older student

[moy45han]

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Hi, I am in my early 30's and am considering a career switch to pharmacy from computer programming. I have the following two questions for the people in this forum:

(1) Is it more difficult for older students to get into pharmacy school?
(2) Is it better to complete a degree (in a field like chemistry, biology, etc.) or to complete prequisite courses (i.e., Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, etc) before applying for a Pharm. D. program?

I already have a College degree (actually, doubled major in architecture and history) from 1991. And from this previous degree, I have completed the 2 semesters in both calculus and physics listed in most entrance requirements. Will these courses be considered being that they were completed over 10 years ago?

 

[dgroulx]

Hi,

I am 46 years old and will graduate with my BS in biology this May. I've been accepted to pharmacy school for this fall, so I don't think that age makes a difference. I'll still have 20 years to work once I graduate.

Most schools want your course work to be recent, say within the last 4-5 years. You'd have to check with each school that you are considering and discuss it with them. Having a degree in the sciences shouldn't matter.

I'm also a computer programmer and after 20+ years, I decided on a career change, too.

 

[BMBiology]

I believe older students have an advantage over younger students since older students have more "real life" experiences. The admissions committee will take these valuable experiences into great consideration.

I think you should complete the prequisite courses especially general and organic chemistry before applying for pharmacy school. The admissions committee would want to see if you are able to handle the science courses.

I suggest that you call the pharmacy schools and ask for their advice. Now it is not a good time to call them since most pharmacy schools are still reviewing prospective students' applications; instead you should call after April.

I hope this helps and good luck.

 

[phar]

I also agree too.
Your chances of getting accepted is excellent as long as you get good grades in the required courses. You might want(or have to) to consider taking the required classes as they will helpful. For heaven's sake, i don't even remember most of the organic material i took last year and you are talking about 10yrs ago. It will be very benificial to take them again. Again, talk to the admissions office.
Consider schools like UNC which accept many older applicants.

Plus,
If a Lady X came to the counter, who would she trust more you or that 26year old pharmacist. Obviously, you.

Apply early also.

I hope it helps and good luck.

 

[r_salis]

moy45han,

I'm in the same boat as you -- software developer with a 10+ year old non-science degree going through a career change -- though I chose optometry rather than pharmacy.

I went back to school full-time for 3 semesters plus one summer session to complete the pre-req coursework required by the optometry schools. I'm not sure how pharmacy schools handle it, but the optometry schools I applied to accepted my 10+ year-old pre-req coursework contingent on my OAT scores (Stat, Calc and gen chem).

I was a little concerned that my non-science degree and background would be a handicap going back to school, but it wasn't a problem at all. After working for so many years I found out I have much better organizational skills than I did when I was younger, so school was actually easier -- and a lot of fun! -- going back.

Good luck!

 

[badphish]

hi all,

i just started looking at Pharmacist as a career change on monday. im 42. im a paramedic practising in orlando FLA, i retired from the army as a medic in 02. i've been looking at UofF . i havesome unique (i think) issues . i work shift work 24 on 48 off ( i work 24 hrs every three days) i like this schedule. problem-- i need a lot of pre reqs taken care of i have no chem/ no bio/ no physics. i have an AS in allied health from cali. my ambulance serevice i work for is a 911/transport service but we are based at a hospital. i would like to work at a pharmacy as a tech to get the experience (part time) i would like to take as many course online / weekends as i can before enrolling in pharmD school.

my pros-- disciplined
extensive medical /leadership experience
a good pharmacology knowledge base
experience with drug calcs

16 math credits

additional questions can i get by with testing out on the pharm tech cert? possible? worth it?

is it doable to get some courses knocked out in line weekends.

i have the option of going to a "day" truck as a paramedic (less desirable area) very busy workday will be as exhaustedast 24 hr shift but more days at work per week.

btw--
this is a great forum much needed

tia

brett


my google searches are bringing up more useless info than useful.

 

[RxRob]

34 and in Pharmacy school... our class range was 19 to 48.

 

[Falokis]

I saw an article the other day that seemed to suggest that an older more well rounded person (even with a much lower GPA/PCAT) was a stronger canidate than a sophmore with a 4.0 and an excellent PCAT. Work experience (no matter what kind), degrees, and regular 'real life' experiences seem to do wonders. It had tons of stats that supported it. I don't remember the site, I'll post it if I can dig it back up.

 

[rougemarie]

I'm in the same boat and more and more schools and places of work that I've been to accept older students with more respect. The key is to find supportive persons and never give up doing so. I've been turned down many times just wanting to shadow a pharmacist/volunteering in the pharmacy area until I met with this pharmacy director whom I'm currently working with as a technician. She believes in fostering those who are exploring the field and she opened her door for me as volunteer 4 years ago. Had it not for her generosity, I would not have been where I am right now.

As far as pre-requisites are concerned, I did have to re-take several classes as my degree (albeit scientific) has been more than 10 years old. At first, I thought it was going to be a daunting experience, but I enjoyed the experience of going back to school after working for a long time. Of course, going to local community college to fulfill pre-requisites was nothing compared to full-time pharmacy school, but my positive experience in school is what actually encourages me to pursue a Pharm.D. degree, so I'm looking forward to pharmacy school & its challenges.

My best advice is keep your eyes and mind open, try to learn from anyone (the hard part for me was, my perceptor is 10 years younger than me, talking about feeling old ) and find supportive people. Best of luck to you!

 

[dgroulx]

Wow, you really did a good search to find this thread. It seemed so long ago when I was pre-pharm and posting on SDN. I'm now 49 and only have a year left to go.

 

[kkelloww]

Wow, you really did a good search to find this thread. It seemed so long ago when I was pre-pharm and posting on SDN. I'm now 49 and only have a year left to go.

LOL. Actually that confused me because I thought from your other posts you were about to graduate. Never thought of looking at date...

 

[freshbeatschris]

Hi, I am in my early 30's and am considering a career switch to pharmacy from computer programming. I have the following two questions for the people in this forum:

(1) Is it more difficult for older students to get into pharmacy school?
(2) Is it better to complete a degree (in a field like chemistry, biology, etc.) or to complete prequisite courses (i.e., Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, etc) before applying for a Pharm. D. program?

I already have a College degree (actually, doubled major in architecture and history) from 1991. And from this previous degree, I have completed the 2 semesters in both calculus and physics listed in most entrance requirements. Will these courses be considered being that they were completed over 10 years ago?

I am 30 years old and was just accepted to both programs that I applied to. I too, have a Bachelors degree, only it is in photography. I think if you have ANY Bachelors degree you are doing good. It shows the admissions committee that you are responsible and take your education seriously. It will really help that you have some of the pre-reqs done already. As to the age of those classes, I think it depends on the individual schools that you apply to. I would think that if you do really well on the other pre-reqs that you need and totally kick butt on the PCAT, they won't think twice about the older classes.

I actually got in both programs after NEVER taking English 101 and 102. One of the colleges I previously attending just gave me non-graded credit for those courses. I thought it was going to be a big deal, but I just composed a packet of all the information I had regarding my English skills and both schools adjusted their hard and fast rules for me.

They want dedicated folks in their programs, and if you show that level of dedication, they will want you in their program.

Good Luck!
Chris

 

[freshbeatschris]

Wow, you really did a good search to find this thread. It seemed so long ago when I was pre-pharm and posting on SDN. I'm now 49 and only have a year left to go.

I didn't realize how old that post was. That's funny. Disregard everything I just said! 😛

 

[badphish]

I didn't realize how old that post was. That's funny. Disregard everything I just said! 😛

never realized this was an old thread. im delving deep into the forums looking for advice/insights.

as i listen to retro 80s tunes on napster radio. i think maybe i should have started this years ago rather than pursuing a age old dream of paramedic school.

but now that i bought the paramedic t-shirt-- no regrets.

at least i have a decent paying job and a pension to help support my student aspirations.

now if i can just find some chem/physics courses i can take NOW.

peace audi
be safe

brett

 

[twester]

I'll be 41 when I start pharm school in August. I was sluggish and sucked as a student back in the '80s. I'm on some kind of freakish tear in the O's. That's not an exaggeration. My friends are all asking who I am and what I did with me.

I think that my age and life experience helped AND hindered. It think it depends on the school and how one presents the information. With the school I was admitted to (Colorado), the admission process was quite casual and I was actually older than both of my interviewers. We talked about healthcare and what I've been up to the for the last few years. My age never came up, we just had a stimulating and somewhat politics-tinged conversation.

At the school at which I probably, almost certainly, will be rejected (UW), one of the interviewers pointed out that she "was in high school when was born". WTF? I wonder if maybe I was still in the "my age is my asset" mind-set and she was just calling me on it. The interview was weird and I'll probably never know (she reads SDN so maybe she'll send me a PM). Not...

So, yes, use your age and your experience (especially since it's related to medicine). Just don't rely on it as a crutch.

Good luck. And welcome to the forum, Badphish. Lots of incredible advice and support here with a conservative sprinkling of crap. 😍 It can get really fun. But it's also been very helpful to me.