I can't speak for Mercer, but I'm a P3 at Creighton (also moved out here from Southern California), so maybe I can offer some insight.
School itself: not too bad, pretty scenic and compact; most of the pharmacy classes take place in the same buildings, so that's nice. From what I've heard from friends, parking on campus is something of a pain, so you will probably need a permit unless you live close to campus (there are some good apartments right next to campus though).
Curriculum/professors: Decent enough; first year is mostly review (I've heard its like this for most schools though); second year gets tougher (though they do ease you into it the first semester). Third year is lots of group work, so it sucks if you don't like that 🙁 You said you want to move back to Ca; I'm told that Creighton alumni have a decent presence in Ca, so that should help you out; also, we are allowed to do a good number (at least half) of our 4th year rotations outside of NE, and Creighton does a good job in streamlining the process of finding willing preceptors in other states.
Students/school spirit: I feel like for our year, there's about 15-20 students who hold something like 70% of the leadership roles, but that's because they are REALLY passionate about that stuff, not because they are hogging roles; all in all, there is no shortage of opportunities to get involved in orgs/leadership roles if that's your thing. , but I assume that sort of dynamic happens everywhere. Cliches do tend to form, which is sometimes annoying, but so long as you find your niche, you can ignore that part. Most of the professors are nice and attentive, and really care for the students (yes, this includes tough love). There's a decent amount of school spirit, especially with Creighton athletics (free tickets for students!). Most of the people I've met out here are REALLY into sports, which was something of a culture shock for me, but if you're the kind of dude who gets on off fantasy leagues and stuff, then welcome to Nirvana friend 🙂
City (Omaha): Pretty good place to live while going to school; rent/gas is dirt-cheap (compared to California anyway), downtown is always fun, traffic is a breeze compared to Southern California, street parking isn't too bad (free after 5:30 PM and on weekends at downtown and most other places). Fun fact: Omaha has the most restaurants per capita in the US! Driving in snow is something of an adjustment, but the city is usually very quick with clearing major roads, so its not too traumatizing. As far as opportunities for internships, most classmates I know were able to lock down an internship early on, and switches from retail to hospital and vice versa isn't unheard of out here. The ones that don't work usually plan it that way to focus on academics.
Any other questions, just PM me.
