How old is too old???

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Chase Pharm

Chase Pharm

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  1. Pre-Pharmacy
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Hello everyone,

I am very interested in a career in pharmacy and I am 32 years old...It will take me practically 3 years to do pre-reqs and then apply to a pharmacy school. Here's the deal:

I am not good at math, AT ALL!!! I have to start at the bottom(Elem Algebra) and work my way up!!!

Do you think I should give this a try or just try another field because I am weak in Math?? Also, do you think that I am too old to start a career in pharmacy???

Thank you for your time!!
 
Definitely not too old to start as some folks are in their 50s at the time they matriculate. Just try and do your best in your Math courses. It gets harder the higher the level but I think it's doable. My Math average right now would be a B and I am really not good in Math but I try.
 
delano2000 said:
Definitely not too old to start as some folks are in their 50s at the time they matriculate. Just try and do your best in your Math courses. It gets harder the higher the level but I think it's doable. My Math average right now would be a B and I am really not good in Math but I try.
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Thanks Delano2000!!!

I feel a little better I will give it a try!!!
Btw are you from Florida??? 😕

Never mind!!! I see your location is in Texas!!! My mistake!!!
 
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Go for it. I am 38 years old and just got my first acceptance to pharmacy school. It took me three years of doing prereqs etc, a lot of hard work, but it's SO worth it.

As for math, some colleges offer math refresher courses, which might be enough for you to get "caught up" on the basics and move up to higher level courses (trig, calc).

FWIW, I got a C in calculus my first time around and took it again and got an A. It's all about effort 🙂
 
i know a guy whose 56 and just started his pre-req's lol i guess its never too old to do something you really want to do.
 
If you're not financially motivated, or you're not going to be put in the hurt locker and you're not responsible for anyone else, then 32 is totally not too old to get started on pre-requisites and get into pharmacy school. Even if you graduate when you're 40, you'll have at least 20 years of solid practice ahead of you.
 
Two years ago I was in exactly the same situation and I am in my first semester of pharmacy school now at 34 years old. You are not too old!! It's a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the end!! Did I say it was a lot of work...LOL
 
Starting at 32 is definitely not too young. I was 33 when I started my 24 hours of reqs and will be 38 when I graduate from Pharmacy School. Good luck to you and if this is really want you want to do put your all into it and see where it gets you. Good luck.👍
 
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i don't know... but, they're having their interviews in 5 minutes...:laugh: NO OFFENSE!!! by the way, just a few friendly laughs, that is all... 😉

grumpy-old-men.jpg
 
"
If you're not financially motivated, or you're not going to be put in the hurt locker and you're not responsible for anyone else, then 32 is totally not too old to get started on pre-requisites and get into pharmacy school. Even if you graduate when you're 40, you'll have at least 20 years of solid practice ahead of you. "
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👍
Just one more thing, if pharmacist is what you want to be, then, go ahead! You'd rather work really hard 6 or 7 year and do what you want to do than spend the rest of your life dreaming about it, right?
Some of my classmates in Microbiology are in their late forties and still taking pre reqs for their nursing school. (I know that pharmacy and nursing are different but again, just some examples!)
So, good luck on whatever you will do!🙂
 
As ever, if you KNOW you'll love pharmacy, go for it. But, personally, I can only make educated guesses. It also depends on your other options. If all you've got is a high school degree, spending 2 years on pre-requisites isn't so bad. If you've already got a college degree, you're getting into "hope you're doing this for the love of pharmacy" category.

As I'm wont to say, with my B.S. in microbio, if I was starting pharmacy school at 32, I'd be breaking even or quite possibly losing money by going to pharmacy school. School expenses are huge, so are the taxes involved, and you're pretty much killing your chances of benefiting from a Roth IRA due to the salary cap on it (105k), and I've heard almost unanimously positive things about them. The growth on them can be huge, even if you factor in inflation... of course, I'm no economist/accountant, but you can easily triple your invested money counting for inflation. Heck, taking into account a Roth IRA, I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision from a purely financial perspective... time to crunch some numbers after this post! Of course it's not all about finances... but you also have the disadvantage of needing to complete your pre-requisites. School expenses can be huge, and personally, I would hope to have some kids by 32, or at least by 35 (if my wife was the same age) and it turns out older students do fare worse than younger students, probably due to their greater commitments.
 
Thank you guys for all of your incredible responses!!! You're right, I will go for it!!! I may be 39 years old when I get done, but who cares at least I will be doing something that I have a passion for and not be miserable in nursing!!!! 🙂

Congratulations to all of the newly accepted pharmacy students and current pharmacy students!! :clap:
 
I am 30 and will be starting pharmacy school at 31. If you really want to do it, you will find a way to get it done.

Chase Pharm said:
Hello everyone,

I am very interested in a career in pharmacy and I am 32 years old...It will take me practically 3 years to do pre-reqs and then apply to a pharmacy school. Here's the deal:

I am not good at math, AT ALL!!! I have to start at the bottom(Elem Algebra) and work my way up!!!

Do you think I should give this a try or just try another field because I am weak in Math?? Also, do you think that I am too old to start a career in pharmacy???

Thank you for your time!!
Click to expand...
 
Never too old! My wife and I are 39 yo and both in pharmacy school. We started prereqs in Jan 00....now currently in our second year of pharm school. It's been a tough road, some ups and downs, but we never lost our focus. We also have two kids...13 &16.
Go for it...but make certain it is where you want to be.

By the way....Before returning to school, I hated math....mainly because I sucked at it...due to the fact that I never really tried to learn it. Now that I've been through, what seems like a million math courses, I'm pretty comfortable with it.

Good luck to you in whatever you choose

**There are approx 6 students in our class over 39...1 over 50
 
I'll be 46 when I finally graduate. No regrets, but I sure am tired of being poor.
 
I thought I was older, (29 and applying) but I have seen much older than me.

As for math, I thought I was bad myself, I believed it so deeply that I almost didn't try. I started at the bottom, Intermediate Algebra, and used a professor rating site to find the best professors in the math department at my school, and I aced every math course from intermediate algebra through calc...my calc professor was so awesome I almost took calc 2 because she made the subject so easy to understand.

Moral of the story, never too old, never give up and use your resources...and I am in Florida.
 
Chase Pharm said:
Hello everyone,

I am very interested in a career in pharmacy and I am 32 years old...It will take me practically 3 years to do pre-reqs and then apply to a pharmacy school. Here's the deal:

I am not good at math, AT ALL!!! I have to start at the bottom(Elem Algebra) and work my way up!!!

Do you think I should give this a try or just try another field because I am weak in Math?? Also, do you think that I am too old to start a career in pharmacy???

Thank you for your time!!
Click to expand...

1. go to the cheapest school
2. ignore private schools
3. your age won't matter much
 
It's never too late to begin anew. We have many gray-haired classmates at UF and we all enjoy the added wisdom that they bring to the college. Math sucks...but put as much effort into your pre-reqs as you can. I got B's in all of my math pre-reqs so you don't have to get all A's to get in somewhere. Look forward to seeing you at UF if you apply and get in 🙂. PharmDapp87 says hello by the way (he is my roommate). If you have any questions please feel free to contact either one of us.
 
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It's not too old at all. I'm 32 and am doing the same thing. I actually graduated college in 2002 with 2 B.A.s. One in Psychology and one in Criminal Justice...unfortunately, almost all the classes I have taken don't go towards Pre-Pharmacy. Oh well, I am excited to go back and actually do something that I am interested in.
 
hey i'm 23 and i've been beating myself up for wasting so much time. I graduated highschool in 2004. i've only completed 2 semesters of college before taking a year off. i'm gonna start again in january. i feel soooo behind. i'm still a freshman and its embarassing. Feels like it'll be decades before i graduate . someone please tell me that its not as bad as it seems.🙁
 
Pills4life said:
hey i'm 23 and i've been beating myself up for wasting so much time. i've only completed 2 semesters of school before taking a year off. i'm gonna start again in january. i feel soooo behind. i'm still a freshman and its embarassing. Feels like it'll be decades before i graduate 🙁
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It might be, but even if it is, 31 isn't very old.
 
never too old...

in graduate school, three of my classmates were already surgeons. They were 32-46 years old, and were going to do a 6 yr PhD program with me.

Always chase your dreams 🙂
 
Its never too late! I am 44 years old and I started just like you. I started with Basic Math and worked my way up to Calculus II. It has taken me 4-1/2 years so far but its better than the alternative! I just sent my application off to OU School of Pharmacy in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I wish you the best of luck and dont worry about being the smartest person in class, just make sure that your the hardest working one!!
 
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A pharmacist can work basically until they are dead. It isn't like construction work where your body will wear out because of the abuse. I hear older pharmacist like to work in hospitals or independent pharmacies because it isn't as demanding as retail. Anyway, 32 is not old when you consider you will probably work until 70. The best advice for math would be to be passionate about it and look forward to learning. Math is so core that it is difficult to escape it in pharmacy work, but I doubt you will have to know the area under a sine curve.
 
Twenty-nine is too old. They should should shoot people for even considering pharmacy school once they hit 30.
 
I'm 45 and finished pre-req's and interviewing next week. So I don't think you are too old. Regarding math, get a tutor and hang in there. When I started college in my 20's I couldn't pass intermediate algebra (3 tries). Now math is my strong point. Age gave me focus. Us "old folks" gotta stick together.
 
Don't worry about the math I really sucked with math... The math can be overlooked if you do excellent in other areas. I took Trig C, Calc C- then I retook and got a B, but my bio/chem grades are pretty strong. I also got an 80 and above on each section of my PCAT, except for a 52 in the math section( I hadn't taken Calc yet at the time and I am extremely calculator dependent). I got accepted this year 🙂 So...... go for it!!!!!!
 
Ha. And I thought I was too old at 26.
 
I think 65 is too old. I went to one of those pharmacy orientation things and the prof was practically bragging how they accepted a 50 year old. They say our generation are expected to live to 100...that is...if the economy holds. Many thing this is this generation will have a worse life than the last.

Anyways, I'm 27 and gee, I felt like I was with a bunch of kids when taking the PCAT, but apparently, did better than 92% of them. IMO, if you show that you're the more wiser and mature applicant with the necessary skills, you're at an ADVANTAGE vs the 21 year old binge drinkers 🙂
 
jung1 said:
I think 65 is too old. I went to one of those pharmacy orientation things and the prof was practically bragging how they accepted a 50 year old. They say our generation are expected to live to 100...that is...if the economy holds. Many thing this is this generation will have a worse life than the last.

Anyways, I'm 27 and gee, I felt like I was with a bunch of kids when taking the PCAT, but apparently, did better than 92% of them. IMO, if you show that you're the more wiser and mature applicant with the necessary skills, you're at an ADVANTAGE vs the 21 year old binge drinkers 🙂
Click to expand...

I have someone in my class thats really old too. I think its a waste of time to go to school when you are old...I mean unless you have a ton of money, can easily afford to throw away 150K for pharmacy school and are really bored out of your mind and LOVE stress...I would not recommend going to pharmacy school. :laugh:

The 21 year olds are at the advantage b/c they will get the most $$$$ out of their pharmacy school investment. 😉
 
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