I need advice from current pharmacists

[Serenoir]

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Hi, I thought this would be the best place to post this... I need some advice from current pharmacist!
I just got into 3 pharmacy schools. I was wondering what should be the biggest factor in deciding pharmacy school.

I got in to MCPH, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Notre Dame
If you have to number them what would be the best one to go? Honestly I don' t really know the reputations about these schools among pharmacist. If you have to rank them what would be? and what would be the reason for each?

This is what I know about these schools

MCPH
-3 yr pharmacy school
-2nd oldest pharmacy school (school rank around 50s)
-about 42k per year
-98% Naplex passing rate
-Pro - love the location, love professors
-Con- extremely far from home, its not block schedule, high drop out rate (I've heard)

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
-3 yr pharmacy school
-Very new school, Historically black college
-About 50k per yr but I can be in-state by 2nd yr.
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro - love professors, small class, block schedule, experimental at places I want, in-state tuition later
-Con- extremely new school

Notre Dame
-4 yr pharmacy school
-Very New school, Historically women's college
-About 40k per yr for 4 years
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro- Extremely close from home
-Con- But don't like the location

 

[MountainPharmD]

Cost.

 

[StellargalS]

Not

Hi, I thought this would be the best place to post this... I need some advice from current pharmacist!
I just got into 3 pharmacy schools. I was wondering what should be the biggest factor in deciding pharmacy school.

I got in to MCPH, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Notre Dame
If you have to number them what would be the best one to go? Honestly I don' t really know the reputations about these schools among pharmacist. If you have to rank them what would be? and what would be the reason for each?

This is what I know about these schools

MCPH
-3 yr pharmacy school
-2nd oldest pharmacy school (school rank around 50s)
-about 42k per year
-98% Naplex passing rate
-Pro - love the location, love professors
-Con- extremely far from home, its not block schedule, high drop out rate (I've heard)

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
-3 yr pharmacy school
-Very new school, Historically black college
-About 50k per yr but I can be in-state by 2nd yr.
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro - love professors, small class, block schedule, experimental at places I want, in-state tuition later
-Con- extremely new school

Notre Dame
-4 yr pharmacy school
-Very New school, Historically women's college
-About 40k per yr for 4 years
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro- Extremely close from home
-Con- But don't like the location

 

[Old Timer]

Cost.

Wrong the most important thing is:

COST

​

You did not emphasize it enough.....

 

[MountainPharmD]

Good lord what is this old home week!

Where ya been Old Timer?

 

[kvl1027]

Go where it is the cheapest. Living expenses, can you live with your family during school, etc.

 

[BMBiology]

Have you calculated how much it would cost you after interest has been added?

How much you would need to pay per month and for how long?

 

[accordman83]

Definitely go with a 3 year school, that is a no-brainer. Personally I would go with MCPH, you want to go to a school with an established history in order to network yourself into a job. It is going to be super tough landing a good job in 2017.

 

[Transformer]

If I were to do it all over again, one of the biggest factors in deciding pharmacy school is the quality of education and networking the school provides. If I were you, I go to MCPH. But this your decision. Go where you feel you'll be happy. Congrats and good luck!

Hi, I thought this would be the best place to post this... I need some advice from current pharmacist!
I just got into 3 pharmacy schools. I was wondering what should be the biggest factor in deciding pharmacy school.

I got in to MCPH, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Notre Dame
If you have to number them what would be the best one to go? Honestly I don' t really know the reputations about these schools among pharmacist. If you have to rank them what would be? and what would be the reason for each?

This is what I know about these schools

MCPH
-3 yr pharmacy school
-2nd oldest pharmacy school (school rank around 50s)
-about 42k per year
-98% Naplex passing rate
-Pro - love the location, love professors
-Con- extremely far from home, its not block schedule, high drop out rate (I've heard)

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
-3 yr pharmacy school
-Very new school, Historically black college
-About 50k per yr but I can be in-state by 2nd yr.
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro - love professors, small class, block schedule, experimental at places I want, in-state tuition later
-Con- extremely new school

Notre Dame
-4 yr pharmacy school
-Very New school, Historically women's college
-About 40k per yr for 4 years
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro- Extremely close from home
-Con- But don't like the location

 

[Old Timer]

Good lord what is this old home week!

Where ya been Old Timer?

Here and there......

 

[Serenoir]

I know its very hard to get a job these days, If you are a current employer would you hire someone from a very new school like UMD-Eastern shore
or school like MCPH?

Does school really matter? I've heard things like you get same PharmD
but honestly I never talked to current pharmacists to ask about these kind of questions..

MCPH- I think I would come out with 13k+ loan (tuition)
UMD-Eastern Shore I would come out with 110k+ loan (tuition)
(around 20k difference btw MCPH and UMD-Eastern Shore)
Is it worth it to spend extra 20k for established history?

Also experimental sites, does it help you with landing a job?
I guessing UMD- Eastern Shore is in MD so I thought I might able to go to NIH or FDA for clinical rotations
For MCPH, I'm guessing hospitals near Boston

 

[Serenoir]

Have you calculated how much it would cost you after interest has been added?

How much you would need to pay per month and for how long?

I know cost of living is cheaper in UMD- Eastern Shore, but the fact to school is so new I'm very worried because I would not able to network with people..
-----------------------
Actually never mind, it looks like they are almost same -_-

 

[Sparda29]

If I were to do it all over again, one of the biggest factors in deciding pharmacy school is the quality of education and networking the school provides. If I were you, I go to MCPH. But this your decision. Go where you feel you'll be happy. Congrats and good luck!

Would you have still gone to Touro NY? Personally, I would have gone to St. John's instead I think. I was accepted there straight out of high school with a partial scholarship, but my parents ended up convincing me to go to LIU where I had a smaller scholarship and then I ended up not making it into LIU's program, which led me to apply to multiple schools, leading me to Touro.

 

[BMBiology]

I know cost of living is cheaper in UMD- Eastern Shore, but the fact to school is so new I'm very worried because I would not able to network with people..

How much is mcph tuition + fee + health insurance per semester?

What are you doing now?

 

[buclao2]

I went to MCPHS University and graduated the class of 2011. I went to the Boston campus which only had the 6-year PharmD program. The other two campuses (Manchester NH and Worcester MA) has the accelerated program (3 years straight with no summers off.)

Which campus did you get accepted to? Although these 3 campus has the same MCPHS University, they do not accept you into all 3 campuses, only 1 campus.

So if you applied to the Worcester campus, you can't just transfer to the Boston campus you would have to apply like you are applying as a new student.

Since you said that you are in the 3 year program, I'm assuming you applied to the Worcester or the Manchester campus.

I attended the Boston campus and I enjoyed it because the city was awesome to live in. I hear in the Worcester campus it is more self directed where you get into groups and talk about the week's study materials and less time with instructors.

Worcester is 1 hour west of Boston.
Manchester NH is 1 hour north of Boston.

As for networking, I landed a Per Diem job at a Rehab Hospital that I did my clinical rotations in. I worked for CVS throughout my intern years so easily I transitioned to the pharmacist role.

My classmates who worked as interns at Hospitals (Boston Medical Center and Children's Hospital) they both landed jobs in both hospitals.

You want the pharmacy school that you graduate from (or get a PharmD from) to still be there. So, in my opinion, $30k is a good price for peace of mind. If one of the newer pharmacy schools are no longer accredited or close their pharmacy program you will have to get another PharmD degree from an accredited college; (this is true in the state of Massachusetts, I'm not sure about other states.)

PM with any questions. Good luck making your decision.

 

[Serenoir]

How much is mcph tuition + fee + health insurance per semester?

What are you doing now?

You know what BMBiology, its good thing that you asked me about these additional fee stuff
I honestly didn't look at those mandatory fee part.... like insurance and stuff...
I was just so excited that I got into 3 schools

UMES -
1st year tuition --- 48,870 + Technology Fee-- 3,744 (includes one time fee for a computer $1950)
First year total fee -- 52,614 (out of state)

2nd and 3rd--- 27,064 (I'll be in-state by then)
Insurance -- $0 (Can't find the information)
----------------------------------
Total ---$106,742

MCPH-

3 years--- $44,280 (Annually)
Mandatory Fee -- $940
Insurance -- $2,127 / year
----------------------------------
Total --- $142,041

difference is around 35k... sigh.. these numbers are depressing..
oh also to answer ur question I'm a RN lol

 

[BMBiology]

You know what BMBiology, its good thing that you asked me about these additional fee stuff
I honestly didn't look at those mandatory fee part.... like insurance and stuff...
I was just so excited that I got into 3 schools


MCPH-

3 years--- $44,280 (Annually)
Mandatory Fee -- $940
Insurance -- $2,127 / year
----------------------------------
Total --- $142,041

So lets also calculate the interest. The interest rate varies but for simplicity, lets assume 6.8%. Use this website to calculate:

https://www.slfc.com/slfcPresentati...tionOverride=/portlets/tools/CalculateCapIntr

Unsubsidized (all loans are now unsubsidized so the interest is added to the principle while you are still in school): $47,347 per year

(1) principle after 1 year: $50,566
(2) principle after 2 years: $53,786
(3) principle after 3 years: $57,005

By the time you graduate you will owe $161,357 (an additional $19,316 is due to compounding interest while you are still in school). I am actually low balling you because I have not included factors that would add to the cost such as origination fees (cost to borrow the loans), higher interest rate from gradplus loan, tuition tends to go up every year, etc.

I have not included living cost. If you live in Boston, it can easily cost you $20,000 a year and if you also need loans for that, I estimate you will owe close to $250,000 by the time you graduate (not including your undergraduate loans).

When you buy a car you look at the price tag right? Same thing with a house. So you should also do the same thing with pharmacy school.

 

[spacecowgirl]

I'd probably further my RN career, personally.

 

[Serenoir]

So lets also calculate the interest. The interest rate varies but for simplicity, lets assume 6.8%. Use this website to calculate:

https://www.slfc.com/slfcPresentati...tionOverride=/portlets/tools/CalculateCapIntr

Unsubsidized (all loans are now unsubsidized so the interest is added to the principle while you are still in school): $47,347 per year

(1) principle after 1 year: $50,566
(2) principle after 2 years: $53,786
(3) principle after 3 years: $57,005

By the time you graduate you will owe $161,357 (an additional $19,316 is due to compounding interest while you are still in school). I am actually low balling you because I have not included factors that would add to the cost such as origination fees (cost to borrow the loans), higher interest rate from gradplus loan, tuition tends to go up every year, etc.

I have not included living cost. If you live in Boston, it can easily cost you $20,000 a year and if you also need loans for that, I estimate you will owe close to $250,000 by the time you graduate (not including your undergraduate loans).

When you buy a car you look at the price tag right? Same thing with a house. So you should also do the same thing with pharmacy school.

I tried to calculate the way you calculated MCPH for UMES

it looks like I will owe $121,242
Assuming that my living cost would be around 20,000 per/yr (rent, gas, textbook, ...etc)
I will have to borrow close to $181,000 so lets just say... to round that up ~ $200,000

So compare to MCPH I will save around 50,000 if I go to UMES
But my question is does school name matter? Would I be weed out easily (on the "Not interested" or "No" file ) if I go to new school?

 

[Dalteparin]

But my question is does school name matter? Would I be weed out easily (on the "Not interested" or "No" file ) if I go to new school?

Some of the advantage of going to an established school is networking - e.g. if the hiring manager also attended your alma mater, the two of you already have something in common and could build a rapport during the interview. If you attend an established school, then even if you and the hiring manager didn't attend the same school, there's still a chance that (s)he knows somebody who knows you and can put in a word for you. With a new school you don't have have those advantages, although that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be hired because you went to a newer school.

 

[Dalteparin]

I'd probably further my RN career, personally.

Now that I think about it more, I agree with this. Given the job market, you're probably better off advancing your nursing skills, or if you really want to go back to school, becoming a nurse practitioner. It would (I think) take less time and you'd have a better chance of actual employment when you're done.

 

[vardenafil]

I'd probably further my RN career, personally.

This. Become a Nurse Practitioner.

 

[BenJammin]

1. Ignore rankings. I come from a low rated school yet our graduates get the same positions/residencies as someone of the higher ranked ones. It's all about local reputation.
2. Cost, cost, cost.

 

[BeLikeBueller]

This. Become a Nurse Practitioner.

This is probably pretty sound advice. With the impending full-fledged implementation of ACA, I've heard predictions that the market for NPs is about to explode.

Or nurse anesthetist too, if you're looking for the big bucks.

@Serenoir - If you don't mind my asking, why are you shying away from nursing now?

 

[Serenoir]

I'd probably further my RN career, personally.

Thats I heard from other people, but I really like pharmacy profession, maybe because I'm

This is probably pretty sound advice. With the impending full-fledged implementation of ACA, I've heard predictions that the market for NPs is about to explode.

Or nurse anesthetist too, if you're looking for the big bucks.

@Serenoir - If you don't mind my asking, why are you shying away from nursing now?

ahh...(*sigh*) I really didn't wanted to say I'm a RN bc I know people will say why don't you go for NP...
but I really wanted to go for pharmacy, I just went for RN for my backup (just in case I don't get in to a Pharm school)
is this field that much saturated? no future for this field?

 

[B Wong]

Thats I heard from other people, but I really like pharmacy profession, maybe because I'm



ahh...(*sigh*) I really didn't wanted to say I'm a RN bc I know people will say why don't you go for NP...
but I really wanted to go for pharmacy, I just went for RN for my backup (just in case I don't get in to a Pharm school)
is this field that much saturated? no future for this field?

California's pretty saturated unless you want to go out to Clearlake and dispense methadone to drug addicts.

 

[Dalteparin]

is this field that much saturated? no future for this field?

No offense, but have you been reading this forum at all? Job saturation has been a huge topic here over the last few years . Search "saturation" in this forum and you will find yourself with at least a day's worth of reading material. Read it, and then spend some time thinking about what you're about to do. You still have time to cut your losses and get out with little financial hit.

 

[BeLikeBueller]

Thats I heard from other people, but I really like pharmacy profession, maybe because I'm



ahh...(*sigh*) I really didn't wanted to say I'm a RN bc I know people will say why don't you go for NP...
but I really wanted to go for pharmacy, I just went for RN for my backup (just in case I don't get in to a Pharm school)
is this field that much saturated? no future for this field?

I wouldn't say no future, but it's definitely a tougher path than being an NP or even an RN right now (I know you guys have had some trouble recently getting those first few years of required experience post-graduation). And I don't mean tougher in the sense of more academically challenging, I simply mean you have a lot of job portability and job security with nursing. Pharmacy - for right now, there seems to be pretty good job security (if you already have a job), but job portability is quickly becoming a thing of the past. You're also going to go into more debt with pharmacy (probably $120,000 - if I had to guess) and you're giving up an RN salary for four years, so there is an opportunity cost to the money you would have earned ($60,000 compounded at an annual rate of 5% for 4 years ~ $258,608), so when you graduate as a pharmacist you are at -$378,607 versus four years of nursing. That's not to say you won't ever catch up (because you will), but those are just the kinds of things you have to think about.

The other thing - if you want to practice clinical pharmacy, NP or CRNA might be a better way to go. If you want to practice in a retail setting, I don't really suppose there is an analogous area of nursing.

All in all, it's about what you want to do with your life. What are you goals, your dreams, and your desires?

Make sure you know what you're getting into, but if your heart is set on pharmacy, go for it!

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." - Sydney Smith

 

[rph3664]

If you're really determined to become a pharmacist, you would still be able to support yourself as an RN while you were in school (I guess - please correct me if I am mistaken).

As for nurse practitioners, I've become skeptical of them based on a woman I know, both IRL and on Facebook, who is getting an NP degree by correspondence. She also says "should of" and "could of", constantly dishes out relationship advice to her daughter but not her sons (it never occurred to her that men can make bad decisions in picking spouses), didn't understand the question when I asked her if her new husband had any children of his own, and believes that Sandy Hook was set up by the Obama administration to get guns outlawed. Really, I do like this woman, but I wouldn't want her as my nurse, let alone an NP.

 

[rph3664]

If you're really determined to become a pharmacist, you would still be able to support yourself as an RN while you were in school (I guess - please correct me if I am mistaken).

As for nurse practitioners, I've become skeptical of them based on a woman I know, both IRL and on Facebook, who is getting an NP degree by correspondence. She also says "should of" and "could of", constantly dishes out relationship advice to her daughter but not her sons (it never occurred to her that men can make bad decisions in relationships), didn't understand the question when I asked her if her new husband had any children of his own, and believes that Sandy Hook was set up by the Obama administration to get guns outlawed and that public school teachers can take girls to abortion clinics without their parents' knowledge or consent. Really, I do like this woman, but I wouldn't want her as my nurse, let alone an NP.

ETA: Got a duplicate post.

 

[jiiniix2]

I'm a Marylander who graduated from umb a couple years ago. One of my intern is a student at Notre Dame. She seems to be liking it there and doing well. I do hear stories about strict rules though.

I don't think it matters too much in the end about what school you went to. Just know how to network! And presenting yourself well, especially during rotations. Umes and ND appear to be doing well anyway. Some of my old and well established professors are at umes now.

 

[xiphoid2010]

Some schools' reputation extends beyond their geographic region. When the texas board pharmacy inspector found out about my COP, she replied thats a good school, even knew how fanatical we were about football. She also talked about the crazy number of pharmacy schools popping out everywhere. I would hazard to guess she has seen enough to have a general feel for the calibor of pharmacists from differnt schools.

 

[ShockingPurple]

Hi, I thought this would be the best place to post this... I need some advice from current pharmacist!
I just got into 3 pharmacy schools. I was wondering what should be the biggest factor in deciding pharmacy school.

I got in to MCPH, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Notre Dame
If you have to number them what would be the best one to go? Honestly I don' t really know the reputations about these schools among pharmacist. If you have to rank them what would be? and what would be the reason for each?

This is what I know about these schools

MCPH
-3 yr pharmacy school
-2nd oldest pharmacy school (school rank around 50s)
-about 42k per year
-98% Naplex passing rate
-Pro - love the location, love professors
-Con- extremely far from home, its not block schedule, high drop out rate (I've heard)

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
-3 yr pharmacy school
-Very new school, Historically black college
-About 50k per yr but I can be in-state by 2nd yr.
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro - love professors, small class, block schedule, experimental at places I want, in-state tuition later
-Con- extremely new school

Notre Dame
-4 yr pharmacy school
-Very New school, Historically women's college
-About 40k per yr for 4 years
-I'm not sure about Naplex because its not out yet
-Pro- Extremely close from home
-Con- But don't like the location

UMES is kind of isolated from major cities but there are chances to network. Our APhA always encourages people to attend the monthly Maryland Pharmacy Association (MPhA) meetings (they even provide transportation to the meetings since they are ~2.5 hours away in Baltimore) and Delaware Pharmacists Society meetings. With organizations such as our two fraternities, APhA, SNPhA, NCPA, CPFI, and ASHP there are numerous opportunities to attend conferences to meet students from other chapters and of course your preceptors during IPPE and APPE rotations can be a valuable source.
I recently came across the NAPLEX scores and our inaugural graduates scored 94.55% passing rate.
http://www.nabp.net/system/rich/ric...0/000/191/original/naplex-pass-rates-2013.pdf