Hello,
I’m currently a senior and I’m trying to decide which school I should attend to next year. I have gotten accepted to U of Minnesota-Twin Cities and U of Michigan-Ann Arbor. I plan on majoring in Microbiology and hopefully earning a Pharmacy degree. A large factor in my choice will be financial aid but for the time being I’d like to set the cost aside- until my award package comes in March. Here are my thoughts on each school:
Minnesota
-Pro: Has one of the best Pharmacy Schools (2nd in nation)
-Pro: Not expensive
-Pro: Feel like it’s not too challenging academically
-Con: A lot of people I know from in and outside my school attend here and I don’t feel like I can have a fresh start
-Con: Close to home (30 mins)
Michigan
-Pro: Good school academically, not sure about pharmacy
-Pro: Out of state
-Con: Expensive, but according to Net Price Calc affordable
-Pro/Con: Won’t know anyone, lots of new people, fresh start
Factors that are important to me:
-Diversity/Inclusion
-Strong academics, especially toward pharmacy
-Good urban city location
Overall, I want to have a new fresh start but I’m also nervous/excited at the idea. I’ve never been to the state of Michigan before but will defiantly be taking a tour. Basically I was wondering if anyone had any stories or personal experiences they’d like to share and what choice they’d make if they were me. This is a really important/hard choice for me. Any help is welcomed/appreciated!
Why didn’t you apply to UWisconsin-Madison where you have tuition reciprocity? You have until February 1, I think, so you should do that. You are out of state, so Michigan is going to be much more expensive than MN. I have degrees from Michigan and Minnesota – I would not pay OOS tuition to go to Michigan unless your parents are really wealthy.
You can get away from your HS crowd at a school like MN. There are 30,000 undergraduates there! You NEVER have to hang out with your HS friends unless you want to. It can be as fresh a start as you want it to be. So that is a bad reason to pay OOS tuition.
Here are some pharmacy school rankings – all the schools discussed her (MN, MI, WI) are top 10.
@intparent tysm! I have applied to UWisconsin-Madison actually and have gotten accepted. However I was worried about the diversity piece- since it doesn’t seem like a very diverse school -so I pushed it off to the side 
If the cost difference ends up not being significant enough to base your decision off of, I would choose whichever school YOU feel most comfortable with, not necessarily the rankings or what other people might think. Tour the University of Michigan this spring if you can, ask questions, get a feel for the campus, and take notes on how you feel about the campus vibe, the people, social atmosphere, etc. After looking at UMich, evaluate your choices. If it’s still a close call, consider how committed you are to pharmacy for a career. If you think there’s a possibility you might change majors during college (which is extremely common), UMich might be a better choice because of the breadth of prestigious programs that it offers. If you feel like pharmacy is your only true contender for a career, Minnesota might make more sense for its College of Pharmacy. However, UMich also has its own College of Pharmacy which is ranked at #3 at the graduate level by U.S. News (right behind UMN at #2). You have two awesome options, so really take time to think about which school makes the most sense financially, academically, and personally for you. Best of luck!
But the cost differential is likely to be large. Minnesota is less expensive to start with, and the OP is in-state. Michigan does NOT give much aid to OOS students – they will not meet need.
Your experience at any of these schools, again, can be as diverse as you want it to be. Hang out at the multicultural houses that ALL these campuses have. Also, you aren’t looking at that much more diversity. Looking at the Common Data Set for all these schools for current undergrads, here is what I see:
Wisconsin - 65% Caucasian
Minnesota - 76% Caucasian
Michigan - 61% Caucasian
Wisconsin is actually in the middle of the group, only 4% less diverse than Michigan.
If the cost are similar, for example, your need is met by UMich, then you may pick whichever school you like more. Otherwise, it may not worth the extra cost to go OOS, particularly when you have further education expenses down the road.
Between Minnesota and Michigan, Michigan probably has a slight edge overall based solely on the caliber of students you’ll be around… but the teaching is excellent at both. I would give Minnesota the nod because it is urban (and you want that) and it is going to cost less than half as much. Michigan does have an edge in diversity, but is it worth $100,000+?
However, I think UW is probably the happy medium: a new environment, still pretty inexpensive, and large portions of campus feel urban. It has the same high level of academics – strong in a lot of areas, which is good for both your all-around education and in case you want to change majors.
So if you like UW, I’d strongly consider it. I am a UW alumnus, but i say that based on what you’re looking for.
Be careful with that last assumption, kid. The hard sciences will kick your butt at any half-decent uni if you don’t stay on top of your work.
I am trying to decide between Michigan and South Carolina. I live about 20 minutes from Umich, but want to get away.
@lightningspirit Curious if you’ve made a decision? My daughter is also interested in ultimately completing PharmD. Accepted at Michigan LSA to School of Pharmacy but We’re OOS and net cost not even remotely a possibility. Fortunate to have other good choices. Did talk to Michigan about doing pre-requisites at more cost effective location (ex state flagship) and then reapplying to School of Pharmacy.
Easy choice here is Minnesota. You’ll be kicking yourself come post-graduation when the monthly payments are due having gone into debt 100K for Michigan over Minnesota. This is especially true for a field like pharmacy, where lay prestige isn’t really important. And like you said, Minn has a higher ranked pharmacy program anyway.
Michigan is top five in pharmacy, so that really isn’t a factor. I agree though that for the difference in cost for the OP, Minny is the way to go.
For Pharmacy, I would say go for the most affordable option (which is Minnesota in this case). Michigan has more resources and is more “prestigious”, but those are not relevant to the field of pharmacy.
I am a professor at UMN (not in Pharmacy) and my spouse has her BS and PharmD from the UMN. We also have a senior in a similar situation; accepted to UMN with a scholarship offer and accepted at UMich (no aid info yet) for engineering. Regarding your choice, I think you should consider a few factors.
- Admission to Mn Pharmacy School is extremely competitive (I am sure MI is as well). Getting into undergrad at UMN guarantees you nothing. Many students who apply to PharmD program already have an undergrad degree from somewhere. You will have to do well in undergrad at either UMN or Mich to have a chance to get into PharmD.
- Many PharmD students are also now doing residencies after degree completion. These are typically 1-2 years of less than full pharmacist salary. That will impact your ability to repay debt for a few years.
- Where you do your PharmD and residencies seems to have an impact on where you will end up getting a job. If you want to end up in MN or MI, then it may be advantageous to go where you would prefer to work, so that the alumni network can help you land a job.
Best of luck.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but doesn’t most students pursuing a PharmD degree only have to complete 2-years of “Pre-Pharmacy” courses and then apply to Pharmacy school (6-years total!). Why complete an undergraduate degree and apply to Pharmacy school (8-years total)? I’m trying to understand why any prospective PharmD student would go the latter route (unless of course they want to keep their options open to pursue other career choices, such as medical school).
Yes, that would seem to be true, but the reality is different. Many entering the PharmD already have a degree. Entry is extremely competitive.