Anyone looking into Concordia University?

Started by joh0472
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joh0472

joh0472

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I am one of those pharmacy applicants that have a colorful academic past because I didn't always want to be a pharmacist. I noticed Concordia university is planning on having a class beginning 2010 but they have no ACPE accredidation status. Has anyone applied there or no anything about the proposed program?
 
I know a little about the school because I live near it and the school will be in my district. I know the school is in Mequon. They are expecting a class of about 80. There are no other pharmacy schools in Milwaukee and only one other in the state.
 
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doc ss 26 said:
I applied and got invited to interview, however I was accepted to my first choice, so the interview was canceled.
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Do they have all your reports where you applied and accepted?? And if accepted they’d cancel your interview and won’t even let u to have it?
 
Mary 10 said:
Do they have all your reports where you applied and accepted?? And if accepted they’d cancel your interview and won’t even let u to have it?
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No, I think he meant that since he was accepted to his first choice so he canceled the interview. The school will not cancel your interview even if you get in somewhere else. 👍
 
I looked into their website, and it seems that Concordia does not have a supplemental applicaion. Is this correct?

I am feeling so down because even though I have been offered interviews, I haven't been accepted yet. I will apply to more schools to increase my chances.
 
One of the main reasons that I applied to Concordia was because it didn't have a supplemental.
 
joh0472 said:
I noticed Concordia university is planning on having a class beginning 2010 but they have no ACPE accredidation status. Has anyone applied there or no anything about the proposed program?
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I also notice this. Does anyone know if this school will obtain any ACPE accreditation status soon?
 
We will know after the ACPE meeting in January 2010

From Concordia's web site:

http://www.cuw.edu/Programs/pharmacy/index.html

"In order to enroll students beginning in the fall semester 2010, the Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy has applied for Precandidate accreditation status for its Doctor of Pharmacy program. An on-site evaluation will occur during fall 2009. The ACPE Board of Directors will meet in January 2010 to consider the School's application. The School will be notified of the Board's decision as soon as feasible following the meeting. Should the Board feel that Precandidate accreditation status cannot be conferred at that time, the School could respond to the Board's concerns and reapply. Should the School enroll and begin instruction of its inaugural class without first achieving Precandidate accreditation status or fail to advance to Candidate accreditation status before graduation of its first class, the program will be ineligible for accreditation by ACPE until after graduation of its first class. It is unlikely that graduates of an unaccredited Doctor of Pharmacy program will meet licensing requirements in any U.S. jurisdiction."

This is normal for new schools.
 
Anyone know who is the Dean of this school? Is there anyway I can contact the him/her asking question? Thank you
 
i heard their ACPE visit last week went well. the board was all impressed with the amount of clinical sites in milwaukee that are working with them and they recruited some high profile faculty. they are having a open house this sat and a bunch of us from uw-o are heading down together to check it out
 
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I applied to Concordia and have an interview scheduled for early January...I'm curious to know if anyone else has been interviewed there yet? and of the group that checked out their open house---what's the verdict?
 
i'll report back after visit on sat. the dean and other faculty are s'posed to be there. the campus overlooks lake michigan w/beach😎 will absolutely be checking that out if weather isnt nasty. anyone else goin?
 
happygolucky2 said:
i'll report back after visit on sat. the dean and other faculty are s'posed to be there. the campus overlooks lake michigan w/beach😎 will absolutely be checking that out if weather isnt nasty. anyone else goin?
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They're predicting low 50s without rain on Saturday. It won't be too bad, but it will depend on the winds.
 
I'm definitely applying. I live in Milwaukee and have a family here and was thrilled when I found out that Madison wasn't the only choice for me. I've been in contact with transfer admission and others there. I even talked to Dean Arneson once. I plan on finishing my pre-req's there next fall and then applying. I'm sure they'll get their accred. This could just be wishful thinking though. There are a LOT of unanswered questions however...specifically pertaining to those with undergrad degrees. I hope they work out all the kinks A.S.A.P. I hope to matriculate in 2011.
 
For those of you that have received an interview invite, did you also receive an email stating your application was complete? If so, how long after your submitted did you hear something?

I submitted back in October... and have not heard anything. I just sent them an email. Hopefully I will hear something soon.
 
had a good visit with them on Sat. The dean, one of the dept chairs and two directors were there -tons of experience between them from big name schools. campus is really gorgeous - they aint kidding about being right on the water but it looks more like an ocean than a lake. does anyone know if you can surf the great lakes? LOL. am hoping to hear back once the pcat scores come out from oct. i was definitely intrigued after my visit.
 
I just received an interview invite from this school!!!:soexcited:

But I'll have to see if the trip fits my budget and probably won't answer them until AFTER Thanksgiving.
 
My Pcat is low 🙁, does anyone knows what the % potential interviewee,
Mind to share your stats,
Overall 3.1
M/S 3.3

anyone??
 
long0301 said:
My Pcat is low 🙁, does anyone knows what the % potential interviewee,
Mind to share your stats,
Overall 3.1
M/S 3.3

anyone??
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you dont say how low your pcat is but I heard most schools dont give interviews if pcat is below 60. retake the pcat. you can take it up to 5 times and schools take your best score so it cant hurt -except being out the cash/study time.
 
I'll be there interviewing on 1/5/10 with a few of my classmates from Milwaukee. there website posts new information every few months as they make progress - seems pretty informative.

And that staircase down to the lake is awesome! It's about 150 feet above the water. Did any other visitor notice the ampitheater built into the top with the huge marble blocks as seating - so cool! You look out over the lake (and yes, it looks like an ocean) during the performances.
 
Karmapharmer said:
I'll be there interviewing on 1/5/10 with a few of my classmates from Milwaukee. there website posts new information every few months as they make progress - seems pretty informative.

And that staircase down to the lake is awesome! It's about 150 feet above the water. Did any other visitor notice the ampitheater built into the top with the huge marble blocks as seating - so cool! You look out over the lake (and yes, it looks like an ocean) during the performances.
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Goodluck and let us know your stat after the interview.:xf:
 
The interview went well. I was impressed with their enthusiasm and the faculty they have on board.

I was nervous having to wait but they sent out email messages today to accepted canidates and I got one! The official letter (and things that need to be completed) is on the way.

And they were awarded precandidate status approval as well.
 
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I also interviewed at Concordia University on January 6th and have recently been accepted.

I was very impressed with the school. The faculty I met seemed great and very excited about this new program. A good portion of the time was filled with talking to the dean who explained the direction they were hoping to take. All of their plans seem to indicate no problems with gaining full accreditation, which they are well on their way to. Everyone was very open and honest about the whole process. Even though they do not are not fully accredited yet, it is still a school at the top of my list.

The location of the school is another plus. It is right outside the large city of Milwaukee, but also near more rural areas so there seems to be plenty of locations for pharmacy practice experience.

The lake was also impressive to look at for me, coming from the plains.
 
Does anyone know about where classes will be held? Has construction started/completed for the building for pharmacy? And what is the latest accreditation status?
 
Drex said:
Does anyone know about where classes will be held? Has construction started/completed for the building for pharmacy? And what is the latest accreditation status?
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I was just talking with someone last weekend about this and he turned out to be one of the construction crew people. He said they are getting started in June. (small world, I was buying an old motorcycle from him)

Until Fall 2011, they said the classes will be held in one of the existing buildings. They are converting some rooms into labs and one of the reasons they held the initial class size to 65 was to be sure they could accommodate their students. Next year (2011) the class size should go up to 100.
 
I just had my interview today. The faculty is awesome. The new plans for the pharm building is awesome. And the view right on the lake is absolutely beautiful.

There is one thing that got my attention however. They stated that they had over 700 applicants. For 200 interview spots. For 65 seats. For some reason(s), that (the number of applicants) is hard to believe...
 
I interviewed at concordia on Friday and loved it (compared to some other places). I am actually NOT surpised by their number of applicants. The national average for applicants to seats in pharmacy school is like 9:1 in cities and 6:1 in other areas, so they are only slightly above the national average. I just dont think its that surprising being in such a large metro location like milwaukee, plus Wisconsin only has one other pharmacy school.

I totally agree about the faculty - they were awesome. And like I've posted before - that lake view is freakin' amazing. I hope to be there in fall :luck:
 
Happy. Did they say when decision would go out? I know that they had their meeting last Thurs, and Lesley said she'd make personal calls to those that were accepted, but I don't remember if it was early this week or last Friday. I'm very nervous!
 
I'm pretty sure she said that she would be making calls March 26th or the first or second Friday in April...

I think she also had stated that you might not receive a phone call from her but may just get the package of info in the mail and so you'll know that way...anyone else recall her saying that? Anyone hear anything yet?
 
Something to keep in mind, there are not a lot of apartments in the Mequon area. You'll find more if you move down to Glendale/Shorewood area.
 
As much as I hate to revive an old thread... Is there anything in particular I should be aware of as I go into my interview at CUW? CUW is my #1 choice, so I really don't want to mess something silly up. 🙂
 
MJayHart said:
As much as I hate to revive an old thread... Is there anything in particular I should be aware of as I go into my interview at CUW? CUW is my #1 choice, so I really don't want to mess something silly up. 🙂
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I don't want this to come across as rude but is there a reason CUW is your #1 choice? You have great stats and would be a great canidate for Wisconsin, Iowa, and Wyoming. CUW is more expensive and not accredited. Just thought I would ask. good luck with the process
 
Bowler11 said:
I don't want this to come across as rude but is there a reason CUW is your #1 choice? You have great stats and would be a great canidate for Wisconsin, Iowa, and Wyoming. CUW is more expensive and not accredited. Just thought I would ask. good luck with the process
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I don't think that's rude at all. Location and curriculum are probably the two biggest factors that took CUW to #1. The tuition difference really isn't all that significant when you figure in summer schedules and the fact that I could work full-time next semester if I go to CUW (due to pre-requisite differences between the various schools). Besides, I've learned my lesson with that in undergrad -- three or four years of being happy somewhere is worth paying a little higher tuition. They have a site visit to potentially bump up from pre-candidate to candidate status in January. If something were to go wrong at that visit, I would still have time to pursue one of the other schools I've applied to...
 
Can I ask what about the curriculum stand out for you?

You have great stats. Depending on your career goals you might be better off looking at a more established school, especially for residency or hospital jobs. I have not heard great things about Concordia from practicing pharmacists in the MKE area.
 
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KARM12 said:
Can I ask what about the curriculum stand out for you?

You have great stats. Depending on your career goals you might be better off looking at a more established school, especially for residency or hospital jobs. I have not heard great things about Concordia from practicing pharmacists in the MKE area.
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I guess this is more "program set-up" than curriculum, but I really appreciate that (like UIowa, but not SDSU nor UWyo) only one summer is required. I have bills and need to save money for rent -- summer is when I take care of that. I like that there are IPPEs beginning your first semester. I think the extra focus on ethics is valuable and important. I love that when I read through the course descriptions, every single one fascinates me. I haven't quite gotten that from other schools. I'm sure I won't end up enjoying each one as much as I think I might, but for now that fascination is pretty freakin' exciting.
As far as residencies or hospital jobs... I'm not interested at this point. People whine about retail, but that's because they haven't worked in pharmacies like the one where I'm a CPhT. 🙂 That isn't to say that I won't change my mind later, though, of course. I'm open to other possibilities.
Please elaborate on what these practicing MKE-area pharmacists have said? I absolutely do care about what people in the area think about the school. That said, I have done some subtle (and some not-so-subtle) questioning of people from the area... I haven't heard anything negative anywhere but here.
/endhugeparagraph
 
For the record, my interview yesterday was a great experience. I was highly impressed with both their faculty and their program. This school is definitely my top choice. If you think this school is a diploma mill and/or won't get accredited, I encourage you to actually visit and talk to the faculty and students. You will change your mind.
 
MJayHart said:
For the record, my interview yesterday was a great experience. I was highly impressed with both their faculty and their program. This school is definitely my top choice. If you think this school is a diploma mill and/or won't get accredited, I encourage you to actually visit and talk to the faculty and students. You will change your mind.
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What about the fact they accepted pretty much their entire collection of pre-pharm students irregardless of their academic standing?

When a school like this is surrounded by much more prominent institutions, make sure you ask around the region before relying on what they tell you.
 
phathead said:
What about the fact they accepted pretty much their entire collection of pre-pharm students irregardless of their academic standing?

When a school like this is surrounded by much more prominent institutions, make sure you ask around the region before relying on what they tell you.
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Phathead,

Not sure where your VERY ERRONEOUS information is coming from. I am in the inaugural class at Concordia. Our average PCAT was a 72 - much higher than most new programs. As for your delusional statement that they let in their prepharms, irregardless of academic standing - uhg, WRONG -SO WRONG. Some of my classmates came up through Concordia's pre-pharmacy program, many of their friends did not get in because they did not meet the standards the admissions committee set. I'd be interested to know where your expert opinions are coming from.
 
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