Undergrad major?

[Ivana Snoday]

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I’m a high school senior who felt pretty confident about my career plans until I started following the SDN Pharmacy thread. Have to say I’m worried about graduating $100K+ in debt with no job prospects. For about 2 minutes I considered changing my career choice, but honestly, nothing else interests me, so I’m sticking with my plan. What I would like to know is what undergrad degree did you pursue on your way to being admitted to pharmacy school? Most of the schools I’m comparing say that any Bachelor degree is OK so long as the pre-reqs are met. What worked for you?

 

[RobertRodrig1]

Most people do a BIOL degree. I completed a Chemistry degree and really enjoyed it. It depends on your interest though. In reality, most people do either a BIO degree with a CHEM minor or a CHEM major with a BIOL minor. It's up to you. Make sure to take some interesting classes outside of your major to keep yourself diverse and to provide a little escape now and then. I recently took a philosophy class and it was a breath of fresh air.

 

[Kirbypuff]

Pick the major that interests you the most so you can have good grades. Grades are more important than whatever your major is. But if you pick a major unrelated to healthcare, prepare something smart to say for the interview.

 

[Quiksilver]

Pick the major that interests you the most so you can have good grades. Grades are more important than whatever your major is. But if you pick a major unrelated to healthcare, prepare something smart to say for the interview.

um and the fact that you have to take pre-reqs too...

i did biochem as my BS degree.

 

[Kirbypuff]

um and the fact that you have to take pre-reqs too...

i did biochem as my BS degree.

If you pick English, Spanish, Sociology, whatever easy, as your major, your electives can be pre-reqs. That's how the pre-meds do it. And French has been on top of the list of majors of students who have successfully entered med school. Whatever helps you ace your pre-reqs is the smartest decision to make.

 

[RobertRodrig1]

Pick the major that interests you the most so you can have good grades. Grades are more important than whatever your major is. But if you pick a major unrelated to healthcare, prepare something smart to say for the interview.

Your major is important. Grades are just a component of your college career. Research, community service, clubs, leadership activities, and your resume is what will get you into pharmacy school. Many people just focus on one dimension like grades or PCAT and you really have to be multidimensional.

 

[type b pharmD]

Stick with pharmacy. It's a good profession that's only going to get better as new advancements in drug therapy require more knowledge and health care reform puts pressure on costs.

Dont get a degree though. I'd recommend, at this young age, just go to a community college for a few years, save yourself 10 or 15 grand, and use that money to apply to more schools. I did most of my coursework at a technical college, and I got in to the only school i applied to (out of state public school via early decision).

Other than that, if you are dead set on going to a 4 year college from the beginning, major in what interests you the most. Sciences are more convenient due to the fact that they will fulfill requirements for pharmacy school within the degree requirements. However, if you do something you're more interested in, it could result in a higher GPA. It's hard to say that a school prefers a certain type of degree.. considering that the majority of schools don't require a bachelor's degree.

 

[Quiksilver]

If you pick English, Spanish, Sociology, whatever easy, as your major, your electives can be pre-reqs. That's how the pre-meds do it. And French has been on top of the list of majors of students who have successfully entered med school. Whatever helps you ace your pre-reqs is the smartest decision to make.

if I was an interviewer, I would not even consider you if you didn't pursue a science degree. If you That shows that you like to cut corners. Go to school, get a real degree.

 

[inquirer89]

if I was an interviewer, I would not even consider you if you didn't pursue a science degree. If you That shows that you like to cut corners. Go to school, get a real degree.

The thing is, the AdComs don't want to accept 100% science degrees. They look at the liberal arts degrees to round the class out. So maybe having a minor in a science would be the best of both sides (a pharmacist who is a philosopher and a chemist...would rule the world 😉)

 

[medicalCPA]

if I was an interviewer, I would not even consider you if you didn't pursue a science degree. If you That shows that you like to cut corners. Go to school, get a real degree.

Oh, really? I would be more impressed with a liberal arts major who manages to shine in the prereqs, because it shows that such a person is able to master differing kinds of knowledge, a skill that would serve one well in any career.

 

[Quiksilver]

I went to a liberal arts college. I have used none of it. Except on a trip overseas. A liberal arts degree is bs. I would be magna cum laude if you only consider My liberal arts education. It padded a gpa

 

[Praziquantel86]

if I was an interviewer, I would not even consider you if you didn't pursue a science degree. If you That shows that you like to cut corners. Go to school, get a real degree.

That's a real myopic view of the world. Finishing up prerequisites while pursuing another degree is admirable. Sure, the liberal arts classes may not have direct application to pharmacy, but it shows that you have outside passions and interests. Claiming that they're just GPA padding is just wrong, considering that PharmCAS computes a separate science/math GPA.

If someone enjoys linguistics or Meso-American history as well as pharmacy, who are you to say that they can't have both? As long as all the prerequisites are done, you can't.

 

[Kirbypuff]

That's a real myopic view of the world. Finishing up prerequisites while pursuing another degree is admirable. Sure, the liberal arts classes may not have direct application to pharmacy, but it shows that you have outside passions and interests. Claiming that they're just GPA padding is just wrong, considering that PharmCAS computes a separate science/math GPA.

If someone enjoys linguistics or Meso-American history as well as pharmacy, who are you to say that they can't have both? As long as all the prerequisites are done, you can't.

Myopic is the perfect word! I agree with you and medicalcpa.

 

[Quiksilver]

That's a real myopic view of the world. Finishing up prerequisites while pursuing another degree is admirable. Sure, the liberal arts classes may not have direct application to pharmacy, but it shows that you have outside passions and interests. Claiming that they're just GPA padding is just wrong, considering that PharmCAS computes a separate science/math GPA.

If someone enjoys linguistics or Meso-American history as well as pharmacy, who are you to say that they can't have both? As long as all the prerequisites are done, you can't.

passions and interests? really? lets all sit around a camp fire and sing songs because the world is so naive like that. If it was about passions and interests my classes would involve video games and hockey. Not a class on Pagans and Christians, the Romantic era, or Shakespeare. I don't know if i could find a soul that actually liked a class in undergrad. In fact, the ones i thought i'd enjoy i ended up hating.

I own a minor in classics and the only thing that its done for me is getting people to ask why a science major ever had a minor in classics. Big deal.

Not to mention that if you don't get into school you are stuck with a ****ty degree that won't get you jack **** for all the money you put into that. You mine as well get used to waiting on tables. That french degree is really helping rack in the tips.

It isn't wrong to say its GPA padding because it does show up on the transcript. and hell that 3.0 science gpa looks fantastic with a 3.7 non science right? I still would think twice before admitting them into my school. Why take a non traditional route and give them something to think about. Can't handle the rigors of a science major? Its all about obtaining the minimum? Pharmacy school is a lot of work and thank god i was a science major, because it certainly prepared me for the onslaught of work i do in pharmacy school. A political science major would be buried.

 

[pharmacygopher]

You don't have to be bio, chem, or biochem, but it makes it easier since that fulfills the prereqs. I wasn't interested in straight bio or chem. My undergrad was in kinesiology (emphasis in exercise physiology). It was more work because there was only partial overlap of prerequs with courses I had to take. I loved my undergrad time. I also have a solid physiology background now, which will help early in pharm school.