Advice for My Brother...

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

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Hello fellow SDN'ers,

My brother's interest in pharmacy has recently been ignited. I need some advice to give him as to what his strategy should be for the next few years. He graduated last year w/ a degree in Marketing from a Cal State University. My questions are...

1) Should he return to the CSU and earn a minor in biology and fullfill the pre-reqs to pharmD schools at the same time or go without the minor and just satisfy the pre-reqs?

2) I've been reading some threads on here and I've read that the PCAT is not required for schools in California. Is it then required for all schools out-of-state? What are good out-of-state schools he should consider?

3) What are the standard EC's for applying to pharmD schools? pharmacology research? experience working in a pharmacy? community service? What makes an applicant competitive for admissions other than grades?

4) Given that he has work experience in marketing and business due to his degree, what kind of spin will he be able to put on his applications/interviews that will allow him to tie his business experiences into becoming a good pharmacist? Are there opportunities for management w/in the pharmacy profession?

Any other information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!!

--Joe Joe

 

[BMBiology]

I have a couple of questions: (1) what's your brother's overall GPA, (2) has he fullfiled any of the pre-reqs?

 

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

Originally posted by BMBiology
I have a couple of questions: (1) what's your brother's overall GPA, (2) has he fullfiled any of the pre-reqs?

(1) his overall GPA is near a 3.0. he does have an upward trend-his last 2 years was near a 3.3.

(2) he's fulfilled the humanities pre-reqs as part of his degree, but none of the science ones.

 

[TCB]

1) I would just go for my pre-requisites, unless he really wants to get in some public pharmacy schools in California. I am talking about schools UCSF, USC, or UCSD. University of Maryland also favor students with Bachelor degree but you can still get in without it if you have a great PCAT score and a good GPA, preferably above 3.0

2) Yes PCAT is required in most out of state schools except for some 3 years programs schools . As for some good out of state schools, I would consider Purdue University, that pharmacy school has an interesting program that most Pharmacy schools do not have : NUCLEAR PHARMACY. For nuclear pharmacy a strong background in physics will be a plus. Nuclear pharmacists actually make a lot more money compare to clinical or retail pharmacists. This is due to the fact some pharmacists do not want to get into that field because they are afraid of radioactive materials, which can cause certain cancer or other related health problems. However, I wouldn't even worry about that because they will teach you safety. With a PharmD you can still be a nuclear Pharmacist, you will just have to get a Certification in Nuclear pharmacy. However, Nuclear pharmacists don't have this one to one contact with patients, they deal with hospitals or with pharmaceutical industries. You also have school like University of Texas, UF, University of Maryland , University of Michigan which are competetive.

3) I would say great PCAT score, great Maths+ science overall GPA, for schools like University of Maryland who do not really care about letters of recommendation, community service or what have you. For other schools, a very good personal statement is important, some experience in pharmacy preferably, a Bachelor degree will make you stand out, community services etc.......

4) Of course, thanks to your brother's business background once he gets out of pharmacy school, he can work as a pharmacist in financial Industry, for example wall street: there he can be an analyst specializing in drug companies or he can trade healthcare stocks to make money for his clients; he would be specializing in drugs and medical devices companies. He can even be a manager for a pharmaceutical company's public policy research program or a director of a pharmacy if that is what turns him on.

 

[riskhk]

I got lucky in Maryland. Have a high PCAT and your in. I had a 3.0 GPA but a 90% + on PCAT

 

[LVPharm]

Originally posted by TCB
...This is due to the fact some pharmacists do not want to get into that field because they are afraid of radioactive materials, which can cause certain cancer or other related health problems. However, I wouldn't even worry about that because they will teach you safety. With a PharmD you can still be a nuclear Pharmacist, you will just have to get a Certification in Nuclear pharmacy. However, Nuclear pharmacists don't have this one to one contact with patients, they deal with hospitals or with pharmaceutical industries.

...they also have "sucky" hours, from what I hear. I think they have to work day shifts and "early morning shifts (12 or 1AM to 7 or 8AM), and rotate between those two schedules at some interval...but I know quite a few people who wouldn't mind it any. BTW, I was told that some nuclear pharmacy companies (Amersham, etc) will pay for your training and certification.

I'll probably NOT pursue Nuclear Pharmacy. I know that if you follow standard operating procedures, it's probably a very safe occupation...but I have an irrational fear of "glow-in-the-dark 'nads"

 

[LVPharm]

Joe Joe:

I'll tackle some of your questions (in no particular order 😉 ):

Your brother should just go ahead and finish his prereqs. He's already got a baccalaureate degree.

I know it's not required, and he'd probably be fine without it, but work experience in the pharmacy can only help. It'll help him find out for sure if this is the career he really wants (since it sounds like he's been "toying" with the idea, it seems to me that he's got to "really" find out...pharm school will be a large commitment of time, effort, and money). It can only help him in writing his personal statements and the interview process by showing that he has committed himself to the profession and that he knows what he's about to put himself through. He should try to, at least, shadow pharmacists in the retail and hospital practice.

Not all out-of-state schools require the PCAT. Somebody on this forum should be able to help you out with "rankings" of good out of state schools...

 

[26339]

Well, you should tell your brother that he should take atleast the pre reqs for science, i.e. general bio, general chem, organic chem, general physics (mechanics/dynamics, electromagnetic), and microbiology. Then, i'd highly recommend taking some more advanced bio classes. He could do all of this in one semester: general biochem for lifesciences majors, anatomy I, physiology I, and if he's up for it (which would be really pushing it), statistics.

I've known this guy that did all his pre-reqs, he worked as a pharm tech for a couple years too, got into UoP, and basically flunked out of his first semester. He's on academic probation for the year right now. Anyhow, it would make sense to gauge his ability to handle some of the rigors of pharm school.

 

[Joe Joe on da Radio]

Thanks for the replies everyone. You've helped a lot!