CU Skaggs SOP vs. UM Baltimore

[cuboulderstudent]

Hi! I have been accepted to both CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy in Denver and University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore and could use some advice on choosing between the two.

I will be an in state student for CU, but also receive in state tuition after the first year in Maryland, so the cost for both end over four years up being practically the same! I know Maryland is ranked higher, but other than that, the programs seem to be very similar and offer a lot of opportunities.

Are there any other students in a similar situation, or current P1 students who can gives some more insight into either program? I am interested in eventually going onto do my residency in a hospital, so I want to pick the best school to prepare me for that!

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[NDPharmacy]

Maryland

 

[oregonian19]

I applied to and got into both of these schools, so I may be able to provide some input?

1. Consider cost. It's good that you are thinking about it. You say they'll cost about the same, but the Maryland students made it sound like getting in-state residency status wasn't necessarily guaranteed, but something you might have to fight a little for. Alternatively, you already have residency for Skaggs.

2. Where do you want to practice? If you want to return to Colorado or anywhere in the West, go to Colorado. The alumni network for Colorado would be better suited for those areas than Maryland would. If you want to work on the East coast (NE or Mid-Atlantic), go with Maryland. Though, I strongly suspect Colorado had/will have a better job market than the East coast.

3. Residency stats are a little murkier. Colorado has a historical (~5 years) match rate of 76% (national average of 66% over the same period). Maryland, I can't find anything for. They have an article saying a particaar year had a 84% match rate, though this may be an outlier. If this matters a lot to you, do your research!

4. Where do you want to live while you're in school? Personally, Denver seemed more like a world-class city with a lot of things to do. It seemed cleaner and is statistically safer than Baltimore. Figure out which place you think you would feel better/comfortable in.

As you might be able to tell, I prefer Skaggs over Maryland. I somewhat liked Baltimore, but I felt so much better about Denver. Also, Maryland made zero effort to convince the applicants about why they should go there. I saw this as arrogant and a real turn-off. Alternatively, Skaggs tried to put there best foot forward.

Consider the things I mentioned in your decision and let us know what you go with!

If you want to ask any more questions to me directly, feel free to message me!

 

[cuboulderstudent]

Thank you for your detailed response!

I also got the same feeling about Maryland and their arrogant attitude about their high ranking. Overall, they just failed to impress me during the interview! What turned me off the most was hearing that most students don't even attend classes and just watch lectures online. If I am dedicating four years and thousands of dollars into a PharmD education, I want to be in a classroom everyday with students who are also really committed to the program.

Also, I looked up the residency match statistics and CU (65%) does seem to be higher on average than UM (42% over the past five years) which is one of the main reasons why I am deciding to go back home to Colorado! I do love the East Coast area, but I can always apply to residency programs there after graduation if I want to live there.

If you don't mind me asking, did you also decide in the end to go to CU for the entering class of 2022?

 

[oregonian19]

I did decide to go with CU, so I will see you there!

 

[MQQ]

Thank you for your detailed response!

I also got the same feeling about Maryland and their arrogant attitude about their high ranking. Overall, they just failed to impress me during the interview! What turned me off the most was hearing that most students don't even attend classes and just watch lectures online. If I am dedicating four years and thousands of dollars into a PharmD education, I want to be in a classroom everyday with students who are also really committed to the program.

Also, I looked up the residency match statistics and CU (65%) does seem to be higher on average than UM (42% over the past five years) which is one of the main reasons why I am deciding to go back home to Colorado! I do love the East Coast area, but I can always apply to residency programs there after graduation if I want to live there.

If you don't mind me asking, did you also decide in the end to go to CU for the entering class of 2022?

OMG !!! ME TOO!!! Maryland did not impress me although they offered me scholarships.... Still deciding where to go ...