High school student looking for guidance.

[tred1293]

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Hey guys, I'm a senior in high school outside of Philly, Pa and I was wondering if I could get a little guidance/advice. I want to attend at Temple University to get a pharmd. But, I need a back up plan if i cannot get into their pharmacy school. Any ideas?

 

[docB]

Do you mean a back up plan like other pharmD schools or a backup plan like another career?

 

[DrYoda]

Assuming another career: What types of careers and/or school subjects are you interested in?

 

[tred1293]

Sorry i was a bit unclear about that but another career or school. Just another plan to fall back on just in case i would get rejected (which seems to happen to a lot of people). As in, after i get rejected, where can i go from there with all the prerequisite courses I've taken? I wouldn't want to change studies at all. I looked into a pharmaceutical sciences major which covers all of the prerequisites and if i got rejected i could pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry rather than just a pharmacist. But isn't offered as a bachelor's degree at temple. Is getting rejected from pharmacy school a normal thing? Like, on average do people apply to more than one school? As far as subjects I'm interested in almost all math and science subjects.

 

[nlax30]

Typically when applying to grad/professional programs such as med, pharm, law, dental, etc.. students apply to many programs. Unless there is a really compelling reason that's keeping you in that geographic area then I'd suggest keep you mind and options open, continue your research on the different pharm schools in college and then apply to those that you might like to attend.

Point is, at this stage you might really be fixated on one particular school/program but just keep an open mind and apply broadly.

If it's an issue of a backup career plan, then that's another issue altogether.

 

[Electronegative]

Graduate school related to your undergraduate major, or go straight to work.

 

[nlax30]

Just saw your last post. YES, people usually apply to many programs at once. As a rule more people apply to a particular program than there are spots for so not everyone is going to be accepted.

If you're interested in a specific pharm school then I'd suggest looking into whether they offer some sort of early acceptance program whereby you go to college there and then apply for and complete certain requirements in exchange for guaranteed acceptance into their program. Not sure if that's available there but it's something to ask about.

 

[tred1293]

If you're interested in a specific pharm school then I'd suggest looking into whether they offer some sort of early acceptance program whereby you go to college there and then apply for and complete certain requirements in exchange for guaranteed acceptance into their program. Not sure if that's available there but it's something to ask about.

Thanks for the replies everyone, as you can probably tell I have a lot more research to do on the path to becoming a pharmacist and I appreciate the help. I didn't really realize that there were as many pharmacy schools as there are. I thought if i couldn't get accepted into the pharmd program at temple i wouldn't have any other options, but now i realize that if i complete the prerequisites i can apply to other schools also. Would you recommend completing just the prerequisite courses or a bachelor's degree before applying to a pharm school?

 

[Tenor CS]

Some schools require an Associate's degree, some require a Bachelor's. There may be some which require no degree at all, just pre-requisites. You do not necessarily need to be a "science" major, though.

 

[nlax30]

Thanks for the replies everyone, as you can probably tell I have a lot more research to do on the path to becoming a pharmacist and I appreciate the help. I didn't really realize that there were as many pharmacy schools as there are. I thought if i couldn't get accepted into the pharmd program at temple i wouldn't have any other options, but now i realize that if i complete the prerequisites i can apply to other schools also. Would you recommend completing just the prerequisite courses or a bachelor's degree before applying to a pharm school?

You might want to go check out the pre-pharm part of the forum as there is probably a FAQ but I get the impression that more and more schools are requiring a 4yr degree before pharm school. I think there are some that still don't require the degree but I'd recommend getting it.

 

[tred1293]

You might want to go check out the pre-pharm part of the forum as there is probably a FAQ but I get the impression that more and more schools are requiring a 4yr degree before pharm school. I think there are some that still don't require the degree but I'd recommend getting it.

Thanks for the point in the right direction. The faq's were really what I was looking for. Thanks for all of your help. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Depending on a number of factors i.e. SAT, GPA, ECs, you should choose 3 types of schools, reach, 50-50 and safety. I applied to 8 BS/MD/DO programs, I recieved one acceptance. The competition is intense, applying to joint programs you may want to apply to 10-15. Saint Bonaventures offers one http://www.sbu.edu/about_sbu.aspx?id=6258 Alabany College http://www.acphs.edu/Admissions/Apply/Freshmen.aspx MCPHS http://www.mcphs.edu/admission/boston/first_year/index.html Nova Southeastern http://www.nova.edu/admissions/academics/dual.html

Those are all programs to consider in addition apply to 2 or 3 safety schools for just a BS in bio or whatever interests you.

 

[deleted205891]

Are you currently enrolled in the pre-pharmacy program at Temple? I have heard from people in the Temple PharmD program that Temple prefers its own students to enter its pharmacy school (as opposed to students that did their degree elsewhere), meaning that you could be done with your PharmD 6 years after high school.

Are you going to be an HS senior now? If so, there's still time to look at other programs, particularly 0-6 programs where they take you right out of HS and you don't have to reapply to get into the professional phase. Temple isn't a 0-6 program, but USP and Rutgers are.