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[JeffRsx231]

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Hello my name is Jeff and I'm from the bay area, California.

Right now I'm only 18 years old, I graduated high school and have become interested in Pharmacy. I have worked in a Longs pharmacy for about 2 months now as the clerk/ancillary(sp?) and I enjoy it.

For the next two years I'm going to community college. My classes are still pretty hard though, I didn't want to go to a 4 yr school. I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I'de rather wait and make sure. I'm pretty sure I decided I would like to become a pharmacist. I'm good at math, and chemistry, and I also like the envirnonment at work now (Longs).

Here's the thing. After community college (Diablo Valley College) which is one of the larger community colleges in Northern Cali, I don't know where to go. Since I have to go to a community college before Pharmacy School it seems my only real option is UOP School of Pharmacy with the 3 year program. I also know UcSD has a Pharmacy program. Is UCSF a grad school only, I believe it was, to a achieve a PharmD. is this correct?

Sorry for the long post but hopefully someone can shed some light on this. I'm also meeting with a school counselor who should also help out some.

Thank you.

 

[eelo]

Hello my name is Jeff and I'm from the bay area, California.

Right now I'm only 18 years old, I graduated high school and have become interested in Pharmacy. I have worked in a Longs pharmacy for about 2 months now as the clerk/ancillary(sp?) and I enjoy it.

For the next two years I'm going to community college. My classes are still pretty hard though, I didn't want to go to a 4 yr school. I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I'de rather wait and make sure. I'm pretty sure I decided I would like to become a pharmacist. I'm good at math, and chemistry, and I also like the envirnonment at work now (Longs).

Here's the thing. After community college (Diablo Valley College) which is one of the larger community colleges in Northern Cali, I don't know where to go. Since I have to go to a community college before Pharmacy School it seems my only real option is UOP School of Pharmacy with the 3 year program. I also know UcSD has a Pharmacy program. Is UCSF a grad school only, I believe it was, to a achieve a PharmD. is this correct?

Sorry for the long post but hopefully someone can shed some light on this. I'm also meeting with a school counselor who should also help out some.

Thank you.

Hi Jeff--

The first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with several websites, especially this one: http://www.aacp.org/ That's the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and there you'll find tons of info about various schools, public and private, and the assorted options for obtaining a PharmD. There are four-year programs, three-year programs, six-year programs, and you'll need to figure out which one is the best option for you.

Then you need to do some searching around this site (use the search function, it's really good) and get an idea of what sort of things to look for in a potential pharmacy school. You'll also be able to get an idea what sort of grades you'll need (good ones), and what classes you'll want to take.

You should also get an idea of where you might like to go to school, and then check out those schools' websites. Most schools have similar general pre-requisites and a minimum GPA, but many will also have other criteria such as additional pre-req classes (for example, Auburn U requires Immunology, Hampton wants an African-American history course, etc). You'll need to be sure that your coursework at the CC includes everything you'll need on your application for you to be competitive.

Some schools will require an applicant to have a bachelor's degree, some will want the applicant to be close, and others will only require the applicant to have taken all the pre-reqs. You need to search through the schools, and also this site, to see what might be your best course of action.

You might want to look into getting trained as a pharmacy tech where you're working now. Not only will it be a substantial increase in pay (that's always good), it will give you some better experience, and it might even help your studies.

Do some searching around, and good luck!

 

[LECOMorBUST]

Hi Jeff--

The first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with several websites, especially this one: http://www.aacp.org/

You might want to look into getting trained as a pharmacy tech where you're working now. Not only will it be a substantial increase in pay (that's always good), it will give you some better experience, and it might even help your studies.

I would also checkout PharmCAS.org
The site has a good deal of information about the pharmacy schools that use PharmCAS services which involve nearly the entire application process. The site also has some information about the pharmacy schools that do not use PharmCAS services. I find the site more "user-friendly" than (aacp.org), but AACP does have some very interesting statistics of every pharmacy school and general profile of applicants.

I wish my tech pay was "substantial". But in PA, techs do not need any type of education or certification, which is a bit scary. So, in PA techs get paid minimum wage peanuts. I knew the pay was not the real prize, but the experience gained is the true "Holy Grail". Nonetheless, I will be hitting up the boss for that intern pay pretty soon 👍. Should be slightly better.

 

[omnione]

Despite the stigma associated with community colleges and the prevalence of bachelor's degree-holding students in a pharmacy school class, it is still quite possible to get into many schools outside of California with an AA. Just follow the previous links given to find out which schools are suitable for you. As alluded to earlier, some schools may require courses that are mainly offered by four-year schools. Even if you don't want to attend a 4-year school full-time, you may have to be a visiting student at one in order to take the necessary prereqs.

 

[bananaface]

There are plenty of out of state schools that take community college credits. Oregon State is the only place outside of CA that I am aware of that requires some coursework be taken at a 4 year school.

It often costs the same for CA residents to go to school in CA or pay out of state tuition someplace else. Check out the AACP and PharmCAS sites to look for a place that you feel is a good fit. 🙂