UNC vs USC (South Carolina) Honors College for Pharmacy

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

I’m posting this to both UNC and USC boards:

My son has been accepted as a Chemistry major to both USC Honors College and UNC (non honors). He is very interested in a Pharmd program. We are residents of North Carolina so I understand that even with scholarships, UNC would most likely be less expensive than USC.

Finances aside, how do the two schools compare for getting a student into a Pharmacy program? I think at UNC, he would be just one of the throngs of people whereas in the HC at USC, he would get much more individual attention and have more success. Bottom line: my guess is that UNC is considered a better school, however, I also believe that my son would receive much better grades at USC. Can anybody provide some insight? Thanks in advance.

2

Is there some reason you wouldn’t attend UNC and try to get into Eshelman? Widely regarded as #2 Pharmacy School and also instate tuition.

I think there is no doubt USC could result in a higher GPA, especially as a chem major. UNC chem is both rigorous and highly ranked. Pharmacy school admissions do consider rigor of the undergrad institution. Eshelman calls that out specifically on their admissions website and obviously has intimate knowledge of UNC departmental strength and difficulty. Also it follows that a challenging undergrad program should prepare your son for a higher performance on the PCAT, the other critical admissions factor.