Applying to Christian Pharmacy School Even If Though I am not a Christian

[CoffeeFever]

Hi all,

I have a few interviews coming up, some of which are Christian-based pharmacy schools (Cedarville, Palm Beach Atlantic, Lipscomb, and Harding).

I myself am a middle-eastern Muslim, but have grown up with Christian friends, have studied Christianity, and even have Christian relatives.

Now I wouldnt expect it outright, but if I were to attend one of these schools, would there be any undertones of discrimination? Would I create an uncomfortable atmosphere for some classmates/faculty? Would I have trouble fitting in?

Id really appreciate any available advice, especially if you were a student at one of the above schools.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gwarm01]

For the love of all that is holy, do not apply to the joke of a school that is the Harding College of Pharmacy. Why would anyone pay their inflated tuition for the privilege of attending a school with a Naplex pass rate of 67%?

Just FYI - PBA will have you wearing a white coat with a Jesus fish emblem on the arm if that matters to you. If not, well, the school is in a great little city. Don't be surprised if people treat you weird though.

 

[Slippers]

I don't think that any schools discriminate acceptance decisions for students based on religion, and I also think that to do so would likely be illegal.

There will probably be a higher percentage of Christians attending a Christian school than you might find elsewhere. If you are comfortable with being around other Christians as you have stated, I don't think it will make any difference to you. The attitudes of a few classmates might be somewhat prejudiced, depending on their background/level of ignorance. But you will unfortunately run into this on occasion no matter what school you go to.

Most people who go to pharmacy school do so for their career goal and not for religious reasons.

 

[ldiot]

The easiest way to know would probably be to find out how many other Muslim students attend the school. While it's a Christian school it's not a requirement to be a Christian to go there and most schools are going out of their way to promote diversity.

 

[lord999]

I don't think that any schools discriminate acceptance decisions for students based on religion, and I also think that to do so would likely be illegal.

There will probably be a higher percentage of Christians attending a Christian school than you might find elsewhere. If you are comfortable with being around other Christians as you have stated, I don't think it will make any difference to you. The attitudes of a few classmates might be somewhat prejudiced, depending on their background/level of ignorance. But you will unfortunately run into this on occasion no matter what school you go to.

Most people who go to pharmacy school do so for their career goal and not for religious reasons.

https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/design-competition-for-an-aids-memorial-begins/


Not exactly. There are permissible rules that except out religious organizations from some aspects of the anti discrimination law. That's why Shriners and Catholic health systems work the way they do (gay and lesbian discrimination in care and hiring is a time-honored "tradition" of Catholic systems that still persists today with transgender care). ObamaCare tried to get rid of many of those exceptions but the current administration feels otherwise.

Both Duquesne and Creighton had bad reputations for being pushy before they saw Mammon and cashed in.

And it's not about overt discrimination I'd be worried about. It's the lack of the benefit of the doubt as well as the little offenses (like serving pork intentionally to exclude Jews and Muslims, Saturday scheduling, etc.). And from the healthcare history perspective, the entire point of Hill-Burton and CMS was for patients to avoid having to join a church to have health care benefits.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Eh, one can find undertones of discrimination anywhere (many times unintentional and unintended.) If you aren't bothered by a Christian atmosphere, than I don't think you will have any problems at a "Christian" school. Pharmacy school accreditation is standard, so you can expect the same basic level of instruction and treatment as you would get anywhere else (even if these pharmacy schools are Christian, they will have higher standards than an unaccredited or nationally (as opposed to regionally) credited Christian school. Where the Christian pharmacy school atmosphere may be different, friends/study partners who want to convert you, or throw out Bible verses in the middle of a conversation, ethical issues are similar between conservative Christians and conservative Muslims so that probably won't be an issue. If you are comfortable being around Christians, I don't believe you will have any problems attending a Christian pharmacy school.

 

[Wickett]

My concern is that a lot of programs hide behind a faith based veneer to distract people from the fact they are overcharging for a sub par education. I would focus on tuition costs and first time board pass rates.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I felt discrimination as a white as it gets, but very open atheist going to a public school in WV. I'd hate to have to live in a small town with a skin hue that advertised the fact that I wasn't a Christian. The school won't matter as much as the location. Avoid rural areas, go to school in urban areas. Palm Beach or Nashville are fine. I used to think rural areas were fine, but ever since Trump got elected, the racists have been emboldened. If I were you, I'd avoid areas that voted heavily for Trump. Which, again, are areas that are heavily white and heavily rural.

 

[Slippers]

I applied to both a state pharmacy school and a Christian pharmacy school. I was accepted to the state school so I never interviewed at the Christian one, but prior to that the Christian school sent me some paperwork that I had to sign (never returned by me), condemning behaviors like premarital sex, watching porno etc. etc. Since I didn't attend the Christian school, I have no idea what type of action the school would have taken against me, had they found me engaging in one of the aforementioned activities.

I was honestly disgusted that any school could dictate my personal life, but I suppose if you've technically signed on the dotted line, they can do so. More than likely though, most students couldn't care less and just keep it on the DL.
I attended a Christian based high school and undergraduate college, and no one really cared. The college even had an active LGBTQ club. I don't think either the high school or college had the power to take action on what happened in the privacy of your own home, though. I don't remember the details of the Christian pharmacy paperwork though, it was a long time ago....

 

[Claydoe]

Probably depends on location, St. John's was in flushing which is something like top 5 most diverse zip codes so we had all sorts of religions there no one really cared. Did have to take 9 (Catholic) theology credits though and you couldn't buy condoms on campus so somethings do get imposed on you.

 

[Sine Cura]

Why are you applying to these no-name schools?

It would be like an Asian person applying to an HBCU. Kind of a mismatch when you can attend far better schools.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Just remember the earth is flat and is orbited by the sun, dinosaurs never existed, and follow everything the Bible tells you to do, including the stuff that contradicts the other stuff. You will be fine.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Mounjaro]

It would be like an Asian person applying to an HBCU. Kind of a mismatch when you can attend far better schools.

Hey, I can have hood dreams too.

 

[Paxil_Rose]

I felt discrimination as a white as it gets, but very open atheist going to a public school in WV. I'd hate to have to live in a small town with a skin hue that advertised the fact that I wasn't a Christian. The school won't matter as much as the location. Avoid rural areas, go to school in urban areas. Palm Beach or Nashville are fine. I used to think rural areas were fine, but ever since Trump got elected, the racists have been emboldened. If I were you, I'd avoid areas that voted heavily for Trump. Which, again, are areas that are heavily white and heavily rural.

Pretty sure Palm Beach voted heavily for trump. He's got a freakin trump tower there.

OP, Palm Beach will require you to attend "chapel sessions". You have to attend X amount of times per semester. You just sit there tho. But I'm pretty sure they'll accept you as you are.

But outside of the school, as WVU said, I feel like you might encounter more racists there now that trump got them out of hiding. There was a recent news article that happened in the Port St. Lucie area (~2 hrs north of Palm Beach) where a white guy tried to set fire a store owned by Indians and he thought they were Muslims...what's new nowadays huh?

Sorry this post got a little political


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[BidingMyTime]

Just remember the earth is flat and is orbited by the sun, dinosaurs never existed, and follow everything the Bible tells you to do, including the stuff that contradicts the other stuff. You will be fine. Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Haha, I know you are joking. But for those who don't know the difference, "nationally accredited" or "unaccredited" schools can teach those or any other crazy beliefs...."regionally accredited" and "pharmacy education accredited" CAN NOT teach such stuff....any pharmacy school that is "pharmacy education accredited" must teach according to scientifically approved guidelines. Some Christian schools DO get regionally and pharmacy education accredited, because they do teach according to those guidelines (as well as meet the other requirements for accreditation.) Christian schools that don't teach according to those guidelines do NOT get regionally or pharmacy education accredited, so degrees from those schools, are basically worthless outside of the particular schools denomination.

Think of it like the DO/MD debate. Most DO's probably don't take all of the osteopathic teachings seriously....but DO is considered the same as MD, because in addition to the osteopathic teachings, DO's complete the exact same educational framework as MD's.

Similarly, someone going to a "regionally" and "pharmacy education" accredited school may not take all the Christian teachings of the school seriously, but their education is going to meet the exact same educational requirements at any non-Christian "regionally" and "pharmacy education" accredited school.

TLDR sum up "regionally accredited GOOD, "pharmacy education" accredited a MUST for pharmacy school.
"Nationally accredited" or "unaccredited", absolutely meaningless.

 

[gwarm01]

Pretty sure Palm Beach voted heavily for trump. He's got a freakin trump tower there.

Maybe the city of Palm Beach, but the county went to Hillary and is very liberal all around. PBA is in the city of West Palm Beach, which is a pretty diverse place. It's the billionaires across the lagoon that are into Trump.

 

[confettiflyer]

Most people who claim to be Christian really aren't.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I felt discrimination as a white as it gets, but very open atheist going to a public school in WV. I'd hate to have to live in a small town with a skin hue that advertised the fact that I wasn't a Christian. The school won't matter as much as the location. Avoid rural areas, go to school in urban areas. Palm Beach or Nashville are fine. I used to think rural areas were fine, but ever since Trump got elected, the racists have been emboldened. If I were you, I'd avoid areas that voted heavily for Trump. Which, again, are areas that are heavily white and heavily rural.

Yikes.

Did you report the faculty that were discriminating against you?

 

[Sine Cura]

West Palm Peach is also the home of Stormfront

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Yikes.

Did you report the faculty that were discriminating against you?

It wasn't the faculty...I avoided them at all costs. But other students...coworkers...**** like that.

And even if it was the faculty, I wouldn't rock the boat. I don't trust those people. At all. They are exactly the type of people I thought they'd be. Prestige chasers that love having their little fiefdoms.

 

[SSJH5862]

I attend Cedarville and as a favor, please don't go to a school that requires you to be something you're not. During my interview, they asked me what my walk with Christ was like, I attended chapel and I picked a Bible verse and explain how it related to my life and how I planned to apply it to the world of Pharmacy. The interview was very thorough. IF YOU GO IN THERE TO BE A PHONY, just because you think it's an easy way to get into pharmacy school, THEY WILL CALL YOU OUT.

So yeah, it's not worth showing up to the interview when you know you're not gonna get accepted.

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

Why are you applying to these no-name schools?

It would be like an Asian person applying to an HBCU. Kind of a mismatch when you can attend far better schools.

There are benefits to hbcus. For example, the one in my state had an Asian alumna go on to be the prime minister of Thailand. I also had a guy tell me he went there because it looked better on his app to medschool than it would had he gone to the state school. he also had a full ride, being a "minority".

Get to the goal by any means necessary, I suppose

 

[BenJammin]

Old topic but it reminds me of when I applied to Baylor. They require certain number of "chapel" hours and I wasn't interested in that. They told me no chapel = no degree so I said no Baylor lol