CA Northstate Interview

[pharmacia07]

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Members do not see this ad.

Just to clarify:

AACP = aacp.org = american association of colleges of pharmacy

ACPE = www.[B]acpe[/B]-accredit.org = accreditation council for pharmacy education

http://www.acpe-accredit.org/news/default.asp

California Northstate College of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy Program: The College voluntarily withdrew their application for consideration at the January 2008 meeting and requested to resubmit their application after a focused on-site visit in spring 2008.

 

[Allright]

how long after you send in information do they update your application status on their websight.. and how do they normally contact you because their email address does not work

 

[IntoPharmD2008]

hey Allright,

here is the new email that they have. u can contact the admission at [email protected] (Xiadong Feng)

 

[moolman]

Everyone here is aware that CNCP is an independent for-profit school that is not affiliated with any established school or university, this make them potentially dangerous but also unique. Not many is aware that CNCP has its own pharmaceutical factory, that it plans on becoming a research institution following a hands-on curriculum that will emphasize less on lecture but more on practical experience. Their curriculum will incorporate mandatory research projects and students will have the opportunity to gain experience thru conducting experiments with one of their professors. How do I know all these obvious things...weeeelllll…it might be because I actually went to the interview, and I'm willing to wait until June before drawing conclusions.

.My reasons: as I mentioned above; the big what IF they can accomplish their top-tier vision, come close or even influenced by it to strive for the best; the class of 2012 will be the first, not just of a class of a new program but of a new school; if they succeed class 0f 2012 can be proud of the rare chance to be the first to be there when it begins and start what hopefully will never end. Of course this come with an expensive price, a big risk and a grande what IF they fail. If AACP doesn’t grant them pre-cand status (the hardest process) come June I will simply not listen to any of their "falsely assurance," (HICP) and have all summer to think of something better to do with the $500 dollars that they better return to me.

.For those who got accepted read the last two sentences of your acceptance letter. "Again, we appreciate ........... As you know, ........," Dean Hawkins. That, I think is what attracted me to the school!! 👎thumbup:....👍

I'm all for school pride, I can debate until my face turns blue why the football team at my school is better than yours and should be ranked #1 every year. But let's be a little realistic and if you read my posts, I always tell it like it is. The chances of CNCP being a top-tier school especially being located in California, is about slim to none. I'm not bashing the faculty or the dean for talking like that because in life we all must have goals and a vision for the future. When I was growing up, I wanted to play in the NFL but had to be realistic too. I touched upon this previously too, so you can read my previous posts as to why CNCP will never be a top-tier school in California. Like I said, it'll be at the level of Western U in SoCal, a good pharmacy school. As for being a top level research institution, I believe the chances are low because of the money required. UCSF is ranked as the #1 pharmacy school, not because they turn out the best pharmacists, it's because they get the most research money and that's how those rankings are weighted. CNCP is a for-profit insitution with no affliation with any university. Straight off the bat, CNCP is at a disadvantage because they must put money aside to pay off their investors to make money instead of using all the money for research. A lot of research money is from government and foundation grants, etc, that money would most likely go to other schools first that already recieve grants because they have other departments/schools and have already previously recieved money. Other schools can also use money from the overall school to supplement any research funds while CNCP is limited since it isn't attached to a established University. Things like alumni donations, endowments and gifting from very wealthy alumni are decades away at the least and more unlikely since they are a small school.

I'll also say it like it is, even if it hurts feelings. For a school to become better, it needs to start attracting top students. I'll give an example, USC was known as an average school, the incoming freshman class during the early 90's and before was okay, in the late 90's, they started pumping a lot of money into scholarships and financial aid. The incoming freshman class GPA started rising almost to a 4.0 because better students started considering it. CNCP will need to attract top students, I don't think that will happen anytime soon. A big reason for that is that it's too close to UCSF. A student that is very serious about research will never ever choose CNCP over UCSF even if CNCP somehow improved so much, I could see how if CNCP was say in another state that research oriented students would pick it, but not while its location is Sacramento. CNCP attracting the best and brighest is many years away if ever. A good example is UCSD, UCSD is new school but their incoming class GPA is about 3.7, the reason that they attract top talent is because they are first off UCSD, location in SD and cheaper instate tuition. CNCP does not the name recognition, location or price and probably never will.

CNCP will be a good school to learn to become a great pharmacist just like Western U in Socal is but let's be honest here. Right now the only people considering CNCP are people who couldn't get into the other established schools in California or people who already live in Sac. I don't think that will change for a long time. Just like Western is school of choice for a lot people who couldn't get into USC or UCSD, CNCP will be the school for NorCal people who couldn't get into UCSF or UOP.

The reason I'm being so harsh, is not to bring the school down or the people wanting to attend. It's so that people who are considering this school see through the hoopla and talk, and see the school for what it is and be realistic about it. Grandious thoughts and a good vision is not bad but reality has to be included too. This is mainly for the people say that got into an out of state school but want to stay in California, so they are considering CNCP. Maybe going out of state is a good idea for now or not but see all the sides of the good and bad of CNCP before making a life chaning decision. I think it's safe to say that anybody that got into the other big California schools are not seriously considering CNCP yet.

Good luck everyone.

 

[IntoPharmD2008]

hey guys,

What are some good/strong questions to ask the addmissions committee during the interview?

 

[lasthurdle]

I'm all for school pride, I can debate until my face turns blue why the football team at my school is better than yours and should be ranked #1 every year. But let's be a little realistic and if you read my posts, I always tell it like it is. The chances of CNCP being a top-tier school especially being located in California, is about slim to none. I'm not bashing the faculty or the dean for talking like that because in life we all must have goals and a vision for the future. When I was growing up, I wanted to play in the NFL ....................................................................................................
......................................................

Good luck everyone.

No one is saying that CNCP is going to be better than UCSF, UCSD, USC, or the best in the nation. Not choosing other new programs was the main focus of the discussion. Their vision will motivate them to work hard to start the program and take it in the right direction. Not "screwing people over" was the focal point. To the class of 2012 that is top-tier. Theres no point to any of this debate!

Good luck to everyone whos applying or plan to attend.

 

[eggroll]

does anybody know the phone number to this school?
i called 916-631-8108 from the website, but a machine says that i need to press 1 if i know the last name of the person that i want to speak to, 2 for th first name.

where's customer service????!

 

[prepharmgal]

does anybody know the phone number to this school?
i called 916-631-8108 from the website, but a machine says that i need to press 1 if i know the last name of the person that i want to speak to, 2 for th first name.

where's customer service????!

That's the phone number that I used to call too.

Maybe You can try to call 916-273-8901

 

[PharmD83]

Hey Eggroll, nice name. I assume you want to contribute to the statistics of being an asian pharmacist eh? The phone number you dialed is the correct one. There is no customer service. Just listen to the instructions. Press 2 and type in the first three letters of the person's first name. If you want to speak to Gail, which I recommend you do, then press 2 first, for the first name, then GAI or 424 on your cell phone because these numerics correspond to the letters. Another example: if you want the dean's extention, David Hawkins, then press DAV or 328 on your cell phone. Don't stress out too much eh? follow the directions, and you'll be fine. Are you applying?

does anybody know the phone number to this school?
i called 916-631-8108 from the website, but a machine says that i need to press 1 if i know the last name of the person that i want to speak to, 2 for th first name.

where's customer service????!

 

[Allright]

i just contacted them they said that documents mailed to the old office is fowarded to their new ones.. since i mailed last monday to the old office how long would it take for them to get

 

[PharmD83]

Hey allright, I just have one question. Did you check on their main webpage before mailing out the documents? The mailing address is not the old one anymore since February. But if that's the case, then it should only take less than a week, because the location from the old office to the campus is only about 20 minutes away. I hope they will receive your documents, but I would definately call Gail to make sure.

i just contacted them they said that documents mailed to the old office is fowarded to their new ones.. since i mailed last monday to the old office how long would it take for them to get

 

[kimd4]

Just be aware guys. I mailed my deposit and confirmation letter to the old office and a couple weeks later it was returned back to me saying that they weren't able to deliver my letter. At that time, I only had 2 days before my 30 day deadline so I had to express mail it to the new address. I barely made it 😳 It should foward to the new address, but mine didn't so just warning you guys...

 

[Allright]

i didnt see the new adrress on the home page i only saw the one on the application page.
Gail told me that the post office forwards everything from the old office to their new one.. its been over a week im wondering how long i should wait before i resend...

they really need to update their application page so others wont be caused the same hassle

 

[PharmD83]

Everyone who wants to mail out their applications, please click on "contact us" tab at the top of CNCP's home page. I reassure you that their new phone number is listed on there and plus their new and updated address.

i didnt see the new adrress on the home page i only saw the one on the application page.
Gail told me that the post office forwards everything from the old office to their new one.. its been over a week im wondering how long i should wait before i resend...

they really need to update their application page so others wont be caused the same hassle

 

[PharmDee2Bee]

i didnt see the new adrress on the home page i only saw the one on the application page.
Gail told me that the post office forwards everything from the old office to their new one.. its been over a week im wondering how long i should wait before i resend...

they really need to update their application page so others wont be caused the same hassle

The new address is on the main website.

New Official Site
CNCP moved to its new location at 10811 International Drive in Rancho Cordova on February 1, 2008.

 

[WWE]

Guys, I would beware from this school. The main pharmacist that was helping to open the school has dropped out and she was on the pharmacy board. Apparently, the school is all about money and were leaving decisions up to the business men involved with the school instead of the pharmacist, which made many of the pharmacist upset.

 

[eggroll]

oh? where did you get this info from?

 

[WWE]

Dr. Ravnan was the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions and Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice at California Northstate College of Pharmacy. She was the main reason why I was interested in attending cal north state. She is an active member of the board of pharmacy and also worked for University of the Pacific. Pharmacist that I know personally assured me that if this pharmacist was on board, everything would end up working out and I had no worries. I am now being told that she will no longer be a part of Cal North state because of the business aspects of the school. Not that the school would be horrible without her, but i would definitely be weary.

 

[PharmD83]

Yes, you're right. The Pharmacist's name was Dr. Susan Ravnan. Apparently, this is OLD NEWS. She used to be the assistant dean for the school. We do not know the reasons why she and her husband left the school and went back to their original pharmacy school which is UOP. Please, don't be alram by this information. There might be personal or administrative reasons that they had to leave. The school is not going to all apart just because two professors don't get what they want at a particular school. The last time I checked, the process of accredidation is running smoothly. Gail and the other professors their are very optimistic and positive that they are going to get the pre-candidate status. And by the way, were you accepted to the school? If not don't scare people, and if you are accepted, don't be pestimistic, Thanks!

Guys, I would beware from this school. The main pharmacist that was helping to open the school has dropped out and she was on the pharmacy board. Apparently, the school is all about money and were leaving decisions up to the business men involved with the school instead of the pharmacist, which made many of the pharmacist upset.

 

[moolman]

The reason why WWE is going on about both Dr. Ravnan's quitting is because of their reputation at UOP. Many, many former students, I mean a lot, not just a few students, a lot, a lot, a lot, considered her husband, the best teacher at UOP. They knew her a bit, but most I talked to raved about how good of a teacher he was. His class was difficult but they really liked him. For so many different people to say that is a big deal. When I first heard about CNCP, I told a few former UOP grads about the school and I mentioned that Dr. Ravnan left UOP to go to CNCP. Both told me to apply and not worry about CNCP being a bust because if Dr. Ravnan was willing to go and his wife, who has some position on the California Board of Pharmacy, the school was legit.

Both of them quitting raises big, big flags.

If both quit to say do retail or something besides teaching, then it could be for personal reasons but if he is teaching somewhere else next year, you should be very wary on why he would leave UOP where he was so loved and ventured to CNCP, only to quit before the school starts.

I'm not saying that just because Dr. Ravnan left that CNCP won't get preaccreditation, they probably will. What I am saying is that what there must be something up at the school that would make him quit, and anybody who is planning to attend should ask questions and be worried. What WWE said about the businessmen making the decisions could be true and have merit, if so, a for-profit school is dangerous in the hands of people who are more concerned about money.

Not trying to start a fight, just posting what I know and all the praises I heard about Dr. Ravnan.

 

[pnaico0lada]

Does anyone have information regarding the other professors who WILL be teaching there -- the schools they taught at previously, how long they've been teaching, what they'll be teaching, etc??? How many faculty members are on board so far? Any information would be much appreciated!

 

[CCdarling]

Does anyone have information regarding the other professors who WILL be teaching there -- the schools they taught at previously, how long they've been teaching, what they'll be teaching, etc??? How many faculty members are on board so far? Any information would be much appreciated!

I think it's best if you contact CNCP for that. I will do the same next week. And yes, they should really update their website.

 

[BMBiology]

I think it's best if you contact CNCP for that. I will do the same next week. And yes, they should really update their website.

CNCP would not be the best choice. You should contact the ACPE instead.

 

[steveysmith54]

It's odd, the school offers no info regarding professors, specific rotation sites, etc and everyone keeps coming here to ask the same questions rather than calling the school. Are people afraid to call the school? I find it almost funny that some people weren't even 100% sure about the simple things like telephone # and mailing address.

Call me a hater if u want, but i find all of this as a negative in addition to past history like Dean making promises about school being on pharmcas, time when they will release apps, getting pre-accred in Nov, and everything else.

Also, isn't that prof married to the dean? Is their marriage in jeopardy too?

Almost every school that has applied has gotten accredited eventually, but just the way the school handles it self leaves a lot to be desired IMO.

 

[confettiflyer]

haha i haven't checked into this thread in a while.

sooooo....i guess nothing has changed yeah? Surprised there are still people defending this proposed "school" tooth and nail.

I have another question...didn't someone say someone from UOP started this school? I don't see any mention of UOP at all in the proposed dean's CV online.

 

[MyUserName]

confettiflyer is bitter that that he couldn't get into any schools in CA.....probably got rejected from CNCP....😱

 

[moolman]

Just for clarification, someone from UOP did not start the school. What did happen is that Dr. Ravnan, both Mr and Mrs, left UOP to go to CNCP. The significance of that was that Mr. Ravnan was a very, very popular teacher, like I mentioned before, many former students said he was the best teacher they had at UOP. Mrs. Ravnan, the wife is very involved somehow with the California Board of Pharmacy, do a google search she comes up here and there. When they left UOP for CNCP, it was a pretty big deal. The pharmacists that graduated from UOP that I talked to were shocked that they left UOP for CNCP. When those pharmacists heard that the Ravnan's went to CNCP, some specifically said to me to apply to CNCP because if the Ravnan's are involved, the school was legit. Their reputation is very high obviously for those people to say that.

So having them leave, must be a big deal. For them to actually quit UOP to go to CNCP and now quit CNCP, something major is up. Up until a couple of months ago, both their profiles were still up on the UOP pharmacy faculty page and now they are gone, so maybe they are not coming back to UOP. But think about it, they leave a good, secure job at UOP to venture out on a new school and they quit before the school opens. People don't change their whole lives around and just quit something on a whim, especially people as highly regarded as them.

Where there's smoke there's fire.

Good luck everyone.

 

[shikamaru]

This latest from Dr. Marcus Ravnan himself:

Susan and I have both left CNCP. I have returned to Pacific, Susan has taken a part-time position with Pacific and is also working with UC Davis Medical Center for the time being until she completes her stint with the Board of Pharmacy. I am not sure of the current progress of CNCP at this time.

Marcus C. Ravnan, Pharm.D., FCSHP
Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice
University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy

As some of you may know, I have tried to give CNCP the benefit of the doubt due to lack of solid information back then. However, even now there isn't much if any progress with the school as evident on the school website, and finally there is the letter I received shown above, straight from the source himself.

This is no "I heard _____" or "a friend of my friend's heard _____" rumor. This is direct, straight up fact. I can say with confidence now that even if CNCP achieves pre-candidate status in June, I will not be going there, unless something drastic happens where I must stay in California or something. Honestly, I think I've been one of the most patient and forgiving people here on SDN with regards to CNCP, but seriously, when will the website be updated with all the information that actually matter? I actually wrote my impromptu essay on how CNCP should really consider updating their website by make it more professional-looking, and to keep it up-to-date with info. Haha, well now my generosity and support ends.

 

[neetfreek259]

I have an interview on March 21st as well! Mine is at 9am.. what about yours? And I agree with what moolman said...

Mine was at 9am on the 21st. Perhaps, we already met. I'm the other Asian girl in that group 🙂

 

[confettiflyer]

confettiflyer is bitter that that he couldn't get into any schools in CA.....probably got rejected from CNCP....😱

haha yes, boohooooo you got it 120% absolutely correct you are so smart and amazingly talented with a big dick and giant monster truck

but anyway, y'all know my bias anyway, so we'll leave it at that

 

[Allright]

who knows maybe they wanted more money..

 

[moolman]

This is no "I heard _____" or "a friend of my friend's heard _____" rumor. This is direct, straight up fact. I can say with confidence now that even if CNCP achieves pre-candidate status in June, I will not be going there, unless something drastic happens where I must stay in California or something. Honestly, I think I've been one of the most patient and forgiving people here on SDN with regards to CNCP, but seriously, when will the website be updated with all the information that actually matter? I actually wrote my impromptu essay on how CNCP should really consider updating their website by make it more professional-looking, and to keep it up-to-date with info. Haha, well now my generosity and support ends.

Hey folks, I have many posts that are skeptical of CNCP but in the end, I would attend CNCP if it was my only choice. Especially if someone wants to do retail pharmacy, you just get your license and it's all good in the end regardless of where you went to school. If you want to do residency, obviously, stay far away. I don't think it's a smart move at this point to choose CNCP for any established school, but if it's your only choice, I don't think it matters much. Let's face it, if you are seriously considering CNCP, you didn't get in anywhere else in California at least. But you'll get your license and that's what counts, so if they get preaccreditation, go for it. It's obvious that there's going to be challenges going to the school, fishy things going on with things like the Ravnan's leaving, and I highly doubt they left, only because they wanted more money. In the end of it all, you get your license, you get a job, it's all good in the hood.

 

[PharmDee2Bee]

Hey folks, I have many posts that are skeptical of CNCP but in the end, I would attend CNCP if it was my only choice. Especially if someone wants to do retail pharmacy, you just get your license and it's all good in the end regardless of where you went to school. If you want to do residency, obviously, stay far away. I don't think it's a smart move at this point to choose CNCP for any established school, but if it's your only choice, I don't think it matters much. Let's face it, if you are seriously considering CNCP, you didn't get in anywhere else in California at least. But you'll get your license and that's what counts, so if they get preaccreditation, go for it. It's obvious that there's going to be challenges going to the school, fishy things going on with things like the Ravnan's leaving, and I highly doubt they left, only because they wanted more money. In the end of it all, you get your license, you get a job, it's all good in the hood.

This sounds like it should be an advertisement for USN. Get in, get your license, and get out so you can work in a large retail chain for the rest of your life. Anyway, I agree that CNCP does not look too promising right now. The lack of information on their site has me wondering what's going on as well. But when it comes down to it..if I had no other choice but CNCP, then I wouldn't sit here reading these forums outta fear. 😱

 

[confettiflyer]

Well yeah...if CNCP were my only choice, I'd send in the deposit in a heartbeat. The risk of getting shafted by this school is better than the certainty of not getting in anywhere.

 

[Allright]

and I highly doubt they left, only because they wanted more money.

I wonder why they left uop in the first place

 

[yazzman]

I wonder why they left uop in the first place

I heard it was the money that orginally made them leave..I think their reasoning for returning back to UOP is questionable. I would go to the school if it was my only option.

 

[moolman]

I wonder why they left uop in the first place

Who cares why they left, what really matters is what made them turn tail and come back to UOP after quitting to go to CNCP. That's what has to have you worried if you're planning on CNCP. What the heck is happening at that school where someone would change their lives around to go there and then come back. We all know that switching jobs is not an easy decision for anybody.

 

[3434]

Hey Moolman,
I dont think it was as difficult for them change jobs in the first place. First, CNCP is only 60 miles from UOP. So, most likely they can commute to CNCP and they dont have to relocate. Second, maybe they were promised higher pay and more influence in the school, and when they didnt get it, they decided to go back to UOP.

It really isnt as "alarming" as you make it sound to be for them to return to UOP. Unless we know the real reason they quit CNCP, we will never know whose fault it was: them or CNCP. I just think that making a huge deal of their departure is rather pretentious.

Disclaimer: I am planning to attend CNCP because I want to stay in California and do not want to waste another year to apply.

Just my thought ...

 

[shikamaru]

Okay, I will try to be as objective as I can about CNCP while also showing in this post how I made my decisions for school.

I think we can agree that when CNCP was first announced, many had pretty high hopes for it. Immediately people called in the admissions office to inquire for more info, but this was when things started to go downhill.

Some people can become skeptical fast while others (like me) held out a while longer, but the fact remains that CNCP is seriously doing their applicants a disservice by continuing with the lack of information about themselves. They lost several good candidates when people were actually considering CNCP over other established schools, and CNCP lost them because they couldn't provide information for SO LONG (a good interview experience can only carry so much weight so far...). Those who still kept their hopes up thus turned to other schools because no idiot would put his/her future on the line for some new school that keeps withholding information from its potential students. The bottom line is: all the cool goals and visions are useless when there is no action or information to prove them. I mean, I am sure there were others besides me who wrote at least something about CNCP keeping their website up-to-date if they wanted to attract more applicants. So did they even read the impromptu essays? Do they not think that as a new school, they've got to provide HELLA information if they want to keep applicants at least decently interested?

The website has been up since September 2007, and since then they've only changed like five things. FIVE. One of them was to change "Pharmacutical" to "Pharmaceutical", which by the way took more than two weeks to fix (lol... ). They still have other typos and mistakes on the site and it's been like that since September. I believe people who gave the benefit of the doubt have waited more than long enough for change. It's been half a year now and the school has only proven to be slow, unprofessional, VASTLY unorganized, and maybe even hiding stuff from applicants.

Because it is totally new, the fact is CNCP by default faces the inevitable factors that many students use to choose which school to go to. Ie:

1) Class of 2007 NAPLEX pass rate = unknown
2) % of class entering residency = unknown
3) % of class that drops out/falls behind = unknown

So, since CNCP has nothing to show for factoids like these, it is their best interest to provide information on everything else, such as professors, books for classes, rotation sites, and so on. However, CNCP hasn't done anything to prove that it is trying to overcome its obstacles. In fact, they claim to already have 10-14 faculty members on board, and yet after 6 months they still don't put any information about them up on the website. Why? The Dean also have said that he and the faculty reads SDN..... so if they do (which I ASSURE you they do, and those of you who were at the interview with me would know), why haven't they responded to the posts to remedy their problems?

Applicants who actually decided to give them a chance have now walked out the door, some of them long ago. It has been 6 months. Enough is enough. Go to this school if it's your last resort.

 

[neetfreek259]

Okay, I will try to be as objective as I can about CNCP while also showing in this post how I made my decisions for school.

I think we can agree that when CNCP was first announced, many had pretty high hopes for it. Immediately people called in the admissions office to inquire for more info, but this was when things started to go downhill.

Some people can become skeptical fast while others (like me) held out a while longer, but the fact remains that CNCP is seriously doing their applicants a disservice by continuing with the lack of information about themselves. They lost several good candidates when people were actually considering CNCP over other established schools, and CNCP lost them because they couldn't provide information for SO LONG (a good interview experience can only carry so much weight so far...). Those who still kept their hopes up thus turned to other schools because no idiot would put his/her future on the line for some new school that keeps withholding information from its potential students. The bottom line is: all the cool goals and visions are useless when there is no action or information to prove them. I mean, I am sure there were others besides me who wrote at least something about CNCP keeping their website up-to-date if they wanted to attract more applicants. So did they even read the impromptu essays? Do they not think that as a new school, they've got to provide HELLA information if they want to keep applicants at least decently interested?

The website has been up since September 2007, and since then they've only changed like five things. FIVE. One of them was to change "Pharmacutical" to "Pharmaceutical", which by the way took more than two weeks to fix (lol... ). They still have other typos and mistakes on the site and it's been like that since September. I believe people who gave the benefit of the doubt have waited more than long enough for change. It's been half a year now and the school has only proven to be slow, unprofessional, VASTLY unorganized, and maybe even hiding stuff from applicants.

Because it is totally new, the fact is CNCP by default faces the inevitable factors that many students use to choose which school to go to. Ie:

1) Class of 2007 NAPLEX pass rate = unknown
2) % of class entering residency = unknown
3) % of class that drops out/falls behind = unknown

So, since CNCP has nothing to show for factoids like these, it is their best interest to provide information on everything else, such as professors, books for classes, rotation sites, and so on. However, CNCP hasn't done anything to prove that it is trying to overcome its obstacles. In fact, they claim to already have 10-14 faculty members on board, and yet after 6 months they still don't put any information about them up on the website. Why? The Dean also have said that he and the faculty reads SDN..... so if they do (which I ASSURE you they do, and those of you who were at the interview with me would know), why haven't they responded to the posts to remedy their problems?

Applicants who actually decided to give them a chance have now walked out the door, some of them long ago. It has been 6 months. Enough is enough. Go to this school if it's your last resort.

shikamaru, i am a bit disappointed in you. I've read all of your posts to this thread. At first, you were being very supportive towards CNCP and now you're showing your other side to CNCP 🙁 Like you have said before, you went there for an interview, saw how things were, said that it was a nice building and this and that. Now, you're saying that CNCP is not a good school and this and that 🙁 It makes me sad!!

 

[yazzman]

Okay, I will try to be as objective as I can about CNCP while also showing in this post how I made my decisions for school.

I think we can agree that when CNCP was first announced, many had pretty high hopes for it. Immediately people called in the admissions office to inquire for more info, but this was when things started to go downhill.

Some people can become skeptical fast while others (like me) held out a while longer, but the fact remains that CNCP is seriously doing their applicants a disservice by continuing with the lack of information about themselves. They lost several good candidates when people were actually considering CNCP over other established schools, and CNCP lost them because they couldn't provide information for SO LONG (a good interview experience can only carry so much weight so far...). Those who still kept their hopes up thus turned to other schools because no idiot would put his/her future on the line for some new school that keeps withholding information from its potential students. The bottom line is: all the cool goals and visions are useless when there is no action or information to prove them. I mean, I am sure there were others besides me who wrote at least something about CNCP keeping their website up-to-date if they wanted to attract more applicants. So did they even read the impromptu essays? Do they not think that as a new school, they've got to provide HELLA information if they want to keep applicants at least decently interested?

The website has been up since September 2007, and since then they've only changed like five things. FIVE. One of them was to change "Pharmacutical" to "Pharmaceutical", which by the way took more than two weeks to fix (lol... ). They still have other typos and mistakes on the site and it's been like that since September. I believe people who gave the benefit of the doubt have waited more than long enough for change. It's been half a year now and the school has only proven to be slow, unprofessional, VASTLY unorganized, and maybe even hiding stuff from applicants.

Because it is totally new, the fact is CNCP by default faces the inevitable factors that many students use to choose which school to go to. Ie:

1) Class of 2007 NAPLEX pass rate = unknown
2) % of class entering residency = unknown
3) % of class that drops out/falls behind = unknown

So, since CNCP has nothing to show for factoids like these, it is their best interest to provide information on everything else, such as professors, books for classes, rotation sites, and so on. However, CNCP hasn't done anything to prove that it is trying to overcome its obstacles. In fact, they claim to already have 10-14 faculty members on board, and yet after 6 months they still don't put any information about them up on the website. Why? The Dean also have said that he and the faculty reads SDN..... so if they do (which I ASSURE you they do, and those of you who were at the interview with me would know), why haven't they responded to the posts to remedy their problems?

Applicants who actually decided to give them a chance have now walked out the door, some of them long ago. It has been 6 months. Enough is enough. Go to this school if it's your last resort.

The truth of the matter is that this school isnt everyone's first choice, but it is the only choice for a select few. This is all mute arguement until everyone finds out if they get their pre-accreditation. Everyone who has applied at this school need to wait and see what happens. We can speculate until everyone turns green or is it blue...😎...I have a relative applying to this school and I am really hoping it works out for him...if it doesnt, I have no doubt that my relative will be attending UOP in 09...

 

[RxStudent]

please post if you guys here back from 3/21 interviewsss... hopefully we'll be hearing back soon!! 🙂

 

[moolman]

shikamaru, i am a bit disappointed in you. I've read all of your posts to this thread. At first, you were being very supportive towards CNCP and now you're showing your other side to CNCP 🙁 Like you have said before, you went there for an interview, saw how things were, said that it was a nice building and this and that. Now, you're saying that CNCP is not a good school and this and that 🙁 It makes me sad!!

He's not saying it's a bad school, he's just saying they need to get their act together. So don't be sad, BE HAPPY!!!!

 

[PharmDee2Bee]

shikamaru, i am a bit disappointed in you. I've read all of your posts to this thread. At first, you were being very supportive towards CNCP and now you're showing your other side to CNCP 🙁 Like you have said before, you went there for an interview, saw how things were, said that it was a nice building and this and that. Now, you're saying that CNCP is not a good school and this and that 🙁 It makes me sad!!

Shikamaru is simply stating the truth. I haven't seen many people on this forum defending CNCP as much as he has. For someone to be as supportive as him to CNCP's progress to finally say..enough is enough..this must mean something. Assumptions and guesses aside, CNCP really hasn't provided anything SOLID. Ironically, the only thing that is NOT questionable is their precandidacy..they just don't have it. Faculty is questionable as well as the intentions of the school itself. I've just about thrown in the towel as well unless CNCP does a 180 turn around somehow/someway. 😡

Don't get me wrong, the interview was wonderful and the school seemed promising. But like any school, interviews are just shows to advertise their school to applicants/prospective students. Many things were promised, but nothing has really been shown yet. Yes, they have moved into their new building, but right now they only have the first floor? C'mon..that sounds a little questionable. To start any program/school, planning has to be done years in advance..let alone a standalone program where even more planning has to be done. They had time to plan, why is it that there is still no permanent building? You would think that this would be the first thing to think about. Rancho Cordova is temporary as well, I heard of plans to move back to Sac eventually for the "permanent campus."

All that said, CNCP IS in California and is still a consideration for those who do not want to leave Calif.

 

[steveysmith54]

It is very clear what CNCP is doing. They don't care at all about the quality of students they admit, hence they released apps late and don't give out info. They don't care about what prof they employ. They just want tuition money. Figured opened another school in Cali, where app count is like 1000+ per school. The dean would admit 1000 if he could

 

[ndnpharmgrl]

So, I've read everyone's posts and in the end, I'm just stuck with the question: Do I apply or not? I got HIGH waitlist at Touro and that's pretty much the only school I got anything from. So, my reasons for applying to CNCP (if I decide to) would be what everyone else said: I don't want to kill another year of not starting pharm.. But, I'd at least like a school that has SOMETHING together, and if what majority says is true, then maybe I shouldn't apply?

 

[CCdarling]

Honestly, I totally understand where everyone is coming from. If I wasn't already accepted to CNCP and heard of the problems dealing with this school, I would feel the same way! But...I will wait till June to draw my conclusions, and I will definitely put in my two cents then 😉.

 

[confettiflyer]

Holy cow, I think I remember arguing with shikamaru about this school in this very thread. For him to post all of that...wow, I'm speechless.

You're all smart people (despite my constant belittling of everyone), please don't let all that grey matter between your ears go to waste.

And in response to 3434, that's the fifth most semi-******ed thing I've read. Do you have any idea what the hiring process involves at major universities? Leaving UOP and then coming back is no easy task, especially for high level positions like this. Sixty miles is a very long commute, especially up the I-5 or 99 corridor coming up from the south and getting on US-50 via the Capitol City Fwy toward Rancho Cordova. Have you ever sat in that traffic? Thought so.
And given how CNCP is probably desperate for good faculty, you can guess where the blame belongs of why he left...

And I checked the site again...you're right, no faculty profiles (or even names!). Even freakin' Sullivan University in KY had faculty profiles up.

Okay, I'll give up bashing the school until Friday, I promise.

 

[moolman]

So, I've read everyone's posts and in the end, I'm just stuck with the question: Do I apply or not? I got HIGH waitlist at Touro and that's pretty much the only school I got anything from. So, my reasons for applying to CNCP (if I decide to) would be what everyone else said: I don't want to kill another year of not starting pharm.. But, I'd at least like a school that has SOMETHING together, and if what majority says is true, then maybe I shouldn't apply?

You should apply and try to get in. You read my posts that question CNCP, but in the end of it all. CNCP is better than nothing. Waiting another year is not worth it because you never know if you will get in next year.

And honestly, in your situation, if the only school you got anything from is Touro, which doesn't have the highest of standards here in California. Your situation may not improve much next year. I would try CNCP for sure. This is their first year so I suspect that every year will get harder to get in. So don't miss you chance.

 

[yazzman]

Someone should contact them and ask if they can have an open house and have all their instructors present, go over the schools mission statement, have the dean speak,etc...........


I dont know why this school has not done something like this. I would think an open house of some sort would help with recruitment and get rid of the questions of doubt...This open house can be a good way to start getting good future applicants.