<p>I've been accepted into NU's 0-6 pharm program, and I'm very excited. However, my father does not support my decision to enroll at NU, because he believes that it is not a good enough school. He says that no one really hears about Northeastern University, and that I would have trouble finding a pharmacist position after 6 years since no ones "ever heard of it." The rankings on US news also does not help, seeing that schools like UCSD, UCLA, etc all rank 30 or so spots ahead of it, and seeing that I live in CA, he's almost dead set that those schools would be the better choice. Money would not be a factor, seeing that we're very low income (high financial aid given) and I've also received the Dean's scholarship. So mainly, I'm just hoping you guys, esp if you're alumni or know personally any alumni who can vouch for Northeastern, can offer up some success stories, experiences, reasonings on NU's rankings, etc that I could show my dad to convince him of my decision. I know this is my own decision, especially since I'm already 18, but I would still hope to have his blessing as well as I would still need the $600 for a deposit by May from him >< Please offer some help! it'd be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m no alum, but I know that Northeastern has been spiking immensely in the rankings over the past few years. You can also tell your dad that Northeastern recently received more applications than any other university in the northeast.
Surely a pathetic college wouldn’t undergo such changes.</p>
<p>Make a graph of Northeastern’s ranking’s movement, in 6 years it will have certainly broke the top 50 universities and hopefully will be in the top 30 or near them!</p>
<p>I’m sorry to say, but unless Northeastern will be cheaper than UCLA for you to attend (unlikely) or if for some reason you LOVE Boston I urge you to go to UCLA. I don’t see how prestige of a school would have any factor in getting a job as a pharmacist unless were talking about University of Phoenix.</p>
<p>If I could have gotten into UCLA I would have chosen it over Northeastern, didn’t even apply because I don’t live in California. I stress that you consider what your loan payment will be at the end of your schooling, pharmacists’ salaries do not vary greatly and will be easy to look up. Make sure you can afford Northeastern! If not please consider UCLA if my state school was anywhere near as good as UCLA I would have went there, sadly it isn’t (UMaine).</p>
<p>Of course I know how it feels to want to go to Northeastern (it’s where I’m going next year)! A good thing to show your dad is Northeastern’s Institutional Achievements page if you want to convince him Northeastern is as good as UCLA or UCSD.</p>
<p>Northeastern is ranked so “low”, because USNWR factors in 4 year graduation rate. Obviously there is a good chunk of students that don’t graduate in four years because they choose the five year co-op. Tell your father that not only are the rankings extremely silly, but Northeastern’s Pharm program is very respected, and you should not have trouble finding a job(given that you graduate with a respectable GPA.) I agree that you should consider UCLA just because it may be cheaper, but if it comes out to be that you have to pay roughly the same amount with the same amount of loans, I would choose Northeastern since you obviously really like it.</p>
<p>In addition, Northeastern is repeatedly ranked at the top of the Princeton Review’s list for Best Career Services.</p>
<p><a href=“Best Colleges for Career Services | The Princeton Review”>Best Colleges for Career Services | The Princeton Review;
<p>I was actually having the same exact problem as you a few weeks ago with my dad! It took me a while to convince him because he is also all about the US news rankings. -__-</p>
<p>Have you talked to him about co-op? My dad almost made me put Northeastern completely out of the question until I mentioned how wonderful co-op is with job placement. You won’t be able to get this type of experience anywhere else, and I’ve heard from many people that it helps NEU grads have a much easier time landing jobs, especially if you’re some type of health-science major.</p>
<p>Best of luck, hope to see you at Northeastern in the fall. :)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that when you get into NU’s PharmD, you are already in the Doctor of Pharmacy program, not even pre-pharmacy. Last year, UCSD had over 1,400 applications for the 60 PharmD spots. Admission to PharmD is getting more and more competitive now.</p>
<p>And people on the east coast probably think of USC as nothing more than a sports school. Prestige varies by region and Northeastern has a good brand in the Northeast.</p>
<p>It’s been said before, but: Don’t put all your faith in rankings. Yes, you want to go to a school where you’re going to get a good education, but I don’t think the rankings are the best measure of that.
What’s important is the program you’re specifically looking at, whether you think the program matches your personal goals and desire for a structure, and also whether the school feels like a good match.</p>
<p>That said, Northeastern has been making a big push to improve the university and the rankings do show that.</p>
<p>@kinfongster: I agree with all people who already post their opinions regarding to Northeastern U .
By forseeing, Northeastern would be like Northwestern one day not soon but later. </p>
<p>You should be happy for being admitted to PharmD. I am was disappointed when my D was put on the waitlist and the answer will not be coming until Jun. It means that we have to look for the other way.</p>
<p>Our DS is graduating with his PharmD from Northeastern in three weeks and he has been extremely happy with his college experience. Last year’s NU pharmD graduating class had a 99.11% passing of the NAPLEX which reflect very well on the quality of NU’s pharmacy program. We live in CA, but DS chose NU since it is a 0-6 program that awards a B.S. degree after the 5th year when the didatic course work is completed and the pharmD after the 6th year of APPE clinical rotations. If you are accepted as a freshman and meet all of the academic standards every year, you are guaranteed to graduate in 6 years with a pharmD. Many other programs require evaluation after the first two pre-pharm years and do not guarantee everyone admission into the pharmD professional program that entered as pre-pharm majors even if they meet academic standards. The top pharmacy school (UCSF) admits mostly post-baccaalureate students who have already completed 4 years of college. Since the pharmD program is 4 more years, it would take 8 years to complete the pharmD degree (figure out those tuition costs!) Also, entering at the professional level at any accredited pharmacy school is going to be very competitive. </p>
<p>DS was also able to complete a minor in Business Administration while completing the pharmD program and participate in club sports and other activities – getting the full college experience at NU.</p>
<p>With many of the public universities in CA (and elsewhere), you are not guaranteed placement in the classes you need each semester. At NU, you are guaranteed a seat in every class and lab each and every semester so you don’t have to stress out about matriculating in 6 years.</p>
<p>I agree with previous posters that NU gets a bad rap in the traditional evaluation of 4 year universities since the reason most students choose NU is for the experential learning (COOP) program which combines 8 academic semesters with 18 months of work experience in your chosen field. You only pay tuition during the academic semesters which is the equivalent of 4 years of college. Most students on COOP get paid for their work and many get hired or are offered employment right after graduation by one of their coop employers.</p>
<p>Lots of CA university grades get out and are still looking for employment in their chosen field over a year later.</p>
<p>I am a UC Berkeley grad and my spouse is a University of Colorado grad. We are both very pleased with our DS choice of NU for his education. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision–you can tell your parents that we highly recommend NU!</p>