Degree or just pre-pharmacy coursework?

[Brill]

How many of you will have a degree when you plan to start pharmacy school? How many are applying with 2 or 3 years of college having just completed pre-pharmacy coursework?

It seems like more and more applicants for pharmacy school have degrees. Personally, I'll have one at the end of this summer with plans to start pharmacy school in the fall. What about everyone else?

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[ucdbiochem]

where are u going to p-school?

 

[Triangulation]

Having a degree is the way it's going. 96% of UCSF students had a degree. It can still be done without, but you've really gotta know from when you first start undergrad that that's what you want to do and take care of everything (grades, extra-currics, good letters) early on. At the ucsf iv i met a woman who got in after doing two years at an undergrad university out-of-state, but she really had her act together. If you want to get to the more competitive schools, i think you should finish. I personally think you get more out of it anyway. Why wouldn't you wanna finish, y'know?

 

[Brill]

But answer the question. I want to confirm that I'm not the only one dedicating 8+ years to this

 

[ucdbiochem]

i think a lot of people apply with a BA or BS, given the competition these days.
don't worry brill. what matters is that you get in to p-school.

 

[Triangulation]

yeah i've got a BS

 

[dgroulx]

I'll have my BS in biology this May. I have not been accepted anywhere, yet.

 

[Brill]

Have you had any interviews yet?

I saw you post your PCAT scores and your GPA -- they're both excellent. What do you think the problem is?

 

[ucdbiochem]

gpa and pcat score are just part of the application. other things like personal statement, letter of rec, and experience are also crucial. and of course the interview!!

 

[Brill]

I didn't mean to imply that the only considerations are GPA and PCAT scores. I was pointing out that those two areas couldn't have been her problem, so obviously it must be something else (interview, letters of rec., etc.). That's why I was asking.

 

[ucdbiochem]

brill, you're right. i'm sure dgroulx knows what the problem is.
hope dgroulx will be able to that part of the application.

 

[dgroulx]

Originally posted by Brill
Have you had any interviews yet?

I saw you post your PCAT scores and your GPA -- they're both excellent. What do you think the problem is?

My problem is that I have no pharmacy experience. I've been a computer programmer for 20 years, went back to school to get my degree and pursue pharmacy. I'm 46 years old, BTW.

I've had an interview, but it was from a place that doesn't require interviews. They only interview you if they have a problem with you. They said that my personal statement sounded like I had no pharmacy experience. They also thought that I sounded a little arrogant. My writing style is not flowery, it is direct and to the point.

I have an interview at another school, in May. This will be a real interview. I am also in the process of sending out more applications.

I can take a year off and work as a tech for a year, if I need to.

 

[BMBiology]

graduated with a BA and BS, as well as a minior

 

[Nocsag56]

Hi Brill,

I have a BS in Chemistry - emphasis in Biochem.

Yes, the trend has been more applicants with bachelor's degrees. I agree with Triangulation: the degree is the way to go if you want to be competitive.

Much luck to you!
-s

 

[Triangulation]

dgroulx,

I can't stress this enough GET GOOD LETTERS OF REC!!! That seems to be the difference bw a lot of applicants that are similarly competitive. The ones that are getting iv's and getting in have good ones. It's not easy to cultivate. the quickest way to get a good one is to volunteer at a pharmacy and really get to know the pharmacists there. Tell them what you're after and how much you're interested. With professors you know the drill: go to office hours, see if you can volunteer in their labs. You're rec letters and your essay are perhaps the only way to take control of the app process b/c they can't decide what those things will say. You need to paint a picture of yourself.

I'm sorry and surprised about the essay feedback at the iv. What i've heard is you want to always tell specifically what you did that was great, but never say it was great i.e. the course of action you took should speak for itself.

Anyway....

 

[TotalKayOs]

i have a bs in psychobiology. i think having the degree has helped me. all my electives were waived unlike those incoming transfers that did not have a degree, but just 2 or 3 years of pre-pharm course work.

 

[MolarGuy02]

I'm not sure why some schools require the extensive protocall for pre-admssions, while others do not. For example, a top ten Pharmacy school that I know of neither requires a BS or a BA, nor the PCAT, and does not interview. Some less competitive Pharm. schools require all three. Does anyone have an idea of why this is so?
-MolarGuy

 

[pharmer]

I started pharm school with the min 2 years of pre-pharm and will be graudating this May with the min 6 years. Unfortunately pharmacy was not exactly for me and I will be starting med school this Aug. Another 4 years, ugh! Oh well, I should have a good undstanding of pharm when I am done.

Late,
pharmer

 

[Brill]

I had an interview today and was talking to some of the current pharmacy students at the school. They said about 60% of each class has a degree and it's growing each year. One of the students I was talking to actually has a Master's in biochemistry and he also told me about two other students, one who had his JD before going to pharmacy school and another who already had a PhD in biochemistry.

 

[Triangulation]

That's what's great about pharmacy, it's becoming all-encompassing as far was what you want do do with. Just realizing how complex it is and how it's gonna be makes it cool.

I do believe that if you have a degree they should alter the pre-reqs. The pre-reqs should serve as a guide if you're planning on going to pharm school w/o a degree and they want to make sure you have those skills, but making me take a speech class after I've had work experience, five years out of college is trite A better allocation of resources could be used than me taking these silly courses.

 

[ucdbiochem]

triangulation, i understand your point. actually a friend of mine was applying to a p-school that required microbio lec and lab, and my friend only took the lec. my friend has done lab research for two years, so he talked to the admission people if he could be exempted from the lab. they later ok'ed that.
so if you feel that there are some silly courses, by all means talk to the admission people.
but keep one thing in mind though, given the competitiveness these days, it would be wise to complete all the pre-req's.

 

[Modnar]

You're definitely not the only one, Brill. I have a B.A. in psychology and after a year off and a year of prereqs, I'll be in pharmacy school.

 

[Brill]

I have absolutely no direct pharmacy experience either, and I got into the one school I applied to (I do have about three years of experience in healthcare though). My interviewer brought it up but made sure to mention that it wasn't a big deal.