mcphs?????

[omalik]

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i just got into the 0-6 year program in mcphs- boston campus. just wanted to know about the school, how it is, how the campus life is and is it worth going there? i heard alot about who the school accepts more pharmd students than it can graduate, but mostly about the other 2 campuses. is it the same for the boston campus?

 

[ucrx]

i just got into the 0-6 year program in mcphs- boston campus. just wanted to know about the school, how it is, how the campus life is and is it worth going there? i heard alot about who the school accepts more pharmd students than it can graduate, but mostly about the other 2 campuses. is it the same for the boston campus?

I've heard that if you don't keep your grades up they kick you out of the PharmD program after 2 years, so it is actually similar to a 2-4 program. I'm not sure if this is true though.

 

[omalik]

I've heard that if you don't keep your grades up they kick you out of the PharmD program after 2 years, so it is actually similar to a 2-4 program. I'm not sure if this is true though.

ya i heard that to. something like if you have below a 2.7 gpa. you think thats hard to get in the program

 

[MLR2011]

I'm in my fifth year of the 6 year program at the Boston campus. Here is my two cents-

The school accepts way more students than they can actually handle.... so your class size just dwindles down every year (people fail out, change majors, fall a year behind).

You're pretty much on your own here- the school offers very little support in terms of everything (academics, housing, etc).

There are some very bad professors, but at the same time some very good ones (especially in Pharm Practice/Sci).

I would recommend going anywhere else if you got in. However, If MCP was the only school you got into i would just come here. it does offer an ACPE-accredited PharmD program and is in a great city... so it's bearable.

 

[MLR2011]

yeah you have to maintain a professional gpa of 2.7 which is not hard. However, if you fail a class (below a C minus), you are in trouble. For example, say you fail pharmacology II. Even if you passed all of your other classes you cannot take any classes the next semester (because everything seems to be a prereq/co-req) and have to take pharmacology II the next spring. this is because the school rarely offers such classes in the summer. So you are essentially a year behind. A common occurrence at MCPHS..

 

[Argentium]

yeah you have to maintain a professional gpa of 2.7 which is not hard. However, if you fail a class (below a C minus), you are in trouble. For example, say you fail pharmacology II. Even if you passed all of your other classes you cannot take any classes the next semester (because everything seems to be a prereq/co-req) and have to take pharmacology II the next spring. this is because the school rarely offers such classes in the summer. So you are essentially a year behind. A common occurrence at MCPHS..

this is probably true at most schools. if you fail a course in your professional years you are also a year behind here at rutgers

 

[Sine Cura]

What program doesn't have minimum thresholds for minimum GPA and course grades?

Campus life = wut? Worth it? ACPE-accredited PharmD program (if no other options and you just want to move on with your life), probably, anything else, no.

I emphatically second the previous comments on MCPHS. I would add that attrition could easily be attributed to the fact that many of the PharmD "candidates" here would never get into a typical flagship state university for undergrad, much less a PharmD program through the traditional route, which is a function of low admission standards from high school. But hey, grads still pass the NAPLEX (low bar, yes), MPJE, etc...

Indeed, MCP accepts more students in general (PharmD or otherwise) than it can handle while maintaining a good "quality of student life" so to speak. This is plainly obvious if you've ever gotten a tour. Still, you will graduate if you care at all; this semester, academic services here has provided some more support to poor performers through "pilot" weekly review sessions for spring P1 courses, so that's something I guess.

You would hope most of the faculty in any Pharmacy Practice and Pharm Sci department (as opposed to whatever departments they even have here) would be serviceable at a minimum (judgment pending...).

 

[chuckle beast]

It's not too bad here.

The only problem I have is the large number of students for such a small campus. It can be frustrating when trying to find a place to study.

 

[omalik]

yeah you have to maintain a professional gpa of 2.7 which is not hard. However, if you fail a class (below a C minus), you are in trouble. For example, say you fail pharmacology II. Even if you passed all of your other classes you cannot take any classes the next semester (because everything seems to be a prereq/co-req) and have to take pharmacology II the next spring. this is because the school rarely offers such classes in the summer. So you are essentially a year behind. A common occurrence at MCPHS..

So your saying that if you keep your grades up and have above a 2.7 then your good to stay? and if you fail then your not technically out of the program?? just a year back? ya this is the only 0-6 program i got into.. all the others have been waitlisted or denied. its either go to mcphs or go somewhere like Liu and have to go through the 2-4 year.

 

[omalik]

Also if you do change your mind and switch your major do the credits count from the classes you took? what if you want to transfer...could you get your credits transferred or not because your in the program?

 

[MLR2011]

yeah you just have to maintain the 2.7 (it was actually 2.5 for my class, but they increased it), which isn't hard. If you fail something in the professional curriculum, you'll mostly like be a year behind.

If you change majors, the credits don't always transfer at MCP. For example, I know some people in the 3rd year who decided that pharmacy wasn't for them an they wanted to do MCP's 33 month BSN program.... well, it has turned out to be a full 5 years long for them. oh yeah, and MCP isn't cheap either.

Did you get into any other schools? If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to a reputable university for undergrad and then decided if I wanted to go to pharmacy school (and then I would have applied to a more reputable pharmacy school).

 

[Sine Cura]

Also if you do change your mind and switch your major do the credits count from the classes you took? what if you want to transfer...could you get your credits transferred or not because your in the program?

If you want to transfer at a later time, you should intend to transfer out of MCPHS... it's not like you would wring any great value doing a degree program here that you could easily do at a more respectable institution. I don't mean to be rude, but are you planning to take pre-calculus (or worse...) at this school? I don't mean to imply that you sound like you might, but if you must take remedial-type courses here, you are just wasting your time (actual pre-pharm requirements piling up for later academic terms).

 

[omalik]

yeah you just have to maintain the 2.7 (it was actually 2.5 for my class, but they increased it), which isn't hard. If you fail something in the professional curriculum, you'll mostly like be a year behind.

If you change majors, the credits don't always transfer at MCP. For example, I know some people in the 3rd year who decided that pharmacy wasn't for them an they wanted to do MCP's 33 month BSN program.... well, it has turned out to be a full 5 years long for them. oh yeah, and MCP isn't cheap either.

Did you get into any other schools? If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to a reputable university for undergrad and then decided if I wanted to go to pharmacy school (and then I would have applied to a more reputable pharmacy school).

The only thing attracting me is that its the only 0-6 program that I got into... nd I really don't want to have to deal with the pcats and applying all over again to a different school. The only thing that's bothering me iis that I heard that because they accept more kids than they can graduate, students are essentially forced by the administration to fail or transfer by the faculty making it extremly difficult maybe impossible to pass.

 

[omalik]

No I don't intend on transferring... but I was just asking if worst comes to worst that I would decide to transfer if the credits would be also transfered. I've had a solid highschool curriculm. Like ap chem,calculus honors, nd ap stats. So I hope to do well if I should decide to go into the program

 

[MLR2011]

that whole "only 200 people are allowed to graduate" business is not true. If it were there would be some extreme controversy here. people fail out on their own making a class that is originally 400 students to 200.

 

[Argentium]

that whole "only 200 people are allowed to graduate" business is not true. If it were there would be some extreme controversy here. people fail out on their own making a class that is originally 400 students to 200.

It seems like all 0-6 pharmacy schools have terrible attrition rates. Rutgers Pharmacy's is not quite that bad, but its still pretty terrible. I chalk it up to low admission standards - some of the people I've seen admitted to 0-6 pharmacy schools ... lol. I'm pretty confident anyone can get accepted into a 0-6 program if they apply to enough places.

 

[Sine Cura]

I wish I could tell you off-hand how many students (on average) are accepted to MCPHS from year 1 and how much attrition occurs between years, but this is obviously something they choose not to be very transparent about, if they even officially publish these figures anywhere (yeah, right).

Still, as others said, it's a misconception to think that they force people to transfer or fail to meet a target number of graduates. It's more that 0-6 programs count on some non-trivial level of attrition (dealing with students not long out of high school etc) and admit accordingly. (However, this doesn't mean MCPHS isn't "shysty"at all... no one forced them to have low admissions standards or admit more people than they can reasonably handle. Ex: the obligatory "study design" course with only one section for 300+ people, entirely didactic in format...)

I'm kind of curious how bad attrition at Rutgers is. For their "fact sheet" they state an average incoming class size of 220, but it isn't clear whether this means into year 1 (pre-professional) or into P1 (although the fact sheet seems geared toward HS students' parents). Compare 220 to the AACP figure of 219 for P1 (year 2008). Then again, the AACP report lists Rutgers' age range of P1s as 17-18, which probably isn't true (they did accept some transfers into P1 that year, no?).

 

[StallionRx]

I graduated there.

I think I remember one of the chem professors saying year 1 that the two people sitting next to you wont be there when you graduate. It turned out to be true. We lost so many along the way it seemed like a joke.

 

[Argentium]

Sine: Like you said, its not something that the Rutgers administration is very transparent about, but as students we of course speculate how many people drop out. I (personally) suspect it is somewhere near 30% but you can never be too sure - this year's current p1 class accepted a boatload of transfers to make up for the ones that dropped out, but I don't remember how many they accepted.

And P1's are usually 20-21. After entering P1 year, you are much less likely to drop out as well.

PS: Stallion are you a rutgers alum or mcphs?

 

[StallionRx]

PS: Stallion are you a rutgers alum or mcphs?

mcp

 

[orthomyxo]

It's not too bad here.

The only problem I have is the large number of students for such a small campus. It can be frustrating when trying to find a place to study.

Lol. That's why I don't even bother going to the library anymore. White building computer lab ftw!

 

[orthomyxo]

OP, if you only got in at MCP and you really want to be a pharmacist, by all means, attend. If you aren't sure for any reason, go anywhere else. If you do decide to come here, though, prepare to bust your as$ for six years.

 

[willrocks]

Stallion:

Funny thing, our pharmacist went to MCP back in 1958 and his Organic Chemistry professor said the same thing to him. He mentions it anytime MCp is brought up in convo.

 

[cloudlessblu110]

I have 2 questions

1. What's the white building computer lab???
2. How does the college makes money off drop-outs? I mean, if it's just that there aren't enough spaces in the professional PharmD courses, then why don't they just accept more pre-meds who only sit in pre-professional classes? Or am I mistaken in my logic somewhere?

 

[Sine Cura]

1) Seems to be a reference to the 3rd floor lab in Matricaria (where the "help desk" is)

2) Ways to make more money (some already stated or implied):

a) Students who leave the PharmD program (poor grades, uninterest in pharmacy, etc.) for a different program in the same school but take longer than expected to finish the new program.

b) Having summer sessions with P1/P2 coursework. They should be for people who have failed previously but I know at least one person who takes summer courses just to have an easier load in the real academic year... can't think of any other place that offers this.

c) Falling behind a year so it takes more time to graduate (if at all)

 

[orthomyxo]

I have 2 questions

1. What's the white building computer lab???

Well I guess it's technically in Matricaria, but I consider it to be part of the White building.

 

[Cheveyo1]

So, I will be applying to MCPHS-Worcester this year, for entry in 2016. I know that pharmacy is what I want to do- I have worked as a technician for 7 years now. I was planning to go to MCPHS because of the three year program that is offered, and I was really excited. But now that I've read so many awful things, I am discouraged :/

I just want one thing cleared up in my mind: What is the reason so many students say this is a bad school? Is it because there is so much work? Because if so, I was already prepared for that. I mean, I already don't have a social life lol. Or is it the quality of education?? I feel like in school, I've never needed to get help from professors or tutoring or anything like that, so I wonder if any of the negative feedback would even apply to me. If it's because of the 2.7GPA thing, I'm not worried. .
I would not study on campus, but in my apartment, where it is silent, and I would be able to devote at least 4 hours/day to studying.
Do you think I will have a hard time at this school???

Someone please give honest feedback....

Also, is Worcester a safe city? Or should I look to move to a neighbor city and commute to class?

Any pros/cons for the school or the city would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Muse600]

boston - lansdown street, faneuil hall, boylston street!

 

[Lnsean]

It seems like all 0-6 pharmacy schools have terrible attrition rates. Rutgers Pharmacy's is not quite that bad, but its still pretty terrible. I chalk it up to low admission standards - some of the people I've seen admitted to 0-6 pharmacy schools ... lol. I'm pretty confident anyone can get accepted into a 0-6 program if they apply to enough places.

It's not because of low admission standards or anything. You'll always have a few that manage to sneak in. You're asking someone straight from high school to commit to a professional graduate degree following a very strict curriculum. A lot of these kids learn, grow, and realize that pharmacy isn't what they want to do. People switch majors all the time during first 2 years. I gradated from Rutgers as well and while a lot of the students did drop out...many of them dropped out to pursue other things. That's why a lot of the pharmacy programs are 4+4 now, which is the way it should be.

 

[zelman]

So, I will be applying to MCPHS-Worcester this year, for entry in 2016. I know that pharmacy is what I want to do- I have worked as a technician for 7 years now. I was planning to go to MCPHS because of the three year program that is offered, and I was really excited. But now that I've read so many awful things, I am discouraged :/

I just want one thing cleared up in my mind: What is the reason so many students say this is a bad school? Is it because there is so much work? Because if so, I was already prepared for that. I mean, I already don't have a social life lol. Or is it the quality of education?? I feel like in school, I've never needed to get help from professors or tutoring or anything like that, so I wonder if any of the negative feedback would even apply to me. If it's because of the 2.7GPA thing, I'm not worried. .
I would not study on campus, but in my apartment, where it is silent, and I would be able to devote at least 4 hours/day to studying.
Do you think I will have a hard time at this school???

Someone please give honest feedback....

Also, is Worcester a safe city? Or should I look to move to a neighbor city and commute to class?

Any pros/cons for the school or the city would be greatly appreciated..

Once upon a time at MCPHS, the school published their class schedule. A student going into P3 informed the Registrar that there were only two "professional electives" that fit into the P3 schedule, and all 300 P3 students needed to take 2 "professional electives" that year. The Registrar informed the student that they did not schedule courses or decide what was offered. They only assign rooms, and the dean of pharmacy was the one responsible for those things. The student let the dean of pharmacy know that there was a major impending scheduling problem. The dean of pharmacy ignored the issue and called the student unprofessional for providing the information.

A week or two later, the dean and registrar sent out an email indicating they were aware that 270 students were waitlisted for the same two classes and they'd be resolving it, so they should not be pestered further.

A week or two after that they came to a class with all the P3 students and explained that there was a scheduling problem that was entirely out of their hands, and was completely unforeseeable and they would be making a new elective schedule. They would then reprocess the students' registration requests in the same order that the original paper forms had been turned in (this was 2008: there should not have been paper forms in the first place, but that's another rant...). The student from the beginning of this story asked these people in front of the entire class, "There was no way this could have been predicted?" They said, "Nope." He then asked if it could have been prevented. They again said it could not have. Then he asked "If there is no way to predict or prevent this, you're saying this might happen every semester?!" They said yes. They would rather sound impotent than admit they had any fault. THAT is mcphs.

...this was the Boston campus, but I'd still be weary.

 

[SpartanLaser]

I graduated from MCPHS worcester campus. I can tell you my class (2014) was fine but the year afterwards, a lot of kids failed physiology 1 and were told they can come back next year. Next year rolls around, the school says theres not enough seats for them to come back to....