounds like you are OOS for all three.
Really all of these programs will get her to her end goal of being a pharmacist.
How much does she know about the academic side of pharmacy vs. the actual reality of BEING a pharmacist?
I’d start there. Pitt seems like the riskiest option if she understands the academics but not the work reality or vice-versa.
I know a lot of kids at Binghamton-- none of them complain that there’s nothing to do. Kids tend to overestimate how much time they’re going to spend off-campus doing “fun stuff”-- the actual lifestyle (class, labs, reading, exams, papers, drinking coffee with friends, an occasional load of laundry, tutoring session) is going to chew up most of her life no matter she goes.
If your daughter has taken a lot of AP/IB classes, they might count as prerequisites for the Pitt pharmacy program. My daughter applied to Pitt last year and had she attended, her AP credits would had given her sophomore standing. (They were very generous in accepting AP credit.) Just wondering if a 1 plus 4 program might be possible, making Pitt less expensive.
Congratulations to your daughter on her admission acceptances. The career outlook for pharmacists is not limited to pharmacists-in-retail, rather, one can be ready for jobs such as clinical pharmacists, pharmaceutical sciences (industry or research as Ph.D). Other popular options are PharmD combined with a masters in public health, or even a law degree. If affordable, I would go to Pitt. Another route for top students, one can always try to transfer, as an incoming junior, to higher ranking PharmD programs such as those at, UNC-Chapel Hill, University of California, San Francisco (a heath science campus in the UC system), or Michigan.
I’m a pharmacist in NY. Does she know where she wants to practice eventually? One can always get licensed in other states, but if she wants to be in NY, you might want to get licensed there first since it’s a pain to do it later compared to most other states. I graduated in 1999 so things very well may have changed, but NY, CA, and FL used to be the more difficult ones to transfer to. I love my job, but I’m fortunate to work for a great company. Many other retail pharmacists are insanely stressed out. The job market like many professions is a rollercoaster. When I graduated demand was insanely high, but after the market crashed 2007/08 it was very difficult to get a job. Now at least in my area (Central NY) it has swung back the other way where we are constantly looking to hire and we just got big raises. But who knows what 6/7 years from now will bring! Good luck!!
I think based on cost alone, Pitt isn’t worth the extra money over the other two. I don’t know much about URI, but Bing is highly regarded in NY state and I am sure the standards are very rigorous.
My son attended Bing. There is no lack of things to do. The town is hopping and so is the campus. If the great outdoors is her thing, there is a lot to do. Many nice places in the region, including all the loveliness of the Finger Lakes and associated towns.
According to the article I posted, there will be growth until 2030. With aging and new drugs requires new pharmacists. Of course in any field there are ups and downs but I’ve read the same here if pharmacists - big raises and sign on bonuses. Wal Mart has a job listed in Colorado with $50k sign on.
With technology, all careers or many are a gamble so it’s a chance we all take. And with so many newer schools in the last 20 years, maybe there will be too many grads.
Here’s potentially a full list - Wikipedia. And an accreditation list.
Binghamton is a candidate to be accredited but not yet fully accredited with the council that does this. Does that impact recruiting?
URI and Pitt appear fully accredited.
Again - not an expert in this area - just weaving together a story from what’s on line.
Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate all the helpful information, To provide a bit more context and answer the questions, URI would fall within budget. Binghamton is also possible if my daughter contributes her savings that she received from relatives. For Pitt she would need to earn the extra money or take loans out. Unfortunately, she was waitlisted for Pharmacy at our state school Rutgers, which would be within budget and slightly less than URI. She did get admitted to Rutgers SAS and could pursue a the pre-pharmacy courses and try to transfer into pharmacy after two years but this is known to be tough and she could also apply to other schools at that point.
When applying, she liked Pitt the most, but I think this was based on the setting and things she could do in Pittsburgh (shows, concerts etc.) , but also it has a great reputation biomedical area. I don’t mind if she selects Pitt but I want her to think very carefully about the tradeoff.
In terms of what she knows about pharmacy, this was mainly based on high school alumni talks, visiting pharmacy days at schools (Pitt even had a multi day camp), a friend who works in retail pharmacy and some knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry which employs many PharmDs in many different types of positions across research, development and even commercial. My understanding is the final year of the PharmD is all work experience with a series of rotations and you have to do internships before that, so you should start to get an idea of the different options as you go along but there seemed to be quite a few different paths.
I would review the accreditation - as Binghamton is a candidate but not accredited.
What does this mean? I don’t know.
Why I’d ask - if Bing stays in consideration. It could be that Pitt is the best school for her - then you have to decide - is the cost affordable or is the difference worth it (to you, the parent…kids love to spend our money)
Sorry for the large font - don’t know how to fix it.
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education - (ACPE) from the CHEA
OK - that shows since June 23 and accredited through 2027.
On this link below, it shows “Candidate” only. Perhaps they haven’t updated to have all their databases match. You can tell with the two ** which is noted at the bottom. Just click on the link and scroll down to BIng.
I don’t know it impacts the ability to get a job. And you might check career outcomes at each anyway. That’s always the best sign anyway.
Please, please, please— have your D do a worksheet from one of the many online “loan repayment” calculators. Kids really don’t understand what “take loans out” means.
Back in the day— my graduate program required anyone getting a loan to MANUALLY figure out the loan repayments (no calculator, no computer) before they’d check off your approval paperwork. It was a major PIA but one of the most helpful things I’ve ever done financially. I wouldn’t torture a kid now by having them do it manually-- especially since it’s so easy to plug and chug using different scenarios (“what does it look like if I borrow 5K? What does it look like if I borrow 10K? When do I start paying down principal vs. just interest?”)
She’s capped on what SHE can borrow- but it’s still a lot of money for a young professional just starting out. And that loan payment- every single month. Every month. She wants to go to Aruba with a bunch of her friends who are all off Christmas week? Loan payment. Best friend is getting married and the bachelorette party is in Vegas? Loan payment. Needs a dress and hotel room for the actual wedding? Loan payment. It is very hard for a HS kid to understand how much disposable income it takes to pay off a loan-- and how long…
