Questions about Albany College of Pharmacy

[stu0513]

Hi, does anyone here goes to Albany College of Pharmacy? I was accepted to this school and am wondering whether to go there or not. I've heard nightmares of people failing out. How is the school structured? Are faculties nice? Are there a lot of people dropping out?

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[genesis09]

I just read that ACPE just placed that school on academic probation. They have 2 years to shape up or loose their accreditation.

Probation Status:

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Doctor of Pharmacy Program has been placed on Probation Status with a focused on-site visit scheduled for spring 2008. (2004-2005; 2010-2011)

http://www.acpe-accredit.org/news/default.asp

 

[loo]

I'm not a current student, but The rumours of high failure rates are false. You have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. The professors are great, easily approachable, and want you to succeed.

ACP really prepares you well for the NYS boards as well.

Albany is so-so as a city, but you're not at school to party...

Congratulations!

 

[loo]

I just read that ACPE just placed that school on academic probation. They have 2 years to shape up or loose their accreditation.

http://www.acpe-accredit.org/news/default.asp

So, tell us what the issues are, since you seem to make snap judgements?

To the OP: if you have questions about accreditation, please contact the school directly. I'm sure your questions will be answered.

 

[genesis09]

I'm just telling the poster what it means when a school is placed on probation. I don't know the issues why that particular school was placed on probation. The fact is ACP is on academic probation, and if you are applying to that school or thinking about it, you should know about it.

 

[loo]

I'm just telling the poster what it means when a school is placed on probation. I don't know the issues why that particular school was placed on probation. The fact is ACP is on academic probation, and if you are applying to that school or thinking about it, you should know about it.

Please read my question again. YOU made the ASSUMPTION that Albany had to "shape up or lose their accreditation" I asked you if you knew what the specific issues were for YOU to make a SNAP JUDGEMENT.

Where does it say they are on ACADEMIC probation?

It's bad form to make judgements when you don't know the facts, that's all.

 

[genesis09]

You misunderstand me. I just always refer to schools which are on probation by that term. I never realized there was a difference in terms. It is just what comes to mind. The fact is when schools on placed on probation that means something is wrong with them. They need to fix something. Probation is probation regardless of cause and terminology, and according to ACPE rules, they can only be on it for two years. If the problem is not fixed within 2 years, they loose their accreditation. I don't know of a single school which has lost its accreditation though.

 

[tussionex]

i don't think they will LOSE their accreditation....they will just have to sweat it out for a while!

albany is a nice enough city....really quiet on the weekends, though, with all the state employees and gov't types out of town. it's a small school, but has expanded alot since i've left.
you do get well prepared for the NY exam. however, like most schools, they fill your head with "clinical" fairy tales and don't emphasize enough solid skills and common sense....and the culture is one that doesn't understand that ALL pharmacists are "clinical".

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

Where does it say they are on ACADEMIC probation?

It says right on the link provided above that they are on Probation Status....There is no argument it is a fact.

 

[cy19861126]

It says right on the link provided above that they are on Probation Status....There is no argument it is a fact.

I think what loo was trying to say is that the link did not show that the school is placed on "academic" probation. It might be on probation because of administration, tuition, or any other "nonacademic" reasons. But I think that is all obvious to us

 

[stu0513]

I'm not a current student, but The rumours of high failure rates are false. You have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. The professors are great, easily approachable, and want you to succeed.

ACP really prepares you well for the NYS boards as well.

Albany is so-so as a city, but you're not at school to party...

Congratulations!

Does that mean you really need to "try" to fail out? Does anyone know the attrition rate among the transfer students?

 

[loo]

I think what loo was trying to say is that the link did not show that the school is placed on "academic" probation. It might be on probation because of administration, tuition, or any other "nonacademic" reasons. But I think that is all obvious to us

Yep. That was my point. Thank you.

FWIW, I've emailed the college to find out SPECIFICALLY what the issues are. I'll post as soon as I find out...

 

[loo]

Does that mean you really need to "try" to fail out? Does anyone know the attrition rate among the transfer students?

Yes, that is what I mean. Attrition for transfers in my particular class was 0%. These folks came in ready to work. The "lifers" (folks who came in out of high school, etc.) tended to have the highest rate of attrition. Why? Immaturity, difficulty in keeping up, and not asking for help.

Albany is small enough that you definitely know your professors and there is a lot of support for students. They want you to succeed.

Your results may vary.

Any thoughts, tussionex?
Will update you with info on the probation stuff. I'm very curious to find this out...

 

[bankai123]

I am a current student at ACP and I went to the info meeting today regarding accreditation. First of all, I would talk about why the College was placed on probation and how the college attempts to fix it. The College was placed on probation because ACPE is concerned about the high attrition rate of the College. Generally, ACP loses about more than 30% of the students for kids in the professional Pharm. D. program each year. And ACPE wants ACP to fix this program in order to regain accreditation.

The President of ACP, President Gozzo, admitted that it was his fault for letting this slide by. Thus, he proposed a few new policies that are not yet decided but will be by the incoming class of 2009. The new policy is going to be as follow and there are two. First, the curriculum is going to be changed. The College is going to modify the curriculum a bit so that every students become active in learning. This includes the addition of small group discussion, more group projects, more faculty to student and student to student interaction, and etc... He was certain that by changing the curriculum, the attrition rate would fall because everyone would become more active learners. Second, the pre-professional students (0-6) would have to maintain a GPA of 3.0 instead of 2.5 in order to move on to the next phase. Also, they would need to complete an interview and writing assessment in order to move into the professional program. Therefore, there is a chance for you to get into the 0-6 program and still get kicked out due to lack of communicative skills. That all sums it up. I gotta go study so respond to PM me if you got more questions.😱

 

[bankai123]

Yes, that is what I mean. Attrition for transfers in my particular class was 0%. These folks came in ready to work. The "lifers" (folks who came in out of high school, etc.) tended to have the highest rate of attrition. Why? Immaturity, difficulty in keeping up, and not asking for help.

Albany is small enough that you definitely know your professors and there is a lot of support for students. They want you to succeed.

Your results may vary.

Any thoughts, tussionex?
Will update you with info on the probation stuff. I'm very curious to find this out...

I don't know when you graduated. But in our class, 22 out of 75 transfer accelerated students disappeared (dismissed, repeating the year, personal problems???) after the second semester. I heard more people disappeared in the regular program following the first professional year. But I think all schools in more modern states such as New York are all that difficult

 

[PharmDstudent]

But I think all schools in more modern states such as New York are all that difficult

That's such a silly thing to say. I guess I'm living back in the 1800s or something 🙄. Shoot, this computer that I'm typing on has a mouse in the CPU that runs on a wheel for power. I have to feed it a strawberry every now and then.

Good luck at school! I really hope they fix that attrition rate. Thirty percent seems pretty bad.

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

Is Oregon modern or is my school backwards? Making moonshine in pharmaceutics lab is normal right??

 

[fiorio]

I am a current student at ACP and I went to the info meeting today regarding accreditation. First of all, I would talk about why the College was placed on probation and how the college attempts to fix it. The College was placed on probation because ACPE is concerned about the high attrition rate of the College. Generally, ACP loses about more than 30% of the students for kids in the professional Pharm. D. program each year. And ACPE wants ACP to fix this program in order to regain accreditation.

The President of ACP, President Gozzo, admitted that it was his fault for letting this slide by. Thus, he proposed a few new policies that are not yet decided but will be by the incoming class of 2009. The new policy is going to be as follow and there are two. First, the curriculum is going to be changed. The College is going to modify the curriculum a bit so that every students become active in learning. This includes the addition of small group discussion, more group projects, more faculty to student and student to student interaction, and etc... He was certain that by changing the curriculum, the attrition rate would fall because everyone would become more active learners. Second, the pre-professional students (0-6) would have to maintain a GPA of 3.0 instead of 2.5 in order to move on to the next phase. Also, they would need to complete an interview and writing assessment in order to move into the professional program. Therefore, there is a chance for you to get into the 0-6 program and still get kicked out due to lack of communicative skills. That all sums it up. I gotta go study so respond to PM me if you got more questions.😱

Do they plan to take more transfer students then?
they probably could consider accepting more transfer students.
the new rule almost made ACP a 2+4 school now.

 

[loo]

I don't know when you graduated. But in our class, 22 out of 75 transfer accelerated students disappeared (dismissed, repeating the year, personal problems???) after the second semester. I heard more people disappeared in the regular program following the first professional year. But I think all schools in more modern states such as New York are all that difficult

Wow. I graduated in the late 80's before the PharmD was offered. The stats you quote for your transfer students closely approximated how many folks we lost after the first professional year. It was pretty much sink or swim. When transfers came in, they stayed in; i.e. nobody flunked out. I think it was due to the high GPA needed to get in and diversity in age, maturity. We didn't lose any transfers. It blows my mind that transfers are flunking out like that.

Another thing, too. They made a big deal out of how "tough" the NY Board was. Lectures/labs sometimes approximated the pressure of the board wet lab. Some people could handle it, others did not. As I remember it, ACP did not hold your hand. The expectation was that if you stay focused, you'll do fine. I also remember spending quite a few nights at Ralph's; especially happy hour on Fridays. Oh well.

 

[PharmDstudent]

^^
It looks like someone was a little out of touch.

 

[tussionex]

I don't know when you graduated. But in our class, 22 out of 75 transfer accelerated students disappeared (dismissed, repeating the year, personal problems???) after the second semester. I heard more people disappeared in the regular program following the first professional year. But I think all schools in more modern states such as New York are all that difficult

you think NY is a modern state?

seriously?


my freshman year at ACP, we had more people CHOOSE not to come back after winter break due to hating it than due to failing out.


more group projects? active learning? oh, please, spare me dr gozzo.....there is nothing WORSE than group projects.

oh, and...NY? modern?

 

[loo]

^^
It looks like someone was a little out of touch.

Thank you for your insightful, well-thought out response! You add so much to this thread!

Thanks for proving beyond a doubt that opinions are like a**holes--everybody's got one.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Thank you for your insightful, well-thought out response! You add so much to this thread!

Thanks for proving beyond a doubt that opinions are like a**holes--everybody's got one.

I'm happy that I could help!

 

[loo]

you think NY is a modern state?

seriously?

more group projects? active learning? oh, please, spare me dr gozzo.....there is nothing WORSE than group projects.

oh, and...NY? modern?

I totally agree. NY is a total dinosaur legislatively and law-wise!

If I wanted group grope projects, I'd gone for a psychology degree. Personally, I hate group learning, PBL, and all that other crap.

 

[bankai123]

you think NY is a modern state?

seriously?


my freshman year at ACP, we had more people CHOOSE not to come back after winter break due to hating it than due to failing out.


more group projects? active learning? oh, please, spare me dr gozzo.....there is nothing WORSE than group projects.

oh, and...NY? modern?

I have the same thoughts. It is going to be tougher to those who work hard and better for those who do not want to try. However, I think this can hopefully bring its attrition rate down to a minimal... Again, I hope

I am definitely supportive of changing ACP from a 0-6 to 2+4. I know that there are a lot of kids in the regular program who are immature and indecisive of what they really want to do. Putting those kids in an interview and raising the pre-professional GPA can definitely test the commitment and motivation of them completing the curriculum😎

 

[bankai123]

you think NY is a modern state?

seriously?


my freshman year at ACP, we had more people CHOOSE not to come back after winter break due to hating it than due to failing out.


more group projects? active learning? oh, please, spare me dr gozzo.....there is nothing WORSE than group projects.

oh, and...NY? modern?

Are you saying NY is "not" modern compared to other state? By modern, I mean it's got more population as well as having more innovated technologies although it might be more geared toward business and service...

 

[Quiksilver]

Are you saying NY is "not" modern compared to other state? By modern, I mean it's got more population as well as having more innovated technologies although it might be more geared toward business and service...

what i think is meant is that NY is one of 3 states that do not allow pharmacists to immunize.

Another striking issue is the collaborative therapy practices that other states have seemed to adopt. Allowing pharmacists to have a say in therapy regimens with doctors that they are in contractual agreements with.

UB is teaching these skills regardless, so that we are ready if or when the Medicaid state is ready to adopt them into law.

we hear about this every other day at UB. NYS is really a dinosaur in that respect. BTW, you guys going to Albany Day later this month?

 

[bwsalvas]

Go UB. 👍👍👍

 

[emfvrab13]

I'm not a current student, but The rumours of high failure rates are false. You have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. The professors are great, easily approachable, and want you to succeed.

ACP really prepares you well for the NYS boards as well.

Albany is so-so as a city, but you're not at school to party...

Congratulations!

I'm a current second year student at Albany College of Pharmacy and find it difficult to believe that one would say you have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. While the faculty is easily approachable, the curriculum is incredibly tough, and I have seen many of my classmates (over 60) fail out in the past year and a half. Making it through the ACP Pharm. D program is not easy, it is incredibly difficult and you will have never worked so hard in your life. The outcome is most definitely worth the work, but don't be fooled into thinking it is not going to be a huge challenge. Good Luck : )

 

[loo]

I'm a current second year student at Albany College of Pharmacy and find it difficult to believe that one would say you have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. While the faculty is easily approachable, the curriculum is incredibly tough, and I have seen many of my classmates (over 60) fail out in the past year and a half. Making it through the ACP Pharm. D program is not easy, it is incredibly difficult and you will have never worked so hard in your life. The outcome is most definitely worth the work, but don't be fooled into thinking it is not going to be a huge challenge. Good Luck : )

Sorry if I have offended you. I can see how my comment could be misinterpreted.

I know how tough the curriculum is and most folks who go to ACP (and pharmacy school in general) are NOT stupid or lazy...hence my comment. I heartily agree that you will work hard for your degree and in the end, it will be worth the sacrifice.

🙂

 

[tussionex]

i think NY is backwards for:

- little to no embrace of technology
- STILL no recognition of technicians...."ancillary personnel", ha!
- a slightly antiquated licensure process, ie wet lab....i'd like to see more problem solving and less capsule punching....

forget immunizations.
never gonna happen.

went to 6 "albany days" myself....they said the same thing EVERY year. even said it when my husband went to ACP 10 years previously, and when a coworker went 20 years ago.

if i wanted to immunize, i'd be a nurse. i don't want to touch people. ick.

 

[tussionex]

ooh!
and i just broke 500 posts!!!

 

[Quiksilver]

i think NY is backwards for:

- little to no embrace of technology
- STILL no recognition of technicians...."ancillary personnel", ha!
- a slightly antiquated licensure process, ie wet lab....i'd like to see more problem solving and less capsule punching....

forget immunizations.
never gonna happen.

went to 6 "albany days" myself....they said the same thing EVERY year. even said it when my husband went to ACP 10 years previously, and when a coworker went 20 years ago.

if i wanted to immunize, i'd be a nurse. i don't want to touch people. ick.

oh but the lisensure process will not change; they will keep the wet lab, and apparantly want to add a counseling part to the wet lab. This is what we are told.
Make sure you know OBRA.
i think of it as a rite of passage

 

[bankai123]

I'm a current second year student at Albany College of Pharmacy and find it difficult to believe that one would say you have to be incredibly stupid and/or lazy to fail out. While the faculty is easily approachable, the curriculum is incredibly tough, and I have seen many of my classmates (over 60) fail out in the past year and a half. Making it through the ACP Pharm. D program is not easy, it is incredibly difficult and you will have never worked so hard in your life. The outcome is most definitely worth the work, but don't be fooled into thinking it is not going to be a huge challenge. Good Luck : )

FINALLY, someone from the same school agreed with me😍

 

[ACPstu2011]

Albany College of Pharmacy is in fact on probation but it, in the end, doesn't mean much. New guidlines were put out on July 1, 2007 from ACPE, the accrediting body. ACP has been in the process of working on meeting these new "standards" but just not fast enough to ACPE's liking therefore ACP was put on probation. One thing that was put in the standards was integrated teaching, teaching by disease states, not by course. This is something the school faculty/staff has been working on for some time now and was already set to be in place for the fall of 2009. Other things that were addressed as new standards revolve around policies for entering the professional years and our atrition rates. We in fact do tend to have higher atrition rates but it is hard to compare their rates to that of a non 0-6 school. It is important to remember that students are coming in right out of high school (the majority of the student body). Other schools you have to take the pcat and apply separately into the pharmacy program but ACP prides itself on taking their students who are up for the challenge from 0-6 and creating great health care providers. Since so many students are coming out of high school not all of them really know if Pharmacy is what they want out of their lives, many just see the sign on bonus and 6 figured salary and don't look into the rigor any pharmacy school puts you through.

On that note, the school also has amazing resources available for all students. THere is peer tutoring offered for EVERY class, professional or non professional, and we have staff that will organize private tutoring sessions for any student looking for that extra help. All professors are required to have office hours and are always willing to work later or work around the student's schedule to help them succeed...

Now back to the accredidation, No accredited school in the history of ACPE has ever lost its accredidation. The school would have to be messing up big time, majority of its students failing out and not passing the boards, for ACPE to not re-accredit them. ACP has some of the highest percent pass rates out of all Pharmacy schools in NYS and nationally......losing accredidation is something that won't be happening to ACP, ACPE just puts alot of pressure on a growing school to work faster than sometimes is actually possible..... come july 1st of 2008 I am confident ACP will no longer be on probation...

 

[ACPstu2011]

yes many students decide to leave or do fail out but if you compare the course work of ACP to that of any other pharmacy school, especially in NYS youw ill find that it is all comprable. Some students just can't make it or don't have the desire to put the fight in to get their doctorate. These people who fail out/leave are usually the ones who go back to a local school and become professionals in less rigorous course work, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum for professions, showing just how they realy weren't cut out for pharmacy school.

 

[sh0otinqstar]

This is kind of going off topic.. but I have a few questions concerning the change in entering the professional year. I currently applied to the school and was accepted into the second year of the pre-professional year which means I'll be entering the professional year 2009. Would it affect me?

Also I need advice as to whether I should go there or not. Right now I'm taking organic chemistry II and I have completed organic chemistry I. I would have to take it at ACP all over again if I do go but I figure since it's a 0-6 program I would just go with it. But I'm quite scared about the campus life and the curriculum.

I need the library to be open 24/7 or at least a spot where I can study, a gym, and piano rooms. If anyone knows, please tell me if there are...

I currently attend Stony Brook which is a research university and I hope ACP's campus life is similar.

I hope someone can answer my questions. Thanks in advance.

 

[tussionex]

This is kind of going off topic.. but I have a few questions concerning the change in entering the professional year. I currently applied to the school and was accepted into the second year of the pre-professional year which means I'll be entering the professional year 2009. Would it affect me?

Also I need advice as to whether I should go there or not. Right now I'm taking organic chemistry II and I have completed organic chemistry I. I would have to take it at ACP all over again if I do go but I figure since it's a 0-6 program I would just go with it. But I'm quite scared about the campus life and the curriculum.

I need the library to be open 24/7 or at least a spot where I can study, a gym, and piano rooms. If anyone knows, please tell me if there are...

I currently attend Stony Brook which is a research university and I hope ACP's campus life is similar.

I hope someone can answer my questions. Thanks in advance.

i don't think anything on campus is 24/7.
but there is always the albany med library.

the gym closes pretty late, if i recall....and the only piano "room" is a beat up old grand in the old student lounge....seriously, a piano room? it IS a pharmacy school, and only a pharmacy school. head out to guitar center on wolf road and buy yourself a portable keyboard. play in your dorm room. better still, take up the guitar.😀 right, epic?

 

[sh0otinqstar]

i don't think anything on campus is 24/7.
but there is always the albany med library.

the gym closes pretty late, if i recall....and the only piano "room" is a beat up old grand in the old student lounge....seriously, a piano room? it IS a pharmacy school, and only a pharmacy school. head out to guitar center on wolf road and buy yourself a portable keyboard. play in your dorm room. better still, take up the guitar.😀 right, epic?

hmmm... I do have a guitar and keyboard but I was afraid of annoying my roommate with it. =) Is the Albany Medical Library far from the dorm rooms?

I also have the option of completing all my prerequisites and apply to Buffalo, Long Island University, or Rutgers next year. But I don't want to risk it because I'm really scared of not being able to get in. It really sounds like a great deal... with the exception of having to take organic chemistry again. I might also need to take Psychology again. But I think my main concern is the curriculum at ACP. How is it compared to Long Island University, Rutger, or Buffalo?? And the whole change in the program beginning 2009.

 

[evilolive]

Concerns like these are why I believe 0-6 programs are faulty in premise to begin with and why we should move towards a 2-4 or 4-4 year pharmacy admission standard. I honestly don't think that people can be accurately screened for pharmacy school at the high school level for maturity, drive, and competence with good faith. Attrition of 30% is a huge loss - while there may be many students who benefit from the fast track pharmacy program, does that merrit the number that also are not ready that waste the school's resources in producing potential future pharmacists? This problem is not exclusive to this school - many others I hear fall prey to the same woes but Albany is probably the first to undergo probation.

 

[shimmeringstar]

Hi, does anyone here goes to Albany College of Pharmacy? I was accepted to this school and am wondering whether to go there or not. I've heard nightmares of people failing out. How is the school structured? Are faculties nice? Are there a lot of people dropping out?

i'm sorry this is off topic but can u please let me know when u applied because i havent heard anythin from them ever since i applied..

 

[RxHopeful]

I wanted to know if anyone was in the same boat as me. I sent my supplemental fee into Albany around December and have yet to hear a thing from them. Does anyone know if they are simply waiting to send out their rejections all at one time or if they are just really busy?

 

[AtomicLuv]

I sent mine in the same time as you and I have also heard nothing!
I emailed them and they said that most people will hear by March. isn't that wonderful? that means it could be in a few days, or it could technically be like March 31! or it could be in May, because who's to say they will keep their word? (I am getting slightly annoyed!) hehe🙂

 

[daydreamerc35]

they contacted me feb 1 and i had my interview yesterday...they gave me a list of 5 dates to chose from. the 3 remaining are march 10, march 19, and march 21. they told me they dont look at the pcat because it isnt a good indicator of how well u will do in pharmacy school. instead they look at ur organic chem grades because they believe that is the best indicator of whether u pass or not so how did u guys do in orgo for those who didnt get an invite?

 

[RxHopeful]

I had a very bad experience in Orgo 1 and in the event that I don't get into pharm school this cycle I want to retake this class. Orgo2 and Orgo lab were much better. I am going to call Albany today just to get an answer about if they reviewed my app at all.

 

[AtomicLuv]

that's very interesting because when i interviewed at jefferson, two different faculty members told me that the most important factor of predicting whether a student will do well in pharm school is PCAT! they said there have been studies done and it always showed that strong PCAT scores (over a strong gpa) was a much better indicator. 😎

 

[cy19861126]

Well, I guess people with a stronger GPA know how study more efficient and are willing to cram, whereas people with a strong PCAT know how to take the test, but are not necessarily good at cramming a large amount of material in the shortest amount of time. If you were to ask me, I guess people with a high GPA can be more successful at pharmacy school, but people with a high PCAT score will do better at the board exam.