<p>You might not see a lot of cases like me. But here is my case:</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Logically it would make sense for a person who wants to go to pharm, to go to a 0-6 pharm school.</p>
<p>So I sent my deposit and that was that.</p>
<p>Then what I feared happened. Today I got my acceptance to Cornell CAS. </p>
<p>Now I am LOST. Is going to a prestigious school, worth all that?</p>
<p>I would go to St. John’s pharm, but the idea of rejecting an ivy stings.</p>
<p>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.<br>
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</p>
<p>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</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In any event, you have a tough decision with no clear cut answer. Good luck!!</p>
<p>@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 </p>
<p>@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.</p>
<p>I’ll even go further and take me teachers’ advice on Monday.</p>
<p>EDIT: Also for grad there is no financial aid, only loans.</p>
<p>As much as people say the brand doesn’t matter it really does.</p>
<p>The first thing recruiters look for is where you went for college. Then after that they look at your skills. I was surprised to find out how much my cornell degree carried over other places.</p>
<p>I have 3 friends who are pharmacists and they said that having a prestigious name wouldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>So if you are absolutely set on being a pharmacist and want to work right away then i guess don’t go to cornell. If you would like to broaden your mind and explore all options (including pharm), with a large & well connected alumni base, well then cornell.</p>
<p>Btw unless your family income is above the 80-90th percentile, cornell offers generous finaid.</p>
<p>I’m not worried about FA, its good in both colleges.</p>
<p>BTW, I think you misunderstood your friends. They meant a degree from a more prestigious pharm school. Not UG school. The UG degree doesn’t matter at all in pharm ( or med, or law). It’s just the Grad degree that matters. Cornell unfortunately doesn’t have a pharm school, or any other ivy, since they don’t want to be undermined by other established pharm schools.</p>
<p>@priari dad: Because I know what I want to do in life lol. I’m sure too.
Many people might not know what they want. I’m one of those who do know.</p>
<p>You can’t compare a pharm school to an undergrad school. That’s like comparing apples and oranges.</p>
<p>IMHO the key question to ask is whether you want to practice as a pharmacist say in a hospital setting or a store like Walgreens or be in pharmaceutical research/grad school/ university teaching/working in pharma companies. If practice is the choice then go with St. John’s but latter is the choice go with Cornell.</p>
youll have to let me know what you decide</p>
the fact of being accepted won’t change whether if I accept or deny it.</p>