Out of State vs. California Pharm School

[John T]

What would be a better pick if you had to choose, out of state school or stay in Cali? I am having a hard decision picking one considering which school would give me the best opportunity to network and land a job in Cali (eventually) and residency.

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[capri1722]

Out of state. Absolutely. For the first year, tuition may be the same, or even higher, but many schools allow you to apply for in-state tuition after one year, which will drastically reduce the cost of tuition. Not to mention California has a very high cost of living in general. Networking, IMO, depends mainly on you and less on where you go to school.

 

[John T]

Out of state. Absolutely. For the first year, tuition may be the same, or even higher, but many schools allow you to apply for in-state tuition after one year, which will drastically reduce the cost of tuition. Not to mention California has a very high cost of living in general. Networking, IMO, depends mainly on you and less on where you go to school.

Thank you for the reply. I wish it was the case here but the out of state school only has one tuition price for both in-state and out of state students. in comparison to the Cali school. It is cheaper by probably 40-50k total 4 years.

You truly believe networking has nothing to do with the school? say I wish to work in cali again whereever it may be. I would be able to do that no matter what school it is?

 

[falconheavy]

Thank you for the reply. I wish it was the case here but the out of state school only has one tuition price for both in-state and out of state students. in comparison to the Cali school. It is cheaper by probably 40-50k total 4 years.

You truly believe networking has nothing to do with the school? say I wish to work in cali again whereever it may be. I would be able to do that no matter what school it is?

In my opinion it does matter. If you are out of state, it becomes a little harder to find residency when you go back to Cali after finishing the out of state school. It is mainly because your rotations throughout pharmacy school years will be where you go to school and when you graduate no site in Cali will be familiar with your work ethic your knowledge etc.. this plays a major role in matching/finding a residency. Certainly, it also depends on your pharmacy school GPA and leadership experience and more, but my impression is that residencies tend to take those who they already know. School matters but only in terms of location no as much by reputation.. because no matter what school you graduate you still become a Pharm.D. if you pass the board.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Doesn’t matter where you go to school. You will have to move out of state for a job regardless since there won’t be any to be found in California.

 

[falconheavy]

Doesn’t matter where you go to school. You will have to move out of state for a job regardless since there won’t be any to be found in California.

there is always a job for those who seek 🙂)

 

[John T]

In my opinion it does matter. If you are out of state, it becomes a little harder to find residency when you go back to Cali after finishing the out of state school. It is mainly because your rotations throughout pharmacy school years will be where you go to school and when you graduate no site in Cali will be familiar with your work ethic your knowledge etc.. this plays a major role in matching/finding a residency. Certainly, it also depends on your pharmacy school GPA and leadership experience and more, but my impression is that residencies tend to take those who they already know. School matters but only in terms of location no as much by reputation.. because no matter what school you graduate you still become a Pharm.D. if you pass the board.

That was my thinking as well.

 

[John T]

Doesn’t matter where you go to school. You will have to move out of state for a job regardless since there won’t be any to be found in California.

I agree as well but I will try for Cali. As for other job positions, I cannot change to something else since I have gotten this far already and have no training or interest in other areas. I am not restriction my options to just retail or Cali.

 

[Drakopharm]

I agree as well but I will try for Cali. As for other job positions, I cannot change to something else since I have gotten this far already and have no training or interest in other areas. I am not restriction my options to just retail or Cali.

I dont know your stats but since Im in a similar situation allow me to share my two cents. Honestly if you are only going for community pharmacy then it wouldnt matter at where which school you go to imo...

However if you want to try for residency and become a clinical pharmacist, several factors will determine whether you will be considered for an interview. Extracurricular stuff you did, presentations, papers, research exp, rotation exp. What you put into school outside of going to class everyday will help you stand out among your peers. Also, residency programs only accept applicants who graduated from an accredited pharmacy school. Now you may argue that these new schools will obtain their accreditation from their first graduating class, but why bother taking the risk. Go with an established school that is more well known and have the network firmly established. CA is saturated. Imo unless you were accepted into the four or so great and average pharmacy schools in CA, leave and go somewhere else assuming you have the GPA/PCAT to back it up.

 

[John T]

I dont know your stats but since Im in a similar situation allow me to share my two cents. Honestly if you are only going for community pharmacy then it wouldnt matter at where which school you go to imo...

However if you want to try for residency and become a clinical pharmacist, several factors will determine whether you will be considered for an interview. Extracurricular stuff you did, presentations, papers, research exp, rotation exp. What you put into school outside of going to class everyday will help you stand out among your peers. Also, residency programs only accept applicants who graduated from an accredited pharmacy school. Now you may argue that these new schools will obtain their accreditation from their first graduating class, but why bother taking the risk. Go with an established school that is more well known and have the network firmly established. CA is saturated. Imo unless you were accepted into the four or so great and average pharmacy schools in CA, leave and go somewhere else assuming you have the GPA/PCAT to back it up.

What if the out of state school doesn’t have a great networking alumni and professors since it is in the middle of the Midwest? Would there be a difference between going to that than Cali school where I would be doing rotations at hospitals etc?

 

[Drakopharm]

What if the out of state school doesn’t have a great networking alumni and professors since it is in the middle of the Midwest? Would there be a difference between going to that than Cali school where I would be doing rotations at hospitals etc?

Then choose an oos school thats in the top 25. Those are usually well established. If your grades/pcat/extracurricular is lacking, hold off and improve them for another year then apply again. Your life is not a race to finish. Feel free to pm me with any other questions.

 

[John T]

Then choose an oos school thats in the top 25. Those are usually well established. If your grades/pcat/extracurricular is lacking, hold off and improve them for another year then apply again. Your life is not a race to finish. Feel free to pm me with any other questions.

I appreciate the advice. I definitely understand the reasoning behind it. I am going to be 27 this year and would like to start sooner than later so when I am in my 30s I am starting my career. I want to be able to be a little more established career wise as marriage is my plans around that time as well. So I can’t afford another year waiting