Changing Careers...

[Lain]

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Hi all, I'm new... 🙂

Just wondering who here already has a non-science degree and is planning on being a pharmacist? How do you go about starting pre-pharm? How slim are our chances of admittance to pharm school 😛 ? I am thinking of going back to my old school so I can register for some classes required to enter pharm school. Now should I enter as a non-matriculated student? Will those credits be transferred? But then there's the issue of loans... Or is it possible to enter as a matriculated student entering for her "2nd degree" as a, say Bio major... get only the required courses for admittance to Pharm school and then apply to that Pharm school?

A 'lil of my background...
I currently work in the IT industry w/ a Master's degree in the same field. My undergrad degree is in Business. Now I don't know which GPA they'll look at, but my Master's degree is higher (well, what can I say... I was your typical care-free student during my undergrad years = 3.4ish).

Now it's been 4 years since going back to my "undergrad" school, and I don't know if those electives still count (I know I should go talk to 'em 😛 but just wondering in general). I didn't take any core sciences (only took Geology 😛) and don't have any pharmaceutical experience... the only thing close to it is that my mom is a pharmacist. Anyway, I really am serious about this. Major reason why is because I'm not happy with where I am today... let's just say the rat race is definitely not for me.

So should I invest 5~6 years of my life? Is it worth it? I do have loans and will most likely get more loans if I do decide to push through this... How likely are my chances getting in considering my background? I'm not really a science nerd, but I am studious... would that be enough? I'd appreciate any input/advice and would love to hear from someone with a similar situation as I am 🙂

 

[DHG]

Just wondering who here already has a non-science degree and is planning on
So should I invest 5~6 years of my life? Is it worth it?

You are asking a lot of the same questions I did. I am 28 years old, with an art degree (photography). I went back to the same school and got a BS in Biochem, which also covered all my Pharmacy prereqs... and bacause it was at the same school, it only took me 2 years (summers included) to get the second degree, because core classes like english, etc were already covered. Had I only gone for the Pharmacy prereqs and not the degree, I would have been done in 1.5 year, probably, but I wanted the security of the degree so I stuck it out. If I do a residency, I'll be 34 or 35 when I get out of Pharmacy school... Is it worth it? That's something you'll have to decide on your own... But I feel very comfortable with my decision. My stats are similar to yours, BTW. I raised my GPA from 3.4 to 3.5 the second time around. My second degree grades were almost all A's because I was focused and had a goal, and I was determined to do well. Good luck to you in your decision making. This board has lots of great info in the FAQ's.

Your previous loans can be deferred when you go back to school, BTW.

I worried too that I wouldn't be competitive without pharm experience, but I have had two interview invites already and its only November... so I think if you are serious about wanting to go into the field, you should go for it. Don't let that scare you. There are a lot of people that get accepted to schools with no prior pharmacy experience. Your IT experience and your Master's degree will make you an especially strong candidate, if you do well on your Pre-Pharm courses.

You can do your pre-Pharm work as a "degree seeking student" (meaning you tell the school you are going for a BS or a BA) and you will get more financial aid than a student just taking post-grad courses. I don't know what sort of finsncial aid issues you will run into since you already have a masters, but I'd make sure to classify yourself as someone seeking a BS, if possible... doesn't mean you have to actually finish the BS, you only need to get the pre-pharm work done, but as a degree-seeking student you may have more financial aid leverage. I'd suggest talking to a financial aid counsellor about that, though.

 

[Reclusive]

Hello,
I am new here as well. I thought I would offer some encouragement. I am 28 as well and finished my MBA about two years ago. I have just started my pharmacy prerequisites full time because my old job was going nowhere. I think I should be able to complete the prerequisites in about 2-3 years. So far I think it is worth the sacrifice

As far as loans go I was able to defer my previous student loans without any problems. I also made sure to take care of any debts (car and credit cards) before I came back. I hope to look for some internship/volunteer/part-time work experience over the next few years to make my pharm school application stronger.

As far as the coursework you get out what you put in. I study whenever I can and I am doing alright so far. I am not math/science inclined but I am at a small state school so the classes are small. I take every opportunity to attend study and tutoring sessions whenever my schedule allows. Right now I do not have to work due to a little wiggle room financially. As I get more used to the coursework I will look to maintain some sort of work schedule.

Just my $0.02. You can do it. Good luck to you.

 

[Lain]

Isn't it funny we're all in the same age bracket? I am 27 🙂 Let's hope we can all make it to Pharm school..!

DHG, thanks for the helpful advise! I will most likely do that... major in chem maybe and just take the pre-pharm reqs, then transfer/apply to pharm school... it will take me 3 sems w/ a full course load. Unfortunately for me, it's too late to appy for a fed loan unless I start next Fall. Anyway, congrats on having 2 pharm schools after you! (but then again you have a biochem degree, so I think my chances are slim tho 😛 )

Reclusive, thanks for your words of encouragement! Will you also be working once you're in pharm school? If I do this, I'll probably have to quit my job... btw, if you don't mind me asking, are you working in the IT industry too?

OK, decisions... decisions! Ugh, I really want to do this though.. but my friends and sister think I'm crazy to be going back to school 🙄 Oh well, we'll see 🙂

 

[DHG]

I (but then again you have a biochem degree, so I think my chances are slim tho 😛 )
......
OK, decisions... decisions! Ugh, I really want to do this though.. but my friends and sister think I'm crazy to be going back to school 🙄 Oh well, we'll see 🙂

I think your chances are excellent.. as long as you do reasonably well on pre pharm reqirements (A's and B's). Be able to verbalize why you want to do this, (for interviews), be sincere, and you'll be fine.


I know the feeling of 'back to school doubts' ...everyone is calling me 'professional student' and it's really annoying. 🙄 I hated my first year back in a way... I was in there with a bunch of 18 and 19 year old kids, which made me feel wierd. 😆 But I met a buch of cool kids too, that I'm still friends with (they called me 'old lady'... which was funny considering I was only 26 ! )

 

[wannabedr]

Hello,
I am new here as well. I thought I would offer some encouragement. I am 28 as well and finished my MBA about two years ago. I have just started my pharmacy prerequisites full time because my old job was going nowhere. I think I should be able to complete the prerequisites in about 2-3 years. So far I think it is worth the sacrifice

As far as loans go I was able to defer my previous student loans without any problems. I also made sure to take care of any debts (car and credit cards) before I came back. I hope to look for some internship/volunteer/part-time work experience over the next few years to make my pharm school application stronger.

As far as the coursework you get out what you put in. I study whenever I can and I am doing alright so far. I am not math/science inclined but I am at a small state school so the classes are small. I take every opportunity to attend study and tutoring sessions whenever my schedule allows. Right now I do not have to work due to a little wiggle room financially. As I get more used to the coursework I will look to maintain some sort of work schedule.

Just my $0.02. You can do it. Good luck to you.

After you received your MBA what kind of work did you do and what didn't you like about it-----the salary? corp america?, etc. thanks

 

[Reclusive]

After you received your MBA what kind of work did you do and what didn't you like about it-----the salary? corp america?, etc. thanks

To Lain and Wannabedr:
I worked in transportation and logistics for a tech company. It basically involved taking care of warehouse operations in an Oracle 11i ERP database. I also did a small amount of finance/accounting type work if the project/assignment required it. Mostly busy work in a nutshell. My salary was decent, but I had a lot of issues with the work and the company itself:

Three CEO's in five years
Numerous resignations at the upper level
The entire IT department was outsourced overseas; 3,000 people lost their jobs
The comany cut pension and healthcare benefits to retirees to improve earnings
Several reorganizations at the departmental level. I had six different managers in three years
I was putting in about 60-75 hours a week and that did not look to be improving anytime soon; I was getting close to burnout

 

[Stinson]

Hi. Just wanted to say I'm in a similar situation to you all - 28 and will be just starting on the pharmacy track. I was a Chinese major so did almost none of the science during my undergrad. I did take Calculus through 3rd semester and one year of Chemistry. My question is since I took these several years ago, should I take them again to re-learn the fundamentals? Also what are your opinions on how much one is able to work during school? Any insight much appreciated, thanks!

 

[Stephie]

Hi. Just wanted to say I'm in a similar situation to you all - 28 and will be just starting on the pharmacy track. I was a Chinese major so did almost none of the science during my undergrad. I did take Calculus through 3rd semester and one year of Chemistry. My question is since I took these several years ago, should I take them again to re-learn the fundamentals? Also what are your opinions on how much one is able to work during school? Any insight much appreciated, thanks!

Hi,

I'm also 28 and am applying for pharmacy schools this year for Fall 2006. The past couple of years I've been taking 2 science classes (8 credits) a semester and have found it manageable so far. Next semester I will be taking 3 classes and I think that might be too much.

As far as taking classes over again, I would check with schools you're interested in to make sure that the classes aren't too old for them to accept-some of the schools have a five year limit, others are 10, etc.

Good Luck with everything!

 

[John_K]

I'm 25 and just got my license to practice law, and am already thinking about getting out to study pharmacy. I took most of the pharm pre-reqs in undergrad, but I'll probably re-take all of them at a community college (hopefully I can finish in 2 years, while working during the day).

My biggest concern is the loan situation - I accrued about $51K in law school, and I don't know how I would continue paying it during pharmacy school. I'm curious how other people with loans dealt with the problem. Thanks

 

[DHG]

My biggest concern is the loan situation - I accrued about $51K in law school, and I don't know how I would continue paying it during pharmacy school. I'm curious how other people with loans dealt with the problem. Thanks

They way I understand it, all previous student loans can be deferred if you are enrolled full-time in Pharmacy school (or any other Grad schol). They may still be accruing interest, depending on what types of loans they are, but if they are classified as 'student' loans, the payments can be deferred as long as you are back in school full time. I consolidated all my old loans thru SunTrust, and they told me even the consolidated loan could be deferred if I returned to school full-time. I have about 20K in undergrad debt.