UCSF School of Pharmacy Class of 2013

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Hey everyone!

LA/OC get together!!!

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Yard House
Street: 401 Shoreline Village Dr
City/Town: Long Beach, CA

Long Beach was the most central location for LA and OC people. (I have never actually been to this location so it will be an experience)

Please come to meet our fellow classmates and it will be a good time to hang out and relax!
 
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rycetrix said:
Hey everyone!

LA/OC get together!!!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106773539672

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Yard House
Street: 401 Shoreline Village Dr
City/Town: Long Beach, CA

Long Beach was the most central location for LA and OC people. (I have never actually been to this location so it will be an experience)

Please come to meet our fellow classmates and it will be a good time to hang out and relax!
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Thanks Lawrence!
 
Hey did anyone get a "UC ID" in their email? Seems like a lot of people I talked to have been talking about it. I got my student ID/ PIN number in my welcome packet. Is that the same thing or are there two types of ID's?? 😕
 
mangop said:
Hey did anyone get a "UC ID" in their email? Seems like a lot of people I talked to have been talking about it. I got my student ID/ PIN number in my welcome packet. Is that the same thing or are there two types of ID's?? 😕
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i think it's the student ID, same one... pretty much that number is universal. just sometimes you will need to put campus\ before it, i guess.

then there's the myaccess PIN which is some standard with your birthyear 2 digits followed by defined numbers, i think you get e-mailed that when you sign up with myaccess.

yeah... all i know is to check my e-mail and check my holds. oh, and i talked to finaid office, they said i should be getting my offer of finaid in 2-4 weeks!
 
Out of curiosity, any one receive their financial aid offer yet? I know we are supposed to get them by June 1st but we could get them beforehand.
 
UCB2005 said:
Out of curiosity, any one receive their financial aid offer yet? I know we are supposed to get them by June 1st but we could get them beforehand.
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Not sure about that, but what I do know is that the lender list is finally updated for 2009-2010 and citibank is no longer #1. It is now Discover Bank that is #1.
 
hmm..what does it mean to be #1 on this list?
 
UCB2005 said:
hmm..what does it mean to be #1 on this list?
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It means based on their little lender fair that they had of those lenders who showed up with the UC regents invitation, the UC president and his board members selected the best loans that they thought based on many different criteria (such as interest rate, interest rate reductions, ability to keep your loans and not sell your loans to another company, variable vs. fixed rate, etc.). But this is definitely not representative of all the lenders out there. You may find better deals (not that likely) with another bank or another private lender, but that takes extensive research and then you must contact UCSF financial aid office to get them to approve the loan outside of their lender list. I haven't e-signed any MPN yet...still curious to look around to see if any other's will offer lower interest rates and such.
 
rycetrix said:
Hey everyone!

LA/OC get together!!!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106773539672

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Yard House
Street: 401 Shoreline Village Dr
City/Town: Long Beach, CA

Long Beach was the most central location for LA and OC people. (I have never actually been to this location so it will be an experience)

Please come to meet our fellow classmates and it will be a good time to hang out and relax!
Click to expand...

Oh, man. Bummer, I missed it. It was 15 minutes away, too. Hope you guys had fun. See you in the fall.
 
Jaded03 said:
Oh, man. Bummer, I missed it. It was 15 minutes away, too. Hope you guys had fun. See you in the fall.
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i think that meet up got rescheduled to may 30th. If you're in the facebook group, there's a discussion topic with all the info
 
Did anyone get into campus housing? I just got a postcard today advertising for Mission Bay housing. I wasn't planning on applying, but I might apply to Mission. It's a little far from campus though.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
Did anyone get into campus housing? I just got a postcard today advertising for Mission Bay housing. I wasn't planning on applying, but I might apply to Mission. It's a little far from campus though.
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I got on-campus housing offers at the avenue houses on parnassus. I was actually offered twice, one for double (price offers: $435, $514) and a single a few days later (price offer: $755). I turned both offers down however as I already found housing which is really close by already. I recommend constantly checking craigslist for further options (which is how I found my housing).
 
rycetrix said:
I got on-campus housing offers at the avenue houses on parnassus. I was actually offered twice, one for double (price offers: $435, $514) and a single a few days later (price offer: $755). I turned both offers down however as I already found housing which is really close by already. I recommend constantly checking craigslist for further options (which is how I found my housing).
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Bummer. I didn't luck out at all. Parnassus is booked as far as my offer went.
 
i played it by the rules too strictly, and took them literally when they said you can only place your move-in date as soon as 2 months from your affiliation to UCSF... =( so yeah, i got screwed for housing but oh well, i just signed my lease for a studio w/ a sweet view!!!!! =DDD it's a TINY bit far from campus but nothing crazy (14th and moraga) and i'm so in love with it! so excited!

as for fin aid... didn't get a darn thing yet. *taps foot...* but i heard that we're supposed to wait til july cuz they are kinda behind. someone i know called the fin aid office. =T
 
hey did you guys notice! our fall scheds are up apparently... 2009-2010 P1 fall schedules!
 
I did not see the Fall schedule. I'm going to take a look and see what's up for the Fall

It will be the end of July when I search for my apartment. I am hoping I find something as nice as the studio you are got. At this point I am ok being 20 minutes from campus. That will probably give me more options. I am keeping my fingers crossed I find something I like, not a dump. I still haven't gotten my financial aid yet. I even applied early. So once I have that I should have a better idea of what I can spend on an apartment.
 
Thanks for the links Jaded. Did you see that we have electives this Fall? I thought electives started in the 3rd or 4th year. What's listed now looks very interesting to me. I can't wait. I'll probably like the electives more than regular classes.
 
this may be a 'stupid' question... but oh well:

Are all 122 of us gonna be in the exact same class/time for the semester? Like, we can basically hold hands and just waltz from class to class? Or is it more like high school, where you have the same classes, but at different times or locations?
 
kae32 said:
this may be a 'stupid' question... but oh well:

Are all 122 of us gonna be in the exact same class/time for the semester? Like, we can basically hold hands and just waltz from class to class? Or is it more like high school, where you have the same classes, but at different times or locations?
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I guess you could call it that way, but yes, I think we will have the major required classes all together. However, there are the 3 hour pchem lab sections and our electives where we will be split up because of space allocation.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
I did not see the Fall schedule. I'm going to take a look and see what's up for the Fall

It will be the end of July when I search for my apartment. I am hoping I find something as nice as the studio you are got. At this point I am ok being 20 minutes from campus. That will probably give me more options. I am keeping my fingers crossed I find something I like, not a dump. I still haven't gotten my financial aid yet. I even applied early. So once I have that I should have a better idea of what I can spend on an apartment.
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yea... for real... i E-mailed finaid cuz i got impatient. i had completed my app feb 20th. i e-mailed them and got response on april 28th they said my file's complete i should hear from them in 2-4 weeks... still nothing. so i just e-mailed again! haha. we'll see.

i'm seeing more and more postings on craigslist for apts... but if you know anyone at UCSF currently, some people will mail the UCSF mailing list of current students and announce they are graduating and moving, and try to hook another UCSF student up with their old apt. that's how i got my place. so yeah, see if anyone can help ya out there!
 
laketica said:
yea... for real... i E-mailed finaid cuz i got impatient. i had completed my app feb 20th. i e-mailed them and got response on april 28th they said my file's complete i should hear from them in 2-4 weeks... still nothing. so i just e-mailed again! haha. we'll see.

i'm seeing more and more postings on craigslist for apts... but if you know anyone at UCSF currently, some people will mail the UCSF mailing list of current students and announce they are graduating and moving, and try to hook another UCSF student up with their old apt. that's how i got my place. so yeah, see if anyone can help ya out there!
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Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't know anyone at UCSF so that isn't an option for me. I'll continue to look at Craig's List. Hopefully I'll find an apartment in July/August.

I should contact fin aid to find out what is holding up my letter. I'm hoping it's not the California financial crises. :meanie:
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't know anyone at UCSF so that isn't an option for me. I'll continue to look at Craig's List. Hopefully I'll find an apartment in July/August.

I should contact fin aid to find out what is holding up my letter. I'm hoping it's not the California financial crises. :meanie:
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what kinda apt are you looking for? a studio/1bed for yourself, or sharing w/ someone?

i e-mailed finaid yesterday, no response yet. =( maybe we are slowing them down by asking constantly. but then, they should update their website! it says june 1. haha.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't know anyone at UCSF so that isn't an option for me. I'll continue to look at Craig's List. Hopefully I'll find an apartment in July/August.
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I was looking for 1 bedroom apartments on Craigslist and it is starting to have alot of listings east of UCSF that aren't too crazy in price. You can also try Hotpads.com and Places4Students.com. For Places4Students.com, if you access their website via the UCSF Housing website( under "Off Campus Listing Service") then you don't need to create an account. I found some housing possibilities there, too.
 
I am looking for a 1 bedroom apartment. I'll check out the websites you posted. It's still early so I think I can find something.
 
how much are the "reasonable" prices of these 1bdr apts?
 
UCB2005 said:
how much are the "reasonable" prices of these 1bdr apts?
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I think you can definitely find a 1 bedroom for $1400. I have seen them around $1200-$1395. You really have to search on Craig's List. $1300 (incuding utilities) or less seems reasonable.
 
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By the way, I received my financial aid letter today. I'm from San Jose, so everyone else should be getting theirs soon. 🙂
 
lp0309 said:
By the way, I received my financial aid letter today. I'm from San Jose, so everyone else should be getting theirs soon. 🙂
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That gives me hope. I have put off contacting them, figuring they were overwhelmed with students. If I don't get anything in the next three weeks then I think there is a problem.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
That gives me hope. I have put off contacting them, figuring they were overwhelmed with students. If I don't get anything in the next three weeks then I think there is a problem.
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Are you guys talking about preliminary offer letters ?

I am selecting Nelnet as my lender, so I have to wait till July first because one of financial aid advisors said that federal origination fee drops in half by that time. So I guess I can't sign MPN for a few days and will be waiting to receive that letter for quite a while.

We also have to have all our holds removed, even the AD/Pharm and undergo entrance interview during orientation before the actual aid checks will be disbursed.

Just so everyone has a clear idea I went to see one of the financial aid advisors - Aaron and he said we'll be getting the checks around mid September - late September. Just so you guys could plan your finances with moving and all.

If you live in the Bay and have a trouble with the figuring something out, stop by the office, it is on the 2nd floor of Mulberry Union and the staff is as friendly and helpful as it gets. They are incredible.
 
We are talking about the preliminary letter. I have not gotten mine yet and I'm starting to get anxious since it is almost July. Good to know about the oriigination fees. I had heard that there would be a drop after July 1st but I was not sure it would happen. My experience with the Fin Aid office has been very positive. I'm not in San Francisco so have to do everything over the phone.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
We are talking about the preliminary letter. I have not gotten mine yet and I'm starting to get anxious since it is almost July. Good to know about the oriigination fees. I had heard that there would be a drop after July 1st but I was not sure it would happen. My experience with the Fin Aid office has been very positive. I'm not in San Francisco so have to do everything over the phone.
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Yes, I if you still are unsure about the lender, I confirmed with Nelnet repsentative and cleared it with Financial Aid office that:

through 06/30 - Federal origination fee is 1 %
After 07/01 - it is 0.5 %

The fee is not charged directly to you and you do not have to pay anything upfront from my understanding. As a representative explained to me, it is substracted from you loan amount. Disover does not have this origination fee, but I am on the fence about selecting them as lender because it is the first year that our school recommends Discover as a lender.
 
Did anyone get an e-mail about orientation? I could've sworn I read an e-mail while at work, but now it's no longer on my server or my trash. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, do you mind posting it? 😛 It was a mass e-mail to the class of 2013. Thanks.
 
Jaded03 said:
Did anyone get an e-mail about orientation? I could've sworn I read an e-mail while at work, but now it's no longer on my server or my trash. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, do you mind posting it? 😛 It was a mass e-mail to the class of 2013. Thanks.
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I got this email yesterday, but it's mainly a duplicate of what was posted on the Yahoo group list-serve.
__________________________
Hello everyone:

Please see below for a message from your Student Orientation Directors, Anthony Dao and Marlene Morcos. This message was also shared with the Yahoo group list-serv. We are looking forward to your arrival!

--
Shirin Houshangi
Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator
Office of Student & Curricular Affairs
UCSF School of Pharmacy

513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S960, Box 0150
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94143-0150
tel: 415/502-5371
fax: 415/476-6805
http://pharmacy.ucsf.edu



Dear Class of 2013,

We are Marlene Morcos and Anthony Dao, the 2009 Orientation Directors. First and foremost, congratulations are in order for each and every one of you on being admitted to UCSF's School of Pharmacy! We hope that you are enjoying your summers, and are looking forward to what will very likely be the best four years of your lives!

On that note, we hope that you are looking forward to the various activities that we are preparing for you, not the least of which is the annual camping trip! This year’s camping trip will be the first Orientation event, and is scheduled for September 14th – 15th (Monday-Tuesday) in an undisclosed location (don’t you just love surprises?). Afterwards, we will be hosting various city tours and student-sponsored Orientation activities both prior to and during the School of Pharmacy's required Orientation activities.

More details about Orientation 2009 will be made available at a later time, so please make sure to be on the lookout for further emails. Furthermore, be sure that you are checking your email regularly, as many of the Orientation events can only accommodate a limited number of people and first-come, first-serve sign-up instructions will be sent via email.

If you have any questions, concerns, comments, or just want to talk, send us an email! On behalf of the entire UCSF School of Pharmacy, we are looking forward to meeting each and every one of you!

Sincerely,

Marlene Morcos and Anthony Dao
OC Directors 2009
[email protected]
 
cheburashka said:
Yes, I if you still are unsure about the lender, I confirmed with Nelnet repsentative and cleared it with Financial Aid office that:

through 06/30 - Federal origination fee is 1 %
After 07/01 - it is 0.5 %

The fee is not charged directly to you and you do not have to pay anything upfront from my understanding. As a representative explained to me, it is substracted from you loan amount. Disover does not have this origination fee, but I am on the fence about selecting them as lender because it is the first year that our school recommends Discover as a lender.
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Thanks for the informtion. I am hesitant about Discover as well. I plan on taking some time to do some more research on the lenders to see what feedback is out there. I am still hoping that the legislation goes through that will remove these big banks from lending and we can get our loans from the government directly. Hopefully that will create more competitive interest rates.
 
$180,000 seems like a lot of money. It seems that paying it off over 15 years would require 30% of your take home pay. Sure the interest is tax deductable but still...doesn't that seem a bit too expensive?

MATH:
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/loanpayments.cgi
$1651 monthyl payments for 15 years.

$100,000 annual salary => $66,000 after taxes
$5,500 monthly take home

$1,651 / 5,500 = 30%
 
Keyoda said:
$180,000 seems like a lot of money. It seems that paying it off over 15 years would require 30% of your take home pay. Sure the interest is tax deductable but still...doesn't that seem a bit too expensive?

MATH:
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/loanpayments.cgi
$1651 monthyl payments for 15 years.

$100,000 annual salary => $66,000 after taxes
$5,500 monthly take home

$1,651 / 5,500 = 30%
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This is correct. $180,000 seems about average cost for most Pharm Students. It seems most students have loans around $120,000 - $200,000. If you look at the interest paid over 15 years it's $107,609. That's really high. If you sacrifise some luxuries you can pay less interest if you pay it off in 5-10 years.
 
Even paying off $120,000 over 5 years would eat up almost HALF of your take home pay. I am so excited about starting pharmacy school; however, I am very concerned about paying for it. How do you people plan on tackling this type of debt ???
 
....where are our offer letters??? 🙁

Keyoda said:
Even paying off $120,000 over 5 years would eat up almost HALF of your take home pay. I am so excited about starting pharmacy school; however, I am very concerned about paying for it. How do you people plan on tackling this type of debt ???
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consider not paying it all back in 5 years. personally, im planning to drag it out as long as i can; 10, 15 years. getting a job while in school and take as many stabs at the principal as you can

cheburashka said:
Yes, I if you still are unsure about the lender, I confirmed with Nelnet repsentative and cleared it with Financial Aid office that:

through 06/30 - Federal origination fee is 1 %
After 07/01 - it is 0.5 %

The fee is not charged directly to you and you do not have to pay anything upfront from my understanding. As a representative explained to me, it is substracted from you loan amount. Disover does not have this origination fee, but I am on the fence about selecting them as lender because it is the first year that our school recommends Discover as a lender.
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why did you choose nelnet over other lenders?
 
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Just think of it as your first home mortgage and that almost everyone in your class has to do it and how lucky we are to be able to do it

Keyoda said:
Even paying off $120,000 over 5 years would eat up almost HALF of your take home pay. I am so excited about starting pharmacy school; however, I am very concerned about paying for it. How do you people plan on tackling this type of debt ???
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You should have received your offer in a snail mail from ucsf.
I think I will still go with discover but will still do some research.

catchsomezz said:
....where are our offer letters??? 🙁



consider not paying it all back in 5 years. personally, im planning to drag it out as long as i can; 10, 15 years. getting a job while in school and take as many stabs at the principal as you can



why did you choose nelnet over other lenders?
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xangelx said:
You should have received your offer in a snail mail from ucsf.
I think I will still go with discover but will still do some research.
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has most of y'all received the offer letter already?
maybe i should call the fao again😕
 
I still haven't gotten my offer letter yet. I am giving it another week or two.

If you go on the the Financial Aid forum there is alot of feedback about Discover. It seems very positive. I'll probably sign on with them and save the origination fee.
 
Did anyone else receive the UC Grant for pharmacy and a lame health professional loan of $700 at 5% interest? I am just wondering if the financial aid portions from UCSF are the same for everyone.
 
OTFuturePharmD said:
I still haven't gotten my offer letter yet. I am giving it another week or two.

If you go on the the Financial Aid forum there is alot of feedback about Discover. It seems very positive. I'll probably sign on with them and save the origination fee.
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lol oh good. im not alone. where are you located OT?
 
How much UC grant did you receive? I don't think everyone gets a grant or a health professional loan.

rycetrix said:
Did anyone else receive the UC Grant for pharmacy and a lame health professional loan of $700 at 5% interest? I am just wondering if the financial aid portions from UCSF are the same for everyone.
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