Anne Hong

Anne Hong will be attending a six-year program at Rutgers University to study pharmacy. She first heard of the program after living in New Jersey, the college’s location, for eight years.

Hong applied to several four-year programs, but after analyzing her options, the six-year program looked the best. “The six-year program would save time. And I would be able to get in the job sooner than if I had just gone in a regular undergraduate four-year and then applied,” she said.

Financially, the program Hong is attending offered her more money than others: “For me, this college gave me a very large merit scholarship compared to the other ones. And after calculating everything, six years at that school would cost me much less than four years at another school.”

Rutgers allows their applicants to apply for several schools within their college. “I applied for school of engineering and pharmacy to see which ones would accept me and how much they would be, and the pharmacy for me I thought was more worth it,” Hong said.

The first two years of the program are pre-professional, and the students enter their professional period the third year. Hong describes Rutgers’ six-year program as “intensive.” She cannot change her classes, and she explained that “for six years and during the summers you’re expected to do internships and practice…their goal is to get you the degree in that short amount of time.”

After six years, Hong will have earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy.