Dangerous Crossroads

[LazyMooch]

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First off--I've decided that I want to go to MCPHS-Manchester

Now here’s my dilemma:

I just finished my 1st year of my undergrad and came to the conclusion that I want to become pharmacist. My problem is that I need to make a decision between completing my undergrad degree or going after the pre-reqs.

If I do the pre-req route and get accepted, I’ll save roughly 1.5 years of my time and around $20,000.00 worth of loans.

However, if I don’t get accepted, I’ll need an additional year of undergrad to complete my bachelors due to falling behind from taking the pre-reqs.

I’m leaning towards the pre-req route. Any suggestions?

 

[Bigj5768]

why don't you do both? Combine taking pre reqs with required classes for your degree. If you don't get in then you can fall back on your major, get a degree and apply again after you graduate.

 

[LazyMooch]

That would make me lose the advantage of going all out for pre-reqs. If I pack them all together I could stand to lose up to 1.5 years of undergrad debt (~25k). However, If I don't get accepted, I would have to spend about a year's worth of tuition in addition to the original 4 that i would have taken If I stayed with my undergrad degree.

 

[404075]

I'm in the same situation. I just finished my 2nd year and i'm applying for pharm school this summer. If i don't get accepted it'll take me 4.5 -5 years to get my Biology degree. I made some mistakes registering for classes by not taking any core biology courses my soph year. But for me, i'm okay with finishing in 5 years considering my school is relatively inexpensive. I also think 5 years isn't too bad but that's just me.

I knew the risks by trying to only focus on relevant pre-pharm classes: save money & get into the field ASAP or extra year in school (more $). I say just take advantage of the situation if you don't get accepted. For me i felt confident that my stats were pretty competitive (but you never know). If i don't get in this year, i'll definitely graduate with my bachelors and another degree or minor in something since i'll have extra time. I'm keeping my options open.

IMO i say go apply early if you feel you have a good chance! You took a risk but take advantage of your situation.

 

[chemguy79]

You can't straddle the fence here; If you're going to go the pre-req route, then do it. If you fail on your attempt at applying, **** happens and you reapply. I don't see what the big deal is, per se. If you feel that you're ready, do it.

 

[hillwilliam]

Make sure you work reall, really hard so that you get excellent grades. If you keep your grades up you will most likely get in.

 

[LazyMooch]

My grades are good. All A's--some of which are in honors or higher lvl pre-reqs. I'm also working for CVS as a cashier (just waiting for a tech position to open up). Besides that, I've got some leadership positions and a mingling of other EC's.

I don't think I can manage applying by the end of this year though. I'll probably have to do another semester.

However, since I can't apply midway through the year, I guess I could just do more EC's, volunteering with that semester off. Who knows?

 

[Passion4Sci]

My grades are good. All A's--some of which are in honors or higher lvl pre-reqs. I'm also working for CVS as a cashier (just waiting for a tech position to open up). Besides that, I've got some leadership positions and a mingling of other EC's.

I don't think I can manage applying by the end of this year though. I'll probably have to do another semester.

However, since I can't apply midway through the year, I guess I could just do more EC's, volunteering with that semester off. Who knows?

Or just relax - You might need it.

 

[LazyMooch]

I did it out and I'm going to finish my second year needing Org I & II and Physics I.

I figure I'll just finish them up over the summer/fall semester (in terms of time, I obviously can't matriculate for 1 class).

That would leave me with half a year to increase pharmacy experience before applying.

so 3 years + 3 years accelerated PharmD would put me right on track 🙂

My only worry is if I would be out of school for long enough that I would be forced to start repaying loans. I believe its 6 months out and repayments start.