How did everybody do their first semester/quarter in Pharm School?
Started by blueclassring
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It probably would be better to ask this question in the middle of December because most schools are still going. With a month left, I have 7 A's and a B. It is not that difficult. Easy than I anticipated from what I had heard. Just stay on top on the work, little outside activities, and study! The pace is accelerated. We are constantly tested. But, I also work about 20 hours a week as well. So, that cuts into my studying. Get in first and worry about the other stuff later. Remember C's get degrees! Good luck!
JDUB
Ill let you know in a month. But my magic 8-ball predicts around a 3.5.
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3.83 my 1st quarter...6 A's and a B. The material wasn't hard but it was definately a change to have to study a lot and stay on top of things. Take care of your work but make some time for fun too! Remember, the best pharmacists didn't make 4.0's in pharm school. 🙂
I don't agree w/ the little outside activities part.
Pharmacy school is a blast. It's a time to study what you're honestly interested in, and in the mean while, meet hundreds if not thousands of other people that have the same interest (of varying degrees and variations). And yes, you can build camaraderie by studying with each other, but I find that my best memories thus far are outside the walls of academia.
But then again, to each their own. 👍
true that life is more fun outside the walls, but if you have a job, it is VERY hard to balance studying enough and working AND partying...theres only so many hours in the day 🙁
So how much study do you guys actually do? I try and balance things- I have about 27 hours of lectures/labs a week and do about 4/5 hours study every day. Does this sound near the average?😕
I haven't taken any exams yet though... how about giving each other tips on efficient study in pharm school??
I haven't taken any exams yet though... how about giving each other tips on efficient study in pharm school??
That's more than I've ever had in pharmacy school, to this point. The highest has been 25 hours.
After awhile you'll get a good feeling on what to study for and how much. When there are no exams I'll put in a couple hours a day just to stay on top of everything. When exams roll around, I study a lot. You can only study so much before it won't help you.
lecture notes, of course, followed by old exams.
I managed to pull off a 3.96 this quarter. Pharmaceutics was the toughest class by far. It's really all about time management and there is still time to have some fun.
Every school is different. Also, it depends on the profs, too.
At my school, first year is definitely the hardest. But all you have to do is focus on lectures and you'll be fine. I find that people who spend too much time on textbooks, studies, etc.....tend to not do so well on exams......but....on the other hand, they end up with way more knowledge then the rest of us. Depends on what's important to you, grades or actually knowing the ins/outs of the topic. It's hard to do both, although some people do that too.......they're the one's who have a harder time with outside activities. It's all about balance and what you're willing to put into it.
I attend Midwestern (Downers Grove IL) and to be quite honest the first quarter was not that bad. I did a little worse than I wanted (2 B's instead of one, rest A's). The only thing I learned is that unlike my undergraduate courses in the past, I cannot procrastinate at all. I need to study a little everyday or I quickly fall behind.
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I'm on quarter system, so actually, this is the perfect time to ask how I think I did. 4 A's and 2 B's. I got on the Dean's list with a 3.54. I'm happy. I tried a bunch of things that didn't work; notecards, re-reading lecture notes. The best thing for me is old exams. It helps me learn how the teachers phrase their questions.
Also, anything that you can do to give yourself the gift of time will definitely make an impact. I already have ALL of the busy work for one class for next quarter completely done.
I'm shooting for a 4.0 next quarter. I believe I can do it.
Chris
Also, anything that you can do to give yourself the gift of time will definitely make an impact. I already have ALL of the busy work for one class for next quarter completely done.
I'm shooting for a 4.0 next quarter. I believe I can do it.
Chris
We have a semester system, but so far (with 3 weeks to go) I have 5 A's and 1 B. I thought the first semester was easy, easy enough that I'm actually disillusioned about being in school. When I did my BS I remember having classes where nobody got an A, let alone have exams with averages in the high 80's or 90's. Anyone else feeling like this? 🙁 Maybe it is just because I have a BS?
At least next semester I get to take a fun elective, Intro to Vet pharmacy.
At least next semester I get to take a fun elective, Intro to Vet pharmacy.
Creighton emailed our school looking for people to sign up and take it as a 2 credit hour elective, seemed like a really cool course until I realized your tuition is sky high ;(
To the OP: First semester was a lot of material, but non-challenging almost monotonous material. I found it uninspiring and actually did worse than I am now (2nd year). Even though pharmacology/medchem/metabolism/patho are much harder courses, I find them more interesting so I try more.
So far I have all A's.
Not really, astonishingly the average SDN'er is probably above average in their class.
Class average on my pharmacology midterm was ~55.
So long as I don't bomb anything in the next couple weeks...
Dosage Forms: borderline A or B
Med Chem: A
Intro to pharm healthcare: borderline A or B
Biochem: borderline A or B
Physiological basis of disease: most likely a high B
Practicum: A
Things could definitely be worse as far as the workload goes... which I expect to experience the second year. 😉 I think I've already had about 40-50% of this semester's material from my bachelors.. and I'm loving it. 😀
I can always improve my time management. I should probably cut back on my tv watching and internet surfing. I've watched about 6-7 series of shows this semester so that's definitely eating into my study time. 😳 I'd probably have a 4.0 if it weren't for Lost, Heroes, Justice, BSG, House, Prison Break, and Nip/Tuck.
Dosage Forms: borderline A or B
Med Chem: A
Intro to pharm healthcare: borderline A or B
Biochem: borderline A or B
Physiological basis of disease: most likely a high B
Practicum: A
Things could definitely be worse as far as the workload goes... which I expect to experience the second year. 😉 I think I've already had about 40-50% of this semester's material from my bachelors.. and I'm loving it. 😀
I can always improve my time management. I should probably cut back on my tv watching and internet surfing. I've watched about 6-7 series of shows this semester so that's definitely eating into my study time. 😳 I'd probably have a 4.0 if it weren't for Lost, Heroes, Justice, BSG, House, Prison Break, and Nip/Tuck.
Pharmacy school is definitely doable. I never had this many good grades in any quarter in undergrad. Lots of information, and lots of memorization... I think everyone can do well if they worked hard enough.
Good job everybody!
Good job everybody!
Wow, everyone is doing pretty well. I kinda struggled. Just curious how come some people take like 7 or 8 courses?! That is a lot. I think once everything starts rolling, things won't be too bad. Just stay on schedule, that's all.
Well, I don't know where you go to school, but a lot of pharmacy schools have all required classes in the first semester or year, so if there are 7 or 8 classes required, then that's what you take. Of course, that ends up being several 1 or 2 hours classes, which presumably won't take as much time. I think most people have 17 or 18 semester hours total.
Well, I'm not finished yet, but I guess I'm close enough with finals on Monday and Tuesday.
I think it went OK. I'm not a straight A student anymore and I've really learned to not care - which is amazing in itself. Pharm school is much different than undergrad. In undergrad, there was school and then there was everything else. Pharmacy school has blurred those distinctions - my life seems to almost be all school, all the time. If I'm not studying, I'm thinking about studying or hanging out with classmates.
I'm looking forward to 4 weeks of nothing pharmacy related.
I think it went OK. I'm not a straight A student anymore and I've really learned to not care - which is amazing in itself. Pharm school is much different than undergrad. In undergrad, there was school and then there was everything else. Pharmacy school has blurred those distinctions - my life seems to almost be all school, all the time. If I'm not studying, I'm thinking about studying or hanging out with classmates.
I'm looking forward to 4 weeks of nothing pharmacy related.
Of course we can't forget about trying to take a break from school and ending up on SDN talking about school anyway!
1 more week of finals, then I'll get back to yall on this! So far, so good though.
heheh...it was like a SOCK to me. Never had to memorize so much craps before and had to spend so many hours to study before. I had to gave up so many car shows with my beau to stay home and memorize stuffs. Gosh, I felt like an overloaded hard drive. STill trying to adjust to the studying habit. I dunno when I'm ready for this.
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Pharmacy school is doable. It is a lot of work - you have to study, but Learning is what did it for me. There are some memorization but I tried to understand the concepts rather than memorize and I could apply it better.
1 semester down.
Congrats to all P1's.
1 semester down.
Congrats to all P1's.
Touche!
I feel very much like I'm done with school in spite of checking out SDN. (I owe a debt to SDN, so I'll keep up with it for as long as I'm able.) I'm happy that I passed everything. My GPA is good. Best of all, I get to advance to the next semester.
With regard to study habits - I will go back to doing the majority of my studying alone. I found it hard to get in the Zone with other people around me. I did find a good group to do exam prep with, so I'll continue that.
