<p>My ds is trying to decide between 2 different schools for their pharmacy program.</p>
<p>School #1 would cost $28-$30,000 a year. It is small and private. It is a direct entry 6 year pharmacy doctorate program. His class would have about 140 students give or take. Students take a pharmacy class all 6 years of the program. </p>
<p>School #2 is at one of our state universities. It would cost $16,000 to $20,000 a year. If he earns a 3.5 gpa his 1st 3 semesters he is automatically granted a seated in the pharmacy program. He takes pre-pharm classes the 1st 2 years in with other pre-med students. Eventually his class would have 150 -200 students. This is in city with some crime on the outskirts. DS doesn't like the campus at much. The school just completed a brand new pharmacy building but he won't get to go there until later in the program.</p>
<p>My question- how do you decide which school to go to? Both are well regarded in our state.
We wouldn't have to take out any loans for his 1st year at either school- but that could change in future years when more of our children go to college. I know he prefers the feel of school #1 but it costs quite a bit more than school #2.</p>
<p>Good luck on the decision. This is the classical dilemma those of us who have to consider finances face. Is it worth the extra cost to get more of what the student wants. I’ve made decisions in both directions in this situation and am no wiser. The only stipulation is that if you have financial concerns and there are significant unknowns in the next several years, do leave yourself that financial leeway. We wanted our first one to get exactly what he wanted and costs were not an issue to us. Well, you never get exactly what you want. The minute you get it, other issues crop up and we started this whole college thing behind the financial 8 ball for that, among other reasons. The economy faltered, investments tanked, home equity plummented, DH’s income took a beating, and we had no leeway at all because we had taken on more than we could afford taking the optimistic view that things were going to get better, not worse.</p>
<p>If I were in your shoes and had only one year of school paid for, more kids yet to be educated, with two “highly regarded” schools in play, I would select school #2. That brand new pharmacy building will give him something to look forward to…</p>
<p>How do you feel about offering him the choice with the understanding that you will pay $80k (enough to cover the state school)? If he chooses the private option, he will need to come up with the difference - $32k-40k. Let him take some risk here. He will obviously need to work over the summers, take a job on campus, etc…but that’s not an unreasonable expectation for any student.</p>
<p>If things go well, you could, at a later date, decide to help him pay off the debt - but that would be at your discretion and not part of his decision.</p>
<p>If there is any chance of him changing his mind about his major, I’d say choose #2. He will probably be exposed to more of a variety of classes and people with other interests. If he is driven and is sure of his choice I’d go with #1 - I like what M’s Mom said…he can look for a job, look for scholarship money, financial aid, whatever it takes if his heart is set on that particular school. I personally have a very shy, introverted child who I think would do better in a smaller school, so take his personality into account. Good luck!</p>
<p>Are you saying that school #1 is a 6 yr program and they walk out with a doctorate? And that school #2 is a four year school and you still have to get the doctorate elsewhere after the 4 years?</p>
<p>No brainer—School #2 may look cheaper but you still have to pay the tuition & other costs for the doctorate and that will not be 10k/yr (the difference between these two).</p>
<p>What about as poster #4 said, pay the price of the state school & let Jr use jobs & loans for the difference between the two. But be fair and pay it for the last 2 years of the program too—you’d still be getting off cheaply. </p>
<p>Also, if there are more kids in line, you may be eligible for more aid for them if Jr is in the 6 yr program. Costs of tuition of rother family members is taken into consideration in FA calculations. </p>
<p>Several things to consider about the two choices. Is he absolutely set on pharmacy? The job outlook is worsening as more schools are opening, so if he changes his major, #2 is better. Will the state school freeze tuition at freshman rates? #1 is definitely going to have some tuition hikes over the next 6 years. Being bigger, #1 probably has more clinical sites/internship rotations nearby. </p>
<p>On the other hand, a 3.5 gpa doesn’t sound too bad until organic chemistry sophomore year. That is usually the weed-out class for pharmacy, so if #1 has a lower gpa to meet, that would be a plus. Is #2 a true 6 year or 7 year program? Obviously 1 less year of tuition/ 1 year of income earlier would put #1 in a better position. Finally, ask about clinical sites/ rotations if this small school is in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>It’s a hard time of year for our students making their decisions-good luck!</p>