MWU CCP please???
**PHARMACY STUDENTS: Pros and Cons of your PharmD school**
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Can a student please talk about the University of Buffalo and/or University of Maryland? Thanks!
Lol. Prestigious? In what universe? They were on probation just three years ago...and their NPLEX pass rate is astonishingly low.
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If anyone can share some insight into Univ of Colorado Skaggs SOP I would really appreciate it! Thanks in advance.
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I don't even go to Minnesota and I can tell you it's badass. They just won the AACP Weaver award too. I almost went there but I'm OOS and couldn't bear the loan burden I would have had.
From what my friends at Minnesota tell me.... I would rate that school A+.
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I go to MN and will do a review sometime when I have time (we're slammed the next two weeks.... so not right now). Glad to hear we're badass
I agree that it's a great school, but every school has its downfalls as well. If anyone has any specific or pressing questions before I do a review you can PM me. Our admissions staff are super friendly and helpful though so I would definitely contact them as well.
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I go to MN and will do a review sometime when I have time (we're slammed the next two weeks.... so not right now). Glad to hear we're badass
I agree that it's a great school, but every school has its downfalls as well. If anyone has any specific or pressing questions before I do a review you can PM me. Our admissions staff are super friendly and helpful though so I would definitely contact them as well.
Oh wow! Thanks! I know I would like to see the review as well whenever you get a chance. I'm hoping to hear whether I got in, waitlisted, or rejected next week. Thanks in advance!
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Some people have requested a review of the U of MN, so here goes. Feel free to ask questions on here or PM me if you want more specifics.
There is something weird going on with the PharmD website (they revamped it recently) so sorry if the links dont work well.
Name of school: University of Minnesota
Year you are in (if willing to share): PD2
Curriculum: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/curriculum/index.htm
Currently, Id give it an A-. Ive heard there are a few areas we are slightly lacking in but overall I think we get a good overall education, especially if you tailor your electives to what youre interested in. I havent completed it, so I couldnt tell you. The school is currently doing a curriculum overhaul which I believe will be implemented either this fall or fall of 2014.
Location: There are two campuses. The Twin Cities campus is located on the East Bank of Minneapolis. The Duluth campus is in, well, Duluth. We do most classes together over ITV.
Twin Cities campus: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/tc/index.htm
In a few years the TC campus will be much better since all of the Central Corridor (light rail) construction will be done. Im admittedly bitter about the construction since it all started right when I started pharmacy school and will be ending right when I start rotations. The TC campus has a lot of close places to eat, get coffee (duh), and the Rec Center is only a few blocks away. Once the Central Corridor construction is done the public transit will run right by the building, which will be very nice. If youre looking to commute into Minneapolis from neighboring suburbs there are a decent amount of options for park and rides, depending on which city youre coming from. Parking can be expensive and difficult. The building and library are functional and of good quality, but they lack the aesthetic that Duluth has.
Duluth campus: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/duluthcampus/index.htm
Ive only visited Duluth a few times since I was young and once since starting pharmacy school. If you are fine with not being in a really large city or if you are more into outdoorsy stuff (and anything green on campus there is very little green on the TC campys) Id go for Duluth. One thing that I really like about Duluth is its a bit smaller, so the student body and staff have a much better relationship overall than at the Twin Cities. This is something I miss since I went to a very small school for my undergrad. The lounge actually has windows and the library is pretty.
Cost: Judge for yourself. http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/admissions/costs/index.htm
Faculty: As with everywhere, there are a few great faculty, some good ones and some downright bad faculty. No matter how good they are at teaching the material, they definitely are always experts in their field. Most classes have core faculty, but they bring in specialists for many topics.
Reputation: Ive only heard good things about the University of MNs reputation, but I cannot elaborate beyond that. If youre into rankings (I dont put much stock in them), were currently #3.
Clinical Rotations: I havent gone through 4th year yet, so I cannot comment.
Housing: There are a lot of options out there. You can live cheaply in a crappy house/apartment or pay a ton of money and live in super nice apartments very close to campus.
Study areas: I cannot comment for Duluth, but the Twin Cities is decent. You can sign out study rooms and cubicles in the library or find places in neighboring buildings to study. The pharmacy lounge has a quiet and non-quiet computer lab to use as well.
Social Scene: It is what you make of it. Ive heard some people say its excellent and some say that there isnt much. Ive never had problems finding places to go with friends or things to do, personally. There is definitely more variety in the TC than in Duluth. The TC definitely has more concerts if thats what youre into.
Local Hospitals: The TC has several large hospitals, especially if youre willing to go to St. Paul. If youre wondering about internships, everyone I know that has made an honest attempt at finding internships with hospitals (or community pharmacies, for that matter) has found one. They may not get their first choice, but they found work somewhere.
Board Prep: Cant comment as I dont know.
Other: Overall, the student body is very active and there are a ton of things to get involved in. The only limit is how much time you want to or can contribute.
I will plug the interprofessional clinics available. The TC has the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, which includes students from most professions from the Academic Health Center. Pharmacy students have a more or less clerical role first year, pharm care role second year in which you see patients in an interprofessional group (med student plus other relevant professions to the case), and third year you do follow-up and med refill visits. All of this is overseen by med and pharm preceptors. This brief description doesnt do justice to what the PNC does for the community or the students. There are quite a few student-run interprofessional clinics out there, but the PNC is unique in that it involves so many professions. You must apply to be part of the PNC and it is a three year commitment. The Duluth campus has the HOPE clinic, but I dont know much about it.
Some textbooks are available online through the school, which is really nice (especially on your checkbook).
The general staff are extremely helpful and nice. I cannot say enough nice things about them.
PharmD/PhD and new PharmD/MPH programs
Overall: Other than all the usual unpleasant stuff that goes with being in school, I like it.
Grades (Twin Cities only)
Curriculum: A-
Location: B+
Cost: Judge for yourself.
Financial Aid: Not many scholarships available, especially first year.
Faculty: A-
Reputation: A?
Technology: B+
Study Space/Library: B-
Library technology/Resources: A
Rotations: N/A
Social: B+
Hospitals: A-
Post Grad: N/A
Overall Grade: A-
There is something weird going on with the PharmD website (they revamped it recently) so sorry if the links dont work well.
Name of school: University of Minnesota
Year you are in (if willing to share): PD2
Curriculum: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/curriculum/index.htm
Currently, Id give it an A-. Ive heard there are a few areas we are slightly lacking in but overall I think we get a good overall education, especially if you tailor your electives to what youre interested in. I havent completed it, so I couldnt tell you. The school is currently doing a curriculum overhaul which I believe will be implemented either this fall or fall of 2014.
Location: There are two campuses. The Twin Cities campus is located on the East Bank of Minneapolis. The Duluth campus is in, well, Duluth. We do most classes together over ITV.
Twin Cities campus: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/tc/index.htm
In a few years the TC campus will be much better since all of the Central Corridor (light rail) construction will be done. Im admittedly bitter about the construction since it all started right when I started pharmacy school and will be ending right when I start rotations. The TC campus has a lot of close places to eat, get coffee (duh), and the Rec Center is only a few blocks away. Once the Central Corridor construction is done the public transit will run right by the building, which will be very nice. If youre looking to commute into Minneapolis from neighboring suburbs there are a decent amount of options for park and rides, depending on which city youre coming from. Parking can be expensive and difficult. The building and library are functional and of good quality, but they lack the aesthetic that Duluth has.
Duluth campus: http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/duluthcampus/index.htm
Ive only visited Duluth a few times since I was young and once since starting pharmacy school. If you are fine with not being in a really large city or if you are more into outdoorsy stuff (and anything green on campus there is very little green on the TC campys) Id go for Duluth. One thing that I really like about Duluth is its a bit smaller, so the student body and staff have a much better relationship overall than at the Twin Cities. This is something I miss since I went to a very small school for my undergrad. The lounge actually has windows and the library is pretty.
Cost: Judge for yourself. http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/admissions/costs/index.htm
Faculty: As with everywhere, there are a few great faculty, some good ones and some downright bad faculty. No matter how good they are at teaching the material, they definitely are always experts in their field. Most classes have core faculty, but they bring in specialists for many topics.
Reputation: Ive only heard good things about the University of MNs reputation, but I cannot elaborate beyond that. If youre into rankings (I dont put much stock in them), were currently #3.
Clinical Rotations: I havent gone through 4th year yet, so I cannot comment.
Housing: There are a lot of options out there. You can live cheaply in a crappy house/apartment or pay a ton of money and live in super nice apartments very close to campus.
Study areas: I cannot comment for Duluth, but the Twin Cities is decent. You can sign out study rooms and cubicles in the library or find places in neighboring buildings to study. The pharmacy lounge has a quiet and non-quiet computer lab to use as well.
Social Scene: It is what you make of it. Ive heard some people say its excellent and some say that there isnt much. Ive never had problems finding places to go with friends or things to do, personally. There is definitely more variety in the TC than in Duluth. The TC definitely has more concerts if thats what youre into.
Local Hospitals: The TC has several large hospitals, especially if youre willing to go to St. Paul. If youre wondering about internships, everyone I know that has made an honest attempt at finding internships with hospitals (or community pharmacies, for that matter) has found one. They may not get their first choice, but they found work somewhere.
Board Prep: Cant comment as I dont know.
Other: Overall, the student body is very active and there are a ton of things to get involved in. The only limit is how much time you want to or can contribute.
I will plug the interprofessional clinics available. The TC has the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, which includes students from most professions from the Academic Health Center. Pharmacy students have a more or less clerical role first year, pharm care role second year in which you see patients in an interprofessional group (med student plus other relevant professions to the case), and third year you do follow-up and med refill visits. All of this is overseen by med and pharm preceptors. This brief description doesnt do justice to what the PNC does for the community or the students. There are quite a few student-run interprofessional clinics out there, but the PNC is unique in that it involves so many professions. You must apply to be part of the PNC and it is a three year commitment. The Duluth campus has the HOPE clinic, but I dont know much about it.
Some textbooks are available online through the school, which is really nice (especially on your checkbook).
The general staff are extremely helpful and nice. I cannot say enough nice things about them.
PharmD/PhD and new PharmD/MPH programs
Overall: Other than all the usual unpleasant stuff that goes with being in school, I like it.
Grades (Twin Cities only)
Curriculum: A-
Location: B+
Cost: Judge for yourself.
Financial Aid: Not many scholarships available, especially first year.
Faculty: A-
Reputation: A?
Technology: B+
Study Space/Library: B-
Library technology/Resources: A
Rotations: N/A
Social: B+
Hospitals: A-
Post Grad: N/A
Overall Grade: A-
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Thanks a ton! I appreciate the time you took to give us more information.
I found out that I'm waitlisted on the ranked list, so I'm still hopeful that I'll get in. I was really impressed with the program when I interviewed, and I'd be lucky to end up there.
Thanks for the info. I might shoot you a pm about tc campus. Thanks again.
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Name of school: Belmont Univ COP
Year you are in (if willing to share): P4
Curriculum: P1 year is pretty standard stuff. Most people that had bachelor's degrees found that there was a lot of overlap between their undergrad and P1 year. P2 kicks you in the pants (which is pretty usual). Personally I think this is the case because P2 starts all new material. There isn't anything at this point from undergrad to fall back on. So if you haven't learned time management and how to study by this point, you're going to be in trouble. P3 year is similar to P2 year, but by now you've learned time management and how to study (or you didn't make it to P3 year). P4 APPEs were a challenge. Not because they were hard, but due to the school being so new they didn't have a lot of options. I'm in their second graduating class and our APPEs were better than last year, and from talking to the person in charge, they will be better next year. Belmont just added APPE contracts with the VA and Baptist hospital to the various hospitals they already had. This will expand their clinical offerings (they were kind of sparse for my class). Again, because they are such a new program it will probably take 4-6 years of APPEs to get a solid base down (they're in year 2). I will say that even with that, 2/3 of my classmates that applied for residencies matched. This is pretty much the overall match rate as there are approx 2000 residencies and last year there were 3500 applicants. The quality of sites they matched with improved this year over last, and with new clinical APPEs I can only see this continuing to improve.
Faculty: This one is hard. There are faculty members I would do anything for, and faculty members that I wouldn't help if they were on fire. Belmont has Pharm D and PhD faculty members. I would say, for the most part, the PhD faculty are the better group. Most of the PharmD faculty are still quite young and had no teaching experience prior to coming to Belmont. They have gotten better over the last 3 years, but still not on the same level as more established schools. The Pharm D faculty also feel that if you aren't going into clinical pharmacy, you are wasting your education (I'm uncertain if faculty at other schools feel this same way). All faculty are full time and for the most part have an open door policy.
Reputation: As a new school they are probably looked down on by other, more established institutions. However, I think we're making a good name for ourselves. We've only graduated one class, so it will take some time before any serious reputation, good or bad, is developed.
Study areas: Few and far between. When the new Pharmacy building was created, the architect left this out. There are some study rooms that also are used for group work in certain classes, but for the most part are non-existent.
Social Scene: If you like live music, this is the place. They don't call it Music City for nothing! The downside: Belmont is a dry school. This means that any official Belmont event has to be dry as well. So any sort of organizational meetings you have, or class meetings you have, no booze.
Other thoughts: I don't regret my choice to come to Belmont. I had been accepted into other schools and chose to come here. I think I received a good education. If given the choice again, I would still choose to come to Belmont.
Overall: Even though they are fully accredited at this point, Belmont is still a really new school and still finding its stride. I think it will really take ~10 years for it to be a great school (we're at year 5). However, I feel that any new school will take about that same amount of time to establish itself (so I think Belmont is right in the mix with any other new school). The upside is that as a new school there are a ton of leadership opportunities to develop organizations and really put your stamp on how things at the school develop. If that is something you're looking for Belmont might be the place to go!
Year you are in (if willing to share): P4
Curriculum: P1 year is pretty standard stuff. Most people that had bachelor's degrees found that there was a lot of overlap between their undergrad and P1 year. P2 kicks you in the pants (which is pretty usual). Personally I think this is the case because P2 starts all new material. There isn't anything at this point from undergrad to fall back on. So if you haven't learned time management and how to study by this point, you're going to be in trouble. P3 year is similar to P2 year, but by now you've learned time management and how to study (or you didn't make it to P3 year). P4 APPEs were a challenge. Not because they were hard, but due to the school being so new they didn't have a lot of options. I'm in their second graduating class and our APPEs were better than last year, and from talking to the person in charge, they will be better next year. Belmont just added APPE contracts with the VA and Baptist hospital to the various hospitals they already had. This will expand their clinical offerings (they were kind of sparse for my class). Again, because they are such a new program it will probably take 4-6 years of APPEs to get a solid base down (they're in year 2). I will say that even with that, 2/3 of my classmates that applied for residencies matched. This is pretty much the overall match rate as there are approx 2000 residencies and last year there were 3500 applicants. The quality of sites they matched with improved this year over last, and with new clinical APPEs I can only see this continuing to improve.
Faculty: This one is hard. There are faculty members I would do anything for, and faculty members that I wouldn't help if they were on fire. Belmont has Pharm D and PhD faculty members. I would say, for the most part, the PhD faculty are the better group. Most of the PharmD faculty are still quite young and had no teaching experience prior to coming to Belmont. They have gotten better over the last 3 years, but still not on the same level as more established schools. The Pharm D faculty also feel that if you aren't going into clinical pharmacy, you are wasting your education (I'm uncertain if faculty at other schools feel this same way). All faculty are full time and for the most part have an open door policy.
Reputation: As a new school they are probably looked down on by other, more established institutions. However, I think we're making a good name for ourselves. We've only graduated one class, so it will take some time before any serious reputation, good or bad, is developed.
Study areas: Few and far between. When the new Pharmacy building was created, the architect left this out. There are some study rooms that also are used for group work in certain classes, but for the most part are non-existent.
Social Scene: If you like live music, this is the place. They don't call it Music City for nothing! The downside: Belmont is a dry school. This means that any official Belmont event has to be dry as well. So any sort of organizational meetings you have, or class meetings you have, no booze.
Other thoughts: I don't regret my choice to come to Belmont. I had been accepted into other schools and chose to come here. I think I received a good education. If given the choice again, I would still choose to come to Belmont.
Overall: Even though they are fully accredited at this point, Belmont is still a really new school and still finding its stride. I think it will really take ~10 years for it to be a great school (we're at year 5). However, I feel that any new school will take about that same amount of time to establish itself (so I think Belmont is right in the mix with any other new school). The upside is that as a new school there are a ton of leadership opportunities to develop organizations and really put your stamp on how things at the school develop. If that is something you're looking for Belmont might be the place to go!
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In previous years, everyone on the ranked waitlist has got in.
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The are in the process of ranking the waitlist, and I should hear my rank by May 1st. According to Stacy Tomhave, there are 77 people on the list, and last year there were about 30 admitted from the ranked waitlist. We'll see...
Name of school: Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn
Year you are in (if willing to share): P1
Curriculum: Outstanding. The core of our curriculum consist of Drugs and Diseases (DAD) during P1 and P2 years. There are 4 DAD classes and they get increasingly more difficult. P1 DAD (Fall) is an organic chemistry review as well as some physiology, but it is taught extremely well. You learn about all functional groups in drug structures, and what can happen to them chemically and metabolically. You can't forget anything because this curriculum constantly builds on itself. I'm in DAD 2 now and we have learned about neurotransmission in the cholinergic, adrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic systems; as well as drugs that affect these systems, and diseases of these systems. During P1, P2, and P3 years you learn many skills in CAPP lab that you'll apply in your practices (counseling, compounding, recommending products, physical exams etc...) and we do our IPPE different than most schools. We have a program called PPE. In this program, you're assigned a team that consists of P1s,P2s,P3s, and two mentors (one being a clinical pharmacist.) We go out and meet patients in the community that sign up for our program, and council them on their medication therapy. We meet every week and give patient updates. P2 year is the hardest (DAD 3 and 4 are insane) and P3 year the core curriculum is called Integrated Pharmacotherapy (IP.) You're assigned to an IP team with a mentor at random and you all work collectively on patient cases. Auburn is a more clinician based pharmacy school, but they will effectively prepare you for the NAPLEX.
Location: Auburn is a small town, but the scene is great. It's a very beautiful campus.
Cost: 10,500 $ a semester for instate. I'm not sure about out of state.
Faculty: All of the DAD professors are outstanding. Most of the faculty is very good.
Reputation: Awesome. Our network is great.
Clinical Rotations: There are many.
Housing: Very affordable housing. We have our Tiger transit system that picks up at almost every apartment complex is auburn, and their buses will bring you right to campus.
Study areas: You get access to the pharmacy school building 24 hours a day except on Football game days. You have a badge that you scan at the door after hours that allows you into the building. During P1, P2, and P3 year, you are assigned a team room in which you get in with your badge. You're allowed to study in any team room that is not a P3 room because they have IP and their dry erase boards are always covered in important things. There is also the library and the student center that are always open as well.
Social Scene: Awesome.
Local Hospitals: EAMC is a very good local hospital. There are many Residents from Auburn and other schools there.
Board Prep: Very good
Other:
Overall: A
Grades:
Curriculum: A
Location: A
Cost: A (it's in the south. Cost of living is low, lol.)
Financial Aid: (Not sure about scholarships)
Faculty: A
Reputation:
Technology: B
Study Space/Library: A
Library technology/Resources: A
Rotations: B
Social: A
Hospitals: B
Post Grad: A
Year you are in (if willing to share): P1
Curriculum: Outstanding. The core of our curriculum consist of Drugs and Diseases (DAD) during P1 and P2 years. There are 4 DAD classes and they get increasingly more difficult. P1 DAD (Fall) is an organic chemistry review as well as some physiology, but it is taught extremely well. You learn about all functional groups in drug structures, and what can happen to them chemically and metabolically. You can't forget anything because this curriculum constantly builds on itself. I'm in DAD 2 now and we have learned about neurotransmission in the cholinergic, adrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic systems; as well as drugs that affect these systems, and diseases of these systems. During P1, P2, and P3 years you learn many skills in CAPP lab that you'll apply in your practices (counseling, compounding, recommending products, physical exams etc...) and we do our IPPE different than most schools. We have a program called PPE. In this program, you're assigned a team that consists of P1s,P2s,P3s, and two mentors (one being a clinical pharmacist.) We go out and meet patients in the community that sign up for our program, and council them on their medication therapy. We meet every week and give patient updates. P2 year is the hardest (DAD 3 and 4 are insane) and P3 year the core curriculum is called Integrated Pharmacotherapy (IP.) You're assigned to an IP team with a mentor at random and you all work collectively on patient cases. Auburn is a more clinician based pharmacy school, but they will effectively prepare you for the NAPLEX.
Location: Auburn is a small town, but the scene is great. It's a very beautiful campus.
Cost: 10,500 $ a semester for instate. I'm not sure about out of state.
Faculty: All of the DAD professors are outstanding. Most of the faculty is very good.
Reputation: Awesome. Our network is great.
Clinical Rotations: There are many.
Housing: Very affordable housing. We have our Tiger transit system that picks up at almost every apartment complex is auburn, and their buses will bring you right to campus.
Study areas: You get access to the pharmacy school building 24 hours a day except on Football game days. You have a badge that you scan at the door after hours that allows you into the building. During P1, P2, and P3 year, you are assigned a team room in which you get in with your badge. You're allowed to study in any team room that is not a P3 room because they have IP and their dry erase boards are always covered in important things. There is also the library and the student center that are always open as well.
Social Scene: Awesome.
Local Hospitals: EAMC is a very good local hospital. There are many Residents from Auburn and other schools there.
Board Prep: Very good
Other:
Overall: A
Grades:
Curriculum: A
Location: A
Cost: A (it's in the south. Cost of living is low, lol.)
Financial Aid: (Not sure about scholarships)
Faculty: A
Reputation:
Technology: B
Study Space/Library: A
Library technology/Resources: A
Rotations: B
Social: A
Hospitals: B
Post Grad: A
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I personally think this is very very useful thread for many prospective students..so
bump!
bump!
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can someone to UIC please?
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I second SUNY Buffalo....
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can someone write about vcu and/or university of maryland-baltimore?
D
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Anyone for the University of Kentucky?
Do not attend Chicago College of Pharmacy
I am currently a first year student who has made it to my second year. I can not say that about many of my classmates, who have either been held back a year or completely failed out. Currently, there are about 30 students who are being held back and about 15 or so who have failed out. You have to imagine that some of those being held back will probably fail next year as you can not fail more than 3 classes your whole time here at CCP. One of my classmates who failed out had a felony on his record, not a dwi like some others had, (yes, a felony charge).
The average incoming classes PCAT scores were in the 3oth percentile. The average GPA was in the low 2's. It is like coming back to High school, people here are caddy, gossipy, immature and unprofessional. The class above us apparently bullied a girl out of pharmacy school. The school even started classes two weeks early for our class just so anyone who wanted to drop out can drop out and someone else take their place.
Here are my reasons to find another pharmacy school.
-Many of my class mates take Adderall and other stimulants to pass their classes. I have been offered to either buy to be given some by several classmates. I have denied their "generosity."
-Your tuition will go up every year by 2000 dollars. By the time you graduate, you will be paying 46-48k for school. You are told that the increases are to pay staff a better wage. This does not mean that the school hires better professors, it just means they get paid more. No improvements occur to better your education. We even got an email not to study in chairs in one of the new buildings because it was interfering with the Dean's office. Why have study spaces that you can't use to study in?
-You used to have two weeks after the first quarter for break (Thanksgiving), but now you only have one. The school starts school one week later. Your spring break is the first week of March. Your spring quarter ends close to the end of May.
-You pay a lot for tuition and get nothing in return. The school's facilities are a joke.
The desks in the library are disgusting because people leave trash on them. They are not screwed in properly and make a ton of noise when you work on them. Finally there is not enough space/desks for students. The school has books on shelves from 1992 but not enough desks to seat people. During finals, you will be fighting people for a place to sit. The library stays open until 12 midnight then kick you out to the "24" hour room which is even worse (because it smells and is even dirtier than the library). The bathroom's in the library and 24 hour room run out of soap and paper towels. They do not allow us to have hot water to wash our hands, even in the dead of winter in the bathrooms.
The gym is another joke. Exercise equipment from the 80's. The weight room was a closest they converted to a long hallway with weights in them. The weights often do not match.
-While many pharmacy schools record either video/audio or both for student. CCP does not. Some professor's will not post notes to blackboard for you, others will not allow you to record their lectures. The note packets that the school provide for you are riddled with errors and are disorganized because they are shared between different programs. The different programs stress different points in the lecture notes. You have to print your own notes and it kinda sucks sitting in class without them because the professor decided to post the notes an hour before class (while you were sitting in another class).
-The staff and some professors are not supportive. This has been echoed by many of my peers. You can ask them for help and you are told, it is up to you. If you start to fail, then you qualify for tutoring, otherwise, you are on your own.
-Whoever makes the schedules probably hates you. Do you like taking exams at 7 am in the morning, No, neither do I. God forbid a Arctic-blasts sweeps in the night before a test, you will be told to either show up or suffer. We once got an email the night before an exam where we had several feet of snow dumped on top of us telling us to use common sense and caution about driving to school. Common sense told me to stay at home and not risk my life to make it to class.
Finals week does not make sense. You will have a final every day of the week, some days two within the same day. There are no dead days to study. Your last final is usually the cumulative one.
-Quarter system sucks, (and yes, I understand this is personal opinion) everything is crammed in. You sit in class from 8 am to 3, 4 or 5 pm. You are dead tired from being in class, then you have to study. You never have enough time to study when you are taking 17-19 hours of class.
-The dorms are prisons. Why would you want to pay close to a thousand dollars a month to have to share a bathroom and have no kitchen. Eating out is not healthy and is not cheap. The school lacks facilities. "luckily", they are demolishing most of the dorms on campus. Only a select few will be able to live in the campus apartments. You next option is the last remaining dorm which is expensive and small.
-MWU has decided to add an optometry school which will further congest traffic on campus. When class gets out, you can be sitting in the parking lot for 30 minutes just to leave campus. There is only one entrance into and out of campus.
The lists goes on and on, take my advice, go somewhere else. Somewhere that is better. MWU cares only about money. This is the opinion shared by many of my classmates, and in the two classes above me.
I am currently a first year student who has made it to my second year. I can not say that about many of my classmates, who have either been held back a year or completely failed out. Currently, there are about 30 students who are being held back and about 15 or so who have failed out. You have to imagine that some of those being held back will probably fail next year as you can not fail more than 3 classes your whole time here at CCP. One of my classmates who failed out had a felony on his record, not a dwi like some others had, (yes, a felony charge).
The average incoming classes PCAT scores were in the 3oth percentile. The average GPA was in the low 2's. It is like coming back to High school, people here are caddy, gossipy, immature and unprofessional. The class above us apparently bullied a girl out of pharmacy school. The school even started classes two weeks early for our class just so anyone who wanted to drop out can drop out and someone else take their place.
Here are my reasons to find another pharmacy school.
-Many of my class mates take Adderall and other stimulants to pass their classes. I have been offered to either buy to be given some by several classmates. I have denied their "generosity."
-Your tuition will go up every year by 2000 dollars. By the time you graduate, you will be paying 46-48k for school. You are told that the increases are to pay staff a better wage. This does not mean that the school hires better professors, it just means they get paid more. No improvements occur to better your education. We even got an email not to study in chairs in one of the new buildings because it was interfering with the Dean's office. Why have study spaces that you can't use to study in?
-You used to have two weeks after the first quarter for break (Thanksgiving), but now you only have one. The school starts school one week later. Your spring break is the first week of March. Your spring quarter ends close to the end of May.
-You pay a lot for tuition and get nothing in return. The school's facilities are a joke.
The desks in the library are disgusting because people leave trash on them. They are not screwed in properly and make a ton of noise when you work on them. Finally there is not enough space/desks for students. The school has books on shelves from 1992 but not enough desks to seat people. During finals, you will be fighting people for a place to sit. The library stays open until 12 midnight then kick you out to the "24" hour room which is even worse (because it smells and is even dirtier than the library). The bathroom's in the library and 24 hour room run out of soap and paper towels. They do not allow us to have hot water to wash our hands, even in the dead of winter in the bathrooms.
The gym is another joke. Exercise equipment from the 80's. The weight room was a closest they converted to a long hallway with weights in them. The weights often do not match.
-While many pharmacy schools record either video/audio or both for student. CCP does not. Some professor's will not post notes to blackboard for you, others will not allow you to record their lectures. The note packets that the school provide for you are riddled with errors and are disorganized because they are shared between different programs. The different programs stress different points in the lecture notes. You have to print your own notes and it kinda sucks sitting in class without them because the professor decided to post the notes an hour before class (while you were sitting in another class).
-The staff and some professors are not supportive. This has been echoed by many of my peers. You can ask them for help and you are told, it is up to you. If you start to fail, then you qualify for tutoring, otherwise, you are on your own.
-Whoever makes the schedules probably hates you. Do you like taking exams at 7 am in the morning, No, neither do I. God forbid a Arctic-blasts sweeps in the night before a test, you will be told to either show up or suffer. We once got an email the night before an exam where we had several feet of snow dumped on top of us telling us to use common sense and caution about driving to school. Common sense told me to stay at home and not risk my life to make it to class.
Finals week does not make sense. You will have a final every day of the week, some days two within the same day. There are no dead days to study. Your last final is usually the cumulative one.
-Quarter system sucks, (and yes, I understand this is personal opinion) everything is crammed in. You sit in class from 8 am to 3, 4 or 5 pm. You are dead tired from being in class, then you have to study. You never have enough time to study when you are taking 17-19 hours of class.
-The dorms are prisons. Why would you want to pay close to a thousand dollars a month to have to share a bathroom and have no kitchen. Eating out is not healthy and is not cheap. The school lacks facilities. "luckily", they are demolishing most of the dorms on campus. Only a select few will be able to live in the campus apartments. You next option is the last remaining dorm which is expensive and small.
-MWU has decided to add an optometry school which will further congest traffic on campus. When class gets out, you can be sitting in the parking lot for 30 minutes just to leave campus. There is only one entrance into and out of campus.
The lists goes on and on, take my advice, go somewhere else. Somewhere that is better. MWU cares only about money. This is the opinion shared by many of my classmates, and in the two classes above me.
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- Jan 31, 2013
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I'm not surprised after seeing those stats. Less grads. This is what happened when less than qualified students get accepted. On another note..... How do you score in the 30th percentile?
UCSD, P3 (just finished)
Curriculum: D
Cost: C+
Faculty: D+
Reputation: B
Technology: B-
Study Space/Library: A-
Library technology/Resources: A-
Rotations: n/a
Hospitals: B+
Post Grad: n/a
Curriculum: D
Tragically, this is the most important grade and definitely a weak point at the school. Many of the classes are either useless, crammed with filler, or taught by people more concerned with getting a mark on their resume rather than educating. The students have repeatedly voiced their disappointment to the administration who seems to respond by plugging their ears. The curriculum committee meetings are largely staffed/coordinated by researchers with very little input from clinically focused pharmacists, and it shows. Too much time is spent on physiology and chemistry with too little devoted to the actual drugs. Apparently our graduates and interns are getting a bit of a reputation for being weak in their knowledge of pharmacology. The administration loves to point to the school's 100% passing rate on the NAPLEX, but I think that's more of a reflection on the quality of people the school attracts rather than the curriculum. Also, the NAPLEX is not really a difficult test from what I'm told.
Location: B+
Beautiful location with lots to do. My only real knock on the school's location is the lack of parking in and around the area.
Cost: C+
Cost has increased each year (along with the salaries of the administrators and employees) with no improvement. It's not as bad as some California schools, but certainly no where near reasonable
Financial Aid: A
Helpful, available, and respond super fast. Can't really say anything negative about them.
Faculty: D+
I touched on this in the curriculum. There's probably <5 actual good teachers. The rest are career driven narcissists who see teaching as another feather to stick in their cap, researchers who are pissed off about being torn from their labs, or are completely out of touch with what a pharmacist should be studying. As mentioned the administration seems uninterested in addressing student concerns. A couple years ago the dean of the school got his feelings so hurt he quit having school "town meetings" for students to voice their complaints, now they have smaller gatherings for students to voice their dissent and very little gets addressed.
Reputation: B
I'd heard almost nothing but good things before coming hear, mainly that it was like UCSF except smaller. From what I understand that impression endures but as I said earlier the truth seems to be spreading locally.
Technology: B-
Decent enough, but some very lacking podcast systems for the classes and their refusal to provide any sort of access to a pharmacology app prevent me from giving it a higher grade.
Study Space/Library: A-
Spacious, usually have very little difficulty in finding a room to use and texts are usually available. I'm not really the best one to comment on this area though.
Library technology/Resources: A-
The librarians themselves aren't very useful, but you have access to tons of databases when you're using the school's network, and once you get used to their system you can find most things you're looking for.
Rotations: n/a
Don't know yet, starting soon. I'll let you know when I get there...so far I'm not impressed with our coordinator. They were several months behind and failed to list several rotations that were offered by hospitals in the area.
Social: A
Plenty of opportunities to get to know your classmates and other people in the school. Lots of activities to partake of in the surrounding area. I've heard some people say that they don't like how small the class size is because you get to know people "too well" and the drama can spread, but I haven't really had a problem with that.
Hospitals: B+
Lots of hospitals in the area. Some of them good. I can only really comment on the places I've been to/worked at. They are typically staffed by very type A individuals. Lots of people enjoy that environment, but it wasn't a good fit for me.
Post Grad: n/a
Can't comment on this yet.
Overall Grade: C-
Good location and social life, but really lacking where it counts.
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Bump
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BUMP! I'm applying this upcoming cycle and would love to read more about various schools.
I don't know how some of my classmates scored so low. Some said they winged it, others just aren't there mentally to have done any better. That is what happens when you don't go to a good undergrad, or get accepted in the dap program. Apparently, the DAP students did a summer camp after high school and were pre accepted. The only thing they had to do is maintain a gpa over 3.0 and they got in, no PCAT. I am not sure how you score in the 30 % percentile but some did and some had to score lower for Midwestern class to have an average PCAT of 30 % and an average GPA in the low 2.0's
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Oh this thread seems awesome!! Has anyone graduated from university of Saint Joseph in Connecticut? Or currently enrolled? I know it's a smaller private school, but I was hoping someone (anyone) would still be on this website and be willing to review. I plan on attending in the fall and I want to know what I'm getting into!
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Lipscomb??
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