Help Flesh out my Schedule!

[CopToEM]

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I thought I'd get some advice to help me flesh out my schedule and attempt to take things in a idealistic sequence. Unfortunately, since the school I'm at now took some pretty hefty budget cuts, I've gotten well out of sequence in several classes. Fall 2010 I'll be transferring to a school closer to home.

At the bottom, I listed my remaining pre-req's as of Fall 2010. What order should I take these in to result in getting the most out of the classes and not inundating myself... if even possible.

I will also have some room for some classes in Summer 2010. I would think that would be a good time to take Statistics, Art, and Micro. Thoughts?

[EDIT]: Also, at what point in this should I go ahead and start gearing up for the PCAT and applications?

Here's how it looks so far:

Current (Summer) 09:
US History 121
US History 122
English 112
Pre-Calculus 1

Fall 09 Semester:
Biology I
Biology I - Lab
Pre-Calculus II
English Lit 241
Chemistry I
Chemistry I - Lab

Spring 10 Semester:
Biology II
Biology II - Lab
Calculus I
English Lit 242 (May not need.)
Chemistry II
Chemistry II - Lab

Summer 10
Calculus II
Phys. Ed. (May not need.)
???? Statistics ????
???? Art Class ????
???? Microeconomics ????

Pre-Req's Remaining as of Fall 2010

Org Chem I w/ Lab
Org Chem II w/ Lab
Physics I w/ Lab
Physics II w/ Lab
Anatomy / Physiology (2 semester class?)
Microbiology

 

[naseuy]

Is there even a thing as pre-calculus 2?

For the most part, it looks pretty standard. It looks to be about 15 credits per semester, but if it's possible and if you think you can take on the workload you could do up to 18 credits. You can add the social science requirements, and the economics to the first two semesters, or you could even try to do physics so you won't have to take it with A&P, Ochem and Calculus.

 

[AStudentDoctor]

No need to take Calculus II; it is not required for (most) pharmacy schools.

 

[CopToEM]

No need to take Calculus II; it is not required for (most) pharmacy schools.

I have to take it for guaranteed admissions and to avoid going back and taking the SAT. Without the complete transfer curriculum completed I don't satisfy the Science Transfer agreement.

 

[tootoo30]

Yeah my community college breaks precalulus up into two classes: precalculus algebra and precalculus trigonometry.

 

[CopToEM]

Yeah my community college breaks precalulus up into two classes: precalculus algebra and precalculus trigonometry.

I think that seems to be the norm. The only thing that bothers me is the Calculus II. The university requires it as part of the transfer program in order to be guaranteed admission.

However, NONE of their Science programs have it in their curriculum. Strange that it's a requirement if you start somewhere else but isn't if you start with them.

Four back to back semesters of math.. two of them in the Summer term... might be the death of me.

 

[tootoo30]

Summer term math is the best, because they have to leave out a lot of material due to the short time span 😀

 

[CopToEM]

Summer term math is the best, because they have to leave out a lot of material due to the short time span 😀

Not I, we cover the same material in the same amount of time. I actually asked to see a copy of both the full-term and summer-term syllabus because I didn't want to get short-changed and end up struggling in future math classes. Both add up - essentially it's one day per section in the Summer compared to two days per section in the full-term.

The worst part is I'm teaching it to myself.... online class. This professor offers no notes, no instruction, no videos, just a book and some assignments. At least he's super available anytime you need him.

 

[CopToEM]

Bump.

Based on the above schedule, at what point during it should I attempt to take the PCAT?

When should I begin applying?

 

[diastole]

You could take the PCAT next fall and apply for school then. You probably won't do as well as you would if you had all your chems and bios complete but it is doable. If you don't get in, then retake in June and reapply.

 

[CopToEM]

You could take the PCAT next fall and apply for school then. You probably won't do as well as you would if you had all your chems and bios complete but it is doable. If you don't get in, then retake in June and reapply.

You're right, I think that would be tough. I'd be lacking some of Org Chem I, Org II, Microbiology, and A&P all of which are tested. As you said, it still wouldn't hurt to give it a shot though.. if nothing else just to see how I do.

I'm just concerned with even being able to study that kind of material with so many lab classes in my Fall 2010 schedule.

Hopefully that can/will work out. Not being able to matriculate until 2012 would suck.

 

[CopToEM]

You could take the PCAT next fall and apply for school then. You probably won't do as well as you would if you had all your chems and bios complete but it is doable. If you don't get in, then retake in June and reapply.

Diastole,

In the case above, taking it in Fall 2010, should I try to substitute one of my classes from Summer 2010 in for a Pre-Req? For example, I have above that I'll likely be taking:

Summer 10
Calculus II
Phys. Ed. (May not need.)
???? Statistics ????
???? Art Class ????
???? Microeconomics ????

Instead, should I try something like...

Summer 10
Calculus II
Phys. Ed. (May not need.)
???? Statistics ????
???? Microeconomics ????
Microbiology

I kind of hate to take a Science pre-req in the Summer. I absolutely love the Summer semester and have no problem with the courseload but I also don't want to be short-changed on material. I'm not sure if Microbio would be like that or not.

 

[diastole]

Diastole,

In the case above, taking it in Fall 2010, should I try to substitute one of my classes from Summer 2010 in for a Pre-Req? For example, I have above that I'll likely be taking:

Summer 10
Calculus II
Phys. Ed. (May not need.)
???? Statistics ????
???? Art Class ????
???? Microeconomics ????

Instead, should I try something like...

Summer 10
Calculus II
Phys. Ed. (May not need.)
???? Statistics ????
???? Microeconomics ????
Microbiology

I kind of hate to take a Science pre-req in the Summer. I absolutely love the Summer semester and have no problem with the courseload but I also don't want to be short-changed on material. I'm not sure if Microbio would be like that or not.

I ended up taking general chem 2 and A&P 2 over the summer. In gen chem, I think we covered all that we needed to do but we may have missed out on a lab or two. I don't care for lab so that was a plus. In my A&P class, we did skip a chapter on nutrition which wasn't tested on the PCAT but would have been cool to learn. I'm not sure what they would skip out on in micro if they had to. You could talk to some people taking it now and see what is missing and decide if you want to go that route.

The best way to prepare for the PCAT is to really concentrate on learning the material in your classes the first time around and keeping it in your long term memory. That means you can't cram because if you do, you won't retain the material. If you learn the material well the first time, you won't have to study that too much for the PCAT. You will have to learn the organic chemistry on your own but the knowledge required for the PCAT is way more general than what you need when you are actually taking the class. So it can be done but you might be awfully tired that semester if you have to do all the work for your classes and then study for the PCAT too. The alternative is to lighten your load and apply the following year. It is an easier route but it will be one more year before you get into pharmacy school.

 

[AKN16]

I would recommend taking no more than 2 science classes in a semester. so with that being said, your fall of 2010 looks ridiculous, and it could seriously hurt your chances of pharm school if you don't do well in them. I'm just curious y do you want to finish those classes in 2 yr? You'll most likely have a better gpa, and enjoy yourself more in school if you branch those classes out to maybe 3 years...

 

[AKN16]

Bump.

Based on the above schedule, at what point during it should I attempt to take the PCAT?

When should I begin applying?

Whenever you feel most comfortable in taking it- is the right time.. If I was you, I would wait til I could my breath after completing those classes. Then I'd sit down with the pcat book and study what's on it...

 

[tootoo30]

Not I, we cover the same material in the same amount of time. I actually asked to see a copy of both the full-term and summer-term syllabus because I didn't want to get short-changed and end up struggling in future math classes. Both add up - essentially it's one day per section in the Summer compared to two days per section in the full-term.

The worst part is I'm teaching it to myself.... online class. This professor offers no notes, no instruction, no videos, just a book and some assignments. At least he's super available anytime you need him.

Yeah, my syllabus stated the same thing, but trust me they never cover the whole syllabus in the summer. There seems like there's always something that happens and the professor decides to skip this and that LOL

 

[CopToEM]

I would recommend taking no more than 2 science classes in a semester. so with that being said, your fall of 2010 looks ridiculous, and it could seriously hurt your chances of pharm school if you don't do well in them. I'm just curious y do you want to finish those classes in 2 yr? You'll most likely have a better gpa, and enjoy yourself more in school if you branch those classes out to maybe 3 years...

I didn't list a Fall 2010. Just the classes that would be remaining as of Fall 2010. The question I asked in my original post was how I should take the remaining ones.

At the bottom, I listed my remaining pre-req's as of Fall 2010. What order should I take these in to result in getting the most out of the classes and not inundating myself... if even possible.