Is it harder to get into medical or pharmacy school?
Started by Student144
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Both are competitive, but MD/DO is more competitive than PharmD.
First, it's probably hard for people to gauge the difficulty of accomplishing an MD or a PharmD because many haven't done both, let alone one at this time. I would imagine the difficulty of getting in would be similar. However, I think that it's important for you to find your niche and pursue a career that you'd enjoy, regardless of the level of difficulty associated with getting in.
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it's harder to get into med school.
higher average matriculant GPAs, MCAT>PCAT, MUCH more competition
admissions statistics from UofMinnesota Pharm. D program
"For Fall 2014 admission, the University of Minnesota received 578 complete applications to the Pharm.D. program. About 70% of complete applicants were invited to interview and 71% of all interviewed applicants were offered admission! Overall, 44% of complete applicants were offered a spot in the program. - See more at: http://pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/admissions/process/statistics/index.htm#sthash.YGGl0QgP.dpuf"
i don't think i've seen 44% of applicants get offers to any MD school
but this is not the issue.
do what you like doing, not what's harder or easier to get into
higher average matriculant GPAs, MCAT>PCAT, MUCH more competition
admissions statistics from UofMinnesota Pharm. D program
"For Fall 2014 admission, the University of Minnesota received 578 complete applications to the Pharm.D. program. About 70% of complete applicants were invited to interview and 71% of all interviewed applicants were offered admission! Overall, 44% of complete applicants were offered a spot in the program. - See more at: http://pharmacy.umn.edu/pharmd/admissions/process/statistics/index.htm#sthash.YGGl0QgP.dpuf"
i don't think i've seen 44% of applicants get offers to any MD school
but this is not the issue.
do what you like doing, not what's harder or easier to get into
MD and it's not close.
The stats on % accepted don't even tell the full story. The quality (however you want to define that) of applicants to MD programs is definitely higher than that of those applying to Pharmacy school.
The stats on % accepted don't even tell the full story. The quality (however you want to define that) of applicants to MD programs is definitely higher than that of those applying to Pharmacy school.
Why would you want to be a PharmD?
Interesting healthcare field, solid income, decent hours, and including undergrad, if you go straight through you're done in 5-6 years (unless you want to do a residency). Also, the market isn't as bad as those on SDN make it out to be, but it's not heading in a good direction.
Different strokes I guess. The pay is ok, but I feel like they are overtrained and underpaid.
Podiatry school.
😉
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Around here a hospital pharmacist (which just requires a 1 year residency) start ~$120k, which isn't bad considering they likely have considerably less debt than physicians and can start practicing after 1 PGY instead of at least 3.
What made you change from pharm to med?
The market is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Also, if you're a more systematic thinker that doesn't handle urgent problems well, pharmacy may be a better choice. Also, 6 years total at some schools (including undergrad) is a pretty appealing alternative for a lot of people.
My cousin would laugh at the decent hours. I agree, it is a job that is underpaid. He graduated top of his class but couldn't get into a hospital. Now he works for a major chain and all that entails- no bathroom breaks for 12 hours because a pharmacist must be on the floor at all times, supervised by a guy that didn't graduate business school, yelled at by drug seeking scammers, treated like a clerk all day and the constant pressure to fill prescriptions so fast that he can barely think. All so that if a tech makes an error he goes down for it. He is planning to do additional schooling to get out of the retail pharmacy and get into hospital even if he has to move to the middle of nowhere (which is where I feel he already is).
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WTF...are you so undecided about your career and life that you are asking us this question? You should instead ask yourself this question: "Which job do I want to do for a career? Pharmacist or Physician?" These are two entirely different fields and positions. Thinking about them from admissions is a horrible way to shape your career. Just because something is easy does not mean you will like it. And assuming that "both are science related so I will be fine with etiher" is also a bad way to go. You need to sit down, read articles, and apply to one field that actually interests you. Sometimes I wonder if the people posting questions on this forum are either high school students or trolls
It's probably about as difficult for the average MD applicant to get into med school as it is for the average PharmD applicant to get into pharmacy school. However, it would be pretty easy for the average MD applicant to get into pharmacy school and pretty hard for the average PharmD applicant to get into medical school.
I got into pharmacy school with a 2.6 GPA and 55 percentile PCAT. And I got into every school I applied to. Pharmacy has open enrollment. I've never met an applicant that didn't get in somewhere.
There are so many reasons, but I'll give you a couple. I went into pharmacy straight from high school (6yr program) and didn't know enough about the real world to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life at that point. Medicine seemed like an impossible reach at the time and I wasn't ready to commit my life to a profession that would require undergrad + med school + residency + fellowship, etc. But now I know I wouldn't be happy doing anything else. Basically the turning point for me was that if I ended up in family medicine and made the same amount that I would've as a pharmacist (not to mention all the extra loans for school and lost income opportunity) would I still want to become a doctor. And for me the answer to that is yes. I believe i have a much greater opportunity to exact meaningful change on my pts as a doctor. And from my interactions with those in pharmacy and medicine, the culture of medicine has a commitment to progress, scientific inquiry and lifelong learning that I just don't see in pharmacy. That's not to say that these things don't exist in pharmacy. I have an amazing respect for pharmacists and highly value the knowledge they possess.
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it's not even close, medical school by far
i got a 37 on the mcat with 3 months of studying. got a 99th percentile on the pcat with much less studying, maybe 2 weeks
btw im not the type to go around bragging, just being real with you
i got a 37 on the mcat with 3 months of studying. got a 99th percentile on the pcat with much less studying, maybe 2 weeks
btw im not the type to go around bragging, just being real with you
Yes, but that salary is if you're able to land a full time position, which is often extremely difficult. I work in a hospital pharmacy and many of the pharmacists often discuss just how rough the job market is, at least in my area. I don't know what has been said on SDN about pharmacy job market, but I do know I would not want to be a new PharmD. looking for a full-time hospital gig, simply because the positions are so few and the competition is so fierce. We had a pharmacy resident who finished her year, moved to a big city, couldn't find a decent job, and came back to our hospital a year later now as a part-time pharmacist.
I realize the point of the thread is to discuss competition for PharmD. vs. MD/DO, but I think it's important for people to realize it's the job you can get with the degree that matters, not how easy it is to obtain the degree itself.
I based my comment primarily regarding the job market in the area where I currently live. My undergrad had a pharmD program and I know A LOT of people who went through it and honestly cannot not think of any off the top of my head who struggled to find a job or complained about the job market. Many of them had decent jobs lined-up prior to graduation. I also did clinical research for 2.5 years before med school and worked with a number pharmacists in several different (pharmacy) specialties daily. In talking with them their perception of the job market, while not all sunshine and rainbows, was FAR from the doom and gloom that you've alluded to from your experience and what is often expressed on SDN. I also had to work with a number of pharmacists throughout the country for the research gig, and the few times I talked to them about it, I generally got more positive or ambivalent responses than negative ones. My interaction with newer pharmacists (some, not all) seems to be a sense of entitlement (not expecting to have to work one's way up) or lack of willingness to relocate because they want to live in a "desirable" location.
The people I know who got into pharm schools were average students and didn't do volunteering or ECs with the exception of being pharmacy techs and doing a missions trip. They had no trouble getting into the schools they wanted to attend.
That's interesting that our experiences are so different. I should note that unlike you, the only pharmacists I've talked to are the ones who I work with in the hospital, so maybe there's some bias and exaggeration in their comments, I don't know. I know there's been quite a few pharmacy schools opening up in my state and neighboring states so maybe that's a reason why the market is tough in my area. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "doom and gloom" but from what it sounds like, finding a job after pharmacy school in my area is definitely not a given, particularly a well paying one. The two residents we have now are currently looking for jobs and last I heard have been unable to find a full-time hospital position, and one is considering staying and working at the hospital part-time.
I would definitely agree that some students leave pharmacy school with a sense of entitlement to a job, which is a lethal attitude to have before even going to pharmacy school.
