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- Jul 23, 2014
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Hi! I am a sophomore in college and I was considering pre-pharm. Right now I am a pre-med student however I am also interested in going into pharmacy. To be honest right now I'm leaning towards pre-med but I have heard of some cases in which people prepared to take the PCAT and the MCAT and decided to pursue whatever field after taking both tests. I would like to try to do that but I have a few questions about the pre-pharm process as well as the PCAT.
From what I know the PCAT is based on general chemistry 1 and 2, biology 1 and 2, a little bit of microbiology, a little bit of anatomy and physiology, organic chemistry 1, math with calculus, and a verbal reasoning/writing section. I am currently finished with gen chem, bio, and I APed out of calculus 1 and 2. After this year I will be done with OCHEM 1 and 2 and I may also have genetics under my belt if I decide to take it my second semester. My school generally doesn't allow us to take a microbiology and A and P class until junior year. Is it possible to take the PCAT prior to taking these two courses? I was planning to use the time period of spring break to the end of summer break after my sophomore year to prepare for the September PCAT. I want to take the MCAT during my second semester of junior year. Is this timeline fine? Will med schools be notified that I take the PCAT and will pharm schools be notified of me taking the MCAT (I am afraid there will be bias towards my dedication towards a specific field if they are notified)?
Also what is your advice on how to approach pre-pharm (what extracurriculars should I have under my belt)? As I said right now im primarily concentrated on the pre-med route but I would like to explore more about pharmacy.
Currently I have a 4.0 GPA (though right now OCHEM is really messing with this). I have volunteered around 120 hours in non-clinical settings and I have volunteered around 50 hours in the hospital and in hospice care. I am also a co-founder and officer in a philanthropy organization for a local non-profit children's hospital and I am an officer in my school's pre-med organization. I am also a freshman mentor at my school and I am an online tutor for various elementary, middle, and high school subjects. My primary concern is getting pharmacy-related experiences if I do decide to pursue this path. I don't know if I have the ability to juggle my extracurriculars, classes, as well as work as a pharm tech. Is there any other way I can get pharmacy-related experiences and see what it is like to be a pharmacist so I can decide whether I want to pursue entry into medical or pharmacy school?
From what I know the PCAT is based on general chemistry 1 and 2, biology 1 and 2, a little bit of microbiology, a little bit of anatomy and physiology, organic chemistry 1, math with calculus, and a verbal reasoning/writing section. I am currently finished with gen chem, bio, and I APed out of calculus 1 and 2. After this year I will be done with OCHEM 1 and 2 and I may also have genetics under my belt if I decide to take it my second semester. My school generally doesn't allow us to take a microbiology and A and P class until junior year. Is it possible to take the PCAT prior to taking these two courses? I was planning to use the time period of spring break to the end of summer break after my sophomore year to prepare for the September PCAT. I want to take the MCAT during my second semester of junior year. Is this timeline fine? Will med schools be notified that I take the PCAT and will pharm schools be notified of me taking the MCAT (I am afraid there will be bias towards my dedication towards a specific field if they are notified)?
Also what is your advice on how to approach pre-pharm (what extracurriculars should I have under my belt)? As I said right now im primarily concentrated on the pre-med route but I would like to explore more about pharmacy.
Currently I have a 4.0 GPA (though right now OCHEM is really messing with this). I have volunteered around 120 hours in non-clinical settings and I have volunteered around 50 hours in the hospital and in hospice care. I am also a co-founder and officer in a philanthropy organization for a local non-profit children's hospital and I am an officer in my school's pre-med organization. I am also a freshman mentor at my school and I am an online tutor for various elementary, middle, and high school subjects. My primary concern is getting pharmacy-related experiences if I do decide to pursue this path. I don't know if I have the ability to juggle my extracurriculars, classes, as well as work as a pharm tech. Is there any other way I can get pharmacy-related experiences and see what it is like to be a pharmacist so I can decide whether I want to pursue entry into medical or pharmacy school?