Paying for pre-pharm classes

[Jxr182]

I am finishing a Bachelor in General Studies degree in May. I have taken little, but some, science courses. I know I can handle them, the problem is paying for them. I have reached my loan limit for undergrad classes and after graduation will not qualify for pell. I have thought of two possible solutions.

One is I could work as a pharmacy tech and pay my way through. This would offer great experience, a paycheck, and would definately help when applying for admissions. The only problem is I would have to work 35+ hours to pay for living expenses and school, plus be taking in the neighborhood of 12-13 hours of tough sciences... I think it may be more than I can handle.

The other option is to work on a Masters of Ed majoring in gerontology. It is a field I find relevant to pharmacy, though others might disagree. I could work on that, while using extra fin aid money to pay for the science courses I need, and have a small work study job on campus. I may or may not finish the degree before applying for admission to a pharm.d. program. My only question with this option is if the pharmacy (medical) student loan cap would be brought down to the much lower masters loan cap.

What do you all think would be better? It seems obvious that working as a pharm tech would be, but i'm already older than your typical applicant, and I would ideally like to finish the pre-req's in one year, and it just doesn't seem like i could pull great grades working all those hours.

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[Jxr182]

There is seriously no wrong response guys. I'm just asking for an opinion. 41 of you have read this thread, and no replies. 5 seconds for an opinion?

 

[Odublar]

There is seriously no wrong response guys. I'm just asking for an opinion. 41 of you have read this thread, and no replies. 5 seconds for an opinion?

The only thing I could think of is getting a commission in the military. However, this would cause many problems.

1. It would delay your studies, but pay off all your loans.
2. Unless you feel like sacrificing the time, then it is pointless.
3. You may not be suited for it.
4. Your age proves to be an obstacle I'm guessing.

The point is, there are alternatives but the only one I could think of would be sidetracking the studies to pay off the loans. Although, I personally having been through that would not advise it.

It is good to build character and to find yourself if you are lost but you seem to know where you are going.

Sorry if this doesn't help. Good Luck!

 

[sammy15]

There is seriously no wrong response guys. I'm just asking for an opinion. 41 of you have read this thread, and no replies. 5 seconds for an opinion?

I think you should work. If you are motivated enough you will be able to work and do your prereqs at above full time status. I did my prereqs at 15-18 credits a semster and worked 40-60 hrs every week for 2 years. I used my va/sick days before major exams and kept a 3.9. I know everyone is different, but I thought there was no way I'd be able to do it and I just made it work. Being able to get out of debt as much as possible before pharm school is great. Plus it looks good to the school that you can handle the stress of both. You just won't have a life for a year.

 

[ageldred]

Talk to financial aid at your school, they might be able to help you out. Maybe you could take out private loans. Or you could go to a community college where the tuition is cheaper. You'll need to work on this soon, because if you stay in school you should probably cancel your graduation application so at least you might have a chance for financial aid as an undergrad vs. postbacc. Can you declare a second major in biology or chem or whatever so that you can stay in school?

I think working on a masters you're only interested in and probably won't complete would be a large waste of money, not sure how it would affect loan limits either. I think you could get good pharm tech experience shadowing, because at least in my area when I was working 30 hours a week as a pharm tech I made $8.30 an hour. I lived with my mom, so I didn't have to worry about rent. If you go the pay your own way route, try and get a higher paying job than pharm tech, so you can actually live!

 

[BeachVolleyball]

One is I could work as a pharmacy tech and pay my way through. This would offer great experience, a paycheck, and would definately help when applying for admissions. The only problem is I would have to work 35+ hours to pay for living expenses and school, plus be taking in the neighborhood of 12-13 hours of tough sciences... I think it may be more than I can handle.

The other option is to work on a Masters of Ed majoring in gerontology. It is a field I find relevant to pharmacy, though others might disagree. I could work on that, while using extra fin aid money to pay for the science courses I need, and have a small work study job on campus. I may or may not finish the degree before applying for admission to a pharm.d. program. My only question with this option is if the pharmacy (medical) student loan cap would be brought down to the much lower masters loan cap.

1) At some schools, some Master's students can work as teaching assistants, and receive tuition reimbursement while ALSO being paid. I did that during my masters and it was a great financial load off my back...so find out if those opportunities are available to you.

2) Gerontology is a GREAT field to get experience in whether you're pursuing, pharmacy, dentistry, or medical! You'll have an upperhand with both the Masters and the Gerontology background! But of course, only do it if and only if you are STRONGLY interested in the field.

3) If you're worried if being a Master's student will interfer w/ performance in the prereqs, ascertain how well you can balance both requirements for your Masters and your pharm prereqs, how many prereqs do you still need?

4) If indeed you have too many classes to deal with in meeting prereq requirements, I would say to be a student full time again, find out if community colleges fees are lower and if they offer additional grants/scholarships. Meanwhile, you can work part time as a pharm tech, gain experience and help balance the load...don't kill yourself working too many hours though, it might stress you out more when you try to be a student at the same time.
Take out more loans, you can defer repaying them while you're in pharmacy school, and once you're a pharmacist, you can pay them back easier than if you had to now!

GOOD LUCK!