Pharm vs Chem? Need guidance

[Hammer19]

Hello everyone, as most, long time lurker and first time poster. I would just like some advice, I am currently entering my senior year and will be applying to colleges in the near future. I have decided on going to the University of Toledo and have a few questions regarding the college itself and my future major.

Firstly, I can't decide whether to major in pharmaceutical sciences or chemistry. I love chemistry and the guidance counselor at the university said both are chem intensive. I feel as if I would like both very well. I was leaning towards pharmaceutical science because I think it would have good fallback potential if I had to take a year off for any reason (rejection from med school or preference). Although during the summer between your 3rd and 4th year you are required to do an internship and I didn't know if a pharmaceutical internship would look good on a medical school application or if I would be best majoring in chemistry and using that summer to direct my efforts elsewhere.

Here are the links for each major if anyone is interested in looking at sample curriculum.

Chem: http://www.utoledo.edu/majors/?Chemistry

Pharm: http://www.utoledo.edu/majors/?Pharmaceutical Sciences

Thank you.

Secondly I was wondering if going to such a low tier undergrad school (they have open admissions) would make it harder or impossible to get into a mid to top tier medical school.

Thank you to anyone who reads and/or answers.

EDIT: Also would majoring in pharm make it harder to find undergrad research opportunities or do they really just care that you have completed the basic science classes? Would research in pharmaceuticals still be as strong as other medical related research on applications?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[superpom_7]

Ultimately you have to pick what YOU want to major in, but I think Chemistry is a good idea. To answer your other question: it really shouldn't matter what school you went to.

 

[Hammer19]

Ultimately you have to pick what YOU want to major in, but I think Chemistry is a good idea. To answer your other question: it really shouldn't matter what school you went to.

First of all, thank you for your response. Secondly, why do you say chemistry? I thought pharm because it isn't a common major, I would still like it, and has good fallback potential. I'm not trying to be difficult, just playing devil's advocate for some perspective.

 

[superpom_7]

You're welcome. I say Chemistry because I feel like you could do more with the degree/have more options. In terms of you having more jobs to choose from and things like that. That's just what I think, at least.

 

[Hammer19]

You're welcome. I say Chemistry because I feel like you could do more with the degree/have more options. In terms of you having more jobs to choose from and things like that. That's just what I think, at least.

I always read that there was not much to do with just a B.S. in chemistry, I'm only in high school though.
Although if I were to go with the pharm route (I would likely major in medicinal and biological chemistry or pharmaceutics) do you know if I would have a harder time finding research? And would a pharm internship help at all for med school?
Thank you again for your response.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I was a pharmacology & toxicology major in undergrad (not at Toledo). It was the single best decision I ever made in college. Not only do you go through all the pre-reqs for med school, you also get invaluable knowledge that will help you out later in medical school (e.g., physiology, immunology, pharmacology, etc.). Having a deep understanding of drugs and how they work is something that not many med schools teach and instill in their students, so it is absolutely an asset if you come in with that foundation. It's also a great degree to fall back on. If I didn't pursue med school, I could have easily found a job in industry with salaries starting at $70-80k.

Looks like Toledo has a similar program if you want to check it out: http://www.utoledo.edu/pharmacy/academic_programs/bspharmsciprograms/bsps-ptox.html

 

[Hammer19]

I was a pharmacology & toxicology major in undergrad (not at Toledo). It was the single best decision I ever made in college. Not only do you go through all the pre-reqs for med school, you also get invaluable knowledge that will help you out later in medical school (e.g., physiology, immunology, pharmacology, etc.). Having a deep understanding of drugs and how they work is something that not many med schools teach and instill in their students, so it is absolutely an asset if you come in with that foundation. It's also a great degree to fall back on. If I didn't pursue med school, I could have easily found a job in industry with salaries starting at $70-80k.

Looks like Toledo has a similar program if you want to check it out: http://www.utoledo.edu/pharmacy/academic_programs/bspharmsciprograms/bsps-ptox.html

Thank you very much for the insight. I saw that and it looked interesting but I didn't know if medical schools would look down on it because they thought you originally wanted to go into pharmacy school. Did you have that issue? Also did you have any issues finding research?

Were you required to do an internship? If so did it help?

Thank you again, sorry for all the questions I'm just very curious about this.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Thank you very much for the insight. I saw that and it looked interesting but I didn't know if medical schools would look down on it because they thought you originally wanted to go into pharmacy school. Did you have that issue? Also did you have any issues finding research?

Were you required to do an internship? If so did it help?

Thank you again, sorry for all the questions I'm just very curious about this.

My major never came up in a negative light. The major is more geared towards research/industry work anyway. Most of my interviewers that had access to my transcript were extremely impressed at the courses I had taken. In addition, we had specific labs that taught us a variety of standard laboratory techniques (e.g., cell culture, handling animals, protein assays, etc.). This will only help you find research. I was not required to do an internship, but, again, this can only boost your application.

 

[Hammer19]

My major never came up in a negative light. The major is more geared towards research/industry work anyway. Most of my interviewers that had access to my transcript were extremely impressed at the courses I had taken. In addition, we had specific labs that taught us a variety of standard laboratory techniques (e.g., cell culture, handling animals, protein assays, etc.). This will only help you find research. I was not required to do an internship, but, again, this can only boost your application.

Thank you very much. I didn't know if there were differences in the research each would do, only being in high school. I will definitely look in to pursuing pharmacology and toxicology.
Thanks again!

 

[Doctor Strange]

Thank you very much. I didn't know if there were differences in the research each would do, only being in high school. I will definitely look in to pursuing pharmacology and toxicology.
Thanks again!

I have a highly biased opinion, so be sure to do your research before picking a major. The program here may be slightly different from the one I attended (for reference: http://www.usciences.edu/academics/collegesdepts/pharmsci/pharmtox), so definitely consider that aspect also. If you have any further questions, feel free to post here or PM me.

 

[FutureOncologist]

From reading this, I gathered some pros and cons.

Pros

• You get clinical experience, as it says on the website, before you graduate
• Plenty of opportunities to do research
• Pharmacy students, in my experience, are always a close-knit group of people
• All the prereqs that you will need will be covered by the pharmacy department, as well as other upper-level classes that will be required and make you stand out more to adcoms
• Said prereqs you will be taking as a chem major anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference

Cons:

• The clinical experience will most likely be with pharmacists, which won't count towards shadowing or volunteering. Thus you will need to spend extra time getting those hours.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Cons:

• The clinical experience will most likely be with pharmacists, which won't count towards shadowing or volunteering. Thus you will need to spend extra time getting those hours.

Not necessarily true. Even PharmD students on their P4 rotations frequently have the opportunity to round on the floors with the team, which include members from multiple disciplines, including medicine. Moreover, they are encouraged to branch away from pharmacy and shadow other doctors to get a feel for what other members of the hospital staff do. Once you're in the clinics on an internship, it doesn't take a whole lot more effort to get in touch with a doc you met on rounds and ask if you can shadow for a couple hours.

 

[Hammer19]

From reading this, I gathered some pros and cons.

Pros

• You get clinical experience, as it says on the website, before you graduate
• Plenty of opportunities to do research
• Pharmacy students, in my experience, are always a close-knit group of people
• All the prereqs that you will need will be covered by the pharmacy department, as well as other upper-level classes that will be required and make you stand out more to adcoms
• Said prereqs you will be taking as a chem major anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference

Cons:

• The clinical experience will most likely be with pharmacists, which won't count towards shadowing or volunteering. Thus you will need to spend extra time getting those hours.

Thank you very much for your answer. In my opinion the pros seem to outweigh the cons by quite a lot. Although I don't mind putting in the extra time to get more shadowing hours, where as someone else might. So considering it all I am heavily leaning towards a pharmacology and toxicology degree. Mainly for the experience I will be getting, research opportunities, the upper level classes of pharmacy that will make me distinguished, and the ability to fall back on the degree if I would need to.
Again thank you for your response, I appreciate it.

 

[Hammer19]

Not necessarily true. Even PharmD students on their P4 rotations frequently have the opportunity to round on the floors with the team, which include members from multiple disciplines, including medicine. Moreover, they are encouraged to branch away from pharmacy and shadow other doctors to get a feel for what other members of the hospital staff do. Once you're in the clinics on an internship, it doesn't take a whole lot more effort to get in touch with a doc you met on rounds and ask if you can shadow for a couple hours.

Thank you for your response, I like the fact that the internship might give me chance to branch out to find doctors to shadow, seeing as I know absolutely no doctors.

 

[FutureOncologist]

Thank you very much for your answer. In my opinion the pros seem to outweigh the cons by quite a lot. Although I don't mind putting in the extra time to get more shadowing hours, where as someone else might. So considering it all I am heavily leaning towards a pharmacology and toxicology degree. Mainly for the experience I will be getting, research opportunities, the upper level classes of pharmacy that will make me distinguished, and the ability to fall back on the degree if I would need to.
Again thank you for your response, I appreciate it.

No problem man. My undergrad has the top Pharmacy school in its region so the only way I could do medicinal chemistry/pharmacy was through the school of pharmacy. And the school only lets kids in that want to do pharmacy. They have their own admissions and interview process. You have a good opportunity man!