Only two years at university for pre req?

[No Time To Lift]

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Is it possible to go to an university that does not offer pre-pharmacy, only do 2 years and apply to pharmacy school midway through a bachelor degree?

Everyone I know is completing their applications in their senior year of biochem degree.

Would the undergrad school mind that? Should I tell them? Would they be offended? Do I declare a major?

 

[No Time To Lift]

I'm sorry. I just realized that I posted this in the wrong forum!!! MOD, please move to appropriate location (pre-pharm).

 

[type b pharmD]

yeah man thats how i did it.

Pre-pharmacy isnt a specific program. you just need to take some biology and chemistry classes.

Just get some sciences and liberal arts under your belt with a good gpa and you'll be golden. It doesnt matter what they call it.

personally, if you want to be a pharmacist, a degree is not worth your money unless you have bad stats.

 

[No Time To Lift]

So I could apply to a random college/university that offers the needed pre-reqs and just tell them that I want to apply to pharmacy school after doing only 2 years at their establishment and these are the classes I want to take? Or do I have to present that differently?

 

[type b pharmD]

o

So I could apply to a random college/university that offers the needed pre-reqs and just tell them that I want to apply to pharmacy school after doing only 2 years at their establishment and these are the classes I want to take? Or do I have to present that differently?

yeah that will be fine. you might have to officially declare a degree in order to register. in which case you should just declare "undecided" or "pre health" if they have that

 

[No Time To Lift]

o

yeah that will be fine. you might have to officially declare a degree in order to register. in which case you should just declare "undecided" or "pre health" if they have that

Does the faculty get offended? Would my professors and advisor still give me LORs?

 

[Passion4Sci]

Does the faculty get offended? Would my professors and advisor still give me LORs?

The faculty of your last class that you ever take at University X will never have to know, for starters.

Although consider that as time moves on, pharmacy school admissions becomes more or more competitive and stringent on requirements. While most schools still do not have a steadfast requirement of a Bachelor's, a lot of schools show ~50% of their matriculating classes to have one.

If you're already in a university for 2 years, why not complete a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, BS, Biomedical Engineering, or something? In case pharmacy school does not pan out for whatever reason, you'd also have a viable degree with which to do something else. If you peace out after 2 years from the Uni with no degree, hate/flunk out of/not interested in pharmacy school in the 1st or 2nd year... you'll be back at square 1 trying to get into a uni.

Unless you have an excellent reason not to finish your Bachelor's, I ask: Why the heck not get it?

But, regardless, it is possible, people DO do it (There's a thread right here on the 1st page...), and they do get in.

 

[No Time To Lift]

The faculty of your last class that you ever take at University X will never have to know, for starters.

Although consider that as time moves on, pharmacy school admissions becomes more or more competitive and stringent on requirements. While most schools still do not have a steadfast requirement of a Bachelor's, a lot of schools show ~50% of their matriculating classes to have one.

If you're already in a university for 2 years, why not complete a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, BS, Biomedical Engineering, or something? In case pharmacy school does not pan out for whatever reason, you'd also have a viable degree with which to do something else. If you peace out after 2 years from the Uni with no degree, hate/flunk out of/not interested in pharmacy school in the 1st or 2nd year... you'll be back at square 1 trying to get into a uni.

Unless you have an excellent reason not to finish your Bachelor's, I ask: Why the heck not get it?

But, regardless, it is possible, people DO do it (There's a thread right here on the 1st page...), and they do get in.

I am very much set on becoming a pharmacist. In order to really see whether that's something I could live with I am going to start shadowing in a couple of weeks (just need the background check to go through), and I will also volunteer in a hospital starting December. I feel that, as I am already married and already have one career (I own a landscaping company), that I won't be switching my major. As a married man, I have no room for screwing around or in a lesser degree not being sure. You bring up a very valid point though and I do appreciate the input very much. You also mentioned that faculty doesn't have to know. Then:

1. How do I explain why I want to take these certain (pre-reqs) classes?
2. How does a professor/adviser write a LOR if they don't know who they are writing to?

 

[wes011]

It is very possible to do, however, I have only came across one fellow that told me I wasted my time getting my chemistry degree.

The important thing to remember is the maturity requirement that comes with being a pharmacist. Some people need to mature before they start that process which isn't a bad thing. I was one of them.

With the entry level degree for a pharmacist being the PharmD now, I wouldn't be to surprised with Pharmacy programs wanting their students to obtain a 4 year degree. But by no means should it be a requirement if you have the stats.

 

[No Time To Lift]

It is very possible to do, however, I have only came across one fellow that told me I wasted my time getting my chemistry degree.

The important thing to remember is the maturity requirement that comes with being a pharmacist. Some people need to mature before they start that process which isn't a bad thing. I was one of them.

With the entry level degree for a pharmacist being the PharmD now, I wouldn't be to surprised with Pharmacy programs wanting their students to obtain a 4 year degree. But by no means should it be a requirement if you have the stats.

I definitely agree with the maturity comment. I feel that I have attained the proper level of maturity. I am married, have my own business that takes a lot hard work to keep it running. I still think the marriage part is tougher. She is in pre-med and really cranky 🙁 It's okay though.



What sort of stats would be reasonable in terms of getting in without a bachelor degree?

 

[wes011]

I definitely agree with the maturity comment. I feel that I have attained the proper level of maturity. I am married, have my own business that takes a lot hard work to keep it running. I still think the marriage part is tougher. She is in pre-med and really cranky 🙁 It's okay though.



What sort of stats would be reasonable in terms of getting in without a bachelor degree?

I graduated in 2001 with my degree in chemistry. I am married with a 2 year old son, so trust me, I feel what you are talking about. My wife is a CPA, no way would I marry a science nerd like me.

I would say a minimum of a 3.5 GPA with a composite score no less than 80th Percentile on the PCAT would make you competitive with the top schools in the country. Going stepwise downward from a 3.5 GPA with 0.1 increments, add 2 percentile to your PCAT score, i.e 3.4/82, 3.3/84, etc... If I were you I would contact the admissions office for different programs you wanted to get into and talk to their admissions officer.

The important thing to remember is GPA and PCAT scores do not tell the whole picture about an individual, they are just 2 components that represent the whole picture of the person. Some additional things you should do include being active in your community (i.e. community service) especially in lower income neighborhoods and/or volunteering if time allows with your schedule.

 

[No Time To Lift]

I graduated in 2001 with my degree in chemistry. I am married with a 2 year old son, so trust me, I feel what you are talking about. My wife is a CPA, no way would I marry a science nerd like me.

I would say a minimum of a 3.5 GPA with a composite score no less than 80th Percentile on the PCAT would make you competitive with the top schools in the country. Going stepwise downward from a 3.5 GPA with 0.1 increments, add 2 percentile to your PCAT score, i.e 3.4/82, 3.3/84, etc... If I were you I would contact the admissions office for different programs you wanted to get into and talk to their admissions officer.

The important thing to remember is GPA and PCAT scores do not tell the whole picture about an individual, they are just 2 components that represent the whole picture of the person. Some additional things you should do include being active in your community (i.e. community service) especially in lower income neighborhoods and/or volunteering if time allows with your schedule.

This is my plan so far:

1. Do as well as possible regarding GPA and PCAT.
2. Volunteer at local hospital - 500 hours
3. Shadow a pharmacist.

I got #2 and 3 lined up already.

What should I add? Research? How do I get into that?

 

[wes011]

You typically can get involved with research at the university you attend by talking to your professors. You might be able to call over to a nearby university and talk to a chemistry or biology professor to see what they have going on or you could always contact a hospital and ask about volunteer opportunities in the pharmacy.

I think the basic idea is that you want to do things that might help set you apart from another applicant.

The other big consideration is that your wife is in medical school. I would go ahead and start knocking out the pre-reqs if possible, however, what geographic location does she want to do her residency at and what school is the hospital associated with? Medical school residency matching is extremely competitive. If she finds a program she really really really wants to get into make sure she conveys that to them. If that school has a pharmacy program the medical school might help you out and push for them to accept you into their program to make sure they land her into their residency program. And yes, I have heard of that happening.

My best friend is an orthopedic surgical resident. He didn't match right out of medical school and he was in the top 20% of his class because he did not sell himself. A lot of programs wanted him, however, he was non-committal to any program. Basically they would ask him if he wanted to come here and his response was something to the line of he wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon and this was a good program....yada yada yada instead of saying yes I want to be here. Therefore, he spent an additional year doing general surgery before being accepted into his 5 year orthopedic program.

 

[No Time To Lift]

I recently found out that my local community college actually has a pre-pharmacy program. If, instead of getting the pre-reqs at 4 year school, I take them at the local CC, would my chances of getting in change? BTW, I live in NJ, so I will be applying to the 3 philly schools and the schools in brooklyn, quenns and manhattan. I don't think I should even bother with Rutgers.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I recently found out that my local community college actually has a pre-pharmacy program. If, instead of getting the pre-reqs at 4 year school, I take them at the local CC, would my chances of getting in change? BTW, I live in NJ, so I will be applying to the 3 philly schools and the schools in brooklyn, quenns and manhattan. I don't think I should even bother with Rutgers.

That is a hot item for debate. What you need to do is check directly with the schools you're interested in, and ask what their "CC only - No BA/BS" policy is.

Some schools frown on it (USC) and most schools don't care but you want to make sure before you commit.