Is this really true? (About Pharmacy Schools)

[cdcd67]

So, I was looking up pharmacy schools on studentsreview.com and I was shocked to see that most had either awful ratings or mediocre ratings. (By the way, I was only checking the ones located in the northeastern states). I made a list on the attached file below (Obviously, I can't write everything, so you guys can check the site for all the information).


So, is this all true? Do people who attend these colleges believe this is accurate?

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[WhiteSnows]

How old are you?

 

[fugm]

hah.

 

[cdcd67]

How old are you?

Y does that matter?

 

[confettiflyer]

hahahha

I like how TJU (my university) is listed as bad, then I checked the site...and it's like 2 ******ed undergrads & a nursing student bitching.



yeah how old are you?


Quick tip--that website is notoriously bad. You're better off gathering opinions from SDN. That site is like going to a KKK website to find opinions on diversity. Extra tip -- you're better off looking at NAPLEX pass rates, which are a little more indicative of a program's quality.

 

[cdcd67]

o ok..see that is all I wanted to know...thanks for the info...ill check another site...and I still don't get why you need to know how old I am......i wasnt trying to insult anyonez school

edit: yeah i know some of the comments arent about pharmacy...I just checked the rating they put next to pharmacy..for TJU, I meant that overall the school has bad rating on that site (it could probably be wrong since there aren't enough people who commented on that)...I'm really sorry if I offended you in some way

 

[cdcd67]

Can one of the moderators please remove the attachment I posted above?

Thank You

 

[confettiflyer]

ah don't worry about it, it's the internet.

 

[cdcd67]

oo okay..lol...btw, just one other thing, I know there are 2 exams for pharmacy students to pass: NAPLEX and MPJE....when choosing a pharmacy school, which ones do you usually refer to?

NAPLEX passing rates:
http://www.nabp.net/ftpfiles/bulletins/NaplexSPR.pdf

MPJE passing rates:
http://www.nabp.net/ftpfiles/bulletins/schoolpassrates.pdf

I appreciate your help. Thank You.

 

[WhiteSnows]

Get in pharmacy school first, and worry about those later.

 

[cdcd67]

Don't you look at that as well when deciding what pharmacy school to go to?

 

[WhiteSnows]

Don't you look at that as well when deciding what pharmacy school to go to?

No. There is one thing about you that should be changed. You are easily effected by people's opinion. If you listen to yourself, you will find an answer to almost any question that you are doubtable.

When I decided to go to pharmacy school, I kept all the negative thoughts out or negative opinion of people who said I could not do it. I am an international student, and English is my second language. I am still struggling with using English properly, but I still made it to pharmacy school. What did I do? I have kept myself think positively, and motivated.

The point I want to make here is if you are determined to pharmacy career, then you have to do it anyway. If you do not have solid stats, you might have to go to any school that may accept you, and no matter what is the percent of passing rate of that school, or people give a bad comment about the school.

One more thing, when you read any debatable thread such like this, you will find many different replies. Some say good, some say bad. So that, it is up to you to make a decision. Again, it goes back to yourself.

 

[confettiflyer]

NAPLEX pass rates all tend to be >90%. I think Howard was the only school <90%. In choosing a pharmacy school, I used the following criteria (in order of importance)

1) Interesting geographic location
2) Strength of teaching faculty (search bios, see what they've done before)
3) Accreditation status
4) Regional reputation of the school in terms of other programs (ie medicine)

 

[ILoveOrange]

you are too funny

hahahha

I like how TJU (my university) is listed as bad, then I checked the site...and it's like 2 ******ed undergrads & a nursing student bitching.



yeah how old are you?


Quick tip--that website is notoriously bad. You're better off gathering opinions from SDN. That site is like going to a KKK website to find opinions on diversity. Extra tip -- you're better off looking at NAPLEX pass rates, which are a little more indicative of a program's quality.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

NAPLEX pass rates all tend to be >90%. I think Howard was the only school <90%. In choosing a pharmacy school, I used the following criteria (in order of importance)

1) Interesting geographic location
2) Strength of teaching faculty (search bios, see what they've done before)
3) Accreditation status
4) Regional reputation of the school in terms of other programs (ie medicine)

I would recommend to pre pharmacy students in choosing a pharmacy school to base it on this.

1. Accrediation status. If your school isnt accrediated, you wont get licensed.
2. Tuition. Go to the cheapest school you can find. Debt is no fun.
3. Geographic location. The closer to home, the better. If it is in the same state where you want to practice, even better.
4. Strength of teaching faculty. I personally prefer schools where the professors all hold some relevance to the profession. Nothing pisses me off than an outdated professor who teaches me the wrong things. Also, I prefer people who can actually speak english. Makes learning hard subjects a lot easier.

 

[confettiflyer]

I would recommend to pre pharmacy students in choosing a pharmacy school to base it on this.

1. Accrediation status. If your school isnt accrediated, you wont get licensed.
2. Tuition. Go to the cheapest school you can find. Debt is no fun.
3. Geographic location. The closer to home, the better. If it is in the same state where you want to practice, even better.
4. Strength of teaching faculty. I personally prefer schools where the professors all hold some relevance to the profession. Nothing pisses me off than an outdated professor who teaches me the wrong things. Also, I prefer people who can actually speak english. Makes learning hard subjects a lot easier.

Reason I put accreditation status as #3 not #1 is because unless a school is pre-accredited, you won't even have a chance to walk through its doors. If schools were allowed to just straight open now and "ask questions later" (as they were allowed to 5 years ago or so), you bet accreditation would be #1. Now that I think about it, I'd flip flop #2 and #3 on my list.

But good point about tuition, didn't even think of that.

 

[cdcd67]

Thanks for all your help guys! I appreciate it!!

 

[THE MTL]

Well as for the grades the schools were given I dont know about that, but actually that attachment is pretty good for ranking the pharmacy schools with respect to each other. Rutgers Pharmacy is indeed the best in the Northeast with St. Johns and USP coming next. And Mass. College of Pharmacy is kinda bad judging from stories I hear and other statistics. I heard Albany was pretty bad too. SO it holds up for ranking the best pharmacy schools I suppose.

 

[cdcd67]

Actually, I forgot to include Howard University in the list..and it got a rating of A- in pharmacy, but at the same time, it has a 75% passing rate on the MPJE...

 

[uwashington2012]

cdcd67, here is an updated link to US News and World Reports 2008 ranking for pharmacy schools: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/pha/search

As many have already recommended, regardless of what one person suggests or what the US News posts, selecting an appropriate pharmacy school depends on what is most important to you.

I chose my school based on: Ample opportunities to do rotations at a top medical school, US News ranking, strength of research program, strength of faculty, competitiveness when applying to residency, and geographic location.

For other students, cost of tuition, proximity to home, duration of the program, and etc... may be more important than any single reason I just gave above.

I am sure you already have but, if not, I encourage you to list the things most important to you, list the schools you are considering based on possible fit, then talk to deans of those schools, and select your choice schools based on all the information you gathered. I suppose it all boils down to whether or not your school will enable you to be the pharmacist you want to be.

Good Luck!

 

[PharMed2016]

cdcd67, here is an updated link to US News and World Reports 2008 ranking for pharmacy schools: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/pha/search

As many have already recommended, regardless of what one person suggests or what the US News posts, selecting an appropriate pharmacy school depends on what is most important to you.

I chose my school based on: Ample opportunities to do rotations at a top medical school, US News ranking, strength of research program, strength of faculty, competitiveness when applying to residency, and geographic location.

For other students, cost of tuition, proximity to home, duration of the program, and etc... may be more important than any single reason I just gave above.

I am sure you already have but, if not, I encourage you to list the things most important to you, list the schools you are considering based on possible fit, then talk to deans of those schools, and select your choice schools based on all the information you gathered. I suppose it all boils down to whether or not your school will enable you to be the pharmacist you want to be.

Good Luck!

Actually, the US News Rankings is a meterstick to which you can match programs but I don't believe it gives an accurate representation or the pharmacy schools it list. First, it is based on preception... basically the more well known the school is, the higher the rank. It even says that part of the rankings are determined by the amount of research a school puts out in comparison.

So before you take anything for granted, always do the research.

 

[SHC1984]

The cheapest school = the best school. I don't care how "nice" the name sounds...its not worth the extra loans!

 

[UNMorBUST]

The cheapest school = the best school. I don't care how "nice" the name sounds...its not worth the extra loans!

Best School= The school that accepts you.

 

[PharMed2016]

The cheapest school = the best school. I don't care how "nice" the name sounds...its not worth the extra loans!

It works pretty much for pharmacy and medicine but I'm not sure how applicable it is to other fields. The division between different schools in the heatlhcare field isn't as great as those in other fields. At least thats what I have been told.

As long as you graduate from an accredited school, your good. *Oh, you do have to pass the boards.

 

[confettiflyer]

It works pretty much for pharmacy and medicine but I'm not sure how applicable it is to other fields. The division between different schools in the heatlhcare field isn't as great as those in other fields. At least thats what I have been told.

As long as you graduate from an accredited school, your good. *Oh, you do have to pass the boards.

yeah there are so few pharmacy schools compared to others, plus tight control of the curriculum by ACPE that you're good to go almost anywhere. What will differentiate the school is rotation sites and experiential education. Long established programs will have, on average, have more established relationships with sites.

Compare this to law schools...I mean, it's almost useless to go to a bottom tier school, you're going to be stuck doing legal bitch work for years and years for peanuts. Even if you go to the worst pharm school in the nation and pass with all C's...you'll be earning six figures in retail. I can't think of any other field of study that can give you this luxury.

basically, you'll have to do your research... US News is a bunch of crap, but useful none-the-less if you've got the stats to cherry pick which school to go to.

 

[Sparda29]

yeah there are so few pharmacy schools compared to others, plus tight control of the curriculum by ACPE that you're good to go almost anywhere. What will differentiate the school is rotation sites and experiential education. Long established programs will have, on average, have more established relationships with sites.

Compare this to law schools...I mean, it's almost useless to go to a bottom tier school, you're going to be stuck doing legal bitch work for years and years for peanuts. Even if you go to the worst pharm school in the nation and pass with all C's...you'll be earning six figures in retail. I can't think of any other field of study that can give you this luxury.

basically, you'll have to do your research... US News is a bunch of crap, but useful none-the-less if you've got the stats to cherry pick which school to go to.

Medical school? As long as you have a good USMLE score, you should get the residency you want. I mean, if I was a residency preceptor, I really won't care if someone went to Harvard School of Medicine or a Caribbean Medical School. If anything, I'd take the Caribbean Medical School applicant because it is damn hard to get through medical school down there (look at the attrition rates).