Older pre-pharmacy/pharmacy students

[twester]

This is my second attempt to post this...if it posts twice, please forgive me...

Hey Forum,

I'm a 39 year old returning college student. I just switched from a pre-nursing track to pre-pharmacy. I always intended to become a pharmacist, but I got side-tracked for 20 years by relationships, careers and life in general. After a long period of unemployment, I realized that I had little desire to return to my life as a network engineer. So, I returned to school. I've loved the chemistry and biology courses that I've taken so far and I realized that my dream of being a pharmacist wasn't out of reach after all.

I'm wondering if there are other non-traditional pre-pharm/pharmacy students in the forum. If so, what have been your experiences with applying/interviewing with pharmacy schools? Is your age brought up as an issue? Are you well-received by fellow students? My decision is made and I plan to proceed no matter what I hear. I guess I'm just wondering if I'm the only one out here.

I realize that there is a "non-traditional" forum already, but I found that all the questions were related to medical school. I have no desire to be a physician, so I thought I'd ask the question in here.

Thanks,
Troy

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[raptor5]

My wife just started a pharmacy program through Creighton's web based pharmacy school. There was no interview and all students were accepted based on their GPA's, PCAT's, and especially LOR's. Most students have undergrad degrees and/or previous professional experience. My wife was accepted with open arms.

 

[gdk420]

There are a couple of people in their late 30's and early 40's in my class. They are very well like by all of us in our class. Being an older student, generally they are more serious and get better grades than the younger students. They don't get involve as much as the other students just because they have a family to take care of. However, all of us go out and have dinner or catch a movie together. If anything the immature students are the ones that rub their classmates the wrong way.

 

[jemc2000]

I am one of those "nontraditional" students. I am just going through the application to pharmacy school now, so I can not answer those questions, only my undergraduate pre-reqs. I have never had a problem with my age in classes. As other stated, I may have more things to take care of in my life (job, husband, 4 children), but I am not as easily distracted from my goal. I enjoy my classes and except for the kids who get angry at the teacher for giving homework or testing I have had no problems with the younger students. And even at 40, there is usually someone else in the class who is either the same age or pretty close as I am.

Good luck!

 

[dgroulx]

I'm 47 and just starting my second year of pharmacy school. I am not the oldest one in my class. When I started my pre-reqs, I was 43. Good luck with your studies.

 

[jessicab]

I am going back a few years after college graduation. I have a BS in marketing and my M.B.A and have been working full time for a finance company for a little over 3 years. I have thought about pharmacy school for awhile but was afraid to go for it because of having a business background and NO science background. I decided a few months ago to go for it and I am registered for my first chemistry classes now. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time! I have thought about being an "older" student in class (even though I am only 26) and I really think it will be a huge benefit to those of us with better study habits and different priorities. Good luck to everyone!

 

[imperial frog]

I'm 38 and starting UF next month and am far from the oldest in the entering class. Don't give up hope.

 

[off2skl]

Actually being a "returning student" seems to be becoming more usual. There are quite a few people in my entering class (Midwestern CPG) that are coming from other careers and already have families, etc. And I seem to remember that having happened in previous years as well.

I used my age and experience to basically say that I have been able to learn about myself and discovered what I want and need from a career, etc.

I remember someone posted on here a while back about the reverse happening, that adcoms question younger people more about whether they have the right morivation and aren't "rushing through."

 

[twester]

[...] I have thought about pharmacy school for awhile but was afraid to go for it because of having a business background and NO science background. I decided a few months ago to go for it and I am registered for my first chemistry classes now. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time! I have thought about being an "older" student in class (even though I am only 26) and I really think it will be a huge benefit to those of us with better study habits and different priorities. Good luck to everyone!

Thanks to everyone for replying. I get so much support from friends and family. But as they encourage me to go for this, I realize that they're not in my shoes. It's good to hear from people who really understand.

I fully empathize, Jessicab. I was most nervous about chemistry when I started. I had no science experience other than college level mathematics. But, it's turned out to be awesome. The science classes are my most challenging, but also the most interesting.

You'll do great!

Best regards,
Troy

 

[doglover]

I am going back a few years after college graduation. I have a BS in marketing and my M.B.A and have been working full time for a finance company for a little over 3 years. I have thought about pharmacy school for awhile but was afraid to go for it because of having a business background and NO science background. I decided a few months ago to go for it and I am registered for my first chemistry classes now. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time! I have thought about being an "older" student in class (even though I am only 26) and I really think it will be a huge benefit to those of us with better study habits and different priorities. Good luck to everyone!

I don't know, jessicab, science is nothing like marketing or finance....

 

[dpari]

Hi everyone,

I am a 40 year old (ex-networking engineer) who is currently taking Pharmacy pre-req requirement courses.

My wife is an Internal Medicine physician who totally recommends the PHARMD as a GREAT CAREER move.

Is it worth becoming a Physician?

Worthy of consideration.....

* Approximately 14 year commitment

* Residency Exploitation 3 years

* Malpractice Insurance and Tail Coverage

* Call Rotation

* Current Problems in the Healthcare System as they pertain to Physicians

* Extremely limited Quality of Life


Is it worth becoming a Pharmacist?

* 6 Year Commitment

* Excellent Pay

* Great Quality of Life

* No Call

* No Residency Requirement

I wish you all the very best going forward.....

-dpari

 

[jdpharmd?]

Hi everyone,
Is it worth becoming a Physician?

Worthy of consideration.....

* Approximately 14 year commitment

* Residency Exploitation 3 years

What kind of doctor requires 14 years? Most are 11/12, unless you're going for transplant surgery or something.

 

[tupac_don]

This is my second attempt to post this...if it posts twice, please forgive me...

Hey Forum,

I'm a 39 year old returning college student. I just switched from a pre-nursing track to pre-pharmacy. I always intended to become a pharmacist, but I got side-tracked for 20 years by relationships, careers and life in general. After a long period of unemployment, I realized that I had little desire to return to my life as a network engineer. So, I returned to school. I've loved the chemistry and biology courses that I've taken so far and I realized that my dream of being a pharmacist wasn't out of reach after all.

I'm wondering if there are other non-traditional pre-pharm/pharmacy students in the forum. If so, what have been your experiences with applying/interviewing with pharmacy schools? Is your age brought up as an issue? Are you well-received by fellow students? My decision is made and I plan to proceed no matter what I hear. I guess I'm just wondering if I'm the only one out here.

I realize that there is a "non-traditional" forum already, but I found that all the questions were related to medical school. I have no desire to be a physician, so I thought I'd ask the question in here.

Thanks,
Troy

I am not a non-trad, but one lady in my Pharm D class is 43 and she just graduated. It's never too late. Particularly since with pharm D it's only 4 years and you can work. Also look into some programs that offer acceleration, so u can do it in 3 years. But you will improve your financial status significantly by only doing 3-4 years of school. Good deal if you ask me. Good luck.

 

[yuki]

I am 28 (consider myself non-trad) and am applying this year. I graduated with a BS in biology, then worked as a medical assistant for 2 1/2 years, 2 years at a lab,and not 1 1/2 years as a bioinformaticist. After all this, I finally realized that I want to become a pharmacist. Even though there is still a long road head 1) have to finish some refresher courses, 2) not sure if I can get in the first time around 3) have be separated from my bf 4) owe a lot of debt, I am comforted by the knowledge that I will have a fulfilling and satisfying career at the end of the road.
Just out of curiosity why did you decided to do pharmacy rather than nursing? At one time, I was also thinking about nursing.

 

[WildOrchids27]

I am going back a few years after college graduation. I have a BS in marketing and my M.B.A and have been working full time for a finance company for a little over 3 years. I have thought about pharmacy school for awhile but was afraid to go for it because of having a business background and NO science background. I decided a few months ago to go for it and I am registered for my first chemistry classes now. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time! I have thought about being an "older" student in class (even though I am only 26) and I really think it will be a huge benefit to those of us with better study habits and different priorities. Good luck to everyone!

I'm in a similar situation. I graduated with a BS in Business Finance and Marketing a year ago, and worked for Corporate America for the past three years. I've decided to go into Pharmacy, but far from the application process. I still need to take pre-req's which will probably take me two years to complete, therefore, I won't be going to Pharm school until Fall '06 (that's if I even make it the first time around). I was a nursing major my first year in college, but switched my second year to business. Although I like having a business background, my passion is still in the medical field. I thought I wanted to do nursing, but now I realize that pharmacy is a more promising career. Not only that, but I think I can be good at it. The only thing I'm scared of is not making it into a Pharm school. I won't be able to quit work to go to school full time, so I'll be working and taking night classes. I know the science courses are going to be challenging. I've taken them before. Chemistry is not an easy subject to grasp. I'm just wondering how the admission committee will look at my application because of my business background. Are they more favorable to someone with a science degree?

 

[VCU07]

Hi everyone,

I am a 40 year old (ex-networking engineer) who is currently taking Pharmacy pre-req requirement courses.

My wife is an Internal Medicine physician who totally recommends the PHARMD as a GREAT CAREER move.

Is it worth becoming a Physician?

Worthy of consideration.....

* Approximately 14 year commitment

* Residency Exploitation 3 years

* Malpractice Insurance and Tail Coverage

* Call Rotation

* Current Problems in the Healthcare System as they pertain to Physicians

* Extremely limited Quality of Life


Is it worth becoming a Pharmacist?

* 6 Year Commitment

* Excellent Pay

* Great Quality of Life

* No Call

* No Residency Requirement

I wish you all the very best going forward.....

-dpari

I am not sure which specialty requires 14 yrs, but none that I know of....unless you include the residency and even then its pushing it. Also, don't be fooled by pharmacy only requiring 6 yrs. This is not always the case (unless your very well qualified). Many schools are now starting to prefer, or even require a bachelors degree. I believe as time goes on more and more schools will require a previous degree. In addition to this, PharmD graduates are starting to look at residency options more so than in the past, which would inc. the time frame to 7 or 8 yrs, that is if you get in after 2 yrs of pre reqs.

 

[valdee2006]

Well I too am an older student, having a BSN and working as a Registered Nurse for 10 years now. To answer Yuki question regarding "why not nursing?",I can say that nursing has it's reward and it's own life span and that is why I decided on another career. 1) I love research and I love to teach 2) I chose Pharmacy because of a life experience that occurred over several years ago that truly impacted my life involving healthcare and medicine.
Going back to school is not hard for me because of the support that I have in my life at this time, and I love to learn. However I must say being 39-years old and attempting a AS in Chemistry with other students my daughter's age gets a little uncomfortable. But for the most part there are one or two older students in my classes that are going back to school for various reasons which helps.

 

[happygirl120]

I am going back a few years after college graduation. I have a BS in marketing and my M.B.A and have been working full time for a finance company for a little over 3 years. I have thought about pharmacy school for awhile but was afraid to go for it because of having a business background and NO science background. I decided a few months ago to go for it and I am registered for my first chemistry classes now. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time! I have thought about being an "older" student in class (even though I am only 26) and I really think it will be a huge benefit to those of us with better study habits and different priorities. Good luck to everyone!

I am in a similar situation as well. I have a BS in business administration and marketing, and I am really interested in doing the pharm D/MBA program. It's so nice to know that there are people out there like you. I thought I was old and oddball too for having no science background and being "old", jessicab. I'm 25 and i'm applying this year and finishing up my pre-requisites, I don't think age has anything to do with accomplishing your goals and dreams, if you can do it at that age, I'd so more power to you. I admire the people that can do this with a family and kids.

 

[Mags]

a couple things

in response to dparis post about not having to do a residency

THINK AGAIN!!!

now that most if not all ( i believe its all now) pharm schools have switched from rph to pharm d, we are "all the same" and many more pharmacy students are choosing to do residencies to "differentiate themselves", just like medical school


2nd... i can give you the perspective of a daughter whos mother went back to school when my mom was 41... she didnt go for science, she got her masters in world and eastern religion.. but.. i think seeing her go through that... working hard for something she wanted.. being a student even at (gasp, j/k) that "age".. instilled in me a desire to always be a student (or always keep my mind open to learn) and a strong work ethic... it also taught me discipline as I had to help out a lot for a 9 year old, did all the families laundry and cleaned the house b/c she was too busy writing a thesis...

so.. i'm glad she did it.. both for herself and the reward she got from it, and for what it taught me, as her daughter

kudos to all those "non traditional" students

id have to say i've found a really good new friend in pharmacy, and she's got 2 kids and a husband and i dont know how she does it, considering she's as involved as i am, with all the extracurricular things....

theres a 49yr old ( i think) in our class... she's great and i admire her so much for what she's doing... granted she doesnt go on our ritual pub crawls with us... ... but shes a kick... and doing great so far from what i hear..

 

[bananaface]

theres a 49yr old ( i think) in our class... she's great and i admire her so much for what she's doing... granted she doesnt go on our ritual pub crawls with us... ... but shes a kick... and doing great so far from what i hear..

She is also involved as our class treasurer. There is no problem with us relating to her as one of our peers. She is one of our brightest students, IMHO.

 

[BlackBeansRice]

I am 32 and I consider my self OLDER than some of the other students in my Pre-Pharm classes. I have a BS and a Masters degree in IT and worked in the field for about 13 years. I became feed up with all of the IT outsourcing and decided to leave the ship before it sinks. I dont have as many problems as I thought I was. My teachers like me generally better than the younger undergrads. I am now more determined in my course than my younger classmates. They are all in a rush to half ass some assignments and speed off for Spring or summer break. Since I have already done most of that stuff I have more time to concentrate on my studies.

Being a older student has its disadvantage, with not going to as many college parties as everyone else and feeling like a old pervert when I look at some of the female students (hey as long as they are 18 then it is legal). There are also advantages considering that my grades are now higher than my grades when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree.

Being older, you must remember never to let time be your enemy. Many people will talk about how old I will be when I graduate. Just remember that time will pass, with or without you. There is nothing worse than looking back 5 years from now and regretting that you didnt make that leap 5 years ago.

Enjoy