Anyone a Pharamcist or in Pharmacy school. I need help!

[elizabeth7394]

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I am just starting college and went to my orientation and got my classes and my counselor said that pharmacy is VERY competitive and only few get into pharmacy school and you have to know your chemistry. It sort of scared me away from pharmacy. Is it really like that??? I am terrible on tests and HATE chemistry and biology. what all do pharamcists do and is it really worth the battle through school? I dont even think the classes I have has anything to do with associate of science,which is apparently what i need, I have political science, math, sociology and english. I am clueless on what i need to do. what are the steps you took to become a pharmacist?

 

[mustang sally]

I am just starting college and went to my orientation and got my classes and my counselor said that pharmacy is VERY competitive and only few get into pharmacy school and you have to know your chemistry. It sort of scared me away from pharmacy. Is it really like that??? I am terrible on tests and HATE chemistry and biology. what all do pharamcists do and is it really worth the battle through school? I dont even think the classes I have has anything to do with associate of science,which is apparently what i need, I have political science, math, sociology and english. I am clueless on what i need to do. what are the steps you took to become a pharmacist?

Not a pharmacist or in pharmacy school yet (starting this fall), but I just wanted to say don't let one counselor or anyone else scare you away from something you want to do. I had some less than stellar counselors in undergrad who tried to stomp on my self-confidence in much the same way.
Yes, pharmacy school is more competetive then it used to be in the past, but it is still possible to get in, if that's really what you want to do.

 

[fiorio]

HATE chemistry and biology???????????

those two subjects are what you need to deal with for the rest of your life if you wanna be a pharmacist.
reconsider your career path.

 

[monsterbrain]

HATE chemistry and biology???????????

those two subjects are what you need to deal with for the rest of your life if you wanna be a pharmacist.
reconsider your career path.

Ditto. I just got my books last week and that is ALL that is in them. But I love biology and sorta like chemistry.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Not a pharmacist or in pharmacy school yet

After reading the title to the thread this response is priceless!!!!

 

[Lurkerkat]

I am just starting college and went to my orientation and got my classes and my counselor said that pharmacy is VERY competitive and only few get into pharmacy school and you have to know your chemistry. It sort of scared me away from pharmacy. Is it really like that??? I am terrible on tests and HATE chemistry and biology. what all do pharamcists do and is it really worth the battle through school? I dont even think the classes I have has anything to do with associate of science,which is apparently what i need, I have political science, math, sociology and english. I am clueless on what i need to do. what are the steps you took to become a pharmacist?

First, if you hate chemistry and biology, pharmacy is probably not for you. You have at least six years of biology and chemistry education ahead of you and then after that a career based on the two subjects you hate.

Second you don't need an associates degree in science for pharmacy school. Each PharmD program has it's own set of pre-requisites that you have to complete before applying. These pre-reqs can be found on each school's website. Figure out what schools you might want to apply, figure out what they want, and take those classes.

 

[mike36]

Like others have said, if you don't like biology or chemistry, you probably won't like pharmacy. It is four years of almost all biology and chemistry classes.

 

[RxWildcat]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=198059

That is the link to the pre-pharm FAQ, it even has a section about how to decide if pharmacy is for you.

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

Your counselor is just messing with you...it is easy as pie

 

[MountainPharmD]

I want to be a car mechanic.....I don't like cars or dirt or oil and I am not good with hand tools.....but I still really want to do it.....Is this right for me?

 

[McZyprexalynn]

Yes, pharmacy schools are competitive. You have to have good grades in your science and math classes if you want a chance. Is your counselor from the pharmacy department? You need to talk to someone in that department to find out what courses you should be taking.

I'll be in the minority here and say that I really didn't care much for Chemistry or Biology in high school. It's the reason why Pharmacy never crossed my mind in high school. When I decided to go back to school, the first year was my trial year. I figured if I couldn't hack Gen Chem, I'd find something else to do. I realized that I actually do like Chemistry and Biology, I just had crappy teachers in high school. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of hard work, and I still feel a little lost by chemistry sometimes, but it did come together for me. So I don't think adoring Chemistry and Biology is a requirement, but I would sign up for Gen Chem (either this semester if you can still get in or next) and see how it goes. If you still hate it, find another major. It's not going to get any better.

Why are you thinking about pharmacy school? If you haven't done so already, try to find a pharmacy that will let you shadow for a while or apply for a tech job and see how you like that. Don't rush into making a decision about your major/career at this point. I really wish I had explored my options more when I first went to college, because I'm now in college for the 2nd time.

 

[twester]

If you do terrible on tests, pharmacy school is probably not for you either. It's six years of tests, most in subjects that deal with biology and chemistry. Your counselor gave you some good things to thing about.

 

[rxlynn]

The classes you list would be useful as prereqs for almost any, if not all colleges of pharmacy. However, as the other posters point out, most of the other prereqs will be much more difficult than what you are taking (about to take). I think pretty much everybody will have to have a year of bio, a year of gen chem, a year of organic chem, and many schools will also require at least one semester of physics and maybe A/P, as well as some calculus. So, my suggestion would be to try bio I and chem I (w/labs) and see if you really do hate it, or if you just have had a bad experience so far. If you hate that and/or can't do well taking both of those freshman level classes at the same time, then I think pharmacy might be a very tough road for you to follow. It only gets more difficult after the general classes.

 

[SCCpharm]

I am just starting college and went to my orientation and got my classes and my counselor said that pharmacy is VERY competitive and only few get into pharmacy school and you have to know your chemistry. It sort of scared me away from pharmacy. Is it really like that??? I am terrible on tests and HATE chemistry and biology. what all do pharamcists do and is it really worth the battle through school? I dont even think the classes I have has anything to do with associate of science,which is apparently what i need, I have political science, math, sociology and english. I am clueless on what i need to do. what are the steps you took to become a pharmacist?

Some councelors are good, while some are bad. I think you may not fully understand what it requires to get into pharmacy school.

Pharmacy is competitive, but not impossible. (It's not competitive if you have a 4.0 gpa lol).

The minimum requirement to apply to pharmacy school is 2 years of coursework. For most schools, they require 2 years of chemistry (general & organic) and 2 years of biology (general, micro, human anatomy & physiology), along with your basic english, math, and elective classes.

An associates degree in science is NOT required. However, for most students, it makes sense to get it because your pre-pharmacy classes will correspond to fulfilling the classes needed for the associates degree.

It is completely your responsibility to look up the schools you want to apply to, make a schedule of your classes, and make sure you are meeting all the needed requirements.


Some tips from me:

-Pick "Easy A" electives. My biggest mistake was having my councelor pick "World Geography" for me as my freshman elective. I received a D in the class. Picking up classes like, "Intro to Jazz" and "Women & Film" usually satisfy your elective requirements just the same and they also boost up your GPA.

-Go for the associates degree, apply to pharmacy school, and if you do not get in, start working towards a bachelor's degree (2 more years of coursework).

-Take the PCAT early

-Get a good GPA early; the longer you are in school, the harder it is to fix a bad GPA.

 

[jtwcamel]

I dont think I necessarily hated biology and chemistry but I did hate the labs. I didnt like the idea that spending sometimes 4 hours in lab a week was only worth 1 credit hour more. Then when you had multiple science courses a semester you had even more time taken away from you. As far as the OP not liking these subjects I dont think you necessarily have to like them. My favorite subjects were poly-sci and history but short of being a lawyer I knew I wouldnt make anything doing them.

 

[monsterbrain]

As far as the OP not liking these subjects I dont think you necessarily have to like them.

But the OP said he/she HATED chem and bio. I hated physics (especially the second semester) and couldn't imagine how miserable it would be to study that for the next 3 years.

 

[drugdoc]

Some councelors are good, while some are bad. I think you may not fully understand what it requires to get into pharmacy school.

Pharmacy is competitive, but not impossible. (It's not competitive if you have a 4.0 gpa lol).

The minimum requirement to apply to pharmacy school is 2 years of coursework. For most schools, they require 2 years of chemistry (general & organic) and 2 years of biology (general, micro, human anatomy & physiology), along with your basic english, math, and elective classes.

An associates degree in science is NOT required. However, for most students, it makes sense to get it because your pre-pharmacy classes will correspond to fulfilling the classes needed for the associates degree.

It is completely your responsibility to look up the schools you want to apply to, make a schedule of your classes, and make sure you are meeting all the needed requirements.


Some tips from me:

-Pick "Easy A" electives. My biggest mistake was having my councelor pick "World Geography" for me as my freshman elective. I received a D in the class. Picking up classes like, "Intro to Jazz" and "Women & Film" usually satisfy your elective requirements just the same and they also boost up your GPA.

-Go for the associates degree, apply to pharmacy school, and if you do not get in, start working towards a bachelor's degree (2 more years of coursework).

-Take the PCAT early

-Get a good GPA early; the longer you are in school, the harder it is to fix a bad GPA.

DON'T "Take the PCAT early!" Take it after you've had all your basic science courses, plus O-Chem and Calculus, otherwise you'll regret it. Your score, which schools will see, will stay with you forever!

 

[PharmtoDent]

I have a different perspective inregards to disliking chemistry or Biology. Those two types of courses you take in the undergraduate level are basic sciences, an introduction to science related courses. You will eventrully not remember them or use them.... of-course they lead up to helping you understand some of the more advance science classes as med chem and etc... but my opinion after 6 years of being a pharmacist, its about knowing therapeutics, medicine, controll reg/law, and some calculations which are all different from basic sciences. Maybe basic science is not your interest, but you might be more enlightened by the more interesting therapeutics/application types of knowledge you will use on a daily basis as a pharmacist, basic sciences are for researchers/scientist (Ph.D.) Best thing to do while you are thinking about pharm school is to shadow and talk to pharm students but more so with pharmacist as they are the person who knows what the real work environment/duties are like and if the job description/daily duties is to your liking. Good luck, if that is what you really want to do, you can do it if you put in the effort.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

Not a pharmacist or in pharmacy school yet. --Do you like to WORK as a pharmacist and deal with difficult patients? If you do, then pharmacy may be for you. However, you need to like Chem/Biology enough to pass or perform well the class or to perform well on the test. Liking what you will do after graduation is more important because sometimes working environment is different than schools. I can think of some classes I don't like in my undergrads but I have enough stamina to study and pass the class.


Moreover, I feel that the interest can change over time. Before, I used to be dreadful of science, math. After immigrating to the US and realizing the difficulty in mastering a new language, I found that sciences is relatively easier because they're white-black and clear-cut. And not much subjectiveness and greyness involved like writing essay or studying humanities.

 

[pyro3rsx]

don't freak out about your classes. starting college is tough. if you don't get the best grade, just work harder and you'll get the score you want. 1st year of school is hard when you're not used to those kind of study habits.

you also don't need to LOVE all your science classes. i made B's in both gen chem's, and C's in both organic chem's and i still made it to pharmacy school. (tho it did take me a few tries)

if you are dedicated to your studies you'll do fine. if the sciences are a lil hard for you to grasp after your 1st year or you're totally bombing....then i'd reconsider my future occupation. sciences aren't for everyone, i had a lot of friends who were pre-med who ended up going to business school instead.

but you'll do fine as long as you're focused.