Anyone else feel miserable in pharmacy school?

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Well I would have prefered a simple friend request, but ok - you got me! If you wouldn't mind go ahead and edit your post to remove my initials. 😉

Find me on campus for your prize.

its-a-trap-admiral-ackbar-finger-trap-demotivational-poster-1275086057.jpg

:laugh:
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱

Maybe doing homework/studying in some of those hours at work when it's slow? It's just a guess.
 
Im sorry, I did find someone posting "I have a 3.8" and I get B's and C's. Im kind of worried too, but my friend kept reassuring me. That's also one of the reason I hesitated to attend mcphs because they require a 2.7 gpa at the professional phase.

Maintaining a 2.7 GPA is not that difficult at MCP (I had more difficult coursework in undergrad but I can't get away with laziness, total lack of discipline and terrible time management skills now since the volume of material to learn is high even if at a superficial level), but it is annoying as hell to have to be among "insulars" (my term for people who come into any 0-6 program from HS) who seem to have nothing to say aside from commiserating about exam questions, and I say this as someone who is boring as hell with no personality.

"Meh" indeed is the general attitude I have in the day-to-day (aside from extreme contempt for the typical student here)... my attitude is just to suck it up and hope I don't end up killing anyone after I relocate to South Dakota or something.
 
my "misery" almost exclusively stems from finances... ie: the $14K I took out of unsubsidized loans, the interest that is accumulating as we speak, and trying to be as thrifty as possible (especially in the first two years). Fortunately I have a job that nearly covers all my living expenses each month, so hopefully I will only have to take out 30K more in unsubsidized loans for tuition in the future, at least until rotations start at the end of third year. Hoping to get out with < 90K in debt, but even that is a lot. This combined with all the doom and gloom on here really freaks me out sometimes...

School is always a concern, but my rigorous undergrad prepared me very well for pharmacy school and the only difference so far has been the ratio between busy work and studying (which has increased)... overall the amount of time I spend on school work has been almost the same (maybe decreased slightly). I know that will change second year but I think I will feel more in my element since I'm used to studying a lot for exams.

Wat?

Is it bad that I'm not worried at all about potentially having $300K of debt when I graduate?
 
Maintaining a 2.7 GPA is not that difficult at MCP (I had more difficult coursework in undergrad but I can't get away with laziness, total lack of discipline and terrible time management skills now since the volume of material to learn is high even if at a superficial level), but it is annoying as hell to have to be among "insulars" (my term for people who come into any 0-6 program from HS) who seem to have nothing to say aside from commiserating about exam questions, and I say this as someone who is boring as hell with no personality.

"Meh" indeed is the general attitude I have in the day-to-day (aside from extreme contempt for the typical student here)... my attitude is just to suck it up and hope I don't end up killing anyone after I relocate to South Dakota or something.


people should just chill. To get into pharmacy school, many students here were top notch (and still are) in their previous schools/ levels. Upon joining pharmacy school, they find getting a B or a B- a to be a very hard pill to swallow. Just like KDur. Thats how this kind of thread is formed.

The minute I realized that a B is just as awesome as an A, my life became so much easier. As a matter of fact- paradoxically, I started doing better, much to my surprise. Relax, focus and you will transform they whole learning experience. School still sucks though.
 
people should just chill. To get into pharmacy school, many students here were top notch (and still are) in their previous schools/ levels. Upon joining pharmacy school, they find getting a B or a B- a to be a very hard pill to swallow. Just like KDur. Thats how this kind of thread is formed.

The minute I realized that a B is just as awesome as an A, my life became so much easier. As a matter of fact- paradoxically, I started doing better, much to my surprise. Relax, focus and you will transform they whole learning experience. School still sucks though.

I think rotations should be graded instead of Pass/Fail. I feel like I've learned infinitely more on my rotations than I learned in class.
 
Wat?

Is it bad that I'm not worried at all about potentially having $300K of debt when I graduate?
You don't mind working off a decent house after you graduate, without having a house to show for it?
 
You don't mind working off a decent house after you graduate, without having a house to show for it?

I'm thinking about joining the Army afterwards. So if that $120K loan repayment is still there, that would be a good chunk eliminated. Work for the Army until you hit that 10 year point where you can have the rest of your debt forgiven?
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱

I'm not struggling in classes, but my schedule is busier because I'm also working and doing some EC stuff.

Although, paradoxically, I almost find I do better when I'm busier. It's harder to procrastinate that way. Still, it is stressful to constantly have a busy schedule and looking at your calendar and seeing nothing empty (even if some of those events are fun things).
 
only miserable that i don't have a study partner anymore(long story) and well no good fish to catch in my class at least in my class or the P1s. *cries, other than that damn i love what i'm learning CHF/ACS/Stroke/IHDs sign me up for me therapeutics! well side from also bull**** classes. I so hope i get to actually use stuff i learn in therpaeutics in my rotations down the road and when i do residency cause damn i really like this stuff.

well lack of sleep for the past week or two isn't fun though, my eyes are always red or feel tired and only way i catch up sleep is during weekends for one good 7-8hr sleep fml.
 
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Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱

Yes, the academic difficulties have nothing to do with the actual material being taught - I find some classes even during 2nd year easier than my undergrad senior science classes or the masters classes I've taken. The difficulty is juggling 8-9 classes per quarter as you spend hours on meetings and EC activities and/or working. Add to that trying to be healthy - I go to the gym for an hour several times per week and you get one sh*tty life.

The difficulty I am having is emotionally coping with how poorly organized some classes are and how much money I'm paying for self education - I barely even go to classes anymore. Also, how little learning is actually done vs. memorizing stuff that never shows up in clinical practice as told us by none less than our professors ourselves.

Example to illustrate my point: pharm chem entails memorizing a bunch of structures of drugs, MOAs and blah blah blah. I with an excellent visual memory can memorize several dozens of structures in one day right before exam which is what I do. Some are only seen and or learned by me 2-3 hours before exam. I get a score of 88. My friend who is not so apt at memorizing structures, spends 3 weeks studying for the said exam and gets 62. Which one of us better understands the material ? Which one will remember it better: me cramming it all in 1 day or him studying it over 3 weeks ? That's why I am pretty disappointed in the overall curricula - I feel like we should be learning more instead of learning how to test well.
 
Is pharmacy school that hard? people have a hard time making C's? my friend boston said everything is just powerpoints man... he was making above a 3.5 too. I remembered Sparda saying that pharmacy school was hard, yet he is making it. I just think that humans in general are resistant to change. Once you got it down, it should be like a procedure.

I would say yes and no. I have had easy semesters and those that were hard (like now). It is going to vary based on school, your academic preparation, personal issues, how much time you spend working, etc etc. If I just say school is easy, it's sort of setting you up for failure and/or disappointment. And then there are the times when you are just so burnt out on looking at power points that you really just don't want to do it anymore...

Keep your chin(s) up. It goes by quickly and soon is a distant, unpleasant memory. I can say without a doubt my years in pharmacy school were the worst of my life and I've had cancer since then so that's saying a lot :laugh: It was 90% personal 10% school, but the personal crap made it really hard to focus on school.

If I can make it, you can make it 🙂 Keep truckin'

Very inspirational. Thanks, spacecowgirl!
 
Wat?

Is it bad that I'm not worried at all about potentially having $300K of debt when I graduate?

I'm not suggesting that you freak out or anything, but I think it might be healthy to be at least slightly concerned.
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱

I work 55 hours a week and am on the Dean's List, so it can be done. If you're struggling, try to find people in your class that are good at the particular class where you are struggling. The people that excel in particular classes typically do so because they know HOW to study the material. They are able to distinguish important points from meaningless fluff and know how to analytically tackle the concepts rather than rely on brute memorization. Also, if there are subjects where you yourself excel, reach out to those who you find that are struggling and I'm sure the favor will be returned to you.

The hardest thing for us, as students with a history of excelling at everything that we do, is to be able to ask for help before it is too late. We're used to getting mostly A's with the occasional B and it pains us to accept that a C is ok and is much better than failing a class and having to take it over again. If you fail one test, that doesn't mean that you're going to fail the whole class. Figure out what you did wrong and reach out to someone (your professors, other classmates, mentors, tutoring services) so that you can get back on track to at least pass the class.

I never worked in a pharmacy until after my first professional year and would recommend any pre-pharm/pharm student to get some type of pharmacy job as soon as possible. I know that pharmacy school would be much harder if I wasn't exposed to it in my internship. I gotta believe it's much harder to succeed and/or retain information if you're not using it every day in a work setting. Another important aspect to having a pharmacy job while in pharmacy school is that grades become much less important (unless you're going for some highly competitive residency). Employers will look much more at your work experience and much less (if at all) at your GPA.
 
Wat?

Is it bad that I'm not worried at all about potentially having $300K of debt when I graduate?

You have more debt those most of my friends who are graduating medical and dental school this year. And that is the highest number I have ever heard from a pharmacy student. Honestly, I would be terrified and you should be too. I am worried about my 130k.

300k Pay back options:

30 year plan : $2,000/month
10 year plan: $3,450/month

Depressing.
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱

You do what you have to do to take care of your family (sole breadwinner) and follow your dream. The material isn't "hard" there is just SO much of it.

I especially love it when the "teacher" gives us a packet on Monday with 10+ antibiotics, reads through it quickly for "class" then we get tested on it, and everything else covered so far, on Wednesday, expected to know which drug is best for which infectious agent, what dosing, what side effects, etc. If I'd had the packet the prior Friday, I'd have been able to study it myself over the weekend and not be in such state of confusion.

Hell, give me all the packets for the semester on the first day and I'd be happy to teach myself and take the tests.
 
Naidim, don't forget knowing all the damn organisms and when you should pick clinda over linezolid :meanie:

And don't forget about tetracyclines in kids < 8 years old!
 
Well I would have prefered a simple friend request, but ok - you got me! 😉

Find me on campus for your prize.

I'd look for you on campus as well but I think my internet creepy factor is already too damn high for your, Owle.

But I'm glad you are making a game out of people trying to find you now...
 
I'd look for you on campus as well but I think my internet creepy factor is already too damn high for your, Owle.

But I'm glad you are making a game out of people trying to find you now...

If I ever see you in person I am calling the police you creepy bastard.

Edit: On the other hand, I would need to make your prize a lot better, wouldn't I?
 
I'd look for you on campus as well but I think my internet creepy factor is already too damn high for your, Owle.

But I'm glad you are making a game out of people trying to find you now...

So creeping on people who have mutual friends with you isn't so bad because everyone does it? :laugh:
 
I'm thinking about joining the Army afterwards. So if that $120K loan repayment is still there, that would be a good chunk eliminated. Work for the Army until you hit that 10 year point where you can have the rest of your debt forgiven?

That's a lot of if's. So many people are banking on that loan forgiveness thing and are taking out absurd loan amounts as a result -- it seems sort of foolish. That program could be cut like that. Then :scared:.
 
Yeah and I get the +2 internets and creepiness because I found him without any mutual friends or anything. Just got bored in economics, spent 5 mins online with a few clues from SDN, and found him.

Then I proceeded to find 2 more shortly after.
 
Naidim, don't forget knowing all the damn organisms and when you should pick clinda over linezolid :meanie:

And don't forget about tetracyclines in kids < 8 years old!


Not just under 8...shouldn't give tetracycline in any kids without full teeth growth completed...rarely is that done by 8 yo.
 
Seems like most of the people saying they are having a hard time are struggling because they have work/extracurricular in addition to their schoolwork. Am I off base here?

I was pretty surprised when I read that someone was working 40 hours AND going to pharm school...I don't see how thats possible 😱
I think it definitely shows that working in school can have a noticeable effect.

This has been a tough year, and next year is supposed to be the roughest for my particular program. I've been kinda slacking this semester, but I think it's partly because my horizon has nothing but a year of black clouds ahead. :meanie:

Working, having a family, and trying to find time for EC's is tough. I think in my class a lot of us signed up for a large number of organizations first semester. Might not have so many membership fees to pay next go round. 😉
 
Well I would have prefered a simple friend request, but ok - you got me! 😉

Find me on campus for your prize.

Like they said...it's a trap!!
 

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So normally I am opposed to venting but it has been a particularly bad semester...I am a P2...after two years of P1 (I red-shirted my first year😎) and its pretty difficult. Not the coursework, the environment...I have had to work all my life and since my freshman year I have worked damn near full time, if not more. My first P1 year, I worked at a restaurant about 50hrs a week...I failed two classes not because of my numerical avg but because I was absent too many times...talk about pissed...fast forward to now, I have been working a hospital intern job for almost two years...I now work 30-40 hours a week although I did pull a 70 hr week recently😴...anyway, the point is I work my @ss off and still make decent grades...and all I hear is people with no jobs or those who work 5-10 hours a week, if that, complaining about how difficult things are...this is not a shot at anyone, it is just the make up of my class and it kills me...I have all your problems plus a 40 hr work week and you do not hear me crying (until now)....any thoughts?
 
So normally I am opposed to venting but it has been a particularly bad semester...I am a P2...after two years of P1 (I red-shirted my first year😎) and its pretty difficult. Not the coursework, the environment...I have had to work all my life and since my freshman year I have worked damn near full time, if not more. My first P1 year, I worked at a restaurant about 50hrs a week...I failed two classes not because of my numerical avg but because I was absent too many times...talk about pissed...fast forward to now, I have been working a hospital intern job for almost two years...I now work 30-40 hours a week although I did pull a 70 hr week recently😴...anyway, the point is I work my @ss off and still make decent grades...and all I hear is people with no jobs or those who work 5-10 hours a week, if that, complaining about how difficult things are...this is not a shot at anyone, it is just the make up of my class and it kills me...I have all your problems plus a 40 hr work week and you do not hear me crying (until now)....any thoughts?

Thoughts are that you make your own bed and judge others w/ out knowing full picture of their lives. By making your own bed I mean that you make a conscious decision of working that much, but you also get a benefit from it - you get paid, whereas those that dont't work obviously dont get paid, so you cant exactly whine about working so much without realizing you get all these benefits that others dont.

As far as time comittment, you dont know exactly what people do, lets say for example I say I am a member of APHA, to you that means I am a member on paper, when in reality to me that means I have to put in ~ 20 hrs a week of volunteer work into a project that I get no benefit from except for having an EC on my resume, so just because someone doesnt advertise their time comittments doesnt mean they are any less busy than you.

Also people have different academic abilities and its ok to realize that and not judge them on their weakness, someone with 2 years of prereqs will have heck of a lot harder time or require more studying in pharm chem than someone with a ms degree in chemistry, so if you see someone complaining about struggling with time management, think back: should I really be judgemental of why they struggle ?

Lastly, you may not be realizing that people have lives outside of school too, so someone who isnt working as you on paper as much, may be just as busy as you lets say by taking care of their terminally ill grandfarther and being a sole provider of care for him, so just because you work a paid job and he takes care of family, doesnt mean you somehow are more busy than him.
 
That is not at all what I was trying to say....I wasn't making any assumptions, just stating facts. I personally know classmates who do not have any responsibilities beyond school...they are lucky enough to have their parents support them yet they still complain...and member of APHA??? Although you were agressive towards me I will refrain and just explain myself better...I make a conscious decision to work because if I don't I will be homeless, I am also an active member in APHA (maybe I will see you in Seattle at the end of the month?), I am also an officer in 2 other organizations, one pharmacy and one a greek letter fraternity and I have a life with friends, gfs, parties, etc....I am not demeaning anyones abilities, but it is hard to listen to someone who doesnt have any extracirriculars complain about the time committment for pharmacy school...I am not at all referring to those who have equal time committments...and 20 hrs? Really?:laugh:
 
That is not at all what I was trying to say....I wasn't making any assumptions, just stating facts. I personally know classmates who do not have any responsibilities beyond school...they are lucky enough to have their parents support them yet they still complain...and member of APHA??? Although you were agressive towards me I will refrain and just explain myself better...I make a conscious decision to work because if I don't I will be homeless, I am also an active member in APHA (maybe I will see you in Seattle at the end of the month?), I am also an officer in 2 other organizations, one pharmacy and one a greek letter fraternity and I have a life with friends, gfs, parties, etc....I am not demeaning anyones abilities, but it is hard to listen to someone who doesnt have any extracirriculars complain about the time committment for pharmacy school...I am not at all referring to those who have equal time committments...and 20 hrs? Really?:laugh:

Really ? 😕 dont know what your membership entails, mine means that I am not just a member of the org, but a leader of the project that I am in charge off, if you factor one health fair per week that I attend - 8 hrs + a couple administrative meetings that's 10 hours already, easily can see how with other stuff I do for the project, it could easily add to 20 hrs per week.

Also I am not agrresive towards you, but I have no tolerance for people who make their own bed and then complain about it. You really shouldnt have to work that much, you should have been able to take out loans and if for whatever reason you choose not too, either bacause your are unable to due to not qualifying for them due to your past financial history or because you dont want to repay them back, that is still a direct reflection of your consicous decision. 😉
 
And if you see your classmates complain about not being able to handle workload while they dont work, while you work this much, think to yourself, wow I am so awesome, I can multitask and handle pressure well and have excellent time management skills ! give yourself a pat on the back, vs. Venting about how much busier you are and how you can can endure so much more which is how your are coming across. 🙂
 
Did you ever think that I have other financial committments besides the normal school and basic living expenses? Like maybe I have to support my family members who are unable to work? And maybe loans do not cover that? This make your own bed thing is inaccurate....its more like playing with the cards I have been dealt...and isnt this the venting thread???😕
 
And cheburashka,
I agree with your above posts about what we are tested on...we may be more alike than you realize...
 
Did you ever think that I have other financial committments besides the normal school and basic living expenses? Like maybe I have to support my family members who are unable to work? And maybe loans do not cover that? This make your own bed thing is inaccurate....its more like playing with the cards I have been dealt...and isnt this the venting thread???😕

Why are you having to support your family members that can't work? That's still a choice you're choosing to make (and, provided they're American citizens and are older, there's a chance you're screwing them out of Medicaid help in 5 years...). If you start taking on too much of the cost of your family's care, you could end up doing it for the rest of their life.

There are other social support systems (which people on this board may or may not agree with, but I digress) that won't make you lose your sanity, your grades, and your health.

You can still do things to support your family that doesn't require taking out more than your school's COA. I try to help my mom and stepfather, who don't have a lot of money, out. But, fortunately, my mom's on Medicaid and Medicare due to numerous health problems. I buy them things they need occasionally, I pay to fly across the country and visit them, and I'd help them out in an emergency, but I'm certainly not going to work 40 hours a week while I'm a student to pay off my mom's hospital bills from when she was uninsured.
 
Why are you having to support your family members that can't work? That's still a choice you're choosing to make (and, provided they're American citizens and are older, there's a chance you're screwing them out of Medicaid help in 5 years...). If you start taking on too much of the cost of your family's care, you could end up doing it for the rest of their life.

There are other social support systems (which people on this board may or may not agree with, but I digress) that won't make you lose your sanity, your grades, and your health.

You can still do things to support your family that doesn't require taking out more than your school's COA. I try to help my mom and stepfather, who don't have a lot of money, out. But, fortunately, my mom's on Medicaid and Medicare due to numerous health problems. I buy them things they need occasionally, I pay to fly across the country and visit them, and I'd help them out in an emergency, but I'm certainly not going to work 40 hours a week while I'm a student to pay off my mom's hospital bills from when she was uninsured.


I guess its harder to decide against helping them when theyve helped you all their life and govt assistance isnt enough...house notes, day care, basic needs...toys and clothes for nieces and nephews...sure they would probably be alive without my help but if I can make their lives a little easier then why not?...Ralph Waldo Emerson said "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well"...these are the things I work for not so my life will be easy...
 
I guess its harder to decide against helping them when theyve helped you all their life and govt assistance isnt enough...house notes, day care, basic needs...toys and clothes for nieces and nephews...sure they would probably be alive without my help but if I can make their lives a little easier then why not?...Ralph Waldo Emerson said "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well"...these are the things I work for not so my life will be easy...


Again, give yourself a pat on the back and think what an admirable thing you are doing. Acknowledge that what you are doing isn't something everyone could do or could surive through and it takes quite a lot of character, will and persistence to keep going at it. I've done something similar in college, although not quite to this extent.

Think of it this way: your financial situation could always change and or you could graduate, life will change for the better but the skills you learn during this period of time are invaluable, while those people that complain about having academic difficulties because they can't handle the courseload alone, can't exactly raise their academic giftedness or suddenly become excellent multitaskers.
 
I feel more miserable about how I had more of a life in P1 and P2 year than I do will in P3 and P4 year now that rotations have started. If I wasn't working part time along side the rotations it wouldn't be so bad.

What my schedule looks like:
Monday - Rotations from 10-7, then physical therapy for ACL surgery.
Tuesday - Rotations from 10-5, then work from 6-10.
Wednesday - Rotations from 10-7, then physical therapy.
Thursday - Rotations from 10-5, then work from 6-11.
Friday - Rotations from 9-2.

By the time Friday rolls around, I am completely shot because I don't have much time to chill or hang out during the week. And if I do decide to go hangout with my friends late at night during the week, then I'm running on barely any sleep for the next day.
 
What my schedule looks like:
Monday - Rotations from 10-7, then physical therapy for ACL surgery.
Tuesday - Rotations from 10-5, then work from 6-10.
Wednesday - Rotations from 10-7, then physical therapy.
Thursday - Rotations from 10-5, then work from 6-11.
Friday - Rotations from 9-2.

By the time Friday rolls around, I am completely shot because I don't have much time to chill or hang out during the week. And if I do decide to go hangout with my friends late at night during the week, then I'm running on barely any sleep for the next day.

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Those days were the best days. 10 am? are you kidding?
 
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