Does it matter which school...(Pls Help)

[clachan3]

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I got conditional admissions to Ferris State and U of Iowa. I'm still waiting for the reply from other schools. Does it matter from which school we graduate? I was thinking as long as the pharmacy school is accredited, it is going to be okay. Now I really don't know which school I should go 😕

For Ferris State I have one more class to take, and 2 classes for Iowa 🙁 U of Iowa has better ranking than Ferris State, but Ferris has a 3.5 year program so I can graduate 9 months early. I also have to consider tuition as well. For non-residents Ferris State cost $10,555/semester, Iowa cost $13,000/semester!! I can't apply for resident either b/c I'm an inte'l student 😛

Should I graduate early or look for internship during summer? I also want to save as much $$ as I can. I really need some help to make a decision as soon as possible. Please give me some suggestions. Merci beaucoup 😉

 

[BMBiology]

From what I have heard, it does not matter where you graduate from as long as you pass the pharmacy board exam if you are planning to do retail. However, it does matter if you are planning to do residency after your PharmD degree.

If you are planning to practice in California, I believe it is better that you go to a CA school since CA schools have a higher passage rate on the CA pharmacy board exam than schools outside of CA.

 

[Motiv8]

When talking with fellow pharmacists, I learned that where one attends pharm. school doesn't necessarily matter. Board passing rates and quality curriculum matter in a school, but ultimately, employers overlook where one has attended pharm. school. Pharmacy is not the type of profession where one can open a clinic or own practice. It revolves around working with retailers, hospitals, or ultimately under some firm or organization. So repuatation of a school are most of the time overlooked. This is not to say that one cannot open a pharmacy or work independently for a research firm, but most of the time the profession lies under a roof of management. Hence, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

The pharmacist determines his/her own fate by conducting pharmaceutical practice in a professional manner. Schools of pharmacy revolve around the same curriculum with different nuances and electives, but in the end the contemporary skills for the practice of pharmacy is fulfilled by all. I believe that we are living in a stage of pharmacy practice where the shortage of pharmacists has compensated the need for seeking individuals that have graduated from specific schools. We bring pharmacists from Canada, and other north American countries to alleviate this shortage. Employers today are seeking graduates (from any school of pharmacy) that are true leaders to the profession. They seek individuals that strive for public service and humanity. Moreover, they let the individual define their abilities by not letting the school attended govern who the position lands to.

Pharmacy practice is integral to society. Although we all want to gain admission into specific schools, one should realize that getting into "any one" school will probably land you the same job as the other. Dentistry and Medicine run on a different track. In those professions, reputation of the institution matter more than in pharmacy. More people are likely to seek medical care from a Harvard grad. than some other place. In pharmacy, it hasn't reached that level yet. No one cares where you graduated from; salaries are probably the same, and no one benefits. We live in a challenging time where repuation of school doesn't matter yet, but as times change, the profession may lead to that transition sooner than we can imagine.

 

[Modnar]

Maybe you should make a list of the pros and cons of attending each school. Also, I believe that jdpharmd? went to Ferris State. You could ask him for his thoughts on the school.

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by Modnar
Maybe you should make a list of the pros and cons of attending each school. Also, I believe that jdpharmd? went to Ferris State. You could ask him for his thoughts on the school.

Yup, I did some time there last year. 🙂 I know several people at all different levels of their pharmacy program, students, staff, faculty, grads... I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. Post them here or PM me. I'll try to get the stats on who was accepted this year for you.

From what I've heard, Ferris has one of the cheapest out of state/out of country programs. Looked at any private schools (which are usually not ranked because they lack research) lately? (By the way, I have never seen Ferris in any ranking, where did ya look?) There are several above $20k/year, and some above $25k/year. Just off the top of my head, something like 80% of Michigan pharmacists went to Ferris (and they make great money, have excellent jobs, etc..). That includes retail, managers, hospital pharms, etc. I don't know the exact number, but that's an estimate.

The other two MI pharmacy schools (Wayne State, and University of Michigan) are very competitive and have very small class sizes (~60 students). Wayne also wants some rather odd pre-reqs and is in downtown Detroit, while UofM picks up some "I almost got into med school" students. Something like 65% of their PharmD class has at least a BS when entering. (These numbers are just off the top of my head, and it's supposed to be 117 degrees in about an hour, so go easy on me) 🙂

I liked Ferris, if you can deal with the town (small) and the weather (hot-humid/cold-dry). I took pharmacy biochem there and loved it, and my friends in the program had a great frist year. About half of the class accelerates (of a class size of about 130) every year, and they rarely have any problems with it. I would have considered going there for sure, but I was waitlisted and chose to come to the center of the sun for school. The tuition savings and not having to move would have been nice, but the -15 degree winters would not. In my opinion, it's a great school that just gets overlooked because of location. The facilities are a bit dated, but the professors can put you through hell just as well as any others. 🙂

Good luck, and let me know your questions. There are a few other Ferris students on here. One is a current student (????), and one is going this fall (chunkyb).

 

[lord999]

GravyRPH may have more to say about this than I do, but even for residencies, it really doesn't matter which school you came from so long as you have a decent academic record. That even goes for the "competitive" placements. The only time I've seen schools be a negative aspect is if you're applying for a program sponsored by your own school (Ex: Michigan apply for a U of Michigan hospital residency). Some schools take the attitude that their grads should range out further for a different experience.

As for grades, above a 3.2 generally places well. Rho Chi or pharmacy fraternity admission doesn't hurt either....