Need Advice

[adl0816]

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Hello everyone, this is first post, so this will also serve as an introduction for me. I am a high school senior and I just recently got accepted into UCSD for their pharmacological chemistry major and UCLA for their biochemistry major. I am planning to go into pharmacy school and earn a Pharm.D.

Question is: if I want to go to pharmacy school in UCSD, will majoring in pharmacological chemistry be good for hands-on pharmacy and not research pharmacy? Or can I just go to UCLA and major in biochemistry and still be fine for pharmacy school?

Here is the undergraduate requirements for UCSD's pharmacological chemistry, in case this helps.

http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/academic/Ugrad/pharmchem.bs.pdf

All comments/suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Project2015]

Major is not really relevant to pharmacy school admission. On the other hand, what you learn could provide a good foundation for the stuff you will learn in a graduate/professional program.

Medicinal pharmacy (medicinal chemistry?) would be a more specific area of research pharmacy (pharmaceutical research?), if that's what you meant. A PharmD doesn't really prepare you for research in the basic sciences, at least compared to a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences.

 

[ShadowRX]

Hello everyone, this is first post, so this will also serve as an introduction for me. I am a high school senior and I just recently got accepted into UCSD for their pharmacological chemistry major and UCLA for their biochemistry major. I am planning to go into pharmacy school and earn a Pharm.D.

Question is: if I want to go to pharmacy school in UCSD, will majoring in pharmacological chemistry be good for medicinal pharmacy and not research pharmacy? Or can I just go to UCLA and major in biochemistry and still be fine for pharmacy school?

Here is the undergraduate requirements for UCSD's pharmacological chemistry, in case this helps.

http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/academic/Ugrad/pharmchem.bs.pdf

All comments/suggestions are appreciated!

It depends on what you want to do with your Pharm.D.

If you want to do research, both majors will do you good. Biochemistry is a little more general than pharmacological chemistry.

 

[adl0816]

Sorry if what I wrote was confusing, but I'm not looking to go into research pharmacy, but actual hands-on pharmacy (like the people you see at RiteAid and CVS and other retail stores.)

 

[ShadowRX]

Sorry if what I wrote was confusing, but I'm not looking to go into research pharmacy, but actual hands-on pharmacy (like the people you see at RiteAid and CVS and other retail stores.)

That's community/retail pharmacy. Technically, you don't need a degree if you don't want to get one... just finish the pre-requirements for the pharmacy schools you want to apply to. That generally takes 2 to 2.5 years in college. AP/IB credits help a lot if you take the right ones.

I don't know if Calif. pharmacy schools require you to have a B.S.

 

[adl0816]

That's community/retail pharmacy. Technically, you don't need a degree if you don't want to get one... just finish the pre-requirements for the pharmacy schools you want to apply to. That generally takes 2 to 2.5 years in college. AP/IB credits help a lot if you take the right ones.

I don't know if Calif. pharmacy schools require you to have a B.S.

Then what's the difference between getting Pharm.D and not getting a Pharm.D if I want to do hands-on pharmacy?

 

[Pharmacist Zoom]

Sorry if what I wrote was confusing, but I'm not looking to go into research pharmacy, but actual hands-on pharmacy (like the people you see at RiteAid and CVS and other retail stores.)

I think most of the Cali schools require a Bachelors Degree but anothe fact is that they are a lot more competitive as they don't count PCAT ...in other word they just count ur GPA in ur Bachelors or Masters......So just get ur Bachelors with a good GPA and try for a Pharmacy School after completing ur prereqs. Another option is to try in out of state schools which don't require Bachellors but do require PCAT.So if u want to try in an out of state school just complete ur prereqs and try to score 70+ on PCAT and try for admission. For more info visit the school websites.......
GoodLuck👍👍👍🙂

 

[adl0816]

I think most of the Cali schools require a Bachelors Degree but anothe fact is that they are a lot more competitive as they don't count PCAT ...in other word they just count ur GPA in ur Bachelors or Masters......So just get ur Bachelors with a good GPA and try for a Pharmacy School after completing ur prereqs. Another option is to try in out of state schools which don't require Bachellors but do require PCAT.So if u want to try in an out of state school just complete ur prereqs and try to score 70+ on PCAT and try for admission. For more info visit the school websites.......
GoodLuck👍👍👍🙂

Thanks. From what I've read from UCSD's pharmacy school's website, they do not require a PCAT either.

 

[Pharmacist Zoom]

Then what's the difference between getting Pharm.D and not getting a Pharm.D if I want to do hands-on pharmacy?

If u want to do retail pharmacy......like a pharmacist in Walgreens, CVS etc...u definately need to do Pharm D. But if u want to do research and development u can do PhD or u can do Pharm D and then complete ur PhD...U have a lot of career options. Another option is to get PharmD and then complete ur residency in a specialization of ur choice like Diabeic care, Cardiac Care, Ambulatary Care etc.......👍

 

[Pharmacist Zoom]

Thanks. From what I've read from UCSD's pharmacy school's website, they do not require a PCAT either.

Like I said schools in Cali don't require PCAT but they do require Bachelors or masters and they are a lot harder to get in......just because they don't require PCAT

 

[ShadowRX]

Thanks. From what I've read from UCSD's pharmacy school's website, they do not require a PCAT either.

Point is... to practice "hands-on" pharmacy, which is known as retail or community pharmacy, you need to get a Pharm.D.

Looks like you do need a B.S. in Calif., so get an easy one if you want (like bio) or go biochem or biomed engineering if you think it's interesting.

Make sure you fulfill all pre-requirements of the pharmacy schools you want to apply to. Go to their websites.