Could I make it in Pharmacy school(please only honest answers)

[OutCast]

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So, a little about me:

I was born into this world nearly ******ed. I am currently 21 years old and a male.


Until around age 11, my mom decided to home school me. She took me outta the school system due to the fact that I was not able to read.



So, through time, she helped me get my academic skills up to par with everyone else. Luckily, I had good parents. They helped to erase any sign that I was once disabled.

As mentioned before, I was home schooled by a very dedicated mom. In addition, she got me braces(you could tell I was disabled prior to them) and my dad got me working out(I was really skinny). So, I went from looking disabled to normal.


I ended up graduating at age 19 then worked for 1.5 years.

Right now, I am taking Chemistry one and Calc. 1. I am not struggling too bad. I really enjoyed learning about the concept of electronegativity.


However, I was once nearly ******ed! I think you have to be BORN smart to be able to go to pharmacy school from talking to people. I don't know if I could memorize the 1,000 medications you guys have to memorize for ONE test! Unless memorization is a skill that can be self-taught?


Basically, can learning disabled people do well in Pharmacy school with enough hard work? I think realistically you do have to be born intelligent to handle pharmacy school.

My other choices are:

-Computer Science

-Chemical Engineering

-Civil engineering

 

[OutCast]

I should also add that I wont be offended by anyone's answers. Good old Natural Selection has it's ways of weeding out certain people like me for certain fields.🙁

 

[naseuy]

Individually the classes in Pharmacy school are not much more difficult than Organic Chemistry, which you will take. However, time management is essential. It's exam after exam and the volume of material that you need to learn may be challenging. I've never had to memorize 1,000 drugs for one exam though. I don't know where you heard this, but it isn't true. I don't know you, and I don't know if you're capable of managing your time, so I don't know if you are capable of it.

 

[Haleyzx]

I think realistically you do have to be born intelligent to handle pharmacy school.

not true.

Edit: and yes, you can do it if u really want it. But I would suggest you to look to work/volunteer at a pharmacy first to see what does it take and what is it like to be a pharmacist. So you can make your own judgment of whether or not u have what it takes, instead of having people here who really have no idea about you telling you whether you can be a pharmacist or not.

 

[pharmacy85]

If you can handle the pre-reqs for pharm school, you can handle pharm school. You may need to put in a bit more effort, but it can be done. On a side note, I would not call you "once ******ed" neither should you. You had a learning disability it seems. Dyslexics, for instance, account for some of the most intelligent people in the world. Some very talented dyslexics are: Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Leonardo da Vinci, Auguste Rodin, Erin Brokovich, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill


Don't bash yourself, people will sometimes make pharmacy school seem a lot harder than it really is. The hardest of classes is comparable to organic chemistry. Time management is a bigger issue, having back to back tests, everyone has failed at least one test before though, keep your head up. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt

 

[OutCast]

Individually the classes in Pharmacy school are not much more difficult than Organic Chemistry, which you will take. However, time management is essential. It's exam after exam and the volume of material that you need to learn may be challenging. I've never had to memorize 1,000 drugs for one exam though. I don't know where you heard this, but it isn't true. I don't know you, and I don't know if you're capable of managing your time, so I don't know if you are capable of it.

Managing time is a skill. Skills can be obtained through hard work and discipline which IS something I have.

However, I heard the memorization in pharmacy school is brutal. I got the 1,000 test statement from a friend in pharmacy school. Also, he said he is in year 2(the most brutal year).

I recently picked up an organic chemistry book and learned about electronegativity


Here is a question a Biology major could not tell me(I KID YOU NOT)

In to covalently bonded atoms, how do you determine where the electrons will be be.

the SIMPLE answer is that where the electrons are corresponds to the electronegativity value of each atom. I haven't learned Schroder's rule yet.



The biology major couldn't answer that!

 

[OutCast]

If you can handle the pre-reqs for pharm school, you can handle pharm school. You may need to put in a bit more effort, but it can be done. On a side note, I would not call you "once ******ed" neither should you. You had a learning disability it seems. Dyslexics, for instance, account for some of the most intelligent people in the world. Some very talented dyslexics are: Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Leonardo da Vinci, Auguste Rodin, Erin Brokovich, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill


Don't bash yourself, people will sometimes make pharmacy school seem a lot harder than it really is. The hardest of classes is comparable to organic chemistry. Time management is a bigger issue, having back to back tests, everyone has failed at least one test before though, keep your head up. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt

From browsing these forums. Yes, some of these classes are no harder than organic chemistry. HOWEVER, the amount of information required for some of these classes is insane. So, trying to grasp large amounts of information that is as difficult as organic chemistry(moderatly hard for me) might not be a task I could do.


Plus you have to be able to take the equal of 24 undergrad credits a semester on your second pharmacy year. That's what my pharmacy friend said he is taking.

not true.

Edit: and yes, you can do it if u really want it. But I would suggest you to look to work/volunteer at a pharmacy first to see what does it take and what is it like to be a pharmacist. So you can make your own judgment of whether or not u have what it takes, instead of having people here who really have no idea about you telling you whether you can be a pharmacist or not.

I have a friend who graduated with his Biology degree....made it into medical school.....and couldn't handle it! He is a cop now.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

I consider my self to be "naturally smart" (but I think my current level of intelligence is definitely a result of both nature and nurture), but I sure as hell could NOT memorize 1000 drugs in one go! Honestly, the older I get the worse I am at rote memorization, but that's not going to stop me from succeeding in pharm school.

You sound like you've come along way and enjoy learning. Don't let the past hold you back. If you can get through the pre-reqs with good grades, I say go for it!

Good luck 🙂

 

[naseuy]

Managing time is a skill. Skills can be obtained through hard work and discipline which IS something I have.

However, I heard the memorization in pharmacy school is brutal. I got the 1,000 test statement from a friend in pharmacy school. Also, he said he is in year 2(the most brutal year).

I'm currently in P2 as well, and this is not the case, at least at my school.

 

[OutCast]

I'm currently in P2 as well, and this is not the case, at least at my school.

Don't you have to take like 24 credit hours in one semester though?



It is also worth mentioning that it is kind of a gamble. If you don't get into Pharmacy school then what? Go be a high school teacher?


I mean from talking to people....there isn't much you can do with a biology degree.

 

[naseuy]

Don't you have to take like 24 credit hours in one semester though?



It is also worth mentioning that it is kind of a gamble. If you don't get into Pharmacy school then what? Go be a high school teacher?


I mean from talking to people....there isn't much you can do with a biology degree.

No, 18 credits a credit typically, and it feels like 18 credits.

 

[OutCast]

No, 18 credits a credit typically, and it feels like 18 credits.

So pharmacy students take 18 credits a semester? That might be one reason why its challenging.

 

[naseuy]

So pharmacy students take 18 credits a semester? That might be one reason why its challenging.

at least it's not 24?

 

[IrishRxMan]

The most we take at my school is 18 hours a semester, but we are on the block system. We have 3 blocks of 5 weeks each. Some classes go the entire semester and some are one or two blocks long. The benefit to that is you only focus on three or four classes at a time. It is tough, but it isn't the material that is so tough. It's just the amount of material which is why you see everyone saying time management is the hardest thing to do. You will be spending a lot of time studying, but I have never had to memorize 1000 drugs. Maybe 200 over the course of a semester and it was only a few things we had to learn like brand and generic name as well as therapeutic class. They were also chopped up into groups of 25 or 50 that we memorized at a time. Each semester we would add more things to the same drugs we had to learn from the first semester.

You sound like you have overcome a lot. What you overcame is in the past, so leave it there. You sound like you also have a passion to learn. Go with it, apply to pharmacy school and KNOW you can do it.

 

[OutCast]

The most we take at my school is 18 hours a semester, but we are on the block system. We have 3 blocks of 5 weeks each. Some classes go the entire semester and some are one or two blocks long. The benefit to that is you only focus on three or four classes at a time. It is tough, but it isn't the material that is so tough. It's just the amount of material which is why you see everyone saying time management is the hardest thing to do. You will be spending a lot of time studying, but I have never had to memorize 1000 drugs. Maybe 200 over the course of a semester and it was only a few things we had to learn like brand and generic name as well as therapeutic class. They were also chopped up into groups of 25 or 50 that we memorized at a time.

You sound like you have overcome a lot. What you overcame is in the past, so leave it there. You sound like you also have a passion to learn. Go with it, apply to pharmacy school and KNOW you can do it.

25-50 drugs sounds like NOTHING...no offense. Thats like memorizing 25-50 organic chemistry concepts.


It really doesn't sound as bad as my friend made it out to be. Another question then, could I go for a degree in chemical engineering or computer science and still go to Pharmacy School?


I want a degree that gives me something to fall back on in case I don't make it into Pharmacy school......



My friend had plans to go to medical school with his biology degree. He didn't make it in....now he is a cop. There is nothing wrong with being a cop. It's just that there isn't much you can do with JUST an undergrad in biology.

 

[IrishRxMan]

25-50 drugs sounds like NOTHING...no offense. Thats like memorizing 25-50 organic chemistry concepts.


It really doesn't sound as bad as my friend made it out to be. Another question then, could I go for a degree in chemical engineering or computer science and still go to Pharmacy School?


I want a degree that gives me something to fall back on in case I don't make it into Pharmacy school......



My friend had plans to go to medical school with his biology degree. He didn't make it in....now he is a cop. There is nothing wrong with being a cop. It's just that there isn't much you can do with JUST an undergrad in biology.

You can get a degree in ANYTHING so long as you have a good GPA and all the pre-reqs for the SOP's you apply to. It's not a bad idea to have a backup plan and chem engineers make a good living. In my former life, I was a military policeman and a deputy sheriff. It's not a bad job, but it's a hard one because of the people and situations you have to deal with. You deal with people on some of their worst days and moments. As for what you can do with a bio degree, I'm not sure what all there is to do. Teaching is something you can do and you can use your degree to go into grad school and specialize in something else that would be more lucrative.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

25-50 drugs sounds like NOTHING...no offense. Thats like memorizing 25-50 organic chemistry concepts.

It's not just generic name and brand name; it's strengths & dosage form(s) available, therapeutic class, indication, major contraindication, schedule and in my case something called Low Cost Alternative/Reference Based Pricing.

It's a lot harder than it sounds, but not that bad.

So far we've done 200/year, but it's not like you are tested on each one. Memorizing drugs is just something that takes time!

25-50 isn't too bad compared to 1000, that's for sure, but to say it sounds like "nothing" is a bit cocky, in my opinion, especially for someone who is doubting their own intelligence. If it sounds do-able to you, that's great, then it appears that you are confident you can succeed in pharm school, which is what this thread is all about, isn't it?

 

[OutCast]

It's not just generic name and brand name; it's strengths & dosage form(s) available, therapeutic class, indication, major contraindication, schedule and in my case something called Low Cost Alternative/Reference Based Pricing.

It's a lot harder than it sounds, but not that bad.

So far we've done 200/year, but it's not like you are tested on each one. Memorizing drugs is just something that takes time!

25-50 isn't too bad compared to 1000, that's for sure, but to say it sounds like "nothing" is a bit cocky, in my opinion, especially for someone who is doubting their own intelligence. If it sounds do-able to you, that's great, then it appears that you are confident you can succeed in pharm school, which is what this thread is all about, isn't it?

Ya, I guess I got a little cocky there. I apologize. I am aware that pharmacy school is hard. It was just kind of a relief to hear that it isn't as bad as I thought.


I am intrested in different medications and how they work. I don't know if that's a good reason to go.

 

[IrishRxMan]

We have to memorize the top 200 drugs because they are the most popular. We had one prof that was wanting to do it based off the top 200 in sales not scripts written, which added in a bunch of orphan drugs that nobody will really see much but are crazy expensive. We had to memorize all the things mentioned before, but we did it a little bit at a time.

 

[apteryx]

Have you considered a career in pharmacology/pharmacy research? You'd get a whole lot drug interactions. A Pharm.D. is a clinical degree, where you would (hopefully) be working with patients. Doing research would involve all sorts of interactions. Just a thought.

 

[OutCast]

Have you considered a career in pharmacology/pharmacy research? You'd get a whole lot drug interactions. A Pharm.D. is a clinical degree, where you would (hopefully) be working with patients. Doing research would involve all sorts of interactions. Just a thought.

I don't know how many years that would take. I will get the undergrad around age 25....and then pharmacy school would be around age 29

I am around behind schedule.

 

[IrishRxMan]

I don't know how many years that would take. I will get the undergrad around age 25....and then pharmacy school would be around age 29

I am around behind schedule.

Not really. I'll be 35 when I graduate. There are plenty that will graduate in their 30's to 50's.

 

[OutCast]

Not really. I'll be 35 when I graduate. There are plenty that will graduate in their 30's to 50's.

You aren't living with your parents though🙁

I will have to live with my parents till age 30. So, basically until pharmacy completion I would be a social outcast....

 

[IrishRxMan]

You aren't living with your parents though🙁

I will have to live with my parents till age 30. So, basically until pharmacy completion I would be a social outcast....

I may not be living with them now, but I did until I was 30. You living with your parents doesn't mean you will be a social outcast at all. I went out and did plenty of stress relief with my friends when we could. If you're of age, they shouldn't say anything to you other than to be careful.

 

[delano2000]

Individually the classes in Pharmacy school are not much more difficult than Organic Chemistry, which you will take. However, time management is essential. It's exam after exam and the volume of material that you need to learn may be challenging. I've never had to memorize 1,000 drugs for one exam though. I don't know where you heard this, but it isn't true. I don't know you, and I don't know if you're capable of managing your time, so I don't know if you are capable of it.

I think the OP is talking about the NAPLEX even though I am not sure if there is any truth to this but I can only assume.

 

[OutCast]

I think the OP is talking about the NAPLEX even though I am not sure if there is any truth to this but I can only assume.

No he claimed he was taking 24 credit hours and had to study 1,000 medications for one test(he said slides).

 

[delano2000]

No he claimed he was taking 24 credit hours and had to study 1,000 medications for one test(he said slides).

Why are you typing in 3rd person? Aren't you the OP?

 

[Passion4Sci]

Delano, he is talking about his friend that is currently in his P2 year, and said that he had to study 1000 drugs a semester or whatever.

@OP: You can get a chemical engineering degree and to go Pharm. School and you would NOT be old. As Irish said, a lot of us (particularly on SDN) are non-trads. Myself, I graduated from UC Davis for my 2nd bachelor's degree, signed up for the Army, swore in, did 2 deployments, ETS'd and I'm almost 28, so I won't graduated, best case scenario, until I'm 31/32. No harm, no foul, that's barely into "adulthood" with the new "emerging adulthood" segment of age demographics being bandied about now.

 

[delano2000]

Delano, he is talking about his friend that is currently in his P2 year, and said that he had to study 1000 drugs a semester or whatever.

@OP: You can get a chemical engineering degree and to go Pharm. School and you would NOT be old. As Irish said, a lot of us (particularly on SDN) are non-trads. Myself, I graduated from UC Davis for my 2nd bachelor's degree, signed up for the Army, swore in, did 2 deployments, ETS'd and I'm almost 28, so I won't graduated, best case scenario, until I'm 31/32. No harm, no foul, that's barely into "adulthood" with the new "emerging adulthood" segment of age demographics being bandied about now.

Oh excuse my ignorance. I did not read the entire post at the time.

 

[OutCast]

Delano, he is talking about his friend that is currently in his P2 year, and said that he had to study 1000 drugs a semester or whatever.

@OP: You can get a chemical engineering degree and to go Pharm. School and you would NOT be old. As Irish said, a lot of us (particularly on SDN) are non-trads. Myself, I graduated from UC Davis for my 2nd bachelor's degree, signed up for the Army, swore in, did 2 deployments, ETS'd and I'm almost 28, so I won't graduated, best case scenario, until I'm 31/32. No harm, no foul, that's barely into "adulthood" with the new "emerging adulthood" segment of age demographics being bandied about now.

The thing is that a chemical engineering degree doesn't really have any biology classes in it. So, I dont think it would meet the requirements.

 

[IrishRxMan]

There probably isn't a biology requirement other than a possible core requirement depending on your university. So, yes, you would have to toss those classes in either before or after you graduate. You could get a fashion design degree and as long as you have the pre-reqs for the school's you are applying to. You would have met the minimum requirement of courses to go there regardless of the degree.

 

[OutCast]

There probably isn't a biology requirement other than a possible core requirement depending on your university. So, yes, you would have to toss those classes in either before or after you graduate. You could get a fashion design degree and as long as you have the pre-reqs for the school's you are applying to. You would have met the minimum requirement of courses to go there regardless of the degree.

how many credits are the prerequisites..

 

[IrishRxMan]

how many credits are the prerequisites..

I can't say for sure b/c each SOP has their own unique set. For sure you will most likely have to take general bio 1 and 2, microbiology and A&P 1&2. Some schools toss genetics and other bio courses in there, so you have to first narrow down to about 5 schools that you are interested in and go from there.

 

[adam022]

As a graduating chemical engineer, I would say anyone has the qualifications of pursuing the CHE major. Chemical Engineering's biggest aspect is self-discipline. If you love math and science but are ready to work day-in and day-out on projects, the major might be for you. I will say though that biochemistry is more and more heavily integrated into the curriculum where mass memorization is common.
I would recommend trying it out. As for pay, I just received a job offer for after I graduate making in the low 70s. With the grace of my heart though, I am choosing to prepare for pharmacy school.

Good luck in your decision!👍