brenda:
this is a 4/5 year-old thread. The posters are likely long gone. Suggest you start a new thread.
Hi @brendaAlegria!
I got notified of this post on the website in my e-mail and am happy to hear that you are interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy.
Hopefully to answer your questions. First off, I chose UCSD over UOP at the time because I felt that I wasn’t 100% fully committed to pharmacy at 18 years old. Hence, I don’t have the ability to answer your question in regards to UOP and it’s experience.
However, I did end up deciding to pursue my passion in pharmacy and applied this year (the 2014-2015 cycle). And interestingly enough, I interviewed and got accepted into UOP once again. I did get accepted into other schools as well, so unfortunately I will not be going to UOP.
I will say that if you are in a similar situation as I was 5 years ago, I would talk to many pharmacists (community, clinical, research, etc) and see if it really is a career you want to choose. The field has changed within these 5 years since I made this post (i.e. SB493 giving pharmacists provider status in California) and so it’d be good to educate yourself on the current trends in the position, the pros and cons, and future prospects for pharmacists.
Going back to your original question, I would say that if you are committed to a career in pharmacy, UOP would be a good choice for you. The amount I paid for undergrad + the amount I will be paying for my pharmacy school honestly will be more than if I had chosen UOP’s 3+3 program. Because of the location of UOP, housing is on the lower end, thus helping you save a bit more from the high cost of the tuition. I also do know that for UOP students, admission into their pharmacy school is almost guaranteed, provided you maintain a decent GPA (I do not know the cutoff) and don’t flop the interview. For “transfers”, or students like me who went to another university and decided to go to UOP for their pharmacy program, there are much more requirements. For example, on PharmCAS, they section off portions pertaining to your extracurricular, your awards, your leadership abilities, and so forth. Thus, on top of maintaining my grades, I joined many organizations and also worked as a pharmacy technician to get more experience as well.
I can say that I do not regret choosing UCSD over UOP though. I used these 4 years at UCSD to really affirm my passion for pharmacy. However, if you already know that you are passionate about pharmacy, then I would choose UOP. I have met enough graduates from the program to know that the program is great (UOP is one of the first original 3 pharmacy schools in California after all) for where you want to go in the profession. Hopefully this helps and I’m sure that you’ll make the right choice!
The UOP Accelerated Pre-Pharm Advantage program does not “guarantee” admission into the actual pharmacy college even if you meet the GPA requirements. After your second year of pre-pharm, you are screened through a writing sample, 3 recommendations and an interview. Not all pre-pharm applicants are accepted. Also the 2014-15 tuition without room & board for the two undergraduate years $40,822 per year and the pharmacy years is $65,721 (not including some additional pharmacy incidental fees for technology, etc.) because there are 3 semesters in each pharmacy year. Room and board is estimated at approximately $17,000 per year. (See http://www.pacific.edu/Documents/finance/student-accounts/14-15%20Annual%20Cost%20Sheet.pdf). Also, the UOP Accelerated program does not include a bachelor’s degree which may be important later if you decide to get an MBA or other non-pharmacy graduate degree.
So the cost of almost $500K for the UoP program is still higher than a 4 year degree at a UC or CSU and 4 years at a pharmacy school that has a $40K tuition (vs. UoP $65K per year).
A bachelor’s degree from UCSD would be much less expensive if you are paying in-state tuition. UCSD has a BS in Pharmacological Chemistry which would be a great undergraduate degree for pharmacy and many other careers. You would still have to apply to a graduate pharmacy school, but with much less debt behind you.