A fork in the road. . .

[erin0522]

I agree that you should apply your 3rd year and if you don't make it, get your bachelor's. Personally, I think everyone should get their degree. I have matured and learned so much with the extra time and coursework.

Maybe while you're in college you should get a pharmacy technician job and gain some experience in the field. A lot of people who rush into it (in 2 or 3 years) without the experience end up hating it (usually if they go into retail or something) and then have to go back to school. A couple of pharmacists just at my store alone have done that.

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[THEbookworm]

I applied for college and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. The problem is, I don't know which way to go. The career that I want to pursue is Pharmacy. Here are my plans:

Option 1: Go to a university for 4 years and major in Biochemistry, then go on to pharmacy school for another 4 years. The good side is that I'll have a back up just in case I don't get in to Pharm. school. The bad side is that it takes a while.

Option 2: Go to the same university and do the Pre-pharm courses for 3 years, then go to Pharm school for 4 years. The good side is that it takes less time. The bad side is, if I don't get accepted to Pharm, then I'm kind of stuck career-wise.
So which would be a better option?

On a side note, the Pharmacy school I'm interested in is Idaho State. Does anyone know how much the tuition for the college of pharmacy is per year?

 

[xsc614]

Also, there is the option of 4 year BS + 3 yr PharmD at one of the schools that offer the accelerated program.

Same # of years as Option 2, AND you get the Bachelors Degree.

 

[Dave4468]

Option 2 is becoming increasingly more difficult to do as B.S. degrees are being required more and more. Personally, I would go with Option 1.

A lot happens in four years, and you might not want to go to Idaho down the road, or even do pharmacy. Also, when you have a B.S. degree and another year in which you can gain more experience and improve your application, it sets you up for being able to apply to more schools. With option 1, you have a better chance of building a better application, will be able to apply to more schools, and most importantly you will have a backup and will be able to keep your options open.

And college life > real world imo. why rush it? So you can pay bills right away?

 

[deleted329060]

i'm not seeing much difference between options 1 and 2.

why not go for #2, and if you don't make it, proceed with option #1, earn your biochem degree, and apply again?

it's not as if taking the #2 route prevents you from getting your biochem degree. in fact, nearly all pre-pharm req besides anatomy/physiology fulfills your BS

 

[Praziquantel86]

Take the one less travelled. That will make all the difference.

 

[Electrode]

Option 1: Go to a university for 4 years and major in Biochemistry, then go on to pharmacy school for another 4 years. The good side is that I'll have a back up just in case I don't get in to Pharm. school. The bad side is that it takes a while.

Option 2: Go to the same university and do the Pre-pharm courses for 3 years, then go to Pharm school for 4 years. The good side is that it takes less time. The bad side is, if I don't get accepted to Pharm, then I'm kind of stuck career-wise.
So which would be a better option?

If you really know what you're getting into, then take option 2 with option 1 as your insurance policy (almost like nexus14 mentioned).

On a side note, the Pharmacy school I'm interested in is Idaho State. Does anyone know how much the tuition for the college of pharmacy is per year?

http://www.isu.edu/finserv/costinfo.shtml

 

[MathDebate]

Take the one less travelled. That will make all the difference.

I'm not sure what you mean, but I think Robert Frost would approve.

 

[littleclb]

I'm somewhat nervous about my current options. As a junior in high school who's doing early admissions, my goal is to be able to apply to pharmacy school next year. When I decided to do this, I knew it would be hard, but I don't know if I should. I'll be going into graduate school without a B.S. and just turning 18. While I am mature for my age, I wonder if I should complete a B.S. and grow a little on my own.

Opinions?

 

[R2pharmD2]

I'm somewhat nervous about my current options. As a junior in high school who's doing early admissions, my goal is to be able to apply to pharmacy school next year. When I decided to do this, I knew it would be hard, but I don't know if I should. I'll be going into graduate school without a B.S. and just turning 18. While I am mature for my age, I wonder if I should complete a B.S. and grow a little on my own.

Opinions?

If you're 100% sure about pharmacy and you've got good grades/PCAT score, then getting your BS is probably a waste of time if you can get accepted without it. You're only 16-17 though, so I seriously doubt you have any amount of pharmacy experience. I don't understand how anyone without substantial first hand pharmacy experience can KNOW it's for them. I probably tell this to every single person I talk to who's considering pharmacy, but I can't stress it enough: please do yourself a favor and get a tech job if possible before committing to pharmacy.

That said, I don't see any problem with pursuing entry next year. I honestly don't understand why you're in such a rush to get through school, but to each their own. If you get rejected, continue working towards your degree and try again next year. If you get accepted, decide for yourself at that point if you're ready to make that commitment. It's hard for me to imagine sitting on an admissions committee and accepting an 17-18 year old applicant with only the bare minimum of pre-reqs and no pharmacy experience, regardless of stats, but some schools may feel differently.