Does age matter?

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Broham

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I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
 
Age does not matter. Your GPA, pharmacy experience, ECs, LORs, etc. Those are what matter. Getting a bachelors does make you a more competitive candidate. It also depends on the schools that you are planning on applying to. Some schools require a bachelors degree and some do not.
 
Broham said:
I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
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the only way to get into pharmacy school at age 19 or 20 is to have a 4.0 GPA and you can only apply to few schools. I know 3 people who did it. The youngest at our pharmacy school was 19 years old and the oldest was 52 years old. Good luck!
 
BabyBelle said:
Age does not matter. Your GPA, pharmacy experience, ECs, LORs, etc. Those are what matter. Getting a bachelors does make you a more competitive candidate. It also depends on the schools that you are planning on applying to. Some schools require a bachelors degree and some do not.
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actually I would have to say that getting a bachelors makes you more of a competitive candidate. the number of people taking the pcat has doubled since last year and the although there are more pharm schools opening up, there still aren't enough to satisfy the demand. but i do agree that grades are not everything, having good ECs does make or break a person.

even if you had a 4.0 with a 80 on a pcat with barely any ECs, a lot of competitive pharm schools will take the person with a 3.3 with a 75 PCAT that did a lot of research, were leaders of organizations, and active in the community.

try to be versatile! which is why people are starting to take more time to apply so that they can get all this experience
 
Dang that kinda stung , just means hardwork ahead i guess. And what did you mean by few schools to apply to? Most seem to have pretty similiar prereqs and dont talk alot about age or anything. Oh and does a bachelors take 4 years? Im not really trying to spend 8-10 years in school when i can do 6 and be just as effective at the proffession. But so if i did go for bachelors should it probably be chem?
 
Broham said:
Dang that kinda stung , just means hardwork ahead i guess. And what did you mean by few schools to apply to? Most seem to have pretty similiar prereqs and dont talk alot about age or anything. Oh and does a bachelors take 4 years? Im not really trying to spend 8-10 years in school when i can do 6 and be just as effective at the proffession. But so if i did go for bachelors should it probably be chem?
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if you want to get a bachelor... major in something you are interested in. If you like chemistry go ahead but don't do it just because everyone is. Age does not matter.
 
Broham said:
I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
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With any professional school, it's going to be competitive. If you are determined to be a pharmacist then you have to show ADCOM how serious you are about the profession. The higher the gpa the better of course but it doesn't necessarily have to be a 4.0. You have to be a well rounded applicant with a good pcat score preferably >80 percentile. Gain experiences in pharmacy profession, have lots of ECs and take on leadership roles. Gain some kind of experience that sets you apart from those with bachelors and masters.
 
I wouldn't say that age matters, but often times age reflects maturity and us 19-20 year old applicants aren't really seen as being as mature as the applicants in their mid 20s or so.
 
I'm pretty sure it's not about age at all, but experience and maturity. Often experience and maturity come along with age, but age shouldn't hold you back.

If you know this is what you want to do, try to gain some experience and make sure you can answer questions they might throw at you during an interview to gauge your interest level.

Some schools really want applicants to have bachelor's degrees, but not all schools care. I really don't think a 4.0 would be necessary, but you do want to do well enough in enough courses so the school can see you're a serious student.
 
Broham said:
Dang that kinda stung , just means hardwork ahead i guess. And what did you mean by few schools to apply to? Most seem to have pretty similiar prereqs and dont talk alot about age or anything. Oh and does a bachelors take 4 years? Im not really trying to spend 8-10 years in school when i can do 6 and be just as effective at the proffession. But so if i did go for bachelors should it probably be chem?
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If you are planning on just doing the pre req, you can only apply to few schools as most do require either PCAT or BA/BS or both!
 
I would say follow your plan to do the pre-reqs and then apply after the two years. You will need to plan to go to summer school too because it is difficult to cover all of the pre-reqs in 2 years otherwise. If you don't get into one of your preferred schools, you can always continue on to the 3rd or 4th year and re-apply. Nothing lost by trying with just 2 years of college.

Keep your GPA really high and if you are applying to PCAT required schools, you will want to plan the timing of the test so that you have most or all of the pre-reqs done and time for review/study. This may be the biggest challenge with your 2 year plan.

I agree that you need to make an effort to have a well rounded application. However, I do not agree with a previous poster that said you needed "lots" of EC's. I think a couple of good ones where you can get significant involvement/leadership roles is essential. Basically, quality of activity and level of involvement is more important than having a long list.

Look around for shadowing and volunteer ops ASAP. They can be hard to find so the sooner you find some the better.

I'm not sure what region of the country you are looking at. Where I am, only one school has a mandatory BS degree. So, I don't think it is accurate to say "most" schools require it. This can vary somewhat regionally though.
 
Age does not matter. You are probably talking about the non-traditional applicant status. In medicine, the staus is not really relevant, unless you can convince the adcom that this career change is worth it. I am not sure about pharmacy, though....
 
My quick advice is to get the bachelors and then apply, for obvious reasons listed above. Best case scenario, you will be 21 when you complete the bachelors (or younger if you take summer courses too). Average age ranges anywhere between 24-28 for most pharmacy schools.

PS. I will be 23 when I start in August and will (hopefully) graduate when I am 26.
 
I am 26 and have known since high school that I wanted to be a pharmacist. However, as a young student, you can talk the talk but when it comes to reaching your goal, you won't know until you actually get there if you can walk the walk. College is definitely a different beast from high school and you will eventually realize you're a very small fish in a big pond.

Do I wish I had been able to get done with pharmacy school when I was 24? Sure, because it would've made my life super easy, but life does happen for a reason. I have been able to gain invaluable experience in the field, other than retail, meet and network with people who I would've otherwise never met, and matured greatly for things not happening the way I planned at age 18.
 
I heard.. keep in mind "heard," that schools like older more "mature" students. However I am sure they will take a younger student with higher stats.

In my opinion age is a small factor, it's really based on performance.

I will be 26 getting my PharmD. a RPh I know was 31, another 24.

Best of luck,

Amox
 
For what it is worth I will be going into my first prof. year (P1) and be 21 years old... When I had applied I was 20 and was contacted for interviews, so I strongly would encourage you to look past the age barrier.

I never have felt that age was an issue or even a factor when they are reviewing the applications. I am not an ADCOM member, but if I see the ability to complete the prereqs with competency, and strong factors in all of the other application areas, the age would be the last thing I'd look at.

Good luck though throughout, just stay positive and keep your eye on the prize!
 
Broham said:
I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
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it gets better with age😀
 
hey relax you are too young...look at my stats, I got here in the US when I was 18, and I did not know a word about english, maybe dog, cat, and my name is ...😀, so true...I went to study english at the local community college for 4 years, so I was 22, then, I had to research about the educational system here in the US, then I major in chemistry, and I will have my BA this semester, and will star pharmacy school in august this year. I will be just 28 when classes start...

So my advice, keep your priorities clear, do not join a fraternity if you can't tell your friends that you will go to the library for a short 7 hours brake 🙂, and work hard like there is nothing else...also keep VERY involving relationships to the minimum...is good to have someone, but when things get ugly, don't forget your priorities, I can guarantee you, that things will get ugly...be prepared

Good luck.
 
veyep said:
the only way to get into pharmacy school at age 19 or 20 is to have a 4.0 GPA and you can only apply to few schools. I know 3 people who did it. The youngest at our pharmacy school was 19 years old and the oldest was 52 years old. Good luck!
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That part's just not true. With the large number of schools out there, you don't need to have a 4.0. Here and elsewhere, we've seen/heard of the guy or girl who did a straight two year tour at a CC and popped into pharmacy school.

Granted, we're probably moving away from that, but it's still possible. We have a guy who turned 19 in our class.
 
pharm B said:
That part's just not true. With the large number of schools out there, you don't need to have a 4.0. Here and elsewhere, we've seen/heard of the guy or girl who did a straight two year tour at a CC and popped into pharmacy school.

Granted, we're probably moving away from that, but it's still possible. We have a guy who turned 19 in our class.
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I'll have a hard time believing that unless if they have inside connection. If you have contacts and connections you might get accepted, but even with all the new schools I just don't see how that would be possible. Even if it is possible you might have 1% chance of pulling that off! I have been in many schools and years of schooling and never seen that. I have seen 4.0s getting in!
 
veyep said:
I'll have a hard time believing that unless if they have inside connection. If you have contacts and connections you might get accepted, but even with all the new schools I just don't see how that would be possible. Even if it is possible you might have 1% chance of pulling that off! I have been in many schools and years of schooling and never seen that. I have seen 4.0s getting in!
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🙄

At my school, 13% of admitted applicants last year only had 2 years of pre-reqs. That is a pretty low number, but I seriously doubt that they all had 4.0s. And this is at one of the sacred "top 10" schools, so I would expect higher numbers at the newer schools that are easier to get into.
 
veyep said:
I'll have a hard time believing that unless if they have inside connection. If you have contacts and connections you might get accepted, but even with all the new schools I just don't see how that would be possible. Even if it is possible you might have 1% chance of pulling that off! I have been in many schools and years of schooling and never seen that. I have seen 4.0s getting in!
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Huh? No way dude - it is still pretty common. Almost half my classmates do not have a 4 year degree - I don't know the exact number that only have exactly two years but it is higher than 1%! And, like R2D2, I also go to one of the almighty "TOP 10" schools, can't imagine that newer schools are going to be more selective than us.
 
rxlea said:
He was talking about adding PharmD behind your name.. On your checks...
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I know! I am trying out my hand at sarcasm after a long dwell of not doing it. Maybe I should go back to srs mode! 😀

Honestly, I think I am going to go with Dr. in front instead of Pharm.D at the back.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Yarrrrrrr, I saw the edit right after I posted my reply. It's like phone tag only worse.

You seem tired, Lea. You should go to sleep!
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Tired is an understatement. No sleep for me for a while... I have a stats test manana then IPPE in the afternoon. Then studying for infectious disease and I also have to read an article on pharmacogenetics for a quiz on Thursday. Case study Friday. Dinner at a friends. Then work all weekend. I haven't had a decent night's sleep.... In, gosh, I don't remember...
 
rxlea said:
Tired is an understatement. No sleep for me for a while... I have a stats test manana then IPPE in the afternoon. Then studying for infectious disease and I also have to read an article on pharmacogenetics for a quiz on Thursday. Case study Friday. Dinner at a friends. Then work all weekend. I haven't had a decent night's sleep.... In, gosh, I don't remember...
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Almost makes you wish you let your girlfriend do all the work and you could be a kept girl? 😀
 
Passion4Sci said:
Almost makes you wish you let your girlfriend do all the work and you could be a kept girl? 😀
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My gf does a heck of a lot of work too. With two ambitious people together, it can be tough. I am investing in a maid, though. Can't decide if I want to employ an illegal immigrant or not.
 
rxlea said:
My gf does a heck of a lot of work too. With two ambitious people together, it can be tough. I am investing in a maid, though. Can't decide if I want to employ an illegal immigrant or not.
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Hah yeah my wife and I spend more time w/ each other on IM or FaceTime than we do anywhere else nowadays. It's a sad existence but I know it's a long-term investment, and like any long-term investment, it's gonna hurt for a while.

I'd go illegal. They work harder, they're cheaper, and hell, if INS shows up, you can just do like Meg Whitman (our former gubernatorial Republican candidate) did - Deny, deny, deny!
 
Broham said:
I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
Click to expand...

Dude you'll be fine i'm fixin to be 19 when i get into pharm school i'm one of the youngest in my class. as for the 4.0 not needed but good luck. I've noticed 3.5 is very competative in roughly half the pharm schools 3.2 is the lowest ive heard before interviewers have to really dig to find why this student feels they are qualified for their school. But to sum it all up your age only will hurt you if you still act a teenage idiot around the twenty sumthings while in undergrad and or interview. Also Most schools are looking for the well rounded student not the 4.0. there was this 4.0 girl i knew last year and out of the four schools she applied she got one interview and she didn't even get that until a week before that school's classes she bearly got hers so focus on the hollistic you not just the academic self.
 
Passion4Sci said:
I will be over 30 when I put Pharm.D officially behind my name. There are folks over 40 in my class.

Chill out.
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sorry man i understand what your saying but i dont wanna take 2 decades to get a pharmd degree, i love helpin peopel if i was gonna do that i would do premed or go for anesthisia if thats spelt right
 
Broham said:
sorry man i understand what your saying but i dont wanna take 2 decades to get a pharmd degree, i love helpin peopel if i was gonna do that i would do premed or go for anesthisia if thats spelt right
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Two decades is certainly hyperbole and your youth is showing pretty clearly.
 
Broham said:
I just turned 17 this january , and im heading to college this fall . Hopefully ill have my prereqs done in 2 years or so and that will leave me at 19 applying to pharm school is that young . Should i get a bachelors in something instead of just doing prereqs . Im asking this because ive been reading alot of posts and people are like 27 and 30 just now applying to pharm school complaining about trouble getting in... and some saying they were in an interview pool with people that have there masters in diffrent things idk, im gonna be pharmacist for sure but am i gonna need like a 4.0 to have a shot
Click to expand...

I think you'll have no problem getting in. I recently turned 20 and I have been interviewed by all three schools I applied to and accepted by one (still waiting to hear from the others). I don't have a 4.0 GPA. I have a 3.66 GPA and an 80 PCAT score. I have a couple good EC's, no pharmacy experience, and do not have a bachelor's. If I was able to get into a really good pharmacy school (Mercer University), then I'm sure you will be able to as well.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Two decades is certainly hyperbole and your youth is showing pretty clearly.
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when your refering to people ages 30 -40 just attempting to getinto pharmacy school , and in pharmacy school how is it exaggeration? im 17 , 15-20 years till im around the age of 40 why wait so long to pursue a career. A decade is 10 years and you know that so how was my statement in the least imature? Im not here to battle or argue or outwit anyone im just trying to learn, to better my future geez
 
Broham said:
when your refering to people ages 30 -40 just attempting to getinto pharmacy school , and in pharmacy school how is it exaggeration?
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Those folks (myself included) had other careers that they were in but decided they needed a change. You'll see that sometimes in life, what you want when you're 17/18/19 is definitely not: a) what you end up doing for your life and b) not necessarily what is best for you, and you realize it later. It's not like I sat until I was 26 in my parent's basement being unproductive and then magically decided to attend pharmacy school.

im 17 , 15-20 years till im around the age of 40 why wait so long to pursue a career
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This is a fallacious mindset. You don't have to "wait around" until you're 40 to start "a career" and I most certainly was not suggesting you do so. Due to your age, you immediately took my statement to imply that I was telling you to chill for 7 years working at Taco Bell or the bowling alley before even attempting to get goin' with your career. With that said, rushing and being over-zealous about the matter won't help you either. That's why you should relax. You have many, many years ahead of you to work and to punch in, punch out and do the rat race don't worry... you'll get your fill of it soon enough and you won't be so eager. You'll be impatient about when vacation comes or when you get to retire next, hah.

A decade is 10 years and you know that so how was my statement in the least imature? Im not here to battle or argue or outwit anyone im just trying to learn, to better my future geez
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No one's implying that you're trying to argue or outwit anyone, least of all me. I understand that a decade is 10 years' time, but you seem to have this impression that if you're not actively pursuing "a career" that you're wasting time, which is not at all the case. THAT said, again, I don't think anyone here is going to tell you to go sit and smoke pot for 6 years and then get started. Not at all. I just think you need to relax, like I said before.
 
I was just waiting til they legalized marijuana in Arizona. Now I can own my own dispensary. I wanted to be 100% sure I could have my dream job. :meanie:
 
Passion4Sci said:
Those folks (myself included) had other careers that they were in but decided they needed a change. You'll see that sometimes in life, what you want when you're 17/18/19 is definitely not: a) what you end up doing for your life and b) not necessarily what is best for you, and you realize it later. It's not like I sat until I was 26 in my parent's basement being unproductive and then magically decided to attend pharmacy school.



This is a fallacious mindset. You don't have to "wait around" until you're 40 to start "a career" and I most certainly was not suggesting you do so. Due to your age, you immediately took my statement to imply that I was telling you to chill for 7 years working at Taco Bell or the bowling alley before even attempting to get goin' with your career. With that said, rushing and being over-zealous about the matter won't help you either. That's why you should relax. You have many, many years ahead of you to work and to punch in, punch out and do the rat race don't worry... you'll get your fill of it soon enough and you won't be so eager. You'll be impatient about when vacation comes or when you get to retire next, hah.



No one's implying that you're trying to argue or outwit anyone, least of all me. I understand that a decade is 10 years' time, but you seem to have this impression that if you're not actively pursuing "a career" that you're wasting time, which is not at all the case. THAT said, again, I don't think anyone here is going to tell you to go sit and smoke pot for 6 years and then get started. Not at all. I just think you need to relax, like I said before.
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If he needs to relax, maybe a little pot isn't such a bad idea? Maybe Lea could hook him up?
 
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