just starting college.. need help with choosing career

[snooz3]

hey guys.. thanks to everyone who give insightful information on this site. i appreciate it.

right now, i'm starting college and these are my classess..

english comp.
gen chem I
gen bio I
calculus
and Psyc

Im thinking about taking art history but was wondering whether that was goin to be too much work. what do you think?

one question i have is whether i should take speech sometime next year.. i have a terible fear of public speaking and i believe that that might slow me down. is speech a must to become a pharmacy or more importantly to get into pharmacy school.. please note that i have great communication skills specially with people, but when i stand in front of a class, i just die.

another question is whether having pharmacy exposure will put me at a much higher advantage than not having any? last but not least.. am i goin in the right direction with my first semester of classess? Am i missing anything? also, i really really want to finish my pharm pre req in 2 years but from reading this forum, it seems like it takes 3 years..is it written in stone that it has to be 3 years? and if not, what does it take to finish it in 2 years?

sorry for all the questions, but i appreciate any helpful feedback.. any comments or advice that you guys have may influence my decision on whether pharmacy is the right path for me.

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[DuocSi2010]

Art history is an easy class. You'll be fine. It just takes a little bit of memorizing and it can be interesting.

I think speech is a great class. Not everyone was born a great speaker and that skill is important for any career. The ability to communicate effectively is a vital skill in pharmacy. In fact, many school's pre-reqs require speech or communication class. Taking speech is not a must if you don't think you will ever stand in front of 1000000000 of people delivering a speech. In pharmacy, we mostly have intimate, one-on-one type of communication.

Nowadays, having pharmacy experience will help you and I encourage you to get as much as you can, especially since you are exploring the field. Get a pharm tech job or if you can't, volunteer so you can learn more about pharmacy and it will help you decide if pharmacy is right for you. Don't forget to ask the pharmacists there some questions. It'll helps you learn more about the field (what it takes to get a pharmD, the pros and cons, the things they deal with everyday, etc...) and it'll helps you build a good rapport with them when it the time comes for letter recommendation.

Your first semester of classes seem fine; similar to my schedule of freshmen year. I'm presuming you are taking labs along with Chem 1 and Bio 1. Talk to your counselor to work out what classes to take so you'll be on track, and perhaps take other classes that you may also enjoy in case you decide pharmacy is not for you. Also check out the prospective schools you might be interested in and get their pre-reqs info. Most schools have slightly different pre-reqs. I believe the trend of finishing pre-reqs in 2 years are being phased out. For example, my school added more pre-reqs hours in a way that it will take you 3 years to finish. Some school, however, still allow you to finish in 2 years. Nothing is written in stone of how many years of pre-reqs one should do. Some take 2 years, some take 3, 4, or even more. It all depends on everyone's unique situation and it does not affect your chances of getting accepted. If you decide to finish to it in 2 years, you will have to take a heavier load than others, and take some summer classes. Pharmacy is not the only great job out there. Explore all other options before making up your mind. I hope I was of some help. Good luck!

 

[snooz3]

this was of great help.. THANKS!

 

[rxlynn]

hey guys.. thanks to everyone who give insightful information on this site. i appreciate it.

right now, i'm starting college and these are my classess..

english comp.
gen chem I
gen bio I
calculus
and Psyc

Im thinking about taking art history but was wondering whether that was goin to be too much work. what do you think?

one question i have is whether i should take speech sometime next year.. i have a terible fear of public speaking and i believe that that might slow me down. is speech a must to become a pharmacy or more importantly to get into pharmacy school.. please note that i have great communication skills specially with people, but when i stand in front of a class, i just die.

another question is whether having pharmacy exposure will put me at a much higher advantage than not having any? last but not least.. am i goin in the right direction with my first semester of classess? Am i missing anything? also, i really really want to finish my pharm pre req in 2 years but from reading this forum, it seems like it takes 3 years..is it written in stone that it has to be 3 years? and if not, what does it take to finish it in 2 years?

sorry for all the questions, but i appreciate any helpful feedback.. any comments or advice that you guys have may influence my decision on whether pharmacy is the right path for me.

My personal opinion is that you've got enough in your schedule for a first semester - I found that the change in workload from hs took a bit of adjustment.

As far as prereqs go, I would suggest trying to go ahead and identify which schools you might be interested in attending for pharmacy and get their prereq list. Many of them require just a bit over 60 hours, which in my opinion is doable in two years. You could also consider going to a college or cc near your house in the summer and just taking an extra class or two.

As far as the speech thing, when I was your age it terrified me also. I would have never taken an entire semester of speech. However, I ended up taking a volunteer position as a tour guide on my college campus, and I found that when I was talking about something I knew and loved, I could really speak in public. However, I never did take that speech class so I had to take one this year as a prereq for pharmacy school. I went to local cc - it was really a good experience - good teacher, very supportive fellow students - you can do it if you have to do it for a prereq!!

Yes, I think that having pharmacy experience puts you at an advantage. I found that it really helped me in the interviews and when I wrote my essays - it's easier to discuss why you want to be a pharmacist if you can give specific examples from your experience at work.

 

[Chuckwalla]

Hold up, Art History is not necessarily an easy class. It is one of those classes that completely depends on the teacher, they can range from very easy to downright hellish. I knew of an Art History teacher who had 25 percent failure rate, that is right a quarter of the class got an F, no curve. I took a teacher who gave out mostly A's and I got one too. Check out the teacher at ratemyprofessor or ask people about them. Always check out your teachers, especially ones where the grading is subjective.

 

[DuocSi2010]

I guess I must've gotten pretty lucky. My teacher was old, a little off-the-wall, but she was also interesting. We saw pix from all over the world that she personally took and was tested over that.

 

[ttran01]

yeah its possible to finish pre-reqs in 2 years. you just gotta plan out everything carefully. and maybe attend summer sessions. and the classes u have now, you are on the right track to pharm school. all those classes u are taking are pre-reqs. as for art history it really depends on the teacher. i agree with the person who said to go to ratemyprofessors.com. that site is pretty accurate. im taking art history in the fall. the teacher i heard is supposed to be super easy and most people dont go to class becasue theres only a final in the class which is analysis of a few pictures. but other teachers actually make you buy a book and read about art history.

 

[pharmwannebe2]

hey guys.. thanks to everyone who give insightful information on this site. i appreciate it.

right now, i'm starting college and these are my classess..

english comp.
gen chem I
gen bio I
calculus
and Psyc

Im thinking about taking art history but was wondering whether that was goin to be too much work. what do you think?

one question i have is whether i should take speech sometime next year.. i have a terible fear of public speaking and i believe that that might slow me down. is speech a must to become a pharmacy or more importantly to get into pharmacy school.. please note that i have great communication skills specially with people, but when i stand in front of a class, i just die.

another question is whether having pharmacy exposure will put me at a much higher advantage than not having any? last but not least.. am i goin in the right direction with my first semester of classess? Am i missing anything? also, i really really want to finish my pharm pre req in 2 years but from reading this forum, it seems like it takes 3 years..is it written in stone that it has to be 3 years? and if not, what does it take to finish it in 2 years?

sorry for all the questions, but i appreciate any helpful feedback.. any comments or advice that you guys have may influence my decision on whether pharmacy is the right path for me.

how many cred hours are your classes so far all together. i wouldn't recommend anything more than 18.....

 

[ttran01]

do u want to finish your pre-reqs in 2 years because you want to apply for pharm school right after they're done? are you applying to schools that require PCAT?

 

[snooz3]

I want to finish in two years because i want to apply right after i'm done.. im goin to choose two paths here.. to become a PA (physician assisstant) or pharmacy. they both have similar paths. I'm planning on applying for liu, albany, buffalo and a few other schools on the east coast.

 

[Pharmcdc]

I want to finish in two years because i want to apply right after i'm done.. im goin to choose two paths here.. to become a PA (physician assisstant) or pharmacy. they both have similar paths. I'm planning on applying for liu, albany, buffalo and a few other schools on the east coast.

Similar paths, however completely different careers. At least you have narrowed down what you want. When I first started out, I wanted to be everything! Definitely Shadow! Volunteer when you have time. Listening to what others have to say is good, but cannot be compared to your own exp. This will help you get accepted, but will also let you know if you WANT to get accepted. You may find that one or the other does not fit you. If you like both, then thats another story. Good luck, work hard, you are on the right path!