where should I attend pharmacy school? MUSC or USC CoP?

[lashl0]

long story short I currently have a 4.0 from a state school in the south and a bunch of shadowing hours, etc. I am about to be a sophomore and am going to apply in state to one of the 2 pharmacy schools in my state (SC). One of them is MUSC and the other is the college of pharmacy at USC. They used to be one school with 2 campuses but are now splitting apart. I'm very torn.

The tuition at both will be the same, but I can commute from home to the one at USC and am very familiar with the area. At MUSC I would have to worry about housing, which is expensive in Charleston, and not really knowing anyone.

However, MUSC is a highly ranked hospital with 9 ICU's and at the open house they really said lots of positive things about going to such a great place etc.

In the future I would like to get a residency and possibly do something involving critical care. Also I would like to move to either the West Coast (not CA) or Northeast. Which one should I go to?

I believe MUSC is ranked 30 by the US News Report and USC CoP is 45.

I would prefer to save money and stay close to home but a future residency is a priority for me.

Does school REALLY matter when applying for residency?

Thanks!

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[Kevbo06]

Hello lashl0! Tough question...I am currently a P2 at SCCP MUSC campus. I have had a great 2 years here. The one thing I will say about the split...MUSC is that they are stepping up the game in terms of education provided, but I don't know whats going on at the USC campus. In either case, MUSC or USC, you will have a good shot at residency. It really depends on what you do outside of the classroom. It is up to you to make sure you have what it takes to get into residency. Leadership, research, etc. Charleston is a great city. In my opinion, you should apply to both. If you get into MUSC I would suggest taking it. The only reason why I would say this is because you do live so close to USC and because you already know the area. Pharmacy school is all about changing how you think about problems and how you can preserver through those issues. Charleston is close enough to visit home but far enough away to keep you focused on the school work, which is #1 when it comes to getting into a great residency program. Let me know if you have any other questions.