Hi Everyone, My name is Alison. I'm thinking of Butler as a possible college. There are a few others I am also looking into... I can't tell which is the best for pharmacy, though. I have no clue what to look for in a college. Some colleges have an entry level program and some don't. Can you please explain what I should be looking for and what entry level means? I'd really appreciate it.
Thank-You,Alison
Hi Alison!
I think that an entry level pharmacy program is one that requires you to have completed your pre-pharmacy courses before applying to the program. At Butler, it's a little different than that - rather than doing a four year undergrad degree, we do two years of undergrad work and if we keep a GPA over 3.0 in our pre-pharmacy courses, we're automatically accepted into the four year professional program.
After being in pharmacy for a few years now, here are the things that I would suggest you look for in a program:
1) Facilities and Technology
-Are the lab facilities good? Do they look modern? Is the school dedicated to updating their facilities to keep up with technology? I've heard that some schools don't have real laminar air flow hoods to use for practicing sterile compounding, and that they tape an area out on a desk for you to use. Obviously, you might be a little confused as to what to do when you graduated and actually had to use a real hood! -What kind of technology does the school use in the classrooms? I took traditional pen and paper notes for my first two years, but education was definitely enhanced when I started pharmacy and got a laptop as part of the pharmacy program. I have a tablet, so I can write things like chemical compounds while taking typed notes in class. All my professors upload notes and PowerPoint slides that they use in lecture, so I can follow along and add my own notes during the class. Basically, it's a huge help. We're also experimenting with new technology all the time - taking tests and quizzes online, having classes recorded, or using programs that allow the class to go online and answer questions that the professor is asking in class.
-Are the lab facilities good? Do they look modern? Is the school dedicated to updating their facilities to keep up with technology? I've heard that some schools don't have real laminar air flow hoods to use for practicing sterile compounding, and that they tape an area out on a desk for you to use. Obviously, you might be a little confused as to what to do when you graduated and actually had to use a real hood!
-What kind of technology does the school use in the classrooms? I took traditional pen and paper notes for my first two years, but education was definitely enhanced when I started pharmacy and got a laptop as part of the pharmacy program. I have a tablet, so I can write things like chemical compounds while taking typed notes in class. All my professors upload notes and PowerPoint slides that they use in lecture, so I can follow along and add my own notes during the class. Basically, it's a huge help. We're also experimenting with new technology all the time - taking tests and quizzes online, having classes recorded, or using programs that allow the class to go online and answer questions that the professor is asking in class.
2) Pass Rate on the NAPLEX - after all, you have to pass the NAPLEX to become lisenced after you graduate, so knowing that you're going to be going through a curriculum that will prepare you well for the big test!
3) What do recent alumni say about the program? Obviously it might be difficult to find alumni if you don't know any, but if you happen to run across a pharmacist who graduated from a program you're looking at, ask them what they thought about their experiences. Were there skills they wish they had a better grasp on before graduating? Would they have changed anything about the program? What's the worst thing about the school? Questions like that can give you a lot of insight. For example - we were told the other day that Purdue students on rotations were struggling with taking blood pressure. At Butler, they determined that taking blood pressure was a skill we would need to have, so they teach us for the first time during our first year in the professional program and we practice it in a class each semester, so by the time we're on rotations, we're experts!
Of course, it's great to find a pharmacy program that suits you, but make sure you like the university too. Take into consideration other factors too. Do you like the dorms? Is the school in a location that you like? Think of other things that matter to you - do you care about having a car on campus, or are there any activities that you would like to be able to keep up in college? Look at the big picture to find a fit that's best for you!
Thanks for your response. Do you have to dorm as a freshman? I live in Pennsylvania right now, but I plan on moving out where ever I go for college, but I don't want to dorm...
Butler seems really nice... It's up towards the top of my list. Is Butler a private or public school?
Thanks for your help,Alison
Alison,
Yes, if you are not living with your parents then you have to live on campus as a Freshman. However, because all most all of Butler's population lives on campus it isn't a bad situation at all. Butler is a Private Liberal Arts Institution.
Hope this helps!
We are a private school with no religious affiliation! :)
To add on to what Joe said, Butler actually requires on-campus living for the first three years. It seems like a lot, but if you're looking at pharmacy ir's only half the years that you're in college! Also, living on-campus doesn't mean you have to live in a dorm, except for your freshman year. After that, you could live in a Greek house, a suite-style residence hall, or an apartment.
Out of curiosity, why do you not want to live in a dorm? I know that all the universities I looked at required students to live on-campus for at least one year...it seems to be the how universities make sure that everyone gets involved on campus. If you have an hesitations about dorms in general, let us know. There are a lot of things about dorms that people worry about before they get to college that they realize aren't that big of a deal once they're living in a dorm! And of course, all of us bloggers are experts on dorm living, considering we've all done it at least once!
Ohh that's good to know. I was planning on moving in with my father when I first start college, and then commuting. It's not that I don't want to live in a dorm... It's just I'm really odd with my study habits. Like I have to have complete silence when I study... and even if something is like mondo quiet, I can still pick it up (like a pin dropping) and then I can't concentrate. It's really weird. haha
Does Butler accept dual enrollment credits? Picking a college is so hard.
I'm stuck between:South University (Georgia)ButlerThomas More (pre pharm) -- University of Kentucky (Pharm.D) [both in kentucky]
I like all three, but my Dad says I have to focus in on one and really push for it. Any suggestions?
ashlen, obviously you are very passionate about Butler's pharm program. do you think Butler fulfills all of these things you mentioned in your post? and do you have to take any online classes in the pharm program?
First of all, we do not have to take any online classes in the pharmacy program. Some pre-pharmacy classes are offered as summer classes (on campus, never online) and if you decide to do the PharmD / MBA dual degree you will be required to take summer classes. You can take some classes at other universities and transfer the credits in, but I'm not sure how it would work if you took an online course to substitute for one of your classes. But to answer your question, all the classes required to graduate with the PharmD are taken in the classroom.
As for Butler fulfilling all the requirements that I talked about:
1) Facilities - Butler's currently building a new building that will add on to the current pharmacy building, so I guess I would say that right now their in the process of making improvements. From what I've heard, it seems that there's going to be a lot of new office space (which doesn't really help the student, more the faculty), more labs (which I think are going to be primarily for PA students who currently have to go off campus to do their labs), lecture halls (we desperately need bigger ones for pharmacy classes!) and study spaces (we currently have a lounge for COPHS students, but depending on the time of day it's not always easy to get a table). However, there were some major improvements this summer. Both of our main pharmacy labs were completely re-done, and I've noticed a HUGE improvement over the quality of my lab experience from this semester to last semester. They've been able to organize labs a lot better now - we're paired together and different groups are doing the lab assignments at different times. Before, we were all doing the same thing at the same time - so there were always backups when trying to get the ingredients you needed or when trying to wash dishware! They also opened up the fourth floor of our current pharmacy building, that was not being used, and renovated it and made it into our drug information center. We had a large room for the DI center before, and I haven't gone to see the improvements yet, but I think it probably enhances the experience of students that use the center on rotations.
2) Technology - the pharmacy / PA program is WAY ahead of the rest of Butler when it comes to technology, although it seems like the business college is keeping up with us. We have the laptop program, which I've gone on about a lot in the forums / blogs, and I think it's really helped my education. It definitely allows us to access a lot more resources, and take better notes. We also have a lot of technology for the professors to use in the classroom to help with teaching. The downside is that some of our professors are older and struggle to use the technology - although watching them try is always good for a few laughs, and there's always someone in the class that can help them when they can't figure out the problem. I guess the only downside to being the technology leaders at Butler is that we're the guinea pigs. We get all the benefits, but all the problems too. My year uses Vista on our laptops, and it's been a bit of a disaster. I've also found that my laptop has had its share of mechanical problems - I'm currently using a loaner computer because my mouse stopped working. I've had my screen replaced and my batteries replaced, and I've only had the computer for a year! To say the least, it's a little frustrating. Also, we get to try out new programs, which has its downfalls as well. The college wants us to start taking all of our tests and quizzes online, which means that we needed a special browser so that we couldn't cheat by looking up the answers. They've run into problems with the browser, and we've spend at least one entire lecture period trying to test the browser and fix all the problems...they haven't fixed the problems yet though, and the tests I'm taking this week are all still on paper, even though we were supposed to be "up and running" online a month ago.
3) Pass rate on the NAPLEX - we're have one of the highest pass rates in the country (almost 100% over the past five years, or something like that). Do I need to say anymore? Passing the NAPLEX just isn't a concern for us - we know we'll be prepared.
4) As for what recent alumni say - you'll have to find them and ask them for themselves! I'm interested to see what I think about the program once I'm out and practicing in the real world!
Anywhere that offers a guarntee acceptance to a pharmacy school is the best. Butler is on the top of my list because it offers a guarntee and its the closest to home (4 hours)