How hard is pharmacy school? (3-year program)

[EastBay80]

I got accepted with gpa over 3.5 and my friend got in with gpa of about 2.5
Will I be ok with a part time job?
Will my friend survive pharm school with that gpa (no working)?
Class is from 8-3pm. I want to work from 4-8pm to earn some money for child care.
(I have 2 small kids and have to watch them on weekends. I borrow my father to pay for tuition. I've worked as a pharm tech and saved enough for 3 years of expense. I don't want to take student loans because I see job market for pharmacists is bad.)

Thanks.

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[impatientcollegestudent]

You're doing your kids, yourself and your fathers hard earned money a disservice by even attending. You don't wanna make a thread later on on sdn asking "I have two kids and I can't find a job to support them." You're seriously going to take your fathers money for three years for a degree that won't get you anything anymore? Especially judging from your username? In the east coast? Bad choice dude, seriously think about it hard before attending. Also, I am pretty sure I know the school you're talking about ...it is a terrible and unorganized scam program that accepts 300+ kids and that's why your friend got in too. People with lower stats have gotten into that school. Do your research dude, pharmacy schools take anyone in and you know what that means? No jobs for everyone. Which is what everyone is facing now.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

Out of all of the flavors in the world you chose salty. Stop discouraging people from pursuing what they want. I'm sure a majority of people on this forum are aware of the saturation, but it doesn't mean you can make rude comments or discourage people. I'm assuming you didn't get into pharmacy school lol...

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

Out of all of the flavors in the world you chose salty. Stop discouraging people from pursuing what they want. I'm sure a majority of people on this forum are aware of the saturation, but it doesn't mean you can make rude comments or discourage people. I'm assuming you didn't get into pharmacy school lol...

Salty? I'm honestly trying to help my man. Why are people here so defensive and sensitive against actual real advice? I'm not discouraging her, I am informing her on her future which is very real for graduates RIGHT NOW. I didn't get into pharmacy school because I was in the middle of applying for this cycle. I had a Pharmcas gpa of 3.4 and a science gpa of 3.2 my man. Relax, I could gotten into literally most of the pharmacy schools with my stats, yet there is no way I'm going to apply and ruin my life. If people with 2.0's get in like hot cakes every year, there is no doubt in my mind I would have gotten in. I was enlightened by ACTUAL students and pharmacists about the field itself, and I am just spreading and warning others here. Why would you want to be misinformed about the field.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

Yes you are being salty. I am a current pre-DO student and saw one of your older threads about your grades for DO school. Did you quit the DO track because your grades weren't good enough? First off your grades are nothing to be proud of. An F in Gen Bio I? That's a red flag for any admission officer. If you have to retake a majority of your pre-reqs then I don't think you can handle DO school or pharmacy school. Your GPA is mediocre and so it your personality. It's sad to see someone discouraging others just because they couldn't make the cut. Don't make an excuse that you applied late in the cycle. If you're application was actually good, then you would have gotten admitted. Simple as that. If I were you I would pursue an occupation.

Impatientcollegestudent's grades
Gen Chem I- B-
Gen Chem II- B
Gen Chem Lab- A+
Bio I- F Retake- B+
Bio II- Currently enrolled
Orgo. I- B-
Orgo II- NC, Retake- A-
Physics I- NC, Need to retake in Spring 2017
Physics II- Need to take in Summer 2017
Psych.- A+
Calculus- A+
English- C+
English II- B+
Biochem- Currently enrolled for fall 2016.

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

Yes you are being salty. I am a current pre-DO student and saw one of your older threads about your grades for DO school. Did you quit the DO track because your grades weren't good enough? First off your grades are nothing to be proud of. An F in Gen Bio I? That's a red flag for any admission officer. If you have to retake a majority of your pre-reqs then I don't think you can handle DO school or pharmacy school. Your GPA is mediocre and so it your personality. It's sad to see someone discouraging others just because they couldn't make the cut. Don't make an excuse that you applied late in the cycle. If you're application was actually good, then you would have gotten admitted. Simple as that. If I were you I would pursue an occupation.

Impatientcollegestudent's grades
Gen Chem I- B-
Gen Chem II- B
Gen Chem Lab- A+
Bio I- F Retake- B+
Bio II- Currently enrolled
Orgo. I- B-
Orgo II- NC, Retake- A-
Physics I- NC, Need to retake in Spring 2017
Physics II- Need to take in Summer 2017
Psych.- A+
Calculus- A+
English- C+
English II- B+
Biochem- Currently enrolled for fall 2016.

Dude you made an account 20 hours ago and claim that you're pre-do yet here you are on the pharmacy forum...? What a snake lol.

I got an A in both bio 2 and biochem. That post was about a year ago my man. I did pretty well in my physics too with a a B+. I was doing DO, and then had a sub par MCAT, which made me realize I may not be suitable for medical school. What are you trying to prove here? Expose me? I have no shame or anything to expose? Then I switched to pharmacy school because my grades were in fact VERY GOOD for pharmacy school. I'm telling you, that's why I say I was like a lot of students here. I thought it would be easy to get in and that's why I decided to follow through with it. I EVEN HAD RECRUITERS BEGGING ME TO APPLY TO THEIR PHARMACY SCHOOLS AFTER THEY SAW MY GRADES lol. Says a lot about the profession my friend. All you did was prove my right with my grades lol.

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

Yes you are being salty. I am a current pre-DO student and saw one of your older threads about your grades for DO school. Did you quit the DO track because your grades weren't good enough? First off your grades are nothing to be proud of. An F in Gen Bio I? That's a red flag for any admission officer. If you have to retake a majority of your pre-reqs then I don't think you can handle DO school or pharmacy school. Your GPA is mediocre and so it your personality. It's sad to see someone discouraging others just because they couldn't make the cut. Don't make an excuse that you applied late in the cycle. If you're application was actually good, then you would have gotten admitted. Simple as that. If I were you I would pursue an occupation.

Impatientcollegestudent's grades
Gen Chem I- B-
Gen Chem II- B
Gen Chem Lab- A+
Bio I- F Retake- B+
Bio II- Currently enrolled
Orgo. I- B-
Orgo II- NC, Retake- A-
Physics I- NC, Need to retake in Spring 2017
Physics II- Need to take in Summer 2017
Psych.- A+
Calculus- A+
English- C+
English II- B+
Biochem- Currently enrolled for fall 2016.

I also didn't say I was applying last cycle. I mean this coming up one lol. But whatever man, I'm just here to warn others now that I know why the pharmacy recruiters were desperate to have me apply a few months back. It was already fishy to me. But anyways, I'm think of doing nursing and then nurse practitioner now . This is an option I'd suggest others here to follow through with too with me too to actually survive and have a job at least. The fact of the matter is, I am right at the end of the day. There is no denying my claims unless your stupid.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

You only have few As in comparisons to Bs and Cs. Also, you had to retake a fair amount of classes. Either way you didn't have a shot in the first place. You should pursue a career you are passionate about and not on the job outlook or you're going to be miserable. You should also learn the difference between your and you're. (Truest me on this one or you're going to look stupid.) How do you know you're right? You clearly can't spell and your grades aren't good. Go pursue nursing, just don't discourage others from their passion.

"There is no denying my claims unless your stupid."- ImpatientCollegeStudent

 

[Jhunter]

Why are you guys even fighting? Like what are you even fighting about? There's no point in arguing, because whatever the case may be...unfortunately and sadly; impatient student is right lol. His grades seem pretty decent to me and honestly I have know far more people who applied with lower stats and more retakes, I'm talking 2.3's guys...who got in lmao. He did have a decent shot in pharmacy school and that's why he was being targeted by scam artist recruiters too. They do it to a lot of students and even here on the forums, theres deans from various schools like chapman, marshal, and mcphs who try to advertise to students here. None of this seems suspicious to you? He's right, move on. Stop arguing over something that is clearly a fact nowadays.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

Dude you made an account 20 hours ago and claim that you're pre-do yet here you are on the pharmacy forum...? What a snake lol.

I got an A in both bio 2 and biochem. That post was about a year ago my man. I did pretty well in my physics too with a a B+. I was doing DO, and then had a sub par MCAT, which made me realize I may not be suitable for medical school. What are you trying to prove here? Expose me? I have no shame or anything to expose? Then I switched to pharmacy school because my grades were in fact VERY GOOD for pharmacy school. I'm telling you, that's why I say I was like a lot of students here. I thought it would be easy to get in and that's why I decided to follow through with it. I EVEN HAD RECRUITERS BEGGING ME TO APPLY TO THEIR PHARMACY SCHOOLS AFTER THEY SAW MY GRADES lol. Says a lot about the profession my friend. All you did was prove my right with my grades lol.

I was looking at the DO forum and saw your thread earlier. I decided to see if you ended up in DO school, but saw you changed to pharmacy.

 

[Jhunter]

You only have few As in comparisons to Bs and Cs. Also, you had to retake a fair amount of classes. Either way you didn't have a shot in the first place. You should pursue a career you are passionate about and not on the job outlook or you're going to be miserable. You should also learn the difference between your and you're. (Truest me on this one or you're going to look stupid.) How do you know you're right? You clearly can't spell and your grades aren't good. Go pursue nursing, just don't discourage others from their passion.

"There is no denying my claims unless your stupid."- ImpatientCollegeStudent

You just said "truest me" come on man...at least be smart when you're arguing against him about grammar... smh.

 

[Jhunter]

I was looking at the DO forum and saw your thread earlier. I decided to see if you ended up in DO school, but saw you changed to pharmacy.

Yea...that was the exact point of his post...? He said he switched to pharmacy because he had a good shot and not a good shot in medical school...

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

I got accepted with gpa over 3.5 and my friend got in with gpa of about 2.5
Will I be ok with a part time job?
Will my friend survive pharm school with that gpa (no working)?
Class is from 8-3pm. I want to work from 4-8pm to earn some money for child care.
(I have 2 small kids and have to watch them on weekends. I borrow my father to pay for tuition. I've worked as a pharm tech and saved enough for 3 years of expense. I don't want to take student loans because I see job market for pharmacists is bad.)

Thanks.

I am not enrolled in a 3 year pharmacy school but I've worked with people who have. They've all said it's difficult in that you have no breaks. No time to really rest your mind and prepare for what's next. Especially since you plan to work. It's definitely an info overload in my opinion, even med students need a break. But the plus is youll theoretically can get to work faster to pay back your loans.
Can your friend keep up? That's a question only your friend can answer.

As stated in every thread on this forum, pharmacy is saturated in many places. Make sure you research this school (its job placement and Naplex percentages) and the job market in the area you plan to live. In Cali or NY it looks bad but I've also read that there is an increase on students failing their naplex, meaning less grads to complete with. Just be prepared either way.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

What's the point of discouraging people from pharmacy if they are already aware of saturation?

 

[Jhunter]

What's the point of discouraging people from pharmacy if they are already aware of saturation?

I saw an earlier post of yours just now too. If you're going to through people's history here I figured I can too. Well look what I found...? Seems like you are discouraging people on the DO forum saying their grades are not stellar and telling them to look into other professions. LOL wow...you're pathetic man. And you're hanging out in the pharmacy forum? For what reason? Obv, you have other intentions. Don't kill the messenger. Impatientstudent is actually giving out real advice, unlike you... who claims to be a pre-DO, made an account a few hours ago, discouraged someone on the DO forum about pursuing medical school TOO and saying their grades are not "stellar" and should consider other routes on the field and then coming here to to the pre-pharmacy forum to attack a guy who is giving out actual reality checks? Please man...stop

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

Yea...that was the exact point of his post...? He said he switched to pharmacy because he had a good shot and not a good shot in medical school...

JHunter is actually ImpatientCollegeStudent. It's funny when you need to defend yourself on another account. Jhunter I noticed you made your account recently. Seems fishy.

 

[Jhunter]

JHunter is actually ImpatientCollegeStudent. It's funny when you need to defend yourself on another account. Jhunter I noticed you made your account recently. Seems fishy.

Lol...you sound ridiculous. I'm still applying to pharmacy school for back up no matter what. You never know. It's a last resort type of thing for me.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

I saw an earlier post of yours just now too. If you're going to through people's history here I figured I can too. Well look what I found...? Seems like you are discouraging people on the DO forum saying their grades are not stellar and telling them to look into other professions. LOL wow...you're pathetic man


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I answered your question. In the case of this thread, you didn't answer her question. She/he wasn't looking for your type of response. First off, she/he was looking for someone who has gone through a 3 year program to answer her program. You didn't... Why answer her question when you're not even in pharmacy school.

 

[RandomDuck]

To answer the actual question here. Yes of course it is hard! But if your work hard you will survive. To address the argument here, what that impatient dude is saying is in fact a reality like many here already realize. Even though he has a very gloom and doom attitude about it, it's true. But try to go for residencies if anything.

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

Lol...you sound ridiculous. I'm still applying to pharmacy school for back up no matter what. You never know. It's a last resort type of thing for me.

It's alright dude, the guy thinks I'm on some crazy mission or something. Just ignore him. If anything discouraging people rather than LYING and encouraging them about the field is more dangerous then what I am doing.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

To answer the actual question here. Yes of course it is hard! But if your work hard you will survive. To address the argument here, what that impatient dude is saying is in fact a reality like many here already realize. Even though he has a very gloom and doom attitude about it, it's true. But try to go for residencies if anything.

Your gloom doom attitude doesn't belong on this forum. It's obviously you for two reasons. 1) I only see one of your two accounts at a time 2) ImpatientCollegeStudent suddenly stops adding to the thread. Most people already know that pharmacy is saturated. Why tell people that when a majority of people already know? It's not new news. You're beating a dead horse.

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

To answer the actual question here. Yes of course it is hard! But if your work hard you will survive. To address the argument here, what that impatient dude is saying is in fact a reality like many here already realize. Even though he has a very gloom and doom attitude about it, it's true. But try to go for residencies if anything.

Pharmacist I've talked to have said the same thing: Do a residency. Also, start finding a company now. The company I work for, Kroger, prefers to hire pharmacist that have already or currently work for the company vs all other grads. I've seen plenty of people go from baggers to techs to interns to pharmacist and higher.

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

Your gloom doom attitude doesn't belong on this forum. It's obviously you for two reasons. 1) I only see one of your two accounts at a time 2) ImpatientCollegeStudent suddenly stops adding to the thread. Most people already know that pharmacy is saturated. Why tell people that when a majority of people already know? It's not new news. You're beating a dead horse.

My man, you're crazy. I literally stopped replying to you because of how nuts you sound. Even your actions and post history say a lot about you. I'm done replying to you, and have been.

 

[MedicineHKEZ]

Best of luck in nursing lol

 

[EastBay80]

You're doing your kids, yourself and your fathers hard earned money a disservice by even attending. You don't wanna make a thread later on on sdn asking "I have two kids and I can't find a job to support them." You're seriously going to take your fathers money for three years for a degree that won't get you anything anymore? Especially judging from your username? In the east coast? Bad choice dude, seriously think about it hard before attending. Also, I am pretty sure I know the school you're talking about ...it is a terrible and unorganized scam program that accepts 300+ kids and that's why your friend got in too. People with lower stats have gotten into that school. Do your research dude, pharmacy schools take anyone in and you know what that means? No jobs for everyone. Which is what everyone is facing now.

My school accepts 250 students at 2 campuses in 2 different states. Tuition is about 160k for 3 years. Borrowing 160k from my family member is not a problem. (If I can't pay back my dad, it's fine. I just have to take care of him for the rest of his life. I may do it too if I don't borrow his money.)
If I knew there's a surplus of pharmacists in the future and didn't start study Bio/Chem and spent 4 years of schooling, I would never choose pharmacy as my career. I started pre-pharm when the job market was good, then I didn't like school any more and went to work as a pharm tech and later started a family. While working, I met a co-worker/friend who wants to study pharmacy. We decided to apply last cycle and both of us got accepted. My dad supported me. I went into this forum and found out about the saturation. I told my family. My dad still supports me but my husband is kind of against it. I don't know about my friend's situation. But we both decided to go for pharmacy school.

 

[impatientcollegestudent]

My school accepts 250 students at 2 campuses in 2 different states. Tuition is about 160k for 3 years. Borrowing 160k from my family member is not a problem. (If I can't pay back my dad, it's fine. I just have to take care of him for the rest of his life. I may do it too if I don't borrow his money.)
If I knew there's a surplus of pharmacists in the future and didn't start study Bio/Chem and spent 4 years of schooling, I would never choose pharmacy as my career. I started pre-pharm when the job market was good, then I didn't like school any more and went to work as a pharm tech and later started a family. While working, I met a co-worker/friend who wants to study pharmacy. We decided to apply last cycle and both of us got accepted. My dad supported me. I went into this forum and found out about the saturation. I told my family. My dad still supports me but my husband is kind of against it. I don't know about my friend's situation. But we both decided to go for pharmacy school.

Listen...with all my heart I'm not trying to stop you. But I respect your decision. But before you move on...please please please talk to new grads in real life and and real pharmacists in your area please. I did this exact thing and it caused me to possibly turn my life around for the better recently. Please go talk to actual pharmacists and get in touch with actual students who just graduated from pharmacy school. We all are or were desperate in this forum. Your friend has a 2.5 gpa, and you a 3.5, yet you both got in. That speaks mountains about the program you're about to enter because many more below 2.5 get into it. I know for sure now what school you're talking about. But anyways, it's your decision at the end of the day and obviously not mine to make. I can only inform you on your reality. At least for the sake of your own children, your father, yourself, and your partner; go speak to actual local pharmacists and students from that very school you're about to enter. I truly do wish you luck.

 

[EastBay80]

I am not enrolled in a 3 year pharmacy school but I've worked with people who have. They've all said it's difficult in that you have no breaks. No time to really rest your mind and prepare for what's next. Especially since you plan to work. It's definitely an info overload in my opinion, even med students need a break. But the plus is youll theoretically can get to work faster to pay back your loans.
Can your friend keep up? That's a question only your friend can answer.

As stated in every thread on this forum, pharmacy is saturated in many places. Make sure you research this school (its job placement and Naplex percentages) and the job market in the area you plan to live. In Cali or NY it looks bad but I've also read that there is an increase on students failing their naplex, meaning less grads to complete with. Just be prepared either way.

This sounds like the program will consume lots of time, like med school or so?, and sounds like I shouldn't work it all.
I'm not so worried about the Naplex thing because I rarely failed any tests in the past so if the top 20% can pass, I think I can too.
Like any students, I worry about job replacement too. As of now, I consider it as gambling. Relocate can be my option.

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

This sounds like the program will consume lots of time, like med school or so?, and sounds like I shouldn't work it all.
I'm not so worried about the Naplex thing because I rarely failed any tests in the past so if the top 20% can pass, I think I can too.
Like any students, I worry about job replacement too. As of now, I consider it as gambling. Relocate can be my option.

The Naplex percentages aren't necessarily for you to see whether you can pass, but more so you can see how well that school prepares its students for the test and how well their curriculum is. For example, I've thought about famu just because I love the campus' culture and enjoyed visiting. But with a Naplex first time test taker passing rate of 56%??? Tells me they don't prepare their students well at all...

Not as heavy as med school but just imaging doing 8 am to 3pm mon-fri for 3 years straight working and being a parent. It's doable but I know me, and my mind would need the summer off....

 

[Mao263]

I got accepted with gpa over 3.5 and my friend got in with gpa of about 2.5
Will I be ok with a part time job?
Will my friend survive pharm school with that gpa (no working)?
Class is from 8-3pm. I want to work from 4-8pm to earn some money for child care.
(I have 2 small kids and have to watch them on weekends. I borrow my father to pay for tuition. I've worked as a pharm tech and saved enough for 3 years of expense. I don't want to take student loans because I see job market for pharmacists is bad.)

Thanks.

Did you work in undergraduate?
In my 4th year of my undergraduate I couldn't handle job and school. That was a time when I started biochemistry class, it took all my time. I chose to quit my job and concentrate on school. Thus, no work while in pharmacy school.
What you can do, is to start the school and see how you can handle it with a job. If it's not going to be too stressful, than continue working. After all, graduate school should be a priority.

 

[EastBay80]

Did you work in undergraduate?
In my 4th year of my undergraduate I couldn't handle job and school. That was a time when I started biochemistry class, it took all my time. I chose to quit my job and concentrate on school. Thus, no work while in pharmacy school.
What you can do, is to start the school and see how you can handle it with a job. If it's not going to be too stressful, than continue working. After all, graduate school should be a priority.

I never graduated 4-year college. I took classes here and there and then quit school because a B.S. degree sounds useless to me. I always worked 24h/wk, minimum wage job, while in school with at least 12 units/semester.

Listen...with all my heart I'm not trying to stop you. But I respect your decision. But before you move on...please please please talk to new grads in real life and and real pharmacists in your area please. I did this exact thing and it caused me to possibly turn my life around for the better recently. Please go talk to actual pharmacists and get in touch with actual students who just graduated from pharmacy school. We all are or were desperate in this forum. Your friend has a 2.5 gpa, and you a 3.5, yet you both got in. That speaks mountains about the program you're about to enter because many more below 2.5 get into it. I know for sure now what school you're talking about. But anyways, it's your decision at the end of the day and obviously not mine to make. I can only inform you on your reality. At least for the sake of your own children, your father, yourself, and your partner; go speak to actual local pharmacists and students from that very school you're about to enter. I truly do wish you luck.

I got it. For me, I'll do either pharm tech or pharmacist. I don't want to start trying any other career. 3 more years of schooling is the max I can do for the rest of my life. I always know nursing is not for me. I don't like 12-hour shift and clean up pt. I've thought of the worst situation I may have after the next 3 years...

The Naplex percentages aren't necessarily for you to see whether you can pass, but more so you can see how well that school prepares its students for the test and how well their curriculum is. For example, I've thought about famu just because I love the campus' culture and enjoyed visiting. But with a Naplex first time test taker passing rate of 56%??? Tells me they don't prepare their students well at all...

Not as heavy as med school but just imaging doing 8 am to 3pm mon-fri for 3 years straight working and being a parent. It's doable but I know me, and my mind would need the summer off....

Yeah, I've never considered the quality of pharmacy schools before. I thought it didn't matter as long as it's accredited. Hmm...

I still can't imagine how doing 8 am to 3pm Mon-Fri for 3 years straight and being a parent is like!!?

 

[Kobethegoat24]

This is the funniest post on this horrible website


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[PharmD0412]

where did u get accepted? do they require the PCAT?

I got accepted with gpa over 3.5 and my friend got in with gpa of about 2.5
Will I be ok with a part time job?
Will my friend survive pharm school with that gpa (no working)?
Class is from 8-3pm. I want to work from 4-8pm to earn some money for child care.
(I have 2 small kids and have to watch them on weekends. I borrow my father to pay for tuition. I've worked as a pharm tech and saved enough for 3 years of expense. I don't want to take student loans because I see job market for pharmacists is bad.)

Thanks.

 

[Bareitashvilli]

You're doing your kids, yourself and your fathers hard earned money a disservice by even attending. You don't wanna make a thread later on on sdn asking "I have two kids and I can't find a job to support them." You're seriously going to take your fathers money for three years for a degree that won't get you anything anymore? Especially judging from your username? In the east coast? Bad choice dude, seriously think about it hard before attending. Also, I am pretty sure I know the school you're talking about ...it is a terrible and unorganized scam program that accepts 300+ kids and that's why your friend got in too. People with lower stats have gotten into that school. Do your research dude, pharmacy schools take anyone in and you know what that means? No jobs for everyone. Which is what everyone is facing now.

Come on man why are you so impatient?

 

[GrapePropel]

I got accepted with gpa over 3.5 and my friend got in with gpa of about 2.5
Will I be ok with a part time job?
Will my friend survive pharm school with that gpa (no working)?
Class is from 8-3pm. I want to work from 4-8pm to earn some money for child care.
(I have 2 small kids and have to watch them on weekends. I borrow my father to pay for tuition. I've worked as a pharm tech and saved enough for 3 years of expense. I don't want to take student loans because I see job market for pharmacists is bad.)

Thanks.

you are correct the market is very bad and getting worse. As for school its not very difficult but your mileage may vary. If you put the time in you get A's. its that simple