Pharmacy School Ranking (Worth it?)

[rollingmedicine]

Hello I am applying this summer and see how it will work out for me in terms of acceptance. When I started to look at school choices years ago, I was thinking about applying to these ca pharmacy schools (I can't go out of state because of family issues right now T_T)

UCSF, USC, California NorthState University, University of Pacific, Western, UCSD and I don't know if this school will be available this summer but a new place that offer pharmacy school called West Coast University?

I was wondering, let's say I didn't get into any of the "good ranking" like UCSF (#1), USC (#10) and UCSD (#23) and got accepted to other pharmacy schools that are either not accredited, have no ranking yet or are considered to be "lower ranking". Should I just attend the pharmacy school or take a year off, improve and aim for "higher ranking" schools?

I understand that people say ranking shouldn't really matter and you should really look into schools like UCSF is more research based while USC is more community/network based but I just want to hear other people's opinions. (Don't worry I'm definitely not only looking at rankings)

So if you got into pharmacy schools that offer pharmacy degree but are not considered to be well known or high in ranking, would you attend there or try to apply again next year?

Thank you!

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[riggylou]

Even though people say there are too many schools..compared to how many undergrad institutions there are, the pharmacy world is pretty small. ~8 schools...I guess 9 now. Schools that have been around awhile are better simply because the pharmacists that will be hiring for jobs and residencies will know the school, have former colleagues that teach at the school, have worked with good students coming out of the school, may have gone to that school themselves, etc. Accreditation is also important. Ranking or prestige isn't important as long as the curriculum is solid and the school is well established. I wouldn't skip a year to shoot for, say, UCSD...I think it would be hard to change your stats to be competitive for them if you weren't really in that ballpark already (avg GPA is 3.7)....but if I only got into West Coast University, I would work to shoot for a more solid school since they are years out from accreditation (they have to graduate a class first to be eligible..something like 5 years from now). Same thing with Cal Northstate..though they are 'supposed' to get accredited before Fall 2013 starts. UCSD, USC, UCSF, UOP, Western, LLU are all good schools. Touro is 'okay'..I haven't heard any opinions on it from pharmacists in Southern CA..I think it is easier to get into and the location kind of sucks, but it is fully accredited. The UCs and USC have reputation outside of pharmacy, but its more important what fellow pharmacists think, not your next door neighbor or whatever. That's another consideration behind the ranking list..it's done by US News...not anyone who knows anything about pharmacy.

 

[rollingmedicine]

Thank you so much for the answer. It really made me think about my choices a lot. Just one question though regarding accreditation. So let's say if I decide to go to West Coast University, since the school is not considered to be accredited yet, does that mean if I graduate from the school and receive a pharmacy degree, it wouldn't be any good?

Sorry if the question seems weird

Even though people say there are too many schools..compared to how many undergrad institutions there are, the pharmacy world is pretty small. ~8 schools...I guess 9 now. Schools that have been around awhile are better simply because the pharmacists that will be hiring for jobs and residencies will know the school, have former colleagues that teach at the school, have worked with good students coming out of the school, may have gone to that school themselves, etc. Accreditation is also important. Ranking or prestige isn't important as long as the curriculum is solid and the school is well established. I wouldn't skip a year to shoot for, say, UCSD...I think it would be hard to change your stats to be competitive for them if you weren't really in that ballpark already (avg GPA is 3.7)....but if I only got into West Coast University, I would work to shoot for a more solid school since they are years out from accreditation (they have to graduate a class first to be eligible..something like 5 years from now). Same thing with Cal Northstate..though they are 'supposed' to get accredited before Fall 2013 starts. UCSD, USC, UCSF, UOP, Western, LLU are all good schools. Touro is 'okay'..I haven't heard any opinions on it from pharmacists in Southern CA..I think it is easier to get into and the location kind of sucks, but it is fully accredited. The UCs and USC have reputation outside of pharmacy, but its more important what fellow pharmacists think, not your next door neighbor or whatever. That's another consideration behind the ranking list..it's done by US News...not anyone who knows anything about pharmacy.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Thank you so much for the answer. It really made me think about my choices a lot. Just one question though regarding accreditation. So let's say if I decide to go to West Coast University, since the school is not considered to be accredited yet, does that mean if I graduate from the school and receive a pharmacy degree, it wouldn't be any good?

Sorry if the question seems weird

Your degree will be accepted as long as West Coast University carries full accreditation or candidate status when you graduate. The risk is that there is a chance that the program may shut down while you're still in school, leaving you with a few years wasted, a ton of debt, and no degree.

 

[714]

Thank you so much for the answer. It really made me think about my choices a lot. Just one question though regarding accreditation. So let's say if I decide to go to West Coast University, since the school is not considered to be accredited yet, does that mean if I graduate from the school and receive a pharmacy degree, it wouldn't be any good?

Sorry if the question seems weird

Probably won't matter if you're looking to work in retail, but if you're doing a residency it will be more beneficial to you to enroll in an established program.

 

[riggylou]

Probably won't matter if you're looking to work in retail, but if you're doing a residency it will be more beneficial to you to enroll in an established program.

Agree. If you decide to do residency, you'll want to do an ASHP accredited residency and accredited residencies usually (always?) require that you be a graduate of an accredited school. I agree with the other poster about concerns that the school will survive as well. As far as I understand...once the school gets accredited, you will be considered a graduate of an accredited program even if it happens after you graduated though. There will also likely be inevitable disorganization as they work out the kinks with their program. Bottom line is if you can avoid the risk then you should.

This link explains the different levels of accreditation: http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/Accreditation.htm

 

[rollingmedicine]

I see I haven't really thought about the risks if attending no-accredited pharmacy school. Thank you for letting me know

Your degree will be accepted as long as West Coast University carries full accreditation or candidate status when you graduate. The risk is that there is a chance that the program may shut down while you're still in school, leaving you with a few years wasted, a ton of debt, and no degree.

 

[rollingmedicine]

Thank you for the explanation and also the link! I am planning to do residency so it really is better for me to avoid the risk.

Agree. If you decide to do residency, you'll want to do an ASHP accredited residency and accredited residencies usually (always?) require that you be a graduate of an accredited school. I agree with the other poster about concerns that the school will survive as well. As far as I understand...once the school gets accredited, you will be considered a graduate of an accredited program even if it happens after you graduated though. There will also likely be inevitable disorganization as they work out the kinks with their program. Bottom line is if you can avoid the risk then you should.

This link explains the different levels of accreditation: http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/Accreditation.htm

 

[nataly]

Hi all, can anyone give me some info about KGI and West Coast university as both have candidate status its hard to choose which one? many thanks.