How useful will a minor be in applying to Pharm schools?

[Buk Lau]

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I am majoring in chemistry and I was recently looking at minors. I really want to minor in English since English is one of my favorite subjects, or minor in Biology since I only need about 3 more classes to attain that minor. My question is if I do minor in Biology or even English, would that even be slightly beneficial to my application to pharmacy schools? Of course, with minoring, I risk getting lower grades than usual because of the increased workload..any advice would be appreciated

 

[fluorometholone]

Unless you think that your grades in chemistry would seriously plummet with a minor, go for it. I have a good friend who is a bio major and an English minor, and she's now applying to med school. In her essays, she wrote about the character of Robbie Turner in the novel Atonement and how his love of reading inspired (not contrasted) his desires to be a physician. Do what you love while you can- you'll never have this opportunity again.

 

[Buk Lau]

Nice! It must be a refreshing breath of air - that essay. And as for your answer, it's a very mature one and it's exactly what I was thinking of. Minoring in English isn't going to get me anything practical - but I just love writing and reading.

 

[croquemonsieur]

Unless you think that your grades in chemistry would seriously plummet with a minor, go for it. I have a good friend who is a bio major and an English minor, and she's now applying to med school. In her essays, she wrote about the character of Robbie Turner in the novel Atonement and how his love of reading inspired (not contrasted) his desires to be a physician. Do what you love while you can- you'll never have this opportunity again.

OP will never have the opportunity to read and write again? unless what they love is having their work graded, i don't see the problem.

to the OP: minor in English because you want to, not because you think it might give you an edge in pharmacy school admissions...because it won't 😉

 

[Buk Lau]

Well, he's kind of right in that sense. Learning about how to write won't present itself again until after I finish pharm school. Both of you are right, though: I should minor only if I want to, because I don't expect it to affect my application at all.

 

[Rouelle]

I am majoring in chemistry and I was recently looking at minors. I really want to minor in English since English is one of my favorite subjects, or minor in Biology since I only need about 3 more classes to attain that minor. My question is if I do minor in Biology or even English, would that even be slightly beneficial to my application to pharmacy schools? Of course, with minoring, I risk getting lower grades than usual because of the increased workload..any advice would be appreciated

I am always a supporter of going above and beyond what is required and think that some minors may definitely be at least a little helpful once you're in pharmacy school. However, to answer your specific question, I don't think having a minor will in any way help your application. IMO, the adcoms will look at overall GPA, math/science GPA, and perhaps specific pre-req grades...but will not put much consideration into declared major or minor.

 

[DrDrugs2012]

I'll play devils advocate for a moment.

Concentrate on your goals - you will have time to pursue your other passions later. For example, at some schools, you pay a fixed tuition regardless of how many credits you take and what colleges you take the classes in. So if you think later on you can handle a pharmacy curriculum plus an english class, you can do it for free then. If you can't you can always do it later in night school once you graduate and are working.

There is always time for passions. You can make the time.
But for most people, they get one or two shots at their professional goals. Don't leverage your goals in order to do something that won't help you right now.