Temple vs Jefferson pharmacy

[Heilovesc]

I have been accepted to two schools in my area, Temple school of Parmacy, and Jefferson school of Pharmacy. I need to know more about both school from students who are attending either schools or have graduated.
Level of difficulty
Helpfulness of professors
Quality of teaching
I know that JSP requires a GPA of 3.0, was it hard to maintain a GPA of 3.0?
Do Temple professors care about students?
Any information will be helpful
Thank you

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Old Timer]

TEMPLE​

 

[Heilovesc]

Is there a specific reason why temple is better?

 

[Old Timer]

I have nothing bad to say about Jefferson. I have had interns from Jefferson that were excellent. I thing Temple has an outstanding program. It builds on itself as you go. The Dean rocks. They have a plethora of rotation sites.

Temple University School of Pharmacy
Class of 1982....

 

[Faultroll]

I have been accepted to two schools in my area, Temple school of Parmacy, and Jefferson school of Pharmacy. I need to know more about both school from students who are attending either schools or have graduated.
Level of difficulty
Helpfulness of professors
Quality of teaching
I know that JSP requires a GPA of 3.0, was it hard to maintain a GPA of 3.0?
Do Temple professors care about students?
Any information will be helpful
Thank you

I'm currently a P1 at Jefferson, and think that it's a great school. There are a couple of things that I would change too, as Jefferson's program is relatively new. I didn't apply to Temple so I can't really compare the two, so I'll just answer your questions as best as I could.

Level of difficulty: Pharmacy school is hard no matter where you go.
Helpfulness of professors: Very helpful. They reach out to you if your performing below avg and/or below the passing score (72.5). Our associate dean has also set up tutoring sessions for us with the upperclassmen.
Quality of teaching: It's subjective...some professors just read off of their powerpoints, others are really into such as your immunology, biochemistry, and cell biology professors.
I know that JSP requires a GPA of 3.0, was it hard to maintain a GPA of 3.0? A good handful of us are < 3.0. JSP requires that your cumulative GPA not be <3.0 for more than two semesters (consecutive or non-consecutive) and that you have at least a 3.0 by your P4 year. More details in the handbook if you check their site.

Feel free to PM me with any other questions.

 

[sdh02]

I'm current JSP P1

Level of difficulty - First semester was tough, but it's also true that all pharmacy schools are tough for incoming freshman, as you have to adjust to heavy course workloads
Helpfulness of professors - Jefferson has smaller class size, many professors remember you even though you never talked to them before. They are very helpful and will reach out to you first if you have difficulties.
Quality of teaching - Depends on professors, some read ppt like automated voice message, while others are really good at teaching.
I know that JSP requires a GPA of 3.0, was it hard to maintain a GPA of 3.0? - This was one of my main complaint initially, but I get a sense that it's also manageable to maintain 3.0 gpa. If you put time and effort, it's definitely not impossible and at least you are not considered as pharmacy students who graduated with C average..

I would say to go to Temple if they didn't change their curriculum for class entering class of 2018 and beyond.. as well as raising their tuition up to 30k a year.. but it all depends on which area of pharmacy school curriculum do you prefer. Jefferson put more focus on clinical pharmacy field for sure.

 

[confettiflyer]

1st graduating class at JSP 2012 here. Some thoughts:

JSP pros:

• Rotation sites are strong, I got snuck a recent rotation directory and it managed to improve from my 1st year. Everything from big pharma, California sites, pediatric, nuclear, critical care galore, etc....This is a direct result of having experienced people in charge who used their networks in our favor (we ported some of the best from PCP/USP/USciences/whatever it's called now).
• TJUH, home of one of the best pharmacy residency programs in the country (the first, actually) is literally attached to campus and you have exposure to their residents & clinical experience early.
• Small class - not sure if this is the case, but we had like 75 people so everyone got their pick of what they wanted for rotations. My poor co-interns from other schools struggled to get their choice because of the # of people involved.
• Of the 3 area pharmacy schools, JSP is in the nicest part (I still carried a box cutter to and from school, just in case).
  --> Lots of drinking and going nearby which is great when you live/work/go to school in a 2 square mile area.
• Structured interactions with RN, PT, OT, and MD students was actually kind of fun.
• Brand spankin' new simulation labs were pretty cool (mock hospital wing/clinic space, mock pharmacy, mock sterile compounding center)

JSP cons:

• Lack of general name recognition for the pharmacy component.
  --> People actually get confused....you either get a) what's Jefferson? b) Jefferson had a pharmacy school? or c) wait you're a resident?
  --> To be fair, I'm in California, people only know Temple and Rutgers because they have football teams.
• Small class could be annoying at times
  --> I came from a giant undergrad university w/ 500 people in one lecture...class was claustrophobic at times, and my class was particularly nosy, I stuck with my small circle and was fine.
• Lots to do in the city = you're freaking broke.
  --> Granted, my DMD friends that went to Temple live near JSP (and I'd sneak them into our library to study because it was closer), so I guess being broke is the same.

That's about it, I can't say too much about Temple, I had one friend that went there that works at CVS now. The only challenge I've heard (2nd hand, FYI) with Temple is their difficulty in maintaining rotation sites as they do not pay for them, while PCP and JSP do. Also, they had difficulty incorporating new ACPE requirements for IPPE into their established curriculum, you should ask about these issues with current students there.

Would I do it again? Probably, unless I managed to get into UCSF or something. My class had a 75% match rate with ~50% of the class applying for PGY-1. I took my degree and got licensed back in Calif. and into a PGY-1 program without any problem and currently work a clinical/unicorn dream job. That's my n=1 experience with JSP, most of my classmates found what they needed and moved on.

 

[Old Timer]

That's about it, I can't say too much about Temple, I had one friend that went there that works at CVS now. The only challenge I've heard (2nd hand, FYI) with Temple is their difficulty in maintaining rotation sites as they do not pay for them, while PCP and JSP do. Also, they had difficulty incorporating new ACPE requirements for IPPE into their established curriculum, you should ask about these issues with current students there.

Not accurate at all. They have no trouble with sites. And I have presently have 4 interns at TU and none of them had any IPPE issues.

 

[confettiflyer]

Not accurate at all. They have no trouble with sites. And I have presently have 4 interns at TU and none of them had any IPPE issues.

Sounds like the problem was solved. But for the OP it's a question to ask any/all schools as a part of their due diligence.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I've worked with graduates of all the Philly schools for a few years now. I'd just go to the cheapest one. I've seen a Temple grad and USP grad collaborate and try to mix up an Omeprazole compound with club soda. I saw a Jefferson grad dispense a 750mg tramadol dose to a toddler. I've seen questionable practices from all. But if you aren't an idiot, you'll be fine at any of them. Overall, none of them really impress me to be honest. None of them particularly frighten me, either. I think they all produce pretty average pharmacists. That's not a bad thing, per se.

 

[Heilovesc]

Thanks all. Can you guys give me an estimate of how much load work am I looking to be doing in pharmacy school. ?Would you compare pharmacy school to taking physics 2, bio 2, microbiology, and organic 2 in one semester. Because I have done that and still had a life, or is pharmacy school a lot more load work than that? Thanks

 

[Old Timer]

Thanks all. Can you guys give me an estimate of how much load work am I looking to be doing in pharmacy school. ?Would you compare pharmacy school to taking physics 2, bio 2, microbiology, and organic 2 in one semester. Because I have done that and still had a life, or is pharmacy school a lot more load work than that? Thanks

It depends on solely on your time management skills. I have four interns who work between 12 and 30 hours a week. You can do whatever you set your mind to as long as you are dedicated to accomplishing your goal. Whatever you do, get a job asap. First, you need some money to live on, second you learn as much working as you do in the classroom. You will have a huge advantage on class mates who don't work.

 

[confettiflyer]

Whatever you do, get a job asap. First, you need some money to live on, second you learn as much working as you do in the classroom. You will have a huge advantage on class mates who don't work.

Absolutely 100% agree. It took me about a year to find an inpatient/hospital internship position close to public transportation within Philly, and this was ~6-7 years ago.

Employment during school can make the difference between income or struggle after you graduate.

Thanks all. Can you guys give me an estimate of how much load work am I looking to be doing in pharmacy school. ?Would you compare pharmacy school to taking physics 2, bio 2, microbiology, and organic 2 in one semester. Because I have done that and still had a life, or is pharmacy school a lot more load work than that? Thanks

I had an easier time in pharmacy school than undergrad, but I attribute that to a) knowing my limits and how much studying/what kind of studying i need to do, b) 1st year pharmacy school was about 33% basic sciences foundational review, so it was easy, c) I came from a kind of hard ass undergraduate program for my major.

That said, no one can answer the workload question. Some students struggled and couldn't handle employment & passing a class, spending 12hrs a day at the library; other students did everything, barely studied, and graduated at the top.