Bachelors required for admissions in future

[qwead]

So I was speaking to my manager the other day and she told me that by 2011 all pharm schools or most will require a bs/ba to be admitted into pharm school...I don't know where she got this info...if anyone has heard of thiss before or have any links to this being true...please post

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[ValeRx]

At Cincinnati, their FAQ states that at this time, they do not have any plans within the near future to require a Bachelor's degree for admissions.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

I don't think it will be that soon. There is one school (forgot the name) that does require it currently, and some of the Cali schools pretty much expect it. Other than that, having a bachelors does make you more competitive but is not required. If that was to become a requirement, it would take a long time to actually be set in place. Some people want to make it a requirement, but there's not a lot of push to actually get it done currently.

 

[pcproduct]

She was probably just stating her prediction based on the percentage of accepted students with degrees these days and the increasing competiveness of pharmacy school admission.

 

[confettiflyer]

I don't think it will be a hard requirement per se, but it already is a de facto requirement at many competitive schools.

Most med schools don't require a BS/BA degree, but last I checked, the stats tended to be 98%+ of the incoming class having a BS/BA.

Schools don't do this in the event there's some sort of child prodigy or other extenuating circumstance (ie dramatic story involving not finishing the final semester of school, etc...)

 

[Sparda29]

Touro College of Pharmacy requires a Bachelor's degree or 120 credits prior to admission.

 

[Hels2007]

It is unlikely to become a written requirement (even med schools don't technically require it!), but it is very likely to become a de facto requirement, if the level of competition for pharmacy school admissions stays the same.

 

[confettiflyer]

Touro College of Pharmacy requires a Bachelor's degree or 120 credits prior to admission.

Yeah, the keyword being "or." But I mean...if you have a BS/BA, you most likely have hit 120 credits.

 

[ValeRx]

I don't think it will be a hard requirement per se, but it already is a de facto requirement at many competitive schools.

Most med schools don't require a BS/BA degree, but last I checked, the stats tended to be 98%+ of the incoming class having a BS/BA.

Schools don't do this in the event there's some sort of child prodigy or other extenuating circumstance (ie dramatic story involving not finishing the final semester of school, etc...)

I hate to keep bringing up my school, heh, but the percentage of people who got into Cincinnati's med school that didnt have a Bachelor's degree: 0%.

 

[Storm90]

I know of a few schools that require students to have a degree before applying. While it's not a requirement right now for most schools and the percentage of accepted students who have degrees varies from 0-100%, it's likely something that will happen in the next 10 years or so. Considering many candidates need at least 2-3 years of pre-reqs in order to be accepted, this isn't as farfetched as it may seem. Also, earning a doctorate degree and having graduate status, it would make sense that people have an undergraduate degree already.

 

[CaptainCurl03]

I don't think it will be that soon. There is one school (forgot the name) that does require it currently, and some of the Cali schools pretty much expect it. Other than that, having a bachelors does make you more competitive but is not required. If that was to become a requirement, it would take a long time to actually be set in place. Some people want to make it a requirement, but there's not a lot of push to actually get it done currently.

Forgot the name???!! It's Ohio State, my university! Alright...I'll forgive you. We actually just went over this in our Pharmacy History course last quarter. Ohio State was the first school to require a bachelors degree and I believe there are 1 or 2 other schools that also require one.

Currently, there are still a number of schools that only require 2 years pre-reqs (while most require roughly 3 years) that are getting bumped up to the 3 year requirement in the next few years. There is also talk of more schools requiring a bachelors degree but with more than 100 pharmacy schools out there, all schools requiring bachelors degrees will not be happening within the next 5 years or maybe even 10. Most likely, even if the trend continues in this directions, I guarantee not ALL schools will require a bachelors degree unless it is made a requirement by APhA or some similar organization. A sweeping requirement like this would never happen as it concerns your undergrad school and not your actual pharmacy education (and therefore would be somewhat "out of jurisdiction" if you will)

In short - get a bachelors degree if you want. If you don't get into a pharmacy school and think that may have been the reason, you'll most likely be on track to get the degree by the time the subsequent application cycle rolls around...so, no worries!

 

[Ross434]

In short - get a bachelors degree if you want. If you don't get into a pharmacy school and think that may have been the reason, you'll most likely be on track to get the degree by the time the subsequent application cycle rolls around...so, no worries!

good advice.


Personally I was accepted to U-colorado with a large number of tech college classes, and some 4 year college classes. Bachelors isnt everything. But it will definitely add something to an application. If i hadnt gotten in, i would have finished my bachelors.

 

[calisoca]

She's predicting--She's wise.

 

[Antimony]

At the AACP meeting they mentioned pharmacy schools requiring 120hrs or a degree within the next ten years. Some schools are already heading in that direction (ie. OSU, Touro etc.)

 

[confettiflyer]

As much of an academic snob I am...I'm actually against a mandatory BS/BA requirement (yeah ignore whatever i said years ago if you're stalker status).

I'm heavier on the unit & prerequisite requirement. Wonder if we'll be like some grad/med schools that award a BS en route to a graduate degree (PharmD) if you're that 1 student out of 250 that was genius enough to get in without a BS. UCSF comes to mind.

I don't know, I just like flexibility being on an adcom.

 

[Hels2007]

At the AACP meeting they mentioned pharmacy schools requiring 120hrs or a degree within the next ten years. Some schools are already heading in that direction (ie. OSU, Touro etc.)

120 hours pretty much equals a bachelor's... if you have to do that many, makes sense to get some 10 more and get a proper degree...