<p>Happymom is right. Pharmacy school usually means loans. Once your ug degree is up, there are not many options for grant money for that. You gotta borrow. A lot. A whole lot. And though pharmacists make good incomes, huge loans that have to be paid can bring that income down to not such great amounts. I agree that you should keep your ug college costs down low because you will be paying loans for a long, long time. Where you go for ug is not a big issue for acceptance to pharmacy school unless you are going for some joint program or where there is a relationship in programs, so it is wise to take the least expensive ug option and get top grades there.</p>
<p>What is the pre-pharmacy/pharmD program like at HC? Is there a reason this school is worth it - i.e. direct admission to pharm. school etc.?</p>
<p>These considerations can be important, sometimes a program looks less expensive at the beginning, but the admit rate to the professional portion of the program isn’t high and you could waste time and money waiting to be admitted whereas other schools offer an option that makes admission a relatively likely event if certain criteria are met.</p>
<p>So, how good a deal HC is, in your case, now depends on what the big picture - all the way through pharmacy school, looks like.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the OP’s parents are comfortable with the choice. Since they both own a business, i suspect they are not unrealistic people when it comes to finances. Since they own a small business, the salary may not be all the income, especially considering the college fund they have socked away. I’m not sure I see the problem since the family seems OK.</p>
<p>I don’t think that HC has a Pharmacy program connection. It does have a lot of kids who are headed for health care related schools and a goodly number of them do get into their programs, but that has to do more with the caliber of kids there than any connection to a program. </p>
<p>An example of a school that does have a favorable route to pharmacy school is Duquesne University. I know a number of kids who seamlessly made the transition from pre pharm to pharmacy major/grad student going there. They have specific programs for this.</p>
<p>cpt - I too am unaware of any direct connection to pharmacy at HC as well - Duquesne, Drexel and Creighton come to mind… </p>
<p>Jen - are there any direct admit options on your radar? Or is there something about HC/pharmacy that we don’t know?</p>
<p>HC is a wonderful school . Two of my kids applied there and I loved it. Neither considered the acceptances they got because they didn’t get any money from them and it was out of range for us. I wish I could send a kid there.HC has outstanding premed type courses for those wanting to go into health related grad programs and I have no doubt their acceptance rate is high , for no other reason than the kids who go to HC and the caliber of the curriculum. </p>
<p>I think the OP is set to go there, and the parents are in good shape to send them there. But be aware that Pharmacy school is going to mean more loans, likely big ones unless you have a program at your in state public that is heavily subsidized.</p>
<p>GTalum - The only problem is grad school :-</p>
<p>bchan1 & cptofthehouse -</p>
<p>HC doesn’t have pharmacy, but I was admitted into premed & biology, which are competitive majors/programs to be accepted into and I was lucky enough to get into both. I’m just afraid of passing great opportunities up and thinking “what if” … I’m not planning to go into medical school, but I’m sure premed isn’t just for doctors. I was thinking it could span out for all different health related careers and med schools know of HC’s academics. I would hope that pharm schools would believe the same. If I take both biology & premed, it’ll cover all the pre-reqs I’ll need.</p>
<p>I also got a call from Uconn admitting me off the waitlist and I think I got into my first choice program, pre-pharm. However, this will all depend on the FA package they’ll send me and I have two weeks to make a decision for Uconn. The downside of Uconn is that it’s pre-pharm, meaning I’ll have to apply again and take the PCAT in order to get into their pharm school. It’s very, very competitive and if I don’t make it, I’m afraid I’ll be stuck and lost.</p>
<p>They do have an affilitiation with the College of Pharmacy in Wooster if you wanted to take a class or two there. (I think most would be covered with HC’s though)</p>
<p>“Admission to Holy Cross means access to the 12 institutions of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Participating institutions are: Anna Maria College, Assumption College, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Quinsigamond Community College, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Nichols College, University of Massachusetts Worcester, WPI, and Worcester State College”</p>
<p>I love that school. I think you will be well prepared for any grad school, job, program, educationally going there. Congratulations. It is worth working hard and scrimping to go there.</p>
<p>Debruns - Thanks! I actually discovered today during the online HC chat that they have a newly developed course of study for those that want to go into Pharmacy and that they OK’d a pre-pharm collaboration with MCPHS!</p>
<p>cptofthehouse - Even after all that advice about going to a cheaper undergrad school? What changed your mind? After all these opinions, I got the impression that money would be tight for me :</p>
<p>My advice is conflicted, because it is a conflicted issue. As a parent, too, I am conflicted. I have two who applied to HC, got in, but didn’t even give it consideration because it didn’t meet our budget. The chances of getting any merit there are very, very small. </p>
<p>The things in favor of you going to any school, regardless of cost are that your parents are on board with this, they are good savers, it’s a great school that will prepare you well for future academia and programs, and you are pretty much set on going there.</p>
<p>The cons are that your primary plan of profession and education is not associated with any specific program at the school, your parents have saved to their detriment in terms of old age to send you to college and if something happened to you before you are able to make provision for them, they are going to be going to the glue factory as you are an only child and they have no old age savings, the school is much more expensive than other schools that can funnel you more directly to your goal program, the pharm program is very expensive with very little in terms of grant–it’s all loans once you are a grad student there, pharmacists don’t make that much money as to as easily repay those loans despite the cost of the program and how long it takes to complete it, you will be borrowing a lot of money and your parents will be wanting to help you though their earnings are modest, they could enjoy a less stressed quality of life for the next 8 years if you went to something that isn’t so expensive. </p>
<p>So there is conflict here. I did not want to burden my parents when I went to college, and much as I like HC, I would not go there if I were you. My kids would not burden my husband and me with debts and working the “salt mines” for their college. There was not an ounce of consideration of them going to schools over the cost we set out. However, as a parent, I would want to send my child to any school he wants to attend, and I personally think HC is great school, one of my favorites, in fact. But in my case, I have other family quality of life issues, including other kids, and a strong determination that my old age will be planned and funded by DH and me; no burdens on the kids if at all possible with realistic planning to make it as much of possibility as it could be. </p>
<p>So yes, it’s not an easy choice to make. And money is going to be tight for you and your parents for a very long time, and you had better take out a term policy on yourself so you don’t croak before you have your parents old age finances set up. But unlike some kids whose parents don’t want to do this, and whose parents are already in financial trouble, where there are other kids involved, you have those factors on your side. Your parents seem to be savvy with money and business and not afraid of hard work and sacrifice, and are already used to it. Also, I suspect you are the center of their lives and they want nothing more than for you to get what you want in this regard. Of course, on top of it all, you have a solidly good choice that offers a lot of flexibility. Really, I would think med school would be a better goal with more upward financial prospects. Most pharmacy programs can be gotten at far less cost with a more direct line to the grad program.</p>