<p>Are there any current Pitt Pharmacy majors that can give a few pointers about the pros and cons of the Pharmacy School? Looking to make a decision on which university to attend.</p>
<p>First of all, there’s no pharmacy major, you would just be pre-pharmacy. I’m not in the program, but I have a few friends who are. The way pharmacy school works is that you apply for junior year and then have 4 years of pharm school, so 6 years of school total. While being in the pre-pharm track at Pitt gives you more of a chance of getting into the Pitt pharmacy school, it is not guaranteed. My friends are freshman and are already looking at the requirements for pitt pharm school compared to other pharm schools so that they can have them all done in case they need to apply to other places. However, if you keep up your gpa and have all the requirements you have a good chance of being able to get into pharm school at pitt and just stay here for 6 years.</p>
<p>How is the Pitt Pharmacy school? Is it well run? My daughter is aware that it is a 2 + 4 program. She has won one of the guaranteed seats if she does well enough on the PCATS. But she has also been accepted into 0-6 pharmacy schools elsewhere ( no PCATS and no second application her second year). Are pharmacy students happy with the classes and the opportunities provided at Pitt? Have any students turned down 0-6 programs such as at Rutgers to attend Pitt and are they happy with their decision?</p>
<p>I am also curious to know how the pharmacy school compares to 0-6 ones like Rutgers and University of sciences philadelphia. Rutgers probably has the best opportunities to work with pharmaceutical industries, internship, etc. but I wonder how the “big state school” campus of Rutgers compares to the more close-knit campus of Pitt. USP is also known for it’s pharmacy program, but I noticed the board pass rate is lower (in the 80%s as compared to 90%s at Rutgers and Pitt). My dentist also said the curriculum at USP isn’t as rigorous.</p>
<p>Comments on Pitt Pharmacy (from the parent of a Pitt P1 [first year of pharmacy school] student):
- One advantage a 2+4 program has is the simple option of changing majors during those first two years. If the student decides not to pursue pharmacy, it’s simple to segue into another major, especially any science major. With the majority of college students changing majors these days, that’s something to consider.<br>
- Pitt’s two years of pre-pharm also coincide very closely with med school requirements. Again, if the student wants to go the MD route rather than the PharmD route, there are no wasted credits or semesters.<br>
- I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how collegial the pharmacy students are. There’s a determined effort to study together, to share notes and work together. I’ve heard absolutely nothing about any type of cut-throat competition from my daughter.
- Pitt has amazing opportunities for research and internships, especially in the medical fields. D1 has worked all three years as a (paid!!) reseach assistant in a UPMC hospital research center.
- D1’s roommate (been together all three years) is a pre-med with a Pitt Med School guarantee. Both she and D1 obtained a paid research internship (Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellowships) their first summer through Pitt and, in Pitt’s Biological Science department. The next summer, D1 took a couple of classes and worked at her UPMC research center position, but the pre-med roommate obtained another internship, this time at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
- All pharmacy students, even at the P1 level must perform clinical and community service work (in addition to the intern hours). The school arranges all this, the students do not have to hustle and find the opportunities themselves. The Pittsburgh area, especially in the neighborhood of Oakland, is rich in hospitals, community centers and the like which provide ample opportunities for these “Profession of Pharmacy” experiential settings.
- D1 has now gotten a part-time (paid again!) clinical pharmacy internship at one of the Pittsburgh hospitals for her required intern hours. She had two separate hospital-based programs offer her a such a position. And this was all before she even started talking to the community-based pharmacy intern programs.</p>
<p>I afraid that I can’t compare Pitt’s pharmacy program against others, since the only school I have any experience with is the Pitt program. I can say that D1 was admitted to two other programs, but chose Pitt. I don’t think she has any regrets about her choice.</p>
<p>Wow, congratulations to your daughter for getting such great research and internship opportunities! That definitely clears up my worries about being able to secure research jobs and internships. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough to go around and it would be very competitive. It’s great that the school helps you find service work.</p>
<p>There are some nuanced differences in the curriculum between that of Rutgers and Pitt. You should take a look at both. Though the differences in curriculum probably shouldn’t be a big deciding factor as you’ll still end up with a PharmD. degree with both, just one example is that the PP2 at Rutgers requires you take physics while Pitt requires no physics course. I have heard that the Rutgers course is more rigorous than that of most other pharm schools - which can be a pro or con, depending.
As for internships, Pitt has def put an emphasis on placing students in internships (I think they might call it something different) early on in the program. I’m not sure if there’s as much guidance like that at RU.</p>