Need to decide between Purdue and IU *ASAP*

<p>Okay, this is kind of complicated, so hopefully I explain it well enough for you to have an input. </p>

<p>I want to become a pharmacist as of right now. I was accepted into PU's Pre-Pharmacy program, which would allow me to get into their Pharmacy School after two years. I have a scholarship that pays full tuition to any school in Indiana for 4 years. So I could go to Purdue for 4 years tuition-free, and then the last 2 years I would have to pay the tuition. I would also have to pay for my own room & board and other living expenses throughout those 6 years.</p>

<p>Now here's where it gets messy. IU is offering me their Excellence Award to go there, which is $9,000 a year. That, coupled with my free tuition, would make my 4 years there practically free. I could take the classes I would need to get into Purdue's Pharmacy School at IU. But I would have to go to IU for 4 years before getting it, whereas at PU I would only need 2 years to get in apparently. After my 4 years at IU I would have to pay for my 4 years of tuition at PU's Pharmacy School, and also pay for my own r&b and living expenses. </p>

<p>Also, Purdue is only an hour away, while IU is like 3 or 3 and 1/2 hours away.</p>

<p>I am really stuck as to what to do. Any help would be much appreciated. I am just trying to figure out which one would be cheaper in the long run.</p>

<p>

You need to figure out the “apparently” part. You absolutely MUST do this before you make a decision. Is a pharmacy program a 6-year program or an 8-year program? It seems unlikely that Purdue thinks so highly of itself that it thinks its two years are worth IU’s four years.</p>

<p>IU all the way</p>

<p>An email from Purdue:</p>

<p>"Tyler,</p>

<p>It is not a mandate to attend our prepharmacy program to be considered for admission to pharmacy school. There are advantages to the Purdue environment through interactions with advisors, upper-classmen, faculty, student organizations, etc. but we understand the commitment to our campus is a significant investment.</p>

<p>You may want to compare the cost of attending here for two years of prepharmacy vs. four years at another institution. We have strived to maintain a two-year prepharmacy option to allow students the opportunity to enter the professional program earlier than some of our peers. Perhaps this is worth a look in your college planning process."</p>

<p>yeah whateva…they want u bad…but still, IU>PU</p>

<p>Maybe they want me to go but it seems like IU wants me a lot more. They are throwing $9000 a year my way while PU only gives me $1000. I didn’t qualify for the same award at Purdue that I got at IU because my GPA wasn’t high enough for them…for some reason they don’t count advanced, AP, or Honors classes in your GPA. So that made me GPA go down significantly.</p>

<p>Huh. I guess they DO think that highly of themselves!!! :eek: </p>

<p>What if you start out in the Purdue pre-pharmacy program and decide you don’t actually want to be a pharmacist? Does the pre-pharmacy program convert to a BS degree in something as well?</p>

<p>

If you’re really trying to figure out which would be cheaper in the long run, write it all down! It seems that you know everything but you’re trying to hold all the numbers in your head at once. There’s more than cost to consider, but cost, at least, is easy to figure out! I gave you a hint, but I don’t know your numbers.</p>

<p>IU –> Purdue
first four years: Free???
next four years: Tuition + R&B = 150K???
Total: first 4 + next 4 = ???</p>

<p>Purdue
first four years: R & B = 9000 * 4 = 36K???
last two years: 75K???
Total: ???</p>

<p>i may be IU biased but heck…
a friend of mine is at purdue and hes quite happy so i guess thats as good.not better though…
still, i would say iu.
besides, i like indiana jones and the …</p>

<p>The cost is hard to figure out, though. I don’t know how much room & board and my living expenses will cost in a few years. I might be living in an apartment by then and could even have a job. This is tough.</p>

<p>This Plan Of Study is specifically designed for students preparing to apply for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program in Fall 2012 and later.
First Year
First Semester
Course Title Credits
CHM 10900 Chemistry 5
MA 22300 Intro Analysis Calculus I 3
BIOL 11000 Fundamentals of Biology I 4
ENGL 10600 English Composition I 4
PHPR 10000 Pharmacy Orientation‡ 1
Total: 17</p>

<p>Second Semester
Course Title Credits
MCMP 20400 Organic Chemistry I 4
MA 22400 Intro Analysis Calculus II 3
BIOL 11100 Fundamentals of Biology II 4
AGEC 21700 Economics 3
Total: 14</p>

<p>Second Year
Third Semester
Course Title Credits
MCMP 20500 Organic Chemistry II 4
BIOL 30100 Anatomy & Physiology I 3
PHYS 22000 General Physics I 4
STAT 30100 Elementary Statistical Methods 3
Total: 14</p>

<p>Fourth Semester
Course Title Credits
MCMP XXXXX Biochemistry 4
BIOL 30200 Anatomy & Physiology II 3
BIOL 22100 Intro to Microbiology 4
MCMP XXXXX Immune System & Genetic Therapies 3
Total: 14</p>

<p>I just found that on Purdue’s website. So I guess I could go to IU for two years and then get into Purdue’s Pharmacy School? Or would it be impossible to take all of those classes in two years?</p>

<p>Bump bump bump</p>

<p>From stats that I’ve seen, fewer than half of pre-pharmacy majors ever apply to pharmacy school. I think that the potential salaries strike many prospective students as appealing, but in most cases, the actual work eventually doesn’t. For that matter, the typical college student in any field changes majors more than once. Unless you have the rare situation of being an 18-year-old who knows for certain what his life’s work will be, I’d avoid heading down a path that goes only in that direction.</p>

<p>Yeah, I’ve considered that too, gadad. It’s a good point. At IU I’ll be able to major in something other than pharmacy, and if I end up not liking it, it won’t be a big deal to change my direction. And it’ll be practically free!</p>

<p>I don’t see how this is an issue-it’s obvious - Indiana all the way.</p>