Need some advice on classes!

[RVD09]

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So, this is my first post on SDN, and I'm a first year pre-pharmacy student. I'm kind of behind in my pre-reqs. The only classes I have finished are my English, most of my electives, and basic math classes

Here's a list of the classes I took so far:

Microeconomics
Religion
Psychology
English I
English II
Basic math courses, leading up to Calculus I

Here's a list of the classes I will be taking:

Summer 2010:
Biology I
Speech
Beginning Algebra II

Fall 2010:
Biology II
Chemistry I
College Algebra
Anthropology
Humanities

Spring 2011:
Pre-Calculus
Chemistry II
Physics I

Summer 2011:
Calculus I
Organic Chemistry I

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II
Philosophy - Ethics
Stats I/II
Anatomy & Physiology I

Spring 2012:
Physics II
Anatomy & Physiology II
Microbiology


1. If someone could give me advice on my class schedule I made (what classes I may need/not need, how to stay on top classes, what you guys do to study, and how to keep my GPA stable ... Right now my cGPA is a 3.58. I want to keep it around there or even higher)

2. I already have tons of volunteering and fundraising at my church, I plan on volunteering in a local hospital as well. What are some other ways I can gain experience in the pharmacy field?

3. I already have some schools in mind on a couple schools my top 5 are: Midwestern - CCP, Chicago State, UIC, Cincinnati (I am from Ohio), SIU - Edwardsville, Illinois


Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance 🙂

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Since your schedule suggests you have difficulties with math and probably haven't had chemistry before, I would not take calculus and organic chemistry in the short summer semesters, they tend to be more intense.

 

[PharmBoy8]

At the Uni I went to, organic 1 and 2 had to be taking over the summer back to back, which included some intense work...I believe 8 weeks for each class >_>

I would also make sure that Organic 2 can be taken in the fall. Organic 1 was only offered in the fall, and organic 2 in the spring. I had to take my gen chem 2 over the summer so I could get the correct sequence in for the year.

My 0.02 cents

cheers 🙂

 

[phathead]

My first piece of advice is not to be in a rush to finish things. Quality over quantity is important. You will burn yourself out if you go a max speed for several years, trust me I have been there.

I know some very smart and organized people who have struggled trying to take two or more very intense summer courses at the same time. Orgo, for instance, will require a lot of work in such a short time frame.

I would say you need more credits in your spring semesters. Take another easy class or two. A lot of AdComs don't like when you have a semester with 13 credits. Pharmacy school will be intense and they like to see that you can maintain high grades with a high course load.

Hope that helps.

 

[ArkansasRanger]

So, this is my first post on SDN, and I'm a first year pre-pharmacy student. I'm kind of behind in my pre-reqs. The only classes I have finished are my English, most of my electives, and basic math classes

Here's a list of the classes I took so far:

Microeconomics
Religion
Psychology
English I
English II
Basic math courses, leading up to Calculus I

Here's a list of the classes I will be taking:

Summer 2010:
Biology I
Speech
Beginning Algebra II

Fall 2010:
Biology II
Chemistry I
College Algebra
Anthropology
Humanities

Spring 2011:
Pre-Calculus
Chemistry II
Physics I

Summer 2011:
Calculus I
Organic Chemistry I

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II
Philosophy - Ethics
Stats I/II
Anatomy & Physiology I

Spring 2012:
Physics II
Anatomy & Physiology II
Microbiology


1. If someone could give me advice on my class schedule I made (what classes I may need/not need, how to stay on top classes, what you guys do to study, and how to keep my GPA stable ... Right now my cGPA is a 3.58. I want to keep it around there or even higher)

2. I already have tons of volunteering and fundraising at my church, I plan on volunteering in a local hospital as well. What are some other ways I can gain experience in the pharmacy field?

3. I already have some schools in mind on a couple schools my top 5 are: Midwestern - CCP, Chicago State, UIC, Cincinnati (I am from Ohio), SIU - Edwardsville, Illinois


Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance 🙂

Another poster or two caught what I caught. You don't want to take organic and calculus at the same time. You're obviously not a math whiz. That's ok. I'm sure as heck not. I'm taking gen. chem. I right now, and I couldn't take any other class along with it if I'd wanted to. I started to take trigonometry, but I knew I'd be in deep if I'd done that so I didn't. Chemistry is very mathy. Honestly, unless it's required I'd drop the stats. I had a business stats class, and it wasn't that bad, but I think after calculus, along with chem and phys, your math background ought to be sound enough.


With your schedule, I'd tweak it a bit and maybe do calculus that summer with organic I the fall and organic II the following spring. In Arkansas colleges, calculus I is a five semester hour course so that's a lot of seat time for a strictly lecture class. That may tear up your application window, but I think it'd probably be best for you. Just stay on top of it all. Best of luck to you. 👍

 

[RVD09]

Thanks guys, i'll keep that in mind. I just wanted to finish as soon as possible so that is why i decided to group together calc and organic chem. I want to get done with organic chemistry, so i can prepare for the PCATs and take those... As for stats, i believe i am going to need that class according to the pharmcas school information. I think i'll add some more electives to fill in my class schedule, how does that sound??

Also, another question ... As for gaining experience in the field, I already have volunteering hours, and am planning on volunteering at my local hospital soon. What else could i do to gain experience?

 

[PharmTech8241]

Summer 2010:
Biology I
Speech
Beginning Algebra II

Fall 2010:
Biology II w/lab-4cr
Chemistry I w/lab-4cr
College Algebra-3cr
Anthropology-3cr

Spring 2011:
Pre-Calculus-3cr
Chemistry II w/lab-4cr
Physics I w/lab-5cr
Philosophy – Ethics-3cr

Summer 2011:
Organic Chemistry I-3cr
Stats I-3cr

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Humanities-3cr

Spring 2012:
Physics II w/lab-5cr
Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr

I think this schedule might work better for you and far as getting more experience see if your school offers shadowing externships and if they do you can do that

 

[delano2000]

Summer 2010:
Biology I
Speech
Beginning Algebra II

Fall 2010:
Biology II w/lab-4cr
Chemistry I w/lab-4cr
College Algebra-3cr
Anthropology-3cr

Spring 2011:
Pre-Calculus-3cr
Chemistry II w/lab-4cr
Physics I w/lab-5cr
Philosophy – Ethics-3cr

Summer 2011:
Organic Chemistry I-3cr
Stats I-3cr

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Humanities-3cr

Spring 2012:
Physics II w/lab-5cr
Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr

I think this schedule might work better for you and far as getting more experience see if your school offers shadowing externships and if they do you can do that

Wouldn't the OP need to take OChem II concurrently with the lab component? Apart from that I think this schedule is doable.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Wouldn't the OP need to take OChem II concurrently with the lab component? Apart from that I think this schedule is doable.

At my university you take the lab separately...I took Orgo I & II and then took the lab...It will vary from university to university...this is just how it was done at mine.

 

[delano2000]

At my university you take the lab separately...I took Orgo I & II and then took the lab...It will vary from university to university...this is just how it was done at mine.

Oh. I never knew that. The lab and lecture are seperate at my school as well, but you have to take them concurrently.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Summer 2010:
Biology I
Speech
Beginning Algebra II

Fall 2010:
Biology II w/lab-4cr
Chemistry I w/lab-4cr
College Algebra-3cr
Anthropology-3cr

Spring 2011:
Pre-Calculus-3cr
Chemistry II w/lab-4cr
Physics I w/lab-5cr
Philosophy – Ethics-3cr

Summer 2011:
Organic Chemistry I-3cr
Stats I-3cr

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Physics II w/lab-5cr


Spring 2012:
Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr
Humanities-3cr

I think this schedule might work better for you and far as getting more experience see if your school offers shadowing externships and if they do you can do that

I just switched the physics II position

 

[RVD09]

Oh, wow thanks Pharmtech! this looks way more neater than what i had, very appreciated. i think im going to stick to what you have.

Whens the earliest i can start studying and be able to take the pcat, and would i still be able to apply in the spring 2012, or do i really have to wait a whole year to start applying?

 

[PharmTech8241]

Well first I would go to pharmcas and verify that you have all the pre-reqs you need for the schools your applying to (http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/directoryalphastate.htm)

As long as you have all the necessary pre-reqs you should be able to apply in the Spring of 2012 for Fall 2013 easy but you could apply in the summer of 2011 for Fall 2012 if these are all the pre-reqs your going to need...you can study for the PCAT in summer of 2011 but you will be doing a lot of self teaching b/c you still haven't taken Calc, A&P, and Micro which are all on test...A&P & Micro are just memorization so that shouldn't be a problem and the Calc on the PCAT is easy but since your background in math isn't that strong it may be tough for you...It's definitely do-able though...I went for my B.S Biology so I didn't really have to deal with this...I took the test my Junior year and by then all my pre-reqs were already completed...Hope this helps

And I also noticed you'll still need Trig in order to take Calc...most universities offer a combo of Trig & Pre-Calc now where you take both all in one class...see if your university does that and if they do get it done

 

[RVD09]

Yeah, i've looked at the pharmcas pages many times for the school i want to apply at (Midwestern - CCP, Chicago State, UIC, Cincinnati, SIU - Edwardsville) they all require the pre-reqs that i have made the list for. So would i be applying early to these schools without having finished some of my pre-reqs? then sending them in later once i have taken them? sorry. im kind of lost on that. and for math, i've checked and from college algebra you go straight to pre-calc and so on... so thats not a problem.

 

[delano2000]

Yeah, i've looked at the pharmcas pages many times for the school i want to apply at (Midwestern - CCP, Chicago State, UIC, Cincinnati, SIU - Edwardsville) they all require the pre-reqs that i have made the list for. So would i be applying early to these schools without having finished some of my pre-reqs? then sending them in later once i have taken them? sorry. im kind of lost on that. and for math, i've checked and from college algebra you go straight to pre-calc and so on... so thats not a problem.

If you think you'll be done with the pre-reqs by lets say next spring, then you apply this summer/fall. Only if you anticipate that you'll be done prior to matriculation.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Since you won't be done until Spring 2012 you would apply in Summer 2011...when you do your app pharmcas will ask you for your projected courses for the fall and spring...you just enter them and the later you would do an academic update after the fall semester and send your transcripts to pharmcas...your spring transcripts will go to which ever school you get accepted to

 

[RVD09]

Oh, so im actually just getting my pharmcas application ready, so it can be saved and just enter classes once i finish. but will actually be applying for the fall 2012 cycle?

 

[PharmTech8241]

Yea pretty much...what you'll do is put in the classes you've already taken with the grades that you received and then you'll put in your projected schedule for that year before pharmacy school...and yes you would really be applying for Fall 2012...when you apply in the summer of 2011 you're applying to start school in Fall 2012...most schools have deadlines that go up to February but the sooner you get your app in the better off you are

 

[RVD09]

Sorry for all the questions. but wouldnt it be too late because i'll be done with all my classes in the spring of 2012, and some schools offer rolling addmission. so i would be late for that, if i complete my classes then, and then finally submit it...

 

[PharmTech8241]

I don't think you have to have all your pre-reqs completed before you apply...you could apply in Summer 2011/early Fall 2011 and the schools will see your projected course load and see that all your pre-reqs will be completed before you enter their program in Fall 2012

 

[RVD09]

Thank you very much! this makes much more sense, and the class schedule you tweaked for me makes much more sense ... thanks for everthing!! i'll just post back here if i have anymore questions.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Your welcome...glad I could help

 

[Wanderinghope]

Your schedule does not sound bad. Just don't overdo it. I overdone it last semester with my harsh schedule. I had twenty-one credit hrs and I was dying painfully, so I dropped the lab for Anatomy. Though part of that reason is cause I had a awful Biology professor who failed all of us. 🙄 So, now I have to CLEP Biology this summer. Embarrassing I tell you.

What I took:
-Biology II & lab
-General Chemistry II -lect.
-Anatomy & Physiology II - lect.
-Microeconomics
-Professional Writing
-Calculus I

Talking about ALL A's besides an F in BIO 106. haa! Its embarrassing but I'm just going to laugh it off - having took higher Bio courses and getting an F in that.

 

[JADpharm28]

RVD09 - I want to apply to most of the same schools as you. Also, we are pretty much in the same boat as far as completing pre-reqs.

PharmTech8241- Its nice to get some schedule opinions from someone who has already been through it all. I've racked my brain trying to decide what classes to take and when!

 

[RVD09]

Wanderinghope - thats crazy! glad you managed to get almost all A's though 🙂

JADpharm28 - Do you mind sharing you gpa, and extra curriculars. thanks! also, which pre-reqs do you have remaining?

 

[JADpharm28]

JADpharm28 - Do you mind sharing you gpa, and extra curriculars. thanks! also, which pre-reqs do you have remaining?

Well right now I have only four classes under my belt. (Graduated early from high school and took 4 classes at a CC) But my GPA is 4.0, one math class, 1 speeh and the 2 english prereqs. This fall I am taking psych, college algebra, macro, bio I, and mythology. In high school I had 100 community service hours but I have seen on other threads that PharmCAS only wants college extra currics so I plan on volunteering at a hospital or shadowing someone I know who works in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

[diastole]

I don't know. This semester looks a bit tough if you don't like math or have trouble processing lots of information:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Physics II w/lab-5cr

I'd start taking some of those math and science courses and get a feel if you can handle a semester like that. If you can't, move things around so you don't have to take some tougher courses all at the same time.

 

[PharmTech8241]

I don't know. This semester looks a bit tough if you don't like math or have trouble processing lots of information:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Physics II w/lab-5cr

I'd start taking some of those math and science courses and get a feel if you can handle a semester like that. If you can't, move things around so you don't have to take some tougher courses all at the same time.

The course load maybe a little bit tough but when you take into consideration that a good majority of your classes in pharmacy school will be science courses a course load like this will better prepare you for the rigors of pharmacy school

my last semester of undergrad consisted of:

Human Morphology w/lab
Molecular Cell Biology
Virology
Immunology

the only class I got a B+ in was human morphology and in all honesty A&P & Orgo 2 are a joke it's just memorization...for as for Calc and Physics repetition is key...the more you practice the problems the more exposure you'll have and you'll be ready for whatever shows up on the test

 

[RVD09]

I don't know. This semester looks a bit tough if you don't like math or have trouble processing lots of information:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Physics II w/lab-5cr

I'd start taking some of those math and science courses and get a feel if you can handle a semester like that. If you can't, move things around so you don't have to take some tougher courses all at the same time.

Yeah it seems a little rough, but I liked what pharmtech had before:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr


Spring 2012:
Physics II w/lab-5cr
Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr


For the humanties class that was listed in the Fall of 2011, i was going to take that as an 8 week course at my college along with the 8 week anthropology course in the Fall of 2010 to get that over with. so it would basically look like that above .... What do you suggest?

 

[PharmTech8241]

Yeah it seems a little rough, but I liked what pharmtech had before:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr


Spring 2012:
Physics II w/lab-5cr
Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr


For the humanties class that was listed in the Fall of 2011, i was going to take that as an 8 week course at my college along with the 8 week anthropology course in the Fall of 2010 to get that over with. so it would basically look like that above .... What do you suggest?

I would do this instead:

Fall 2011:
Organic Chemistry II-3cr
Calculus I-4cr
Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab-4cr
Physics II w/lab-5cr

Spring 2012:

Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab-4cr
Microbiology w/lab-4cr
Organic Lab-2cr

You would have had a lot labs to take in Spring 2012 and Orgo lab is labor intensive

 

[ShadowRX]

Can we just merge all these types of threads into one "Advice for Pre-Pharmacy Classes?" sticky?

Thanks

 

[RVD09]

It's a good idea. Someone should make its own thread 🙂

 

[RVD09]

I am registered for an Inorganic chemistry class at my local community college. is that the same thing as general chemistry?

 

[Forbidden16]

I am registered for an Inorganic chemistry class at my local community college. is that the same thing as general chemistry?

At my university Inorganic Chemistry was the course name for General Chemistry II, they changed the names starting this fall, so probably one of the two. The first course was named Fundamentals of Chemistry, now General Chemistry I.