Should i retake the chemistries/chemistry labs

[Crazy Slot]

Hi,
I have been fortunate to get accepted into 4 pharmacy schools so far. My top choices are two schools. One school is an accelerated pharmD program the other is naturally a 0+6 program where im a transfer student in the second year(a total of 5 years). Im worried because it has been seven/eight years since i took my last chemistry course and I didnt do great on my chemistry courses back then. Here are my grades for chemistry

G chem1 B
G chem2 C
O chem1 A
O chem2 B

I applied specifically to schools that didnt require the PCAT so i didnt have the chance to review any of the material in the previously discussed courses. My options are:
1) Take the 5 year program and retake the chemistries in my first year along with some other prerequisites.

2) take the 4 lecture based chemistry courses this summer as a review and join the accelerated pharmD program this fall. But this leaves out the labs which im not sure how useful they are in pharmacy school.

Which do you think is the best option and what is your reasoning?

Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BC_89]

Hi,
I have been fortunate to get accepted into 4 pharmacy schools so far. My top choices are two schools. One school is an accelerated pharmD program the other is naturally a 0+6 program where im a transfer student in the second year(a total of 5 years). Im worried because it has been seven/eight years since i took my last chemistry course and I didnt do great on my chemistry courses back then. Here are my grades for chemistry

G chem1 B
G chem2 C
O chem1 A
O chem2 B

I applied specifically to schools that didnt require the PCAT so i didnt have the chance to review any of the material in the previously discussed courses. My options are:
1) Take the 5 year program and retake the chemistries in my first year along with some other prerequisites.

2) take the 4 lecture based chemistry courses this summer as a review and join the accelerated pharmD program this fall. But this leaves out the labs which im not sure how useful they are in pharmacy school.

Which do you think is the best option and what is your reasoning?

Thanks

2 things you look at: regional accreditation and cost. Go to the cheapest school. If your worried about failing you shouldn’t be applying. Audit a course and review on your own it’ll come back to you.

I don’t believe my answers need explained but if you wish I certainly can in detail. My only question however: why pharmacy?

 

[Crazy Slot]

2 things you look at: regional accreditation and cost. Go to the cheapest school. If your worried about failing you shouldn’t be applying. Audit a course and review on your own it’ll come back to you.

I don’t believe my answers need explained but if you wish I certainly can in detail. My only question however: why pharmacy?

Sure Id definitely benefit from a more detailed answer. Specially because Im worried that I might fail if I do the accelerated program. I dont want to discuss why pharmacy just yet as I dont want the topic of this thread to be diverted.

 

[BC_89]

Sure Id definitely benefit from a more detailed answer. Specially because Im worried that I might fail if I do the accelerated program. I dont want to discuss why pharmacy just yet as I dont want the topic of this thread to be diverted.

Reason for my question had to do with your familiarity of the career. You are going to face saturation and heavy debt. If you have worked in a pharmacy for a few years (most pre-pharmers have not....Unless its a sub-specialty program the word "shadowing" should not exist everyone is capable of getting certified as a tech and working as such) then you are familiar with the concept and thus fine-tuning your direction as a pharmacist should not be as big of a culture shock as anyone else. Majority of people have not done themselves justice by attending these programs without experience and later found out that they were burnt-out and the income to debt ratio has them burdened. For others, it works out fine...

You answered your own question with the worry of failing out due to many years since you brushed up on your science skills. If this is on your mind you need to determine if auditing general chem courses would help you enough in the expedited program. If you cannot or will not effectively review enough for such a program, you need to move forward with your other choice school(s) giving you that extra time to brush up on the basic tool-set needed to succeed. Of the accepted letters you have, it would behoove you not to enroll in the accelerated program but instead choose another school that is already regionally accredited with cheapest cost. Brand of school does not get you a job despite what others say.

Solely based on your information, this would be your best option. Just keep in mind, you will need to be willing to move in undesired locations away from family and come up with a contingency plan to offset your student debt. They exist and they are not fun when your hours get cut. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Crazy Slot]

Reason for my question had to do with your familiarity of the career. You are going to face saturation and heavy debt. If you have worked in a pharmacy for a few years (most pre-pharmers have not....Unless its a sub-specialty program the word "shadowing" should not exist everyone is capable of getting certified as a tech and working as such) then you are familiar with the concept and thus fine-tuning your direction as a pharmacist should not be as big of a culture shock as anyone else. Majority of people have not done themselves justice by attending these programs without experience and later found out that they were burnt-out and the income to debt ratio has them burdened. For others, it works out fine...

You answered your own question with the worry of failing out due to many years since you brushed up on your science skills. If this is on your mind you need to determine if auditing general chem courses would help you enough in the expedited program. If you cannot or will not effectively review enough for such a program, you need to move forward with your other choice school(s) giving you that extra time to brush up on the basic tool-set needed to succeed. Of the accepted letters you have, it would behoove you not to enroll in the accelerated program but instead choose another school that is already regionally accredited with cheapest cost. Brand of school does not get you a job despite what others say.

Solely based on your information, this would be your best option. Just keep in mind, you will need to be willing to move in undesired locations away from family and come up with a contingency plan to offset your student debt. They exist and they are not fun when your hours get cut. Good luck on your journey.

First, I want to thank you for your detailed response. Second, debt wise I will be funding my education and I wont be using loans (im one of the lucky few). I can certainly try to audit the chemistry courses over the summer and see how far i can go, the problem is that I dont know what pharmacy school is like and to what extent ill be using the chemistry courses(hence i was hoping to get more information regarding this here). As for the career saturation, is it that bad and is it bad for those planning to apply for residencies or fellowships after graduation. Also, what about pharmacists who are willing to travel outside of the us to work (ex:canada)again I appreciate the time you took to make the previous resposes

 

[BC_89]

First, I want to thank you for your detailed response. Second, debt wise I will be funding my education and I wont be using loans (im one of the lucky few). I can certainly try to audit the chemistry courses over the summer and see how far i can go, the problem is that I dont know what pharmacy school is like and to what extent ill be using the chemistry courses(hence i was hoping to get more information regarding this here). As for the career saturation, is it that bad and is it bad for those planning to apply for residencies or fellowships after graduation. Also, what about pharmacists who are willing to travel outside of the us to work (ex:canada)again I appreciate the time you took to make the previous resposes

Saturation is real both retail and residency: of all the health professions this one is notorious for it (second to accepting 2.7 GPA student that never worked in a pharmacy).

Biochemistry is a major study your first year: Henderson-hasselbak equation concerning pH levels and knowing your amino acids is a must. Physiology and biochem are excellent pre-reqs for the schooling since you’ll want to know mechanisms associated with drugs and the body (ie diuretic drugs and how they work in the kidney) and why certain drugs are administered specific ways (thus pH levels).

Do a light brush up on stoichiometry since conversions for math will be a must - know basis. Not much direct ochem but doing well in this is a strong indicator of how well you’ll do in memorization and coping mechanism skills.

 

[Crazy Slot]

Saturation is real both retail and residency: of all the health professions this one is notorious for it (second to accepting 2.7 GPA student that never worked in a pharmacy).

Biochemistry is a major study your first year: Henderson-hasselbak equation concerning pH levels and knowing your amino acids is a must. Physiology and biochem are excellent pre-reqs for the schooling since you’ll want to know mechanisms associated with drugs and the body (ie diuretic drugs and how they work in the kidney) and why certain drugs are administered specific ways (thus pH levels).

Do a light brush up on stoichiometry since conversions for math will be a must - know basis. Not much direct ochem but doing well in this is a strong indicator of how well you’ll do in memorization and coping mechanism skills.

I see , so if I decide to go to pharmacy school (which i may not due to saturation), it would be useful for me to audit the general chemistry sequence but not necessarily the ochem sequence. Also I should make sure I memorize my amino acids. Thank you so much

 

[BC_89]

I see , so if I decide to go to pharmacy school (which i may not due to saturation), it would be useful for me to audit the general chemistry sequence but not necessarily the ochem sequence. Also I should make sure I memorize my amino acids. Thank you so much

It’ll take a lot more than just amino acids (I just gave an example). You need to take a step back and think why pharmacy. You seem jaded from me telling you about saturation yet...this is not anything new.

Go after a hobby not the money. No money in pharmacy with everyone getting accepted. You said it yourself: been 7-8 years since you took a science course but still landed an acceptance....This should be your red flag.

 

[Crazy Slot]

It’ll take a lot more than just amino acids (I just gave an example). You need to take a step back and think why pharmacy. You seem jaded from me telling you about saturation yet...this is not anything new.

Go after a hobby not the money. No money in pharmacy with everyone getting accepted. You said it yourself: been 7-8 years since you took a science course but still landed an acceptance....This should be your red flag.

Its been 7 to 8 years since i took a chemistry course (my last science course so far was this semester) but i get your point

 

[deleted915763]

Dude do you really like not expect to do any chemistry, its pharmacy school....if you can't do well in general chemistry, how will you do well in pharmacy school? (I'm sure you will get into a school regardless though, because it is relatively easy). Learn your general chemistry, your ochem and some biochem

 

[chemphysicsinstructor]

Hi,
I have been fortunate to get accepted into 4 pharmacy schools so far. My top choices are two schools. One school is an accelerated pharmD program the other is naturally a 0+6 program where im a transfer student in the second year(a total of 5 years). Im worried because it has been seven/eight years since i took my last chemistry course and I didnt do great on my chemistry courses back then. Here are my grades for chemistry

G chem1 B
G chem2 C
O chem1 A
O chem2 B

I applied specifically to schools that didnt require the PCAT so i didnt have the chance to review any of the material in the previously discussed courses. My options are:
1) Take the 5 year program and retake the chemistries in my first year along with some other prerequisites.

2) take the 4 lecture based chemistry courses this summer as a review and join the accelerated pharmD program this fall. But this leaves out the labs which im not sure how useful they are in pharmacy school.

Which do you think is the best option and what is your reasoning?

Thanks

I am glad to hear that you are being proactive. That shows your maturity.

If you are worried about recalling concepts/topics/calculations from chemistry classes, please dedicate some time to reviewing the major topics. However, do not get bogged down in the details. Often, you will find summaries and outlines helpful.

Instead of taking a class for credit/grade, you could audit the class, or even sit-in on the class. Occasionally, when I teach, I have students asking to sit in on my lectures. I have never denied a student who has asked me. Of course, there are a plethora of resources available on the internet.

 

[dannnielleeee]

You're going to need to be familiar with organic chem, as it'll come up in biochem and it is the basis of medicinal chem. And most curriculums I've looked at have at least one medicinal/pharmaceutical chem course in the first year.

 

[chemphysicsinstructor]

You're going to need to be familiar with organic chem, as it'll come up in biochem and it is the basis of medicinal chem. And most curriculums I've looked at have at least one medicinal/pharmaceutical chem course in the first year.

...and there is the physical pharmacy course which strikes fear into the hearts of Pharm.D. students...

Not really, if they took the time to read the review chapters and ask the instructor or TA for guidance.

 

[Crazy Slot]

I am glad to hear that you are being proactive. That shows your maturity.

If you are worried about recalling concepts/topics/calculations from chemistry classes, please dedicate some time to reviewing the major topics. However, do not get bogged down in the details. Often, you will find summaries and outlines helpful.

Instead of taking a class for credit/grade, you could audit the class, or even sit-in on the class. Occasionally, when I teach, I have students asking to sit in on my lectures. I have never denied a student who has asked me. Of course, there are a plethora of resources available on the internet.

Do you think its wise to defer my acceptance for a year in order to audit these four courses if im not confident in my knowledge of them or can the material be reviewed in pharmacy school (ex: using khan academy to review the material that i dont understand as I go). also do you know how much math is required in pharmacy school, how much calculus is involved?

 

[Crazy Slot]

You're going to need to be familiar with organic chem, as it'll come up in biochem and it is the basis of medicinal chem. And most curriculums I've looked at have at least one medicinal/pharmaceutical chem course in the first year.

This is interesting because i was told before that i wont need much organic chemistry. I guess that if its a required course then you need to know it. no short cuts

 

[BC_89]

Do you think its wise to defer my acceptance for a year in order to audit these four courses if im not confident in my knowledge of them or can the material be reviewed in pharmacy school (ex: using khan academy to review the material that i dont understand as I go). also do you know how much math is required in pharmacy school, how much calculus is involved?

Unwise to audit a year just for those classes (you went to graduate school studying biology give yourself more credit).

Math is basic stoichiometry and coversions applied to drugs with an occasional weight base equation you may learn...NO calculus, NO physics, NO trigonometry.

 

[BC_89]

This is interesting because i was told before that i wont need much organic chemistry. I guess that if its a required course then you need to know it. no short cuts

Being “familiar” and “knowing” organic chemistry I can tell is getting in your head. OP, you need to give people a proper background: not only did you finish undergrad but you took biology courses at the graduate level...you cannot take advanced molecular or other bio courses without General chemistry yet you went above and beyond...so stop with the idea of deferring.

Majority of students go to pharmacy school WITHOUT a bachelors...you’ve done more than a bachelors and since you took biochemistry (organic being a precursor for it as you know) then you’ll be fine with a light review.

Your right...there are no short cuts...you took 2-3 more years of sciences than what admissions for pharmacy school requires. Audit or do light studying if it bothers you. Put more faith in yourself.

 

[chemphysicsinstructor]

Do you think its wise to defer my acceptance for a year in order to audit these four courses if im not confident in my knowledge of them or can the material be reviewed in pharmacy school (ex: using khan academy to review the material that i dont understand as I go). also do you know how much math is required in pharmacy school, how much calculus is involved?

No, I would not defer an acceptance a year. You can do the necessary reviewing in a month or two, but I would not do the reviewing concurrent with pharmacy school as that will take away the time needed to study. You will want to have a rudimentary knowledge of calculus since concepts of calculus are mentioned when discussing pharmacokinetics. You will want to be knowledgeable about first order chemical reactions and box models. Also, have a scientific calculator available as you may need to compute the natural logs of numbers.