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What collage is best for a pharmacist degree?
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Hayden’s Answer
I would say any pharmacy school is “good” choice to attend if it fits your goals of what you want out of the PharmD. After graduating school, no matter where you go you will still be a pharmacist. So I would suggest doing research on schools you have interest in attending. Some schools may focus more on a clinical aspect while others may have a great research program. It would just vary on what you want to do as a pharmacist.
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Lawrence’s Answer
Good pharmacy is subjective to each individual. An accredited pharmacy school will give you the knowledge to succeed in your NAPLEX at the end of your schooling. The first consideration is what you want to do with your degree? Do you want to do retail, clinical pharmacy, Long-term care facility, or ambulatory care? Some schools offer dual degree options such as Pharm.D/MBA or Pharm.D/MPH.There is a vast amount of opportunities in each of these categories. Price would be another factor because you must consider in-state or out-of-state tuition.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Updated
Jeff’s Answer
Hi Mohamed
What does “good” mean to you? Any accredited school of pharmacy will give you the training and knowledge you need to pass the NAPLEX and MPJE exams necessary to become a registered pharmacist. When I was in high school I looked up “top pharmacy schools” only to find out later that the list was based on NIH funding dollars. What does NIH funding have to do with the quality of the academics of the program? Not much but if you think you might be interested in research this could be an important consideration for you.
When you look up “good” schools it’s important to know what metrics are being measured to make that decision. Is it how many students pass the licensing exam, how many get jobs upon graduation, the student:faculty ratio, the size of the graduating class, the average SAT score of incoming students, etc. these are all valid but as a prospective student may be more or less important to you.
There is also a significant price difference between various institutions. The demand for pharmacists is not what it once was which means some graduates have a hard time finding a job in their desired city and salary increases have stalled. If you graduate with a lot of debt this will only make it harder to recover. Search “BLS Pharmacist” for more info from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics about job outlook and salary.
Also check out https://www.aacp.org/resources/student-center. They have a lot of great info for prospective pharmacy students and also a listing of all accredited schools.
You may also want to check out schools that have combined degree programs such as PharmD/MBA or even PharmD/MD. if that’s of interest to you.
What does “good” mean to you? Any accredited school of pharmacy will give you the training and knowledge you need to pass the NAPLEX and MPJE exams necessary to become a registered pharmacist. When I was in high school I looked up “top pharmacy schools” only to find out later that the list was based on NIH funding dollars. What does NIH funding have to do with the quality of the academics of the program? Not much but if you think you might be interested in research this could be an important consideration for you.
When you look up “good” schools it’s important to know what metrics are being measured to make that decision. Is it how many students pass the licensing exam, how many get jobs upon graduation, the student:faculty ratio, the size of the graduating class, the average SAT score of incoming students, etc. these are all valid but as a prospective student may be more or less important to you.
There is also a significant price difference between various institutions. The demand for pharmacists is not what it once was which means some graduates have a hard time finding a job in their desired city and salary increases have stalled. If you graduate with a lot of debt this will only make it harder to recover. Search “BLS Pharmacist” for more info from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics about job outlook and salary.
Also check out https://www.aacp.org/resources/student-center. They have a lot of great info for prospective pharmacy students and also a listing of all accredited schools.
You may also want to check out schools that have combined degree programs such as PharmD/MBA or even PharmD/MD. if that’s of interest to you.
Updated
Anthony’s Answer
Hi Mohamed,
This is a great question. Ultimately it really depends on where you want to go with your PharmD and what you want to get out of pharmacy school.
If you are just aiming to earn a PharmD and work in a standard pharmacist setting such as a retail pharmacy or hospital, I would say the most important factors to consider are the schools NAPLEX and MPJE pass rates. The individual courses matter but the most important thing for a career in these settings are for you to pass these exams. Attending a school with high pass rates will give you faith during difficult times that you are being prepared adequately for your licensing exams.
If you are looking for a career in a more unique pharmacy setting it is very important to look at the network the school has such as their professors and interning/rotation network. Many pharmacy school professors teach while they practice a full time career. Attending a school who has professors who practice in a career of interest may better prepare you for these positions if you form a relationship with these professors. For example, have interest in toxicology? Find a pharmacy school who has professors that work at their state's poison center. The same thing applies for potential interning and rotation sites. If you have an interest in drug regulation, maybe search for a school that has interning opportunities at the FDA.
There are other social factors to consider when picking a school as well such as potential for fraternities and organizations, and if you prefer to live on campus or in a city vs rural environment.
Picking a school is difficult but you should be able to get a good feel for the environment and ask any networking questions during your interview. For example, if you have interest in toxicology asking during the interview about toxicology opportunities is not only a great way to get information but also a great way to show interest in their program (interviewers love that!)
Anthony
This is a great question. Ultimately it really depends on where you want to go with your PharmD and what you want to get out of pharmacy school.
If you are just aiming to earn a PharmD and work in a standard pharmacist setting such as a retail pharmacy or hospital, I would say the most important factors to consider are the schools NAPLEX and MPJE pass rates. The individual courses matter but the most important thing for a career in these settings are for you to pass these exams. Attending a school with high pass rates will give you faith during difficult times that you are being prepared adequately for your licensing exams.
If you are looking for a career in a more unique pharmacy setting it is very important to look at the network the school has such as their professors and interning/rotation network. Many pharmacy school professors teach while they practice a full time career. Attending a school who has professors who practice in a career of interest may better prepare you for these positions if you form a relationship with these professors. For example, have interest in toxicology? Find a pharmacy school who has professors that work at their state's poison center. The same thing applies for potential interning and rotation sites. If you have an interest in drug regulation, maybe search for a school that has interning opportunities at the FDA.
There are other social factors to consider when picking a school as well such as potential for fraternities and organizations, and if you prefer to live on campus or in a city vs rural environment.
Picking a school is difficult but you should be able to get a good feel for the environment and ask any networking questions during your interview. For example, if you have interest in toxicology asking during the interview about toxicology opportunities is not only a great way to get information but also a great way to show interest in their program (interviewers love that!)
Anthony
Updated
JASMEN’s Answer
Hey Mohamed, here is a list of a few good colleges where you could obtain a pharmacist degree:
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
University of California--San Francisco.
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor.
University of Minnesota.
University of Florida.
University of Kentucky.
Ohio State University.
Purdue University.
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill.
University of California--San Francisco.
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor.
University of Minnesota.
University of Florida.
University of Kentucky.
Ohio State University.
Purdue University.