Actual average age of pharmacy students?

[woodcrest]

What is the average age of most pharmacy students? Or better yet what is the average age of most students in their first year of pharmacy school? And what is the oldest age anyone has heard of a person entering pharmacy school?

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[rxlynn]

What is the average age of most pharmacy students? Or better yet what is the average age of most students in their first year of pharmacy school? And what is the oldest age anyone has heard of a person entering pharmacy school?

Oldest in my class this year is 48, I think the class before mine it was 52.

 

[ndearwater]

Two schools where I interviewed last year said the average age was 24.
The youngest in my class is 20 (about 4-5 people). The oldest has a 22 year old daughter, not sure the student's exact age but you can imagine 45ish.
Most of the people in my class (p1) seem to be between 22-25.

 

[cdpiano27]

Well, I am a little older than most people mid-twenties, but a lot of int'l students in my PhD program are 30-35.

You are lucky, that you do not have that much competition for pharmacists from all over the world for the retail positions, since most students from other countries cannot go to pharmacy school even if they wanted to since they cannot get federal loans, and private loans have too much interest.
If they could get federal loans, you would have a much larger, more competitive application pool than it is now.


So, among U.S. students, I think that my age seems old, but among the int'l students they say that I am young.

But time does go by very quickly!

Just keep everything in perspective and if you go to a research-based pharmacy school start getting involved in research and talking to the PhD's especially those that studied pharmacy in another country such as China or India. You will see how smart these people are and their bachelors of pharmacy which is their undergrad is your PharmD in the United States.

So, I think the schools in other parts of the world are more rigorous and demanding than most of the schools here.

I still think pharmacy schools should force students to perform research during the summers between P1, P2, and P3. This will make for a more clinically prepared pharmacist.

Sorry, this is a little off topic!

 

[duskandlight]

Im going to be starting pharmacy school this year. im 18

 

[rx27563]

nice

 

[Pharm47]

umm pharmacy school @ 18? wtf..... where? u posted a couple days ago that u havent even filled out pharmcas....any pre-req. work?

Starting a 6-year program at 18 maybe. It doesn't count as professional education until after 3 years. So call him 21.

 

[KARM12]

Our oldest was like 56-57...but the average age when we started was 23.

 

[genesis09]

I believe they said the average age was 24/25. The oldest student was in her upper 40s.

 

[aboveliquidice]

Im going to be starting pharmacy school this year. im 18

My son... I think you are confused. In all seriousness - it matters not the age in which you attend. If you are young - thats awesome. Being focused at a young age gets you to your goals fast. If you find what you are looking for at a later age - congrats, some people spend their entire lives never finding their calling. Dont sweat the small things - if you want something go get it - regardless if you are 18 or 52...

That is my motivational plug for the day

~above~

 

[ethyl]

Youngest in my class is 20. The average I think is 23 or 24.

 

[ZpackSux]

Average in my class was 22..youngest was 19. Oldest was a guy in 50's..

I was 24.. one of the older students.

 

[DHG]

Hmm... by far the majority is younger (mid 20's) but there are quite a few in the 28-38 age group as well in my class. I can think of about 20 people in my class off the top of my head that are 30-ish, and I know there are more than that... One lady is in her 50's. I'm 30. PY1.


So... just guessing, but maybe about 15-20% of the class older than 28 (or thereabouts). Most of those falling in the 30's, with a few (2-3) in 40's and 50's.

 

[blueclassring]

here at midwestern-cpg the average is 28

 

[starsweet]

Most people at UGA are in their 20s. Not too many older people here. I know 3 that are over 30 but there may be more.

 

[RAMPA]

Im only 18 and I will be applying to pharmacy school for the upcoming year (sept. 07) at which time I would have turned 19. I am fairly young even in my pre-requisite couses, many people are older than me. Stupid people wasting years of their lives I suppose....

now that was a STUPID comment.
let the flaming begin..........

 

[gjb19]

now that was a STUPID comment.
let the flaming begin..........

Rampa, I couldn't agree more. Such an idiotic comment, now I truely believe you are 18 by such immature posts.


Flame on.

 

[Thriving]

Im only 18 and I will be applying to pharmacy school for the upcoming year (sept. 07) at which time I would have turned 19. I am fairly young even in my pre-requisite couses, many people are older than me. Stupid people wasting years of their lives I suppose....

Besides this being one of the most immature comments a person could make, I am most appalled and sorry for your future patients. Is this the attitude you will have towards your less-fortunate-than-you patients?? You have no idea what has gone on, or is going on in other people's lives that have led them to where they are. Being so judgemental is a detriment to what you can offer people.

I can only hope that after 6 more years of schooling and life experiences you will have grown up sufficiently to be worthy to be a part of such an incredible profession.

 

[gjb19]

He deserves a ban in my opinion.

 

[cdpiano27]

How is anyone wasting time? Many of my int'l friends have PhD's and postdocs in fields where they cannot get the job that they would like to have (meaning no academic position or industrial job) Did they waste time? Absolutely not. Some of my friends have PhD's in chemistry and one person published around 100 papers. It was just that physical chemistry does not have openings. But this particular person did contribute a lot to the scientific field and knows physical chemistry more in depth than probably 99.9% of the people in this forum.

But why did they do this? They had a passion for science and to discover facets in the field that had not been explored before.

I do not understand this comment, about wasting time, and it is rather silly anyway.

 

[rxforlife2004]

Im only 18 and I will be applying to pharmacy school for the upcoming year (sept. 07) at which time I would have turned 19. I am fairly young even in my pre-requisite couses, many people are older than me. Stupid people wasting years of their lives I suppose....

who cares if you're 18 or 19...don't think you're that smart. I have seen a lot of younger and smarter kids out there. One of my classmate was 19 yr old and he'll be 22 next year with a Pharm.D degree. However, he's very mature and respectful to other people. ALso, I used to take organic chemistry with a boy (literally) and he was only 15 yrs old. And he was always at top of the class. So yeah, that's hardcore.

 

[foroneaudience]

I start pharmacy school next fall and I'm 21

 

[Requiem]

I started pharmacy school at 18, university at 17.

I'll be 22 when I graduate.

Unit18, what the hell were you doing for those wasted years? jeez!

One thing i'll point out is that it's been a great experience to be around an older group - especially those with degrees who are ~22/23 now. So if you're concerned about your age at least you'll have a positive effect on those younger than you.

 

[twester]

Im only 18 and I will be applying to pharmacy school for the upcoming year (sept. 07) at which time I would have turned 19. I am fairly young even in my pre-requisite couses, many people are older than me. Stupid people wasting years of their lives I suppose....

The world is going to spank you hard.

 

[OkiePharmD]

I'm 33 and hope to get in this next fall. I was wasting my life starting a family and having 4 beautiful, wonderful children.
Ill be 34...I can still easily work 20 + years and still retire young enough to do a lot of playing.

 

[senzabee]

wow

 

[twester]

****ing homo's

That's MISTER ****ing Homo to you, kid.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Most at WVU were 20 or 21. I was 20.

 

[sdn1977]

you know what is really pathetic??? Is that you fags actually got soo worked up about what I had to say, AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH. ****ing homo's

unit....I really don't think anyone here was worked up over your comments. Perhaps they were offended, but you intended that I think.

Now that you've done so, you can move on, finish high school and hope to enter pharmacy school. You'll have done it your way, which for you will be the very best. Great.

However, along the way, you'll either have to learn to get along or you'll be forever digging your way out from the repercussions of how you choose to express your success or your resentments. I can promise you folks who have hiring/firing power like Zpak or the many pharmacists on here like me who will be your preceptors won't stand for those kinds of comments. You'll be given one chance to clean it up - consider this your opportunity to practice that.

We don't really care what age you enter.....nor what age you finish. The poster was just asking for curiousity sake. However, remember....you will be working with physicians and dentists who will have put in at least 7 if not 17 years of graduate work. It gains you nothing to diminish the accomplishments of others who are proud of what they've done & the way they have done it.

So...good job - you've made your point. But...remember your attitude, when it comes to actually working in a pharmacy reflects on not just yourself, but the profession as a whole. Are those comments what you want people to judge you on?

I wish you all the best!

 

[gjb19]

unit....I really don't think anyone here was worked up over your comments. Perhaps they were offended, but you intended that I think.

Now that you've done so, you can move on, finish high school and hope to enter pharmacy school. You'll have done it your way, which for you will be the very best. Great.

However, along the way, you'll either have to learn to get along or you'll be forever digging your way out from the repercussions of how you choose to express your success or your resentments. I can promise you folks who have hiring/firing power like Zpak or the many pharmacists on here like me who will be your preceptors won't stand for those kinds of comments. You'll be given one chance to clean it up - consider this your opportunity to practice that.

We don't really care what age you enter.....nor what age you finish. The poster was just asking for curiousity sake. However, remember....you will be working with physicians and dentists who will have put in at least 7 if not 17 years of graduate work. It gains you nothing to diminish the accomplishments of others who are proud of what they've done & the way they have done it.

So...good job - you've made your point. But...remember your attitude, when it comes to actually working in a pharmacy reflects on not just yourself, but the profession as a whole. Are those comments what you want people to judge you on?

I wish you all the best!

Well said.

 

[lord999]

I too was an 18 year old when I started, and finished at 21 at MWU-CPG. So did a set of twins the year after me. One problem, I had to start working YEARS earlier than some of my more mature colleagues . I agree, age really doesn't matter. It's just a question of when the right time for someone is.

As for OkiePharmD, best of luck, and I shudder to think what sort of sleep schedule you're going to have for the next 4 years. The time sacrifices involved are something that I'm glad I never had to make.

BTW, as one of the submods, I have reported unit18's comments for editing/removing....Don't use that sort of epithet. You'd be surprised at how many within the health professions would take grevious offense with that. I can name two of my professors, my preceptor, and and my colleague for starters.

Also, as others have mentioned, this is a small world. You'd be VERY surprised at who you end up meeting in real life in this profession, unit18. I sincerely hope that I never have to make a decision regarding you in the future.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Im only 18 and I will be applying to pharmacy school for the upcoming year (sept. 07) at which time I would have turned 19. I am fairly young even in my pre-requisite couses, many people are older than me. Stupid people wasting years of their lives I suppose....

Then you have people like my wife who graduated high school at 17, had Ivy League schools beating down her door begging her to go to one of them, got into pharm school a few days after 19, will graduate at 22, and simultaneously thinks she is an idiot who doesn't measure up to standard. Of course she is wrong. She frightens me sometimes with just how damn smart she is. I do her bragging for her. If you really, really need to brag about yourself to compensate for whatever it is you need to compensate for, at least do it with a shred of humility. Maybe people will like you and won't hope that you get ran over by a John Deere tractor.

 

[starsweet]

It's people like unit18 that make me wish pharmacy schools required a BS just to apply. People with that kind of immaturity shouldn't be in pharmacy school!

I graduated high school at 17... not a big deal.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I graduated high school at 17... not a big deal.

It really isn't. I was, like, a week from only being 17. If you are born between May 20-August 20 you graduate at 17 under normal circumstances.

 

[skeksis]

It's people like unit18 that make me wish pharmacy schools required a BS just to apply. People with that kind of immaturity shouldn't be in pharmacy school!

I'm not sure that ownership of a BS degree has a good correlation with maturity. I could count all the immature BS degree holders I know on one hand, but only if said hand had a thousand fingers.

Regards,

An old immature BS - lackin' P1

 

[starsweet]

It really isn't. I was, like, a week from only being 17. If you are born between May 20-August 20 you graduate at 17 under normal circumstances.

Hmmm... there were a few people at my school who were also 17. I guess we were definitely in the minority though.

 

[starsweet]

I'm not sure that ownership of a BS degree has a good correlation with maturity. I could count all the immature BS degree holders I know on one hand, but only if said hand had a thousand fingers.

Regards,

An old immature BS - lackin' P1

I guess it wouldn't always directly correlate with maturity (there are always exceptions ), but there is a certain level of perseverance and work ethic that is more likely to be in people with a BS, because they have worked towards the attainment of a degree. Honestly, I remember myself at 19 when I was a junior in undergrad and I know myself now, and I feel a lot more prepared mentally because of the experience of having a degree.

 

[cdpiano27]

After someone has completed a graduate program or professional program already and does another one, than in it does not seem that rigorous unless the program is insanely difficult. There is a transition from undergrad to grad/professional which I cannot explain. But it will take everyone a semester to get settled in.

 

[skeksis]

I guess it wouldn't always directly correlate with maturity (there are always exceptions ), but there is a certain level of perseverance and work ethic that is more likely to be in people with a BS, because they have worked towards the attainment of a degree. Honestly, I remember myself at 19 when I was a junior in undergrad and I know myself now, and I feel a lot more prepared mentally because of the experience of having a degree.

I agree with your assessment concerning perseverence and ethics associated with the attainment of a BS degree, but remember that the same applies (and probably with even better correlation) with age and life experience as well. It just seems that the extraordinarily rude post came from someone who is lacking on all counts at this point.

 

[starsweet]

This is very true.

 

[museabuse]

I'll be graduating in June this year. The average age of my class when we started was 28 so I guess that means it is 30 now... The youngest will be 21 when they graduate(I am jealous), and the oldest is somewhere in their 50's.

 

[duskandlight]

People are right, Its not the age that matters, I just have had my life planned out for years growing up in a really bad family. I wanted to go above that and prove myself. I plan on doing the 6 year program but so what. I plan on taking most of those classes and applying to get a bs in chem or somthing. I want more than one degree, I have my C++ certification for computers and I have a few awards for science stuff but I want to diversify. Get a degree as my final perfect job as a pharmacist, have a pysc degree, end up earning diff stuff, so i dont spend my life doing one thing. I dont plan on being in a regular pharmacy, im going to work in a lab and make them or at least try to bring new idea's in the labortory. Like ways to cure cancer, maybe even a reasercher. I have that plan. or make a program that would expand the reaserch in a more simpler way. I already did a year long project on a theory to cure aids. I was in the top ten of all the competitors.

its not that I live to gain money, I live to help. at least give people a chance.

 

[cy19861126]

I'll be graduating in June this year. The average age of my class when we started was 28 so I guess that means it is 30 now... The youngest will be 21 when they graduate(I am jealous), and the oldest is somewhere in their 50's.

Well, I'll be 20 when I get in next year, and will be 23 (accelerated program) when I graduate. Should I hold and get a bachelor's first? My friends are telling me that I should slow down since no one will hire me after I graduate because of the age.

 

[terse]

Well, I'll be 20 when I get in next year, and will be 23 (accelerated program) when I graduate. Should I hold and get a bachelor's first? My friends are telling me that I should slow down since no one will hire me after I graduate because of the age.

That's not true. Employers can not discriminate based on age.

 

[genesis09]

Well, I'll be 20 when I get in next year, and will be 23 (accelerated program) when I graduate. Should I hold and get a bachelor's first? My friends are telling me that I should slow down since no one will hire me after I graduate because of the age.

The biggest qualification to work at a retail pharmacy is do you have a degree, and can you get a license.
I'll be 23 when I graduate, and I know I'll have no problems finding a job.

 

[killer4605]

First year at UGA.. I'm 19.

This is definitely a better experience than my undergrad. No regrets on not getting a BS first.. one of my buddies has had extensive courses in biochem, microbio, etc and he still has to study as much as anyone else (although he does recognize the material quicker we pretty much average the same grades).

 

[DoomMan]

Im sensing a loss of focus in some people. Just because you get in at 18 or whichever young age means nothing. Your not going into this profession to boost egos and prove your "the best". There will always be someone better. You should be entering pharmacy with the mindset that you are going to learn and gain knowledge so you can practice the field effectively and accurately with all the knowledge you have personally gained. I'm 20 and still have about 2-3 years until i get my bachelors. But I have no loans, car paid fully, and don't owe a penny to anyone. Im ready for some graduate school debt!

 

[RxQueen12]

Sometimes I wish I would have known I wanted to get into pharmacy when I graduated high school, but most times I am happy I figured it out later on because now I've had enough time to find what I really wanted to do. So many people go into a certain career choice right out of high school and end up being miserable, or not finding any work. It may sound good at the time, but you really learn a lot in the few years after you graduate after you're not depending on your parents anymore (at least in my case). I don't feel like I've wasted any time because I have learned a lot and I don't think anyone should feel ashamed for being older than others starting in any program. I just feel that being older means you've had more life experiences and there is nothing wrong with that.

I'm 22 btw and I'm still working on my Bachelor's Degree. I will probably start Pharmacy School at 24.

 

[crazybob]

the oldest person to ever start pharmacy at my school was 61 and she graduated at 65. but that was many years ago.

more than half of my class is 21-25

 

[Passion4Sci]

Had I known my love for science and pharmacology would be so strong when I was at Stanford or UCD and could've changed my majors, I would've ostensibly been in Pharmacy school @ 22/23, since the chances are I would not have joined the Army.

I think I would've missed out on a lot of valuable life experience had I not been in the Army and gotten to grow as a leader. There is no better pressure cooker in which to hone fast-thinking and leadership skills than the desert.

That said, age is a horrible thing to go off of. Who doesn't know a 30-something that still lives with mom 'n' dad and is a complete, immature jerkface? (My brother in law). By the same token, some of the finest, most upstanding and courageous soldiers I had under my supervision in theater were 18- and 19 year-olds.