Is it realistic to get into Pharmacy school without a Bachelors Degree?

[Dr. Leca]

These days it doesnt seem realistic

I don't wanna graduate college and then go on another 4 years and owe more than 100k, Maybe I'll be an accountant instead?

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[StormyGirl]

It doesn't hurt to apply after you finish your prerequisites, but it seems pharmacy school is becoming similar to medical schools with the preference for degrees. Since most pharmacy schools still seem to be in the transition stage regarding pre-requisites vs. bachelors degree, I think you still have a chance.

 

[rekesk]

The transfer after taking pre-reqs is still very doable, but you must have a very solid application. To be the devil's advocate about this, why not get the BS or BA degree first? Those extra two years will give you opportunities you may never get again once you start working.

 

[genesis09]

As a non BA/BS pharmacy student, I can say, you don't need it. The reason why more people have bachelors in pharmacy is because it is getting more competitive to get in. So, you have to do more to get admitted. At my school, in my class, 60% had at least a bachelors, and 40% did not have a bachelors. 2 or 3 students were pure community college students. Historically, they said only about a quarter to a third in a given class had a bachelors. The pharmacy curriculum only assumes the prerequisites, and even there, they are not quite sure what type of knowledge you have.

 

[rxlynn]

These days it doesnt seem realistic

I don't wanna graduate college and then go on another 4 years and owe more than 100k, Maybe I'll be an accountant instead?

I'm a Mercer p1 - just over half of my class had a bachelor's degree.

 

[ZAKHSTERN]

The "to degree or not to degree" issue is a very personal decision. However, my experience with dealing with pre-pharmacy students has left me thinking that the majority of them could certainly benefit from and extra two years of undergraduate studies. The extra two years of school sharpens their studying skills, gives them an opportunity to mature (both in and out of school), and even gives them an opportunity to really decide if a career in pharmacy is what they want. I think pharmacy schools are starting to take note of these qualities.

 

[Swanchick84]

The "to degree or not to degree" issue is a very personal decision. However, my experience with dealing with pre-pharmacy students has left me thinking that the majority of them could certainly benefit from and extra two years of undergraduate studies. The extra two years of school sharpens their studying skills, gives them an opportunity to mature (both in and out of school), and even gives them an opportunity to really decide if a career in pharmacy is what they want. I think pharmacy schools are starting to take note of these qualities.

I agree. =)

 

[BiOGoly]

These days it doesnt seem realistic

I don't wanna graduate college and then go on another 4 years and owe more than 100k, Maybe I'll be an accountant instead?

Nationwide I believe that percentage of first year pharmacy students holding BS degrees is something like 43% (this figure is a couple years old). I think that percentage is climbing and probably will continue to climb for the forseeable future. The percentage of BS degree holding students in my class is about 80%. Frankly I think it's about time that the completion of a BS degree became an admissions requirement.

 

[cdpiano27]

Well, some people, including international students, have PhD's and do several postdocs and still cannot find jobs. I know people married and into their 30s from China or Korea who are both postdocs and THEY DREAM OF FINDING ANY JOB, AND ARE WILLING TO SWITCH THEIR MAJOR AT ANY TIME. And some of these people are chemistry PhD's. Just think of that. And that is because of the jobs in their field being limited. And if these people were in pharmacy school, they would bring up the level of the class tenfold.
And the coursework in these PhD programs are as difficult as the more research based pharmacy schools such as UNC, UF, etc.

So after seeing this, and the opportunities in pharmacy, I think a bachelors should be a minimum and it should be in a math, science, or engineering as well.

I am completely surprised when I see people on this forum thinking that they are too old in their late 20's/early 30's to go to pharmacy school. Many of my friends are as old as that and do not even have any guarantee of a job other than a postdoc. And if they go back to their country, the job situation is probably even worse.

Just something to think about.

 

[starsweet]

About 30% of the people in my class at UGA have a degree. So the majority do not have a degree because technically it is not required, though having one will definitely make you a stronger candidate over someone who doesn't have one.

 

[patmcd]

You can definatly still get in. I think my class is about 50/50.

 

[Anna1010]

Hi, I would like to know if I have a chance to get into a pharmacy school without a bachelor's degree.

 

[UrbanPharm]

Yes! Lots of people get in with out one.

 

[Shiloh1990]

If you can keep an excellent GPA,get a good Pcat score and some experience in a pharmacy , you wont need a bachelor .

 

[hurx]

Some people need that extra time to mature and enhance their study skills, etc. but I don't see it as a necessity. I graduated in 2014 and about half of my class had a degree. I did not.

I saw immature/struggling/failing students with and without degrees. I also saw students who excelled tremendously with and without degrees. It depends on the individual person. A lot of bachelor's degrees are not really that hard so the level of studying required is not nearly as high as it is for most in pharmacy school

 

[deleted158872]

it's NOT realistic to go to pharm school nowadays with ANY degrees.

 

[SClENCE]

All you need is the pre-reqs to apply. A degree is really only helpful if you are using it to compensate for a low-end GPA in my opinion though it does depend on the school. I talked to people at interviews that were still in their sophomore year.

If I knew I would go for pharmacy from the beginning I defiantly would have done this.

 

[pharm B]

Having a bachelors will get you better odds of being admitted to the school you want. You can still get into "a" pharmacy school (not necessarily your top choice) without one, though.

 

[ATXtripper]

UT will accept w/o a BS degree, and actually awards a BS in pharmaceutical sciences when you hit that 130+ credits.

 

[PittPharm87]

i didnt have a bach degree

 

[lesi7556]

i didnt have a bach degree

Are you out of state from the school you applied?