Does it matter which Pharmacy school I attend for future jobs?

[PrePharmStu2009]

Hey everyone,

Hope I can get some good advice on here. So I went to school for years from a top notch school and will receive my Engineering degree this May. But I also look took science pre-reqs and will be going to pharmacy school this fall. I have been accepted into Mercer College of Pharmacy, Belmont and Lipscomb. Belmont is a new school, but they build a new pharmacy building and it seems they are on the right track. Mercer is a school with great tradition. I have also been accepted into UTK pharmacy, but I do not have enough pre-reqs since I had to take engineering courses.

Basically, my question is IN the Future, will it matter if i graduate from a school that by the time I graduate has been around for 8 years and hopefully accredited for 4 years (Belmont) or whether I graduate from a school like Mercer which has been around for many years and maybe has more resources?? Since there are so many pharmacy schools, will this be a major factor in the future. Also Belmont is close to my home, any advice will be helpful.

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[aboveliquidice]

Hey everyone,

Hope I can get some good advice on here. So I went to school for years from a top notch school and will receive my Engineering degree this May. But I also look took science pre-reqs and will be going to pharmacy school this fall. I have been accepted into Mercer College of Pharmacy, Belmont and Lipscomb. Belmont is a new school, but they build a new pharmacy building and it seems they are on the right track. Mercer is a school with great tradition. I have also been accepted into UTK pharmacy, but I do not have enough pre-reqs since I had to take engineering courses.

Basically, my question is IN the Future, will it matter if i graduate from a school that by the time I graduate has been around for 8 years and hopefully accredited for 4 years (Belmont) or whether I graduate from a school like Mercer which has been around for many years and maybe has more resources?? Since there are so many pharmacy schools, will this be a major factor in the future. Also Belmont is close to my home, any advice will be helpful.

I checked my magic eight-ball earlier... It is certain

 

[Auriel619]

Mercer is definitely a better buy. I've realized that the Pharmacy world is small and Mercer has a much better name/recognition than Belmont. Mercer has an ok location (close enough to Atlanta), a good MBA/PharmD dual degree program and better name recognition. Belmont's a new school that few people have heard of.

Just my $.02

 

[johnep34]

Where you went matters in industry or academia, for community pharmacy as long as you have the licence they could not care less.
johnep

 

[lauradiddle]

Basically, my question is IN the Future, will it matter if i graduate from a school that by the time I graduate has been around for 8 years and hopefully accredited for 4 years (Belmont) or whether I graduate from a school like Mercer which has been around for many years and maybe has more resources?? Since there are so many pharmacy schools, will this be a major factor in the future. Also Belmont is close to my home, any advice will be helpful.

Right now, pharmacy schools don't have a tier system in the way law school does. A lot of people have told me that at the end of the day a PharmD is a PharmD and it doesn't matter where you got it. It's true to an extent, but I personally still think it does matter. I think it's important to at least consider the reputation of both schools. This doesn't only impact your future employment opportunities, but a school with a better reputation will probably have better rotation sites your 4th year too.

 

[Farmercyst]

Moved to pre-pharmacy. School choice questions are pre-pharmacy in nature.

 

[hanhuang]

Right now, pharmacy schools don't have a tier system in the way law school does. A lot of people have told me that at the end of the day a PharmD is a PharmD and it doesn't matter where you got it. It's true to an extent, but I personally still think it does matter. I think it's important to at least consider the reputation of both schools. This doesn't only impact your future employment opportunities, but a school with a better reputation will probably have better rotation sites your 4th year too.

hmm... about the better rotation sites.. I don't think it's all correct. I think Jefferson Pharmacy School have better rotation sites comparing to Temple University Pharmacy School.

 

[WhiteSnows]

It is matter to some degrees. All depend on what kind of jobs you are talking about.

 

[rxlea]

hmm... about the better rotation sites.. I don't think it's all correct. I think Jefferson Pharmacy School have better rotation sites comparing to Temple University Pharmacy School.

What sites do they have?

 

[All4MyDaughter]

What sites do they have?

Lots of sites in and around Philly?

 

[rxlea]

Lots of sites in and around Philly?

I am not sure if you are being sarcastic or what but I am curious as to what sites they are since the above poster says they are better. Do you know?

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I am not sure if you are being sarcastic or what but I am curious as to what sites they are since the above poster says they are better. Do you know?

I just thought it was a funny request. A list of sites in Philly wouldn't mean much to me because I don't know the city. Forgive me for my insolence.

I do believe (and one of the regs goes to Jefferson so maybe he'll chime in) that there has been discussion about Jefferson's rotation sites on here before. But I don't recall the specific threads. I believe they compensate their preceptors, which has made it easier for them to obtain quality sites. But I'm not 100% sure about that.

 

[PharmDizzle]

Hey everyone,

Hope I can get some good advice on here. So I went to school for years from a top notch school and will receive my Engineering degree this May. But I also look took science pre-reqs and will be going to pharmacy school this fall. I have been accepted into Mercer College of Pharmacy, Belmont and Lipscomb. Belmont is a new school, but they build a new pharmacy building and it seems they are on the right track. Mercer is a school with great tradition. I have also been accepted into UTK pharmacy, but I do not have enough pre-reqs since I had to take engineering courses.

Basically, my question is IN the Future, will it matter if i graduate from a school that by the time I graduate has been around for 8 years and hopefully accredited for 4 years (Belmont) or whether I graduate from a school like Mercer which has been around for many years and maybe has more resources?? Since there are so many pharmacy schools, will this be a major factor in the future. Also Belmont is close to my home, any advice will be helpful.

There was a time not all that long ago that where you went to pharmacy school made minimal difference in landing a job. That was before the days of multiple pharmacy schools that no one has ever heard of popping up out of nowhere. Now a lot of pharmacy managers are paying much closer attention to where the degree comes from- even in retail, contrary to what many think. I work in a pharmacy chain and float around stores, and I had this conversation many times when I was deciding where to go to pharmacy school. All the feedback I got told me that the saturation of the pharmacy market is causing people to give some degree of preference to those with degrees from more prestigious, established pharmacy schools. If you get into a brand-new pharmacy program and nowhere else then I would say go for it. A Pharm D from a new program is better than no Pharm D! However, if you have a choice it would probably be best to choose the one that's more established with the better reputation. The newer, no-name schools aren't any cheaper than the great schools so why risk it? In the end I passed up a school that was located where I wanted to be in favor of a well known and respected school. Others will adamantly disagree with me, who knows who's right?