<p>I think you are a little to young to think about those things now. Out of curiousty, how old are you?</p>
<p>17 in a couple of days</p>
<p>I am in the position of having gone to SJU 20+ years ago and now having a kid in his Junior year looking at schools now.</p>
<p>First, I would cerainly rank SJU higher than Hofstra in terms of almost every catagory except campus. IMHO, the academics, namke recognition, etc. is much better at SJU than Hofstra.</p>
<p>Queens College would clearly be below both Hofstra and SJU by a long shot. </p>
<p>SJU's law school (esp. for those who ultimnatrely want to work in NY) is superior to Hofstra, and SJU's pharmacy school is one of the best in the nation.</p>
<p>With someone with almost 1400 on the SAT's, however, I think both are below wheere you could/should be. Compare the 50 percentile stats for both and you wiould be off the chart (clearly in the top 25% at both scholls in terms of the applicant pool). You would probably garner alot fo merit $$ at both.</p>
<p>My son, who has similar stats to you, is looking at other schools (though he wants to apply to SJU since 3 generations in my family have gone there and he may want to stay at home).</p>
<p>I would suggest Providence, Holy Cross, Villanova, Brandeis and similar schools on the east coast for you. If yoiu want to stay in the NY metro area, NYU is probably the best bet, and Fordham would be a good altetrnative (ranked higher than bioth SJU and Hofstra and still in the area).</p>
<p>Overall, you could do very well at SJU (or Hofstra for that matter), but I think you could probably reach a little higher. I loved my time at SJU (I was a history and Government major) but while they do have a few dorms now, you must be willing to put up with a commuter school environment.</p>
<p>Good luck in whatever you chose.</p>
<p>i don't know anything first-hand about SJU, but I know that of the top,top kids at my highly competitive suburban High School go to the pharmacy program. Their main motiviation is the low, low price. From what I've heard, they are reasonably happy there, and say the academic program is great.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice. I try to overlook the "commuter feel" as it is a definite minus, but realize that it will be a big part of the college experience and I don't want it. </p>
<p>I really don't like the idea of going to a school where 80% scored less than me on the SAT, but a pharmD after a cheap education (taking the potential scholarships into account) sounds like something that might be completely worth it. Then again, I might regret not having that "college experience".</p>
<p>I have friends with kids at St. Johns. This year the school
has opened a string of new dorms (in very nice private houses) along Union turnpike (around 147th street), in addition to dorm space on campus,so you can live "off campus" if that is your choice. </p>
<p>They run a shuttle now between the school to the Kew Gardens station that also stops by the dorms. Where the new dorms are situated, there are drive ways so that you can park your car. From what I have been told there is campus security along the block in addition to security at the neighboring co-op.</p>
<p>My x is an attorney ( went to Touro) he did alot of work with the Moot Court trials and always said that Fordham is really a respected law school....they won many competions. Hofstra is also respected as well as St Johns.</p>
<p>But the order of most well known or prestige is FORDHAM,HOFSTRA,ST JOHNS However to get in to undergraduate I think selectivity is greatest at Fordham also more expensive, then Hofstra and then St Johns.</p>
<p>Fordhams Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx is beautiful, taditional coligiate campus, Lincoln Ctr is where the Law School is located....good plcmt of networking and internships in NY law firms and businesses.</p>
<p>Hofstra is in the middle of nowhere, East Meadow/ Uniondale.....hint...if you are wooried about not getting into the above schools you could go to Nassau Comm College(next door to Hofstra)and trsfr after 2 yrs , I know Hofstra has a deal to guarentee taking grads from Nassau yet your undergrad diploma will say Hofstra. Perhaps the other two would do this too, pretty sure St Jons would. Plus you will save $.</p>
<p>Hope this helped.</p>
<p>Just an aside: Fordham law graduates are highly sought after by prestigious law firms, St. John's law graduates get some very good jobs here in New York City, but Hofstra law graduates are not recruited or viewed as being on the same level as graduates of the other two schools. That has nothing to do with under grad, though.</p>
<p>Hofstra is probally more a feeder for LI firms, plenty of good jobs in LI too.</p>
<p>LI does have a legal job market, bui the average starting salary is probably 1/2 of that at NYC firms and less than 1/2 of the starting salaries at the big NYC firms.</p>
<p>and most students would have the same debt level.</p>
<p>worth2try:</p>
<p>Since you're not definitely sure you want to be a pharmacist, I think it's better off to go to NYU, BU, Cornell, etc.
"Is it worth it go to St. John's for pharmacy?" It's really your decision and no one should tell you if it's worth it. I'm planning to go to St. John's this fall for their pharm program. I visited the campus and I liked it alot. I have a little bit higher than a 93 average and a 1350 on the Satz. I don't have high stats but I don't feel like I have wasted all my hard work. I enjoy chemistry and I like the idea of being a pharmacist. Plus, I'm gonna have a life and make a decent salary.
And trust me, there will be many smart people in the school. My friend told me that this guy she knows is going to the pharm in St. John's with a 1500 and a 97 avg. I know many others who got 1400's who will be attending. The avg sat for the pharm is a 1270 (as said by the dean).</p>
<p>One of my dearest friends' daughter is a pharmacist. Works three days a week at a retail chain so she can spend lots of time with her baby. She lives in a low cost of living state and makes a six figure salary. Wonderful, balanced happy life.</p>
<p>My son will go to St John's pharmacy D with Sat 1480 and Act 31. A couple of his schoolmates with similar stat will go to same program too.</p>
<p>SUNY Albany is the best of all of the schools you are considering</p>
<p>What criteria are you looking at to make your assertion that "suny albany is the best school out of my choices". US News rankings is not everything, they basically change every year. If that is the data that you are going making your assumption on then I obviously disagree. I think it is somewhat non-cosmopolitan to just look at rankings and not overall programs.</p>
<p>Hofstra is NOT in the middle of nowhere. If you venture out rather than just going a few feet from campus, you will find everything that you need right at your fingertips. There are entertainment venues galore, and not to mention one of the biggest malls in the country 5 minutes away. Of the complaints that I had about Hofstra, finding something to do was never one of them.</p>
<p>Second, people at Long Island firms are not making any less than people at NYC firms. LI, especially the larger area surrounding Hofstra, is pretty wealthy. If you aren't living in Hempstead or New Cassle, you have to be making a pretty penny in order to even afford the basic stuff, and LI firms know that they need competitive salary packages to attract good law graduates.</p>
<p>Third, Hofstra law graduates are just as competitive. The law program at Hofstra is great and just as rigorous. It's one of the few dedicated programs at Hofstra (business is the other), so there are plenty of people there making sure you get the rigorous education you need to succeed in those top law firms. Of course NYC firms are going to recruit harder at NYC schools, just as LI firms are going to recruit more on LI.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, however, that I am speaking of graduate schools here. Also, anything science related ot Hofstra is not worth it, especially at the undergraduate level. So go somewhere else, like St. John's or Fordham, where you will be more taken care of, because you will not get a rigorous education in the sciences at Hofstra. If it's not business or law, Hofstra's not worth the cost.</p>
<p>im from NJ so most people going into pharmacy go to rutgers here...well most extremely smart people</p>
<p>I am sorry, but you are not accurate regarding the LI legal market.</p>
<p>Lawyers AT ALL LEVELS (Partner, Counsel and Associate) all make considerasbly less (at least 50% in most cases) of what their counterparts in NYC do. That's just a fact, trust me I know. But, that is not the point at all, because many lawyers prefer to live and work on LI due to the lesser hours worked, lesser commute, better quality of life, etc. Many recieve their initial training in NYC firms and then make the lifestyle choice. As that relates to the question, to the extent that Hofstra has a harder time (it does) placing people at the NYC firms, it is a factor in rating the law school against its NYC and metro area peers (like SJU and Fordham). The SJU law school gets a + over Hofstra due to this. SJU grads are cerainly not recruited like NYU, Columbia or other Ivies and similar, but far more than Hofstra grads at the biggst NYC firms.</p>
<p>But, again, that's only 1 factor to be considered.</p>
<p>I would like to respond to this (since this is my line of work) and I hope I will be clear. "Second, people at Long Island firms are not making any less than people at NYC firms. LI, especially the larger area surrounding Hofstra, is pretty wealthy. If you aren't living in Hempstead or New Cassle, you have to be making a pretty penny in order to even afford the basic stuff, and LI firms know that they need competitive salary packages to attract good law graduates."</p>
<p>My point in referring to Fordham/St. John's/Hofstra was that the big NYC firms (the ones that have starting salaries fo $150,000 plus signing bonuses, passing the bar bonuses and end of year bonuses) do not recruit at Hofstra, so if that is your career plan, Hofstra is not for you. Which is in no way to imply that people graduating from Hofstra don't make excellent salaries and do important, fulfilling work. I was referring to the specific field of big, NYC law firms. Not everyone wants to work in those, anyway, so it may not matter. I was not making a value judgment about Long Island or anything, just adding the perspective of my tiny slice of work experience!</p>