University at Buffalo VS Northeastern - Pharmacy

Hi everyone!

So I’m currently applying to pharmacy programs in the East. I’ve visited Northeastern, and I liked the campus and love the location though the dorms are a bit depressing. Northeastern is also really expensive. On the other hand, it appears that UB has a better pharmacy program than Northeastern does, and it’s much cheaper (I live in NY). I don’t mind that it’s colder up there, and the dorms seem to be better. I can’t say this for sure since I’ve never visited.

What do you guys think?

You seem as if you could do really well in UB’s highly regarded, and less expensive, pharmacy program. However, you should follow up your visit to Northeastern with a visit to UB so that the comparison will be more evenly based.

Agreed with the above. My only note would be that for Northeastern you’re only in a dorm like the one they show on the tour for one year and then from second year onward are either in apartment-style buildings or can move off-campus after your second year. That said, I don’t think dorms should be a big factor in this decision. Cost is absolutely an important factor and UB is a great choice particularly when including the cost difference. Visit UB to know for sure and go from there.

I am a big proponent of SUNY schools for NY residents. That said, I suggest that you check into the job placement statistics of both schools. You can also ask the pharmacists you encounter at your local stores you shop at where they went to school and what they think about your choices. The kids I know who went to Buffalo loved it, but I also know kids who hated the school because it was so big. Those kids generally didn’t apply.

Thank you all - do you guys have any opinions on how their pharmacy programs compare to each other?

In general, graduate school rankings tend to be poor measures for undergraduate programs. However, the field of pharmacy appears to manifest significant curricular overlap across degrees. In your case, then, you might consider that both UB (22nd) and Northeastern (33rd) rank highly among the 125 schools included in this U.S. News survey: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/pharmacy-rankings.

Check out University of RI pharmacy program. Really good but it is easily the toughest ticket at the school and school is a reasonably priced flagship and nice. Mass college of pharmacy for the specialty too.