Basic Insight and Guidance

[Forneus]

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Cutting into the core of my situation, I recently donated 60% of my liver to my dad who has been on the transplant list for 13 years. While he initially struggled to regain his health he has slowly but surely made great strides. I am back to my normal ways as well. We had a great team guide us through the process and family along the way.

Im currently 23, graduated from Lehigh University with a BA in English. I initially was a chemistry major with intent of studying forensic pathology that suddenly changed gears because of immature perceptions of a college education. I am a great learner of the sciences and was intent of focusing on chemistry because that was my forte and passion in high school (scored a 5 on the AP test). However delusional prospects of becoming a "hippie all love and drugs" personality destroyed any notion of a passionate science/health career. Not that i do not care for literature, its a passion of well and a creative outlet for myself, but it was based on immature notions

So i have covered all social science/economics/humanities/english requirements for a pharmD, plus 5 college credits of chemistry 1 if i transfer the ap test, and Calculus 1 (and Statistics as well). That leaves all the other natural sciences and Calculus 2.

Even with a BA in my hand could i take these courses at other schools for non-degree credits? I work full time at the moment and can probably take all the courses in 1.5-2 years, even do summer courses if needed.

My GPA for my degree is below a 2.80, but with great grades in the sciences will that help? I can line up rec letters from professors and employers.

My main concern is with obtaining the required science courses even after completing my BA. Thanks for any replies.

 

[R2pharmD2]

Cutting into the core of my situation, I recently donated 60% of my liver to my dad who has been on the transplant list for 13 years. While he initially struggled to regain his health he has slowly but surely made great strides. I am back to my normal ways as well. We had a great team guide us through the process and family along the way.

Im currently 23, graduated from Lehigh University with a BA in English. I initially was a chemistry major with intent of studying forensic pathology that suddenly changed gears because of immature perceptions of a college education. I am a great learner of the sciences and was intent of focusing on chemistry because that was my forte and passion in high school (scored a 5 on the AP test). However delusional prospects of becoming a "hippie all love and drugs" personality destroyed any notion of a passionate science/health career. Not that i do not care for literature, its a passion of well and a creative outlet for myself, but it was based on immature notions

So i have covered all social science/economics/humanities/english requirements for a pharmD, plus 5 college credits of chemistry 1 if i transfer the ap test, and Calculus 1 (and Statistics as well). That leaves all the other natural sciences and Calculus 2.

Even with a BA in my hand could i take these courses at other schools for non-degree credits? I work full time at the moment and can probably take all the courses in 1.5-2 years, even do summer courses if needed.

My GPA for my degree is below a 2.80, but with great grades in the sciences will that help? I can line up rec letters from professors and employers.

My main concern is with obtaining the required science courses even after completing my BA. Thanks for any replies.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't take these courses at other schools as non-degree credits. Non-traditional students do it all of the time. It will probably be tougher to get financial aid though (I'm certainly not an expert on that aspect).

Your GPA is problematic, but people do get in with low GPAs all of the time (in varying degrees, depending on the school). If you are able to make excellent grades in your science courses that should help your case. A strong PCAT score would help too.

Also, be careful about using AP scores to cover your pre-reqs. Some pharmacy schools won't accept them, particularly for science courses. Check with the pharmacy schools that you're interested in before you assume that they'll take them.