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[calam1ty]

I'm at an awkward stage of my college career. I am a junior in undergrad and have already signed an intent to enroll in pharmacy school in the fall of 2011. Lately, I've been shadowing some pharmacists and talking with people about med school and I've been thinking that medicine might be the career that will make me the happiest. Don't get me wrong, pharmacy is a great career and I love the sciences, but I feel like I want more patient interaction and solving the mysteries of the human body.

My problem is even if I wanted to apply to med school, I won't be able to finish my major on time due to two classes that are only offered in the spring (one being a pre-req for the other). My GPA is kinda low (3.4) and I haven't taken the MCAT, but I am confident that I can do well enough to get in the upper 20s/lower 30s after my experience with the PCAT (89th percentile). I have no experience shadowing a doctor and none in the research lab. So has anyone ever heard of a year one pharmacy student applying to med school and getting in? I still have the summer to build up my application with volunteering, but all my pre reqs are done and all I would have to do is take the MCAT. The thing is, I won't have a BA degree, but I'll be in in pharmacy school as maybe sort of a backup in case I don't get into med school.

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[Disinence2]

I'm at an awkward stage of my college career. I am a junior in undergrad and have already signed an intent to enroll in pharmacy school in the fall of 2011. Lately, I've been shadowing some pharmacists and talking with people about med school and I've been thinking that medicine might be the career that will make me the happiest. Don't get me wrong, pharmacy is a great career and I love the sciences, but I feel like I want more patient interaction and solving the mysteries of the human body.

My problem is even if I wanted to apply to med school, I won't be able to finish my major on time due to two classes that are only offered in the spring (one being a pre-req for the other). My GPA is kinda low (3.4) and I haven't taken the MCAT, but I am confident that I can do well enough to get in the upper 20s/lower 30s after my experience with the PCAT (89th percentile). I have no experience shadowing a doctor and none in the research lab. So has anyone ever heard of a year one pharmacy student applying to med school and getting in? I still have the summer to build up my application with volunteering, but all my pre reqs are done and all I would have to do is take the MCAT. The thing is, I won't have a BA degree, but I'll be in in pharmacy school as maybe sort of a backup in case I don't get into med school.

Interesting...

So you don't need a BA for pharm school? You are required to have one at all US MD programs to my knowledge.

If you want to be a doctor go to medical school, if you want to be a pharmacist go to pharm school. A year or 2 to complete your BA and get your app in order is worth it if you get to spend the rest of your life doing what you love.

Don't start pharm school, leaving your program is not viewed kindly. Let someone who wants to be a pharmacist take your spot if this is not the road you want to go down.

You can always do med school after pharm school. There are 2 in my class like that, who did extremely well during med school and matched into very competitive programs. This adds 4 years plus debt.

You gotta figure out what you want, then go for it! You should probably finish your bachelors, just because that seems like the reasonable thing to do.

Best of luck

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

No bachelor's degree = statistically no chance at medical school acceptance ( Unless you get the PharmD and decide to apply afterward). Also if you're in a 2-4 BA/PharmD program and you're getting into the PharmD part of it next year you'll pretty much have to finish it if you want to get into medical school ( Medical schools will not be happy seeing you drop out of a doctoral program).
So point being.. you might want to think this all through.. because if you want to get into medical school you'll either need to drop the PharmD and get a BA or spend the next 4 years getting the PharmD and then go for the MD/DO afterword.



Edit- I just read you have signed an intent to enter the pharmacy program.. If there is no way of getting out of this contract then your best bet would be to do the PharmD program and then in your final year apply to medical schools.

 

[estradiol9]

You state that you are a junior but you are already accepted to a pharmacy program so I assume this means you will not be graduating? First of all, I believe that most medical schools require that you will have a bachelors degree by the time you matriculate.

Secondly, even if you find a medical school that doesn't require you to graduate, you still have to complete the pre-requisites. I am almost certain that all medical schools require two semesters of general biology & their labs, two semesters of general chemistry & their labs, two semesters of organic chemistry & their labs, and two semesters of physics & their labs. Calculus, Statistics, and English are other common prerequisites.

In addition, if you decide to finish your pre-reqs and graduate, it sounds like you will be graduating late. I have often heard that this is frowned upon.

Not to mention that your GPA is a little on the low side and if you predict a MCAT in the upper 20s, that is also on the low side. What extracurriculars do you have? Most applicants have physician shadowing already completed as well. You have to remember that you will most likely be asked, "Why medicine?".

That doesn't mean you shouldn't get into medicine however. But if you decide to, I would work on beginning to shadow physicians asap. Also, take classes that will raise your GPA if you can. Try to take the prereqs you have not completed over the summer at a local college/university if yours does not offer them. Don't delay graduation so that you can finish your prereqs. As for going to pharmacy school and applying while in pharmacy school, I still think many medical schools require you to have a degree already before you apply. Plus I can only imagine how many adcoms will ask you why you decided to change from pharmacy to medicine at the last minute.

 

[estradiol9]

Oh and if you can not find a way to finish your prerequisites by the time you are expected to graduate, there are special masters programs that solve this problem. I believe you would be better off graduating on time, completing a masters program to finish pre-requisites, and taking time to prepare for your MCAT and gain clinical experience rather than go off to pharmacy school and decide to leave to get into medicine.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Oh and if you can not find a way to finish your prerequisites by the time you are expected to graduate, there are special masters programs that solve this problem. I believe you would be better off graduating on time, completing a masters program to finish pre-requisites, and taking time to prepare for your MCAT and gain clinical experience rather than go off to pharmacy school and decide to leave to get into medicine.

Masters & SMPs aren't around for completing pre-reqs. Furthermore.. pharmacy students have all the same pre-reqs that pre-meds take along with a few more like A&P so this isn't a problem.

 

[calam1ty]

You don't need to have a BA to go to pharmacy school and I was hoping there would be a chance of some people going to med school without a BA. On a lot of med school websites it says that you only need 90 hours of coursework to matriculate, and I've fulfilled all the pre reqs for med school since they are the same for pharmacy school(except for calc II, which I don't need since I wouldn't apply to upper tier med schools).

I will not be graduating as I was very confident in myself that I was going to go into pharmacy, so I didn't take some of my prereqs for Chem BA, which means I would have to take and extra year all because inorganic chem is only offered in the spring(and polysynthetic chem is only offered in the spring also and inorganic is a prereq FML), and that is kinda a waste of one year. If there is no chance of getting into med school while being a PY1 in pharm school, I might finish up my PharmD to make myself look like a better applicant, as my parents would hate me for staying an extra year wasting their money.

There is always this coming summer where I can boost my application by shadowing a doctor. I can also relate to my sudden urge to go to med school instead of pharmacy through experiences I've had with shadowing pharmacists in retail and clinics. Plus, I am not a genius, but I have the real passion to work my butt off to become a doctor as I'm the first person in my family to go to college.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Medical schools don't require a BA only in very few situations, usually for applicants with a PharmD but no BA or in other extraneous situations. Otherwise you'll have utterly and statistically no chance of entering medical school if you don't have at least a BA.

 

[kcin]

I think it's 90 hours of coursework to APPLY not matriculate. You're expected to complete your last year of an undergraduate degree by the time you matriculate/register/whatever.

 

[estradiol9]

You don't need to have a BA to go to pharmacy school and I was hoping there would be a chance of some people going to med school without a BA. On a lot of med school websites it says that you only need 90 hours of coursework to matriculate, and I've fulfilled all the pre reqs for med school since they are the same for pharmacy school(except for calc II, which I don't need since I wouldn't apply to upper tier med schools).

I will not be graduating as I was very confident in myself that I was going to go into pharmacy, so I didn't take some of my prereqs for Chem BA, which means I would have to take and extra year all because inorganic chem is only offered in the spring(and polysynthetic chem is only offered in the spring also and inorganic is a prereq FML), and that is kinda a waste of one year. If there is no chance of getting into med school while being a PY1 in pharm school, I might finish up my PharmD to make myself look like a better applicant, as my parents would hate me for staying an extra year wasting their money.

There is always this coming summer where I can boost my application by shadowing a doctor. I can also relate to my sudden urge to go to med school instead of pharmacy through experiences I've had with shadowing pharmacists in retail and clinics. Plus, I am not a genius, but I have the real passion to work my butt off to become a doctor as I'm the first person in my family to go to college.

Woops. For some reason I thought you said you didn't finish your prereqs. So sorry.

Is there anywhere you can take those classes over the summer? That way your university can transfer the credits and allow you to graduate?

 

[hiyaman]

You don't need to have a BA to go to pharmacy school and I was hoping there would be a chance of some people going to med school without a BA. On a lot of med school websites it says that you only need 90 hours of coursework to matriculate, and I've fulfilled all the pre reqs for med school since they are the same for pharmacy school(except for calc II, which I don't need since I wouldn't apply to upper tier med schools).

I will not be graduating as I was very confident in myself that I was going to go into pharmacy, so I didn't take some of my prereqs for Chem BA, which means I would have to take and extra year all because inorganic chem is only offered in the spring(and polysynthetic chem is only offered in the spring also and inorganic is a prereq FML), and that is kinda a waste of one year. If there is no chance of getting into med school while being a PY1 in pharm school, I might finish up my PharmD to make myself look like a better applicant, as my parents would hate me for staying an extra year wasting their money.

There is always this coming summer where I can boost my application by shadowing a doctor. I can also relate to my sudden urge to go to med school instead of pharmacy through experiences I've had with shadowing pharmacists in retail and clinics. Plus, I am not a genius, but I have the real passion to work my butt off to become a doctor as I'm the first person in my family to go to college.

Umm... If you do pharm school 4 yrs of tuition would be a lot more debt than if you take a extra year of undergrad to get a BA (unless i'm missing something here). If you seriously want to do medicine you should shadow some doctors ASAP to see if you would enjoy it.

 

[HAV000]

Umm... If you do pharm school 4 yrs of tuition would be a lot more debt than if you take a extra year of undergrad to get a BA (unless i'm missing something here). If you seriously want to do medicine you should shadow some doctors ASAP to see if you would enjoy it.

Agreed. OP, less time+less money=less waste, if that makes any sense

 

[jake2]

Technically, in theory, there are schools that do not require a BA for admission.

In practice, I have never heard of them actually admitting anybody without a BA. I believe this may be a holdover from times long gone by.

 

[obgyny]

I'm at an awkward stage of my college career. I am a junior in undergrad and have already signed an intent to enroll in pharmacy school in the fall of 2011. Lately, I've been shadowing some pharmacists and talking with people about med school and I've been thinking that medicine might be the career that will make me the happiest. Don't get me wrong, pharmacy is a great career and I love the sciences, but I feel like I want more patient interaction and solving the mysteries of the human body.

My problem is even if I wanted to apply to med school, I won't be able to finish my major on time due to two classes that are only offered in the spring (one being a pre-req for the other). My GPA is kinda low (3.4) and I haven't taken the MCAT, but I am confident that I can do well enough to get in the upper 20s/lower 30s after my experience with the PCAT (89th percentile). I have no experience shadowing a doctor and none in the research lab. So has anyone ever heard of a year one pharmacy student applying to med school and getting in? I still have the summer to build up my application with volunteering, but all my pre reqs are done and all I would have to do is take the MCAT. The thing is, I won't have a BA degree, but I'll be in in pharmacy school as maybe sort of a backup in case I don't get into med school.

This is just my opinion, but if I were you, I would not go through with pharmacy school if you intend to go to medical school anyways. First of all, I would make SURE that becoming a doctor is what you absolutely want to do. And if that's the case, then what would be the point of going through 4 years of pharmacy school (and waste 4 years of tuition!!) if you don't want to become a pharmacist? I don't think it will make you more competitive necessarily (and that's WAY too much money and years wasted to make you more "competitive"). Med school admissions committees are going to want to know why on earth you went to pharmacy school, and why now you want to do medical school, and prove to them you won't just switch careers again. And as someone else mentioned, give your pharmacy school spot to someone that actually wants it.

If you're really serious about medical school, decline pharmacy school (hopefully you still can) and take another year (or however long it would take) to finish up your Bachelor's degree, get great grades to raise your GPA, study for the MCAT and get a great score, and work on extracurricular activities. Do you have extracurricular activities that are geared toward medicine specifically? Or are they just pharmacy related?

Just my 2 cents...