lecom, pacific, or mcphs

[acrecia18]

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I recently found out that I have been accepted to Lecom in PA, Pacific University in OR, and Mcphs Worcester in MA. They are all 3 year schools, and all of them are accredited except Pacific. I don't know much about Lecom, Pacific has a 90% passing rate for individual testing which sounds bogus, and Mcphs has a lot of older students that may already have post-bac. degrees which makes it more stressful and competitive. If you could go to one of these three schools, which one would you choose and why?

 

[KellyBean]

I'd go to Lecom because it is closer to home. I've heard a lot of horrible things about MCPHS. I don't know much about Pacific, but it is just way too far for me. So for me, it would have a lot to do with the location of the school. But you should look at their curriculum and tuition before you decide.

 

[acrecia18]

what specific things have you heard about mcphs? Lecom is also the closest for me, but location isn't that important in my opinion. I do know that Lecom is the cheapest, but I am not sure what makes their curriculum unique. do you?

 

[nightcrawleRx]

First off, let me say I'm going to MCP-W in the fall so naturally I'll defend the school. The average age is older but I would imagine it is a bit higher at any 3-yr b/c some students are career changers. You also have to take into consideration that if the avg. age is 26, it may be b/c you have a few outliers such as students in their 40's or 50's. I'm 23 and from what I've seen, that is about the norm, or the median, although I'm not positive on that. Most things that people have "heard" have been from the same few people, some of which at the Boston campus, or about Therapeutics b/c they don't spoon-feed you and you have to do some independent thinking. This should be somewhat expected in a Doctoral program. Also, most students I've actually spoken too had good things to say. MCP is one of the largest pharmacy schools in the nation as well as one of the oldest so they have been doing something right for years and years.

As far as where you should go??? That's totally your call, nobody can tell you where is best. I just thought I'd make sure you don't base the decision just on what you may have "heard". I don't know anything about Pacific, being on different coasts, and the same pretty much goes for LECOM. I know it snows a lot in Erie, that's it. To be honest with you most people around here, including pharmacists, have no idea what LECOM even is but that in no way means it isn't a good program. If you put in the effort then you will be fine at any of these programs. I would make my pick based on other incentives such as location, if you liked the campus, the facilities, etc.


Best of luck.

 

[ilovepharm]

Nightcrawler, do you know off the top of your head what the naplex pass rate is for worcestor?? I'm very curious, but a little lazy. 😉

Acrecia, it seems you aren't very fond of Pacific's 90% passing requirement--if you already know that you won't be comfortable with their system, keep in mind that you'll be stuck with it for 3 years! Pacific is a great school to lots of us, so if it's not your top choice, I wouldn't mind taking your spot! 😛

 

[nightcrawleRx]

Nightcrawler, do you know off the top of your head what the naplex pass rate is for worcestor?? I'm very curious, but a little lazy.

I honestly do not know the exact number…I’ve been told low 90’s from people at MCP, but I’ve heard higher and lower. Although, I’m not the type that believes everything that somebody says, especially on a site such as a public forum. The only raw data that I found was for the CPJE (I posted the link in a previous post) and MCP-Worcester did really well in comparison to other schools, especially those not in California. Obviously this isn't the NAPLEX, but it is supposedly a challenging exam.

As far as I’m concerned I don’t really care all that much. I would put my ability to learn up against any other incoming P1 at any school. The factor that separates us the most is effort and determination. If you put in the time, you’ll be fine at any school. I made my decision based on the fact that I could see myself at MCP…I liked the facilities, the fact that it is just health sciences so everyone is kind of going after the same thing, people I met at the school, etc. I’ve worked with pharmacists in my hometown area that have graduated from a variety of schools, including MCP, and all are quite capable, regardless of how much “prestige” the school had, so it just goes to show that you get out what you put in. If you know and believe that before even starting school then you’re all set.

 

[imkim01]

Nightcrawler, do you know off the top of your head what the naplex pass rate is for worcestor?? I'm very curious, but a little lazy. 😉

The passing rate is higher than average according to Dean; Dean gets the report every year. About 90% is the pass rate for the first time and 99% is for the second time. I know it is a lot lower number than schools in CA (most of schools in CA have 99 to 100%) but MCP-W is above the average.

OK... I have mentioned this a lot of times before but here it is again...

MCP-W goes fast. It is a 3 year program so expect the workload; it won't be like freshmen classes. However, hard to fail... All you need to keep up is 2.2 or above. You can get a couple of D's from some classes as long as overall GPA is 2.2. I don't see anyone failing in my class yet but usually 20 people before graduation. Not all of them fail due to academic reason but some do. Telling you the truth, there are SOME students whose academic capability is very below. I can't understand how they were even accepted. So, those who fail are those who weren't even supposed to be there from the beginning; they might cheat or get a lot of helps from others or did something to get a decent GPA to be accepted...

Most of professors are GREAT!!! CAN'T BE BETTER!!

I was accepted to a couple of schools last year and chose this school because
1. I really wanted to attend 3 year school because I am a career changer.
2. DrugDealer(the active member and P-2 in MCP-W) helped me a lot when making decision.
3. I wanted to spend some time in different state than CA.

I haven't regretted my choice yet. School is great and I feel like I am learning something. I know I haven't taken Therapeutic classes yet so I don't know what to say to those who are questioning this class. I talked to a couple of P3 and they all said it is hard but doable. The knowledge that is being acquired during the second year will be used and applied during the rotation...

Hope this help you and other future P1s when making the final decision... I believe any accredited Rx schools will prepare you to be a competent Rph so think about other factors as well such as tuition, distance to home, weather....