I have been accepted to both Temple pre-pharmacy and University of Sciences in Philadelphia Pharmacy program. Differences in costs are immense, being that USP is private school. After completing school and getting that PharmD is there a big difference in which school you have completed(when searching for a job)? is it worth paying that extra money to go to a school like that? Any thoughts? anybody that went to USP or Temple for pharmacy?? Thanks.
School Challange: Temple vs. USP
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You might want to search the forums for what people say about those schools. I've not heard too much about Temple, and what I've heard about USP has not been very positive. But take that with a grain of salt, as I'm not applying there.
As to whether the kind of school you attend makes a difference when searching for a job, it doesn't.
As to whether the kind of school you attend makes a difference when searching for a job, it doesn't.
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you should ask Oldtimer....he is from the philly area i think...
id go the public school route...education is the same
id go the public school route...education is the same
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hey, i'm currently a student at Temple. I went the pre-pharm with Temple route because of the outrageous cost for USP. Temple is a lot cheaper if you're in-state, if you're going to be an out of state student, the tuition between the two may be comparable.
the only advantage that i can see that USP has over Temple is that USP guarantees you a seat in pharm school as long as you maintain their minimum GPA to matriculate. With Temple's pre-pharm, you're not guaranteed a spot in their pharm school. i worked my butt off to get the right grades in undergrad, but grades aren't the only criteria for acceptance. often wonder how i got in sometimes.
i've been extremely satisfied with my education at Temple School of Pharmacy. Most of the professors are very helpful and are solid teachers. There are some that can be extremely frustrating. Temple Hospital is located across the street and most of the professors work there or in other area hospitals in the Temple system, so they have the real world clinical experience. even though i haven't gotten the best grades, i still feel that i will be a very competent pharmacist and that they have prepared me well for the profession.
i have some friends in USP and haven't heard many great things about their curriculum. from their first year to their fifth, they've lost a lot of students either because of failing out or extreme stress. i think part of the reason is that they cram all of the PT material, the most important classes, the ones that deal with the drugs and the actual treatment of disease states, into their fifth year, the one prior to rotations. with Temple, we started PT in our fourth overall year (Professional Year 2), so the pacing allows a better understanding of each block.
one thing that sucks about Temple is the location. The actual pharmacy school is located about 2 miles away from the main campus and in a pretty ghetto neighborhood. our school is confined to 1 building. there are only about 3 lunch trucks to choose lunch from. and while you're waiting for your food, you'll have bums come up to you asking for money or cigarettes.
i don't think which you school you graduate from makes a difference with finding a job. i haven't started the job hunt yet, but i don't see myself having a hard time finding one. after all, a Pharm.D. is a Pharm.D. in the eyes of the retail world no matter which school you graduated from.
hope this long response helps with your decision. let me know if you have any further questions about Temple Pre-Pharm and Pharm.
the only advantage that i can see that USP has over Temple is that USP guarantees you a seat in pharm school as long as you maintain their minimum GPA to matriculate. With Temple's pre-pharm, you're not guaranteed a spot in their pharm school. i worked my butt off to get the right grades in undergrad, but grades aren't the only criteria for acceptance. often wonder how i got in sometimes.
i've been extremely satisfied with my education at Temple School of Pharmacy. Most of the professors are very helpful and are solid teachers. There are some that can be extremely frustrating. Temple Hospital is located across the street and most of the professors work there or in other area hospitals in the Temple system, so they have the real world clinical experience. even though i haven't gotten the best grades, i still feel that i will be a very competent pharmacist and that they have prepared me well for the profession.
i have some friends in USP and haven't heard many great things about their curriculum. from their first year to their fifth, they've lost a lot of students either because of failing out or extreme stress. i think part of the reason is that they cram all of the PT material, the most important classes, the ones that deal with the drugs and the actual treatment of disease states, into their fifth year, the one prior to rotations. with Temple, we started PT in our fourth overall year (Professional Year 2), so the pacing allows a better understanding of each block.
one thing that sucks about Temple is the location. The actual pharmacy school is located about 2 miles away from the main campus and in a pretty ghetto neighborhood. our school is confined to 1 building. there are only about 3 lunch trucks to choose lunch from. and while you're waiting for your food, you'll have bums come up to you asking for money or cigarettes.
i don't think which you school you graduate from makes a difference with finding a job. i haven't started the job hunt yet, but i don't see myself having a hard time finding one. after all, a Pharm.D. is a Pharm.D. in the eyes of the retail world no matter which school you graduated from.
hope this long response helps with your decision. let me know if you have any further questions about Temple Pre-Pharm and Pharm.
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I know people who went to both Temple and USP, and from what I gather, Temple seems to be a better school, but the location sucks. I know several people who were mugged at the parking lots there... Also I may be prejudiced against USP because here in NJ people say that the only New Jersey people who go to USP are the ones who can't make it to Rutgers.
thanks for the detailed information xxfoolxx. One thing that I am a bit worried about Temple is that entrance into pharm. What are requirements to get into pharm at temple? After reading what you wrote I am leaning towards Temple, due to low cost and bums asking you for money Thanks again for all the info, it is nice to hear something from a student at Temple.
Thanks again for all the info, it is nice to hear something from a student at Temple.
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i think there are just basic requirements with which classes you'll have to take during the 2 pre-pharm years. you'll basically follow the track for your sciences and math. all your other classes are university-wide required courses for graduation. other than that, i just had to take the PCATs. acceptance into the pharm program is nerve racking. if you do go to temple, i suggest that you don't take filler classes like swimming or awesome abs (seriously), and focus on taking the classes you need to. the good thing about the pre-pharm track is that most of the classes will carry over as pre-reqs for other science/health care fields in case you choose another major other than pharm. you also have to realize that you will be sacrificing part of the whole college experience and spend more time in the library than most of your peers.
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There is no real choice here. Temple is way better than USP. It was better in 82 when I went and it's better now. The only advantage is once your in USP, you're in. At Temple, you have to apply to the School of Pharmacy. As for neighborhood, USP is just as crappy a neighborhood as Temple is. The USP drop out rate is higher than Temple. USP does not support it's students. I have served as a preceptor for 25 years in the Philadelphia area for students from both schools and Temple takes better care of it's students.
W
whitewasheddesi
I am a current USP student and let me say some things in defense of USP
the pharmacotherapy classes, the ones mentioned earlier in this thread by someone, are now spread over fourth and fifth years for students, starting those who graduate in 2012
From what I know USP gives more clinical based classes than temple. We have a few clinical pharmacy classes beginning in third year and then extensive labs and seminar (where you do extensive research on particular drug class and present it to faculty and class. of course you need to prepare well for it because u can get hammered by the faculty if it's their area of specialty).
Most of our clinical pharmacist are quite renowned and are active clinicians and researchers, either at hospital of university of pennsylvania or children's hospital of philadelphia (Drs. Tietze, Spinler, Hussar, Poon....)
USP has more rotations that are also longer than those at temple.
the reason many people feel that USP is not supportive of students is because of lot of miscommunication. The university has only in past few years have made actual efforts to improve communication between students, faculty and administration.
The only reason USP has higher dropout rate than temple is because the criteria for accepting students used to be quite low. Once students entered, they were really bombarded with all sorts of hard classes with hard teachers. sure, students fail out after failing organic chemistry or physics or such classes, but these classes are really a test for how well you would be able to deal with stress and deal with difficult classes. (and USP has many classes, sessions and programs that teaches students how to cope with stress).
But overall, USP has been making their criteria for acceptance more difficult, which means in future less students are likely to fail out and less students are likely to get paranoia and think the university is deliberately trying to fail them.
the pharmacotherapy classes, the ones mentioned earlier in this thread by someone, are now spread over fourth and fifth years for students, starting those who graduate in 2012
From what I know USP gives more clinical based classes than temple. We have a few clinical pharmacy classes beginning in third year and then extensive labs and seminar (where you do extensive research on particular drug class and present it to faculty and class. of course you need to prepare well for it because u can get hammered by the faculty if it's their area of specialty).
Most of our clinical pharmacist are quite renowned and are active clinicians and researchers, either at hospital of university of pennsylvania or children's hospital of philadelphia (Drs. Tietze, Spinler, Hussar, Poon....)
USP has more rotations that are also longer than those at temple.
the reason many people feel that USP is not supportive of students is because of lot of miscommunication. The university has only in past few years have made actual efforts to improve communication between students, faculty and administration.
The only reason USP has higher dropout rate than temple is because the criteria for accepting students used to be quite low. Once students entered, they were really bombarded with all sorts of hard classes with hard teachers. sure, students fail out after failing organic chemistry or physics or such classes, but these classes are really a test for how well you would be able to deal with stress and deal with difficult classes. (and USP has many classes, sessions and programs that teaches students how to cope with stress).
But overall, USP has been making their criteria for acceptance more difficult, which means in future less students are likely to fail out and less students are likely to get paranoia and think the university is deliberately trying to fail them.
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I am also a current USP student and I admit there are some things I don't particularly care for at USP. But I heard 1500 students applied to Temple for only 150 spots!! Now, I don't know how smart you are or what you are capable of, but I could not handle those type of odds.
USP has been getting harder to get into and the curriculum keeps changing (more intensive for the better).
pinkdog
USP has been getting harder to get into and the curriculum keeps changing (more intensive for the better).
pinkdog
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Actually, I could handle those odds. They are waaay better than medical school, with over 5000 applicants for 150 spots, or in some cases, over 10,000 applicants for 100 spots. 10 applicants per seat sounds better, IMO.
i am currently in USP's pharm program as an undergraduate and am thinking about transferring to temple.
my main reason? tuitions costs.
i just think it's ridiculous how expensive schooling gets once you get to your later years. i checked the temple website and they dont seem to their increase tuition rates like USP (please correct me if im wrong).
just the last yr alone saves you 10k$.
my main reason? tuitions costs.
i just think it's ridiculous how expensive schooling gets once you get to your later years. i checked the temple website and they dont seem to their increase tuition rates like USP (please correct me if im wrong).
just the last yr alone saves you 10k$.
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