Please help!! College decision, TCNJ or RU or BU

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi fellow collegeconfidential users! I am fairly new to the forum but have seen many insightful posts that have helped me a lot. I would love to know if anyone can give me some advice on my own college decision? I am honestly very confused at this stage and would appreciate any advice!! Thank you!!</p>

<p>I have been accepted to all three schools metnioned in the title, plus a few others like Penn State. I narrowed my options down to these three because I am from New Jersey, so two of them would be in-state for me and thus lower tuitions. Boston University gives me a grant in their financial aid which lowers the cost down a lot, and is the third least expensive amonng all the schools.</p>

<p>I haven't been able to decide exactly what major or career path to go for, although I applied as a buisness major. I have plans for double majoring in accounting and finance with a minor in computer science and/or film stuides, which is a quite a lot, I know. But I have also been accepted to the Ernst Mario school of pharmacy at Rutgers, which is another greater program. I have also thought about going for medicine briefly before. Right now, at this point, with the deadline for making the decision looming around the corner, I feel like I have never been so lost and under such a tremendous amount of pressure.. (not to mention the AP tests coming right after..:/). My plans for business were to become a CPA and work for a Big Four firm, or become a management consultant at another big consulting firm, with the options of working in finance field open, and getting my MBA after one or two years of work experience. I personally love math, especially calculus, and I love solving problems and I think I have very good logic as well. However, now that I am offered the entrance to the Pharmacy program at Rutgers, I am starting to sway a little. But I have also heard that it won't be very easy to find a job by 2020 for pharamcists?? I think being a pharmacist is great for a girl especially because they will have time to raise children and dedicate time for their family in comparison to doctors that usually don't finish schooling and residency until about a little bit over 30? But then I don't really know anything..which is why I am asking for help here..</p>

<p>Anyways, I know my thinking process is a mess right now.. I wil list some things that I absolutely love about each:</p>

<p>BU:
Pros:
School of management is ranked the best among all three, with Finance #7, Accounting #31,
World Class University (or at least it seems to be for me?..)
A very good study-abroad program (I am absolutely interested in this)
And also internship program (Interships are a big factor for me as well)
Amazing Food
Amazing City
Small class size</p>

<p>Cons:
The warren towers dorms really did not impress me, but I am not picky on living conditions
Far from home in NJ
Expensive</p>

<p>TCNJ:
Pros:</p>

<h1>1 CPA passing rate in NJ</h1>

<p>84% acceptance into Med School
Good Study Abroad programs
Small Class size
I am not sure about their internships but I am assuing good as well?
Very affordable tuition</p>

<p>Cons:
It's a bit small (I was looking for a big school atmosphere where you could meet many, many people at all times and learn to be really independent), and I wonder if you would get tired of seeing the same people all the time?</p>

<p>RU:
Pros:
The business school is newly built, and the livingston campus has some really nice new facilities like a movie theater and a spa, hair salon, student center, etc
It's a very big and diverse school, and I can picture myself living there as an active student
6-Year pharmacy program</p>

<p>Cons:
I have heard that some of their classes are huge (I am a very independent learner, but I do appreciate good and attentive teachers)
Slightly more expensive than TCNJ</p>

<p>Academics will always be my first and foremost criteria when looking for a college, and I hope to learn useful skills and enrich myself fully upon graduation. I want to grow and make a difference through my hard work, and at the same time be able to support myself and my family a comfortable life. </p>

<p>What does anyone think I should do? I hope to hear from any alum or someone who knows the business industry or medicine or just any general advice at all!</p>

<p>Thank you so much in advance!!!</p>

2

<p>After reading your passage above, I have a problem, it sounds like you have many career choices that are conflicting to each other. On one hand you want to be a CPA on the other hand you want to be in med school or even Pharm D program. While it is not unheard of a CPA or pharmacist apply for med school as a career change, but basically, the three normally don’t mix. I have knowledge in all three fields because personal involvements. Nevertheless, as a “graduate” from KPMG after 10 years, I would not advise some college graduates, working for the Big 4, be a CPA and prepare a Mcat exam and apply for med school. The problem is the thoughts you have behind school choices, not the colleges itself. </p>

<p>If you are content with a steady job while child bearing, a pharmacist is the best and most flexible. CPA won’t give you that and a MD will be very restrictive. In that regards, Rutgers Pharm D is the best way to go and the school is large enough for you to op out when you have made up your mind.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your input! I appreciate it!! I agree that it’s my hesitance on the career choice itself that makes the decision difficult… Now that you said that you have knowledge in all three fields, could you elaborate a bit more in each? Or particularly in business/CPA as I was initially most interested in this field? </p>

<p>Also, another concern for me about choosing pharmacy is that I have heard and seen many posts about how difficult it will be to land a job upon graduation in 2020? And I don’t know when the situation will become better as people say there are more and more pharamcy schools opening up each year. I definitely do not want to be unemployed after college. </p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

4

<p>I was going to say that careers should not be the first criteria for you to choose your major or school. What interest you is a more important factor. Two days ago, I was looking up some thing on the McKinsey’s web site and found they hire not only Business Majors but also all sorts of majors, including English. So do what you like to do is the first thing you should consider, all others, include jobs will follow. You should not go to a school to learn some thing you hate for four years and it will follow you for rest of your life.</p>

<p>When you are happy learning, you will do well and that is very important. And no one can have 20/20 eyesight to see some thing 6 years ahead, ignore those nonsense. </p>

5

<p>Both Rutgers and BU will have some large intro level courses but it does get smaller after that. The study abroad at BU is excellent. I grew up near Rutgers and my daughter was also accepted to Rutgers and BU. She decided against Rutgers because of the “near parents” factor. Ironically, BU is one of the two schools she is still deciding on. You cannot beat Boston for a great college town but it is a very large school and so you will need to be a strong self-advocate. As other posters mentioned, don’t worry about the career aspect right now. Given how jobs come and go, there may be many new opportunities in completely new areas when you graduate. </p>

<p>My sister is an alum of BU and has had a very successful career as both a Navy nurse (she joined her last week at BU) and a civilian nurse manager. She easily could have gone to medical school but wanted to be a nurse. She now also has a MBA/MSN Management and is in private hospital management in San Diego area. </p>

<p>I attended Rutgers MBA program- really more of a convenience than because of reputation. Both have outstanding alum networks. For you it may come down to the “feel” of the campus and the people. Also, you will find tons of students from NJ at BU.</p>

6

<p>Based on your description of the options, I would recommend Rutgers, because it sounds like you like the idea of large and diverse campus, and it will be much less expensive than BU. You also need to decide if you want to study pharmacy or business. I would guess that you could start in pharmacy and if you change your mind it shouldn’t be a problem to transfer to business and still graduate on time, since most of your first year credits would also count for a business major. (Science classes would satisfy distribution requirements, etc.) It would be worth investigating if that is actually the case at Rutgers. The reverse, starting in business and transferring to pharmacy, probably wouldn’t be possible. </p>

7

<p>Thank you all for your input! I appreciate it!
I actually did commit to Rutgers, but now I am feeling so uuncertain and even scared to be honest. I don’t know if I made the right decision? I chose the business school but I am going to see if I could change it to the pharmacy school first. I know only time will tell and college is what you make out of it, but I guess deep inside I was hoping for that excitement to get out of town (or state in this case) and experience something completely new. I just hope Rutgers’s academics won’t be too far off from BU’s? I am in their honors program but I think that’s more like a few seminars that you take rather than small classes?.. </p>

<p>Anyways, I know things don’t always go as planned. I think I was having a panic moment realizing that I was all of a sudden really, really going to college now. And without a clear answer of what I would be, I felt so lost and so unsure of how things would turn out. Would I really like business? Is my personality really suitable for business? (I am not super, super outgoing but I do talk and I will be bold for what I want to do or need to do)…and then again am I gonna like pharamcy? What if I don’t like any?.. It seems so overwhelming to make a seemingly life-altering decision… </p>