Why I love ACPHS

Hello Everyone!


My name is Gavin O’Brien. I am going into my second year in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) this fall. I have been working in the Office of Admissions this summer and will be a new blogger as well. I am from Averill Park, which is in the Capital Region, and I could not imagine a better school than ACPHS. You may be asking: What sets ACPHS so far apart? For me, the two main reasons why I chose ACPHS were the academics and the small school atmosphere.

The first reason I decided to come here was because of my career goal to work in the health professions. ACPHS has one of the best schools for anyone who enjoys the sciences. The facilities are state-of -the-art and are a great place to learn, experiment, and thrive. As well as the technology, the professors play a huge role in the academic sphere. They are what make ACPHS one of the best places to learn and are each the leaders in their respective fields. They are so available outside of class and will pay special attention to each student. I think the biggest praise I can give the school is every professor genuinely wants each student to succeed. I always say that ACPHS, from everyone from the security guards to the librarians all the way up to the president, will lay down the red carpet for every student. All you have to do is ask. What I mean by that is that they will listen to your problems, work with you and try to solve them in any way possible. An easy way you can greatly increase your chances of success is to go to the professor’s office hours, go to tutors and utilize the services designed to help you. Some of you may be hesitant to seek out help, especially if you did not need any help during high school, but I can tell you from experience it is definitely worth it. You can go with a few friends, so it’s not as intimidating, but I definitely recommend going to office hours at the beginning of each semester just to introduce yourself and let them learn your name.

This recommendation leads me to the second reason why I love ACPHS: the small school atmosphere. We have fewer than 2,000 students on campus, which allows each and every student to get personalized, individual attention from everyone. The huge benefit of a small school is every student can meet with, learn from and develop relationships with all of the people on campus. I have only been at ACPHS for a year, but I already feel like I know all of my classmates. On top of that, I have gotten to know much of the administration at the school and many of them know my name. Being able to walk around campus and know most of the people you see is a blessing only a small school, such as ours, can provide. A great way to see and experience life at ACPHS is to come by for a campus tour and talk to our admissions counselors. They are all fantastic and have a great deal of experience answering any question imaginable. This will make it much easier to see if our school is the right fit for you.

To wrap it up, the two main reasons why I decided to attend ACPHS are because of the phenomenal academics and the close knit community. I hope you learned something new and, hopefully, can add your own reasons to why you would like to go here. More blog posts are soon to come. Enjoy the summer!

Gavin O’Brien