I'm a bit lost, not sure of what to do.

[PBuster]

---

Members don't see this ad.

To be honest, I don't know exactly what I would like to do when I'm on my own but for now, I'm thinking of becoming a Pharmacist. The problem is that I'm going into my 3rd year of college and I'm not entirely sure if I'm too late.

I'm currently a Bio major (might switch over to Biochemistry) and taking a Pre-Med course. I've taken quite a bit of Biology and Chem classes so hopefully I'll have enough credits to fulfill some pre-requisites. My biggest problem, however, are my Math credits. I took AP Calc B in high school and the credits transferred to my college but how will I know if the Pharm schools accept AP credit?

 

[ChemistWiz]

To be honest, I don't know exactly what I would like to do when I'm on my own but for now, I'm thinking of becoming a Pharmacist. The problem is that I'm going into my 3rd year of college and I'm not entirely sure if I'm too late.

I'm currently a Bio major (might switch over to Biochemistry) and taking a Pre-Med course. I've taken quite a bit of Biology and Chem classes so hopefully I'll have enough credits to fulfill some pre-requisites. My biggest problem, however, are my Math credits. I took AP Calc B in high school and the credits transferred to my college but how will I know if the Pharm schools accept AP credit?

Every Pharm school I've looked at doesn't accept AP credits. I believe this is because it's professional school, Medical school doesn't accept the credits either. But if you are Pre-med your Pre-reqs should be fine. Just take a Calc 1 course.

Good Luck!

 

[musicman123]

Every Pharm school I've looked at doesn't accept AP credits. I believe this is because it's professional school, Medical school doesn't accept the credits either. But if you are Pre-med your Pre-reqs should be fine. Just take a Calc 1 course.

Good Luck!

Some pharmacy schools accept certain AP credits...

OP: You would indicate which courses you received AP credit for, as indicated on your college transcript. When you work on the individual supplemental applications, the schools will/may ask you to submit an official AP score report to them.

 

[ChemistWiz]

Some pharmacy schools accept certain AP credits...

I'm sorry I meant to edit that, yes they do but usually not Math or science.

 

[PonderingChoice]

It's not too late. Worst case scenario, you start pharmacy school with a degree - you're doing a whole lot better than a lot of people on here, myself included.

I will routinely tell people in their early or mid-30's (with bio. degrees, or better, specifically) that they're going to lose money by going after their Pharm.D. Since you're probably in your early 20's, this is a reasonably intelligent move on your part. The best you could've done is maybe start a year or two sooner, all in all, not a big deal.

 

[mcalabr3]

All the schools that I'm applying to in the Midwest accept AP credits. Some of the schools have their own standards of what AP score counts or some schools go with the policy of if the university you went to gave you credit that they'll recognize it too.

You're not too late in switching to pharmacy! I'm currently the President of the Pre-Pharm club at my University and I know of a few people that switched late and got in! However, you'll need to make sure that you demonstrate to the admissions committee that this was a sincere change. Shadow a pharmacist and possibly try to be a pharm tech.

 

[musicman123]

I'm sorry I meant to edit that, yes they do but usually not Math or science.

I believe most will accept Calc AP scores. Mine was accepted. It depends on the school, I suppose.

OP: You can verify if schools will accept your AP scores by looking on their website for prospective students.

 

[PBuster]

Thanks for the response guys, you have been very helpful.

I think I'll continue my Biology major (though another problem is which I will specializing in: General, Biomedical Engineering, Developmental Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Neuroscience or Environmental Biology. I'm sure the first 3 are the ones I should be looking into) and look up on which schools will accept my CalcB AP score. I live in NY my main focus are the schools in the NE region.

Shadowing a pharmacist, how do I go about doing that? Going to hospitals or local community pharmacies (Rite-Aid, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.) for an internship position?

 

[mcalabr3]

The best advice I can give you is go to them in person and ask. It's much hard for somebody to ignore your face than ignore an email.

Also, the hospital right next to campus has a volunteer program which you could volunteer in specific departments (inpatient pharmacy was one of them).

Be proactive!

 

[charfdorn]

Every Pharm school I've looked at doesn't accept AP credits. I believe this is because it's professional school, Medical school doesn't accept the credits either. But if you are Pre-med your Pre-reqs should be fine. Just take a Calc 1 course.

Good Luck!

The schools I looked at accepted AP but not CLEP... but check with the schools you're interested in. You're certainly not too late but you might be too late for the all-the-way-through route. It could take an extra year to get your ducks in a row, but if you're sure you want to do it, go for it.