Pharm School advice

[foomba]

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hey guys,

I was a transfer student, so I went from a cc to a 4 year university. I am currently in my last semester before graduation; however, I am in a major completely unrelated to pharmacy... so I am planning to go back to a cc to take all the science prereqs for pharm school. I was just wondering if taking the science prereqs at a cc would greatly reduce my chances of getting into pharm school? and also I was curious as to how pharm schools calculate gpa... considering that I will have a gpa from my first 2 years at cc, then another 2 years at a university, and then the separate gpa from taking the pharm prepreqs at a cc...

on a sidenote... any advice on what i could do while attending school to up my chances for acceptance?

 

[Pojman]

Well... All of these questions are discussed in extensive detail on countless threads all over this forum. Use the search function and take a look.

 

[chemguy79]

Well... All of these questions are discussed in extensive detail on countless threads all over this forum. Use the search function and take a look.

+1

The search function will do you wonders because these questions have been answered repeatedly on SDN.

Good luck!

 

[WednesdayBridge]

If you know which pharmacy school you want to attend or where you want to apply, you should check with them. Some schools don't accept any cc classes, some do.

As for right now, get some experience in a pharmacy any way you can, even if it's just job shadowing. If you can't do that, at the very least get some experience somewhere in the health care field.

Also, do some volunteer work within your community. I think probably every school looks for that.

 

[xtsukiyox]

If you know which pharmacy school you want to attend or where you want to apply, you should check with them. Some schools don't accept any cc classes, some do.

While I agree strongly that the OP should check with his or her desired pharma schools, I continue to see this second part I bolded pop up nearly every time someone asks for advice & mentions CC.

I can see where going to a CC for all your prereqs would be insufficient if the pharma school either requires a bachelor degree or upper division courses (which wouldn't be offered at a CC). Do you have any specific examples of pharma schools not accepting CC credits? I have never seen anyone post anecdotal data, much less a supporting website or something.

I feel the rest of your advice is sound, and really, if in doubt check with the pharma school is safe. Clarification of the bolded point is pretty much just to satisfy my curiosity. 🙂

 

[WednesdayBridge]

I'm sorry, I stand corrected. When I sat down with an advisor at MCPHS Worcester, I was told not to take CC classes. I just double checked with them, and I guess that was advice, not really a mandate. They do prefer university classes, so it is difficult to be competitive with a lot of cc classes. Despite that, I stand by my advice, to ask the school to make sure you can be competitive.

 

[Indypharm]

It seems to me that the stigma attached to cc's is fairly outdated. When I entered college the first time (2000), cc's were the place you went if you were not ready for college academically. However since then, the trend towards cost savings has seemed to take that stigma away. I know in Indiana the school I attend started as a cc collaboration of our two main state schools. Now this school is a division I school that stands alone as its one university. I also have never heard of a school not accepting cc credits. But as with every other bit of advice given on Sdn, I would double check each schools specific requirement.

 

[bw6]

Pharmacy schools accept CC credits but the stigma exists for a reason. I have done both and CC classes are easier. So an A from a university means more than an A from CC whether the careers community college attendees will admit it or not.

 

[xtsukiyox]

Despite that, I stand by my advice, to ask the school to make sure you can be competitive.

As do I. 🙂

Pharmacy schools accept CC credits but the stigma exists for a reason. I have done both and CC classes are easier. So an A from a university means more than an A from CC whether the careers community college attendees will admit it or not.

bw6, we've gone round on this particular topic before. I feel a better answer here is "it depends on the pharma school, depends on the rest of your application, and heavily depends on the CC." For brevity, I will reiterate that my classes were not easier than the equivalent Uni courses in my area, but CCs are not all created equal. I have not heard of someone failing to get into pharma school due to CC classes, but I have heard the inverse (CCers - including myself - getting into their school of choice first try 😎). Unfortunately, it isn't as cut-and-dried as one might think. The most sound advice I've heard is that if you are taking CC courses, make sure your GPA at CC is stellar & the rest of your application is strong - but that could just as easily be applied to any applicant.

That being said, I really hope this thread doesn't get hijacked for a CC vs Uni discussion, as that's been hashed out ad nauseum previously in this forum. If anyone is truly interested, I would point to the search function.

foomba, in short, all of your college classes will be factored into your PharmCAS GPA identically. Most schools have their own GPA calculation in addition / substitution for PharmCAS's calculation, so it would behoove you to call your prospective schools. The general advice for how to strengthen your application, besides having a great GPA & doing well on the PCAT (if applicable), is to try to a) have pharmacy experience and b) show through activity that you are a well-rounded individual (not just a student). Basically, beef out your extracurriculars - volunteer, join the pre-pharm / pre-health club, find a pharm tech position or shadow pharmacists.

 

[owlegrad]

As soon as I saw the username bw6 I thought to myself, I bet he is claiming that Uni>CC. I love being right. 😀

 

[xtsukiyox]

WednesdayBridge, I forgot to mention earlier, but I truly do think your information was helpful. MCPHS Worcester, or at least the advisor you spoke with, probably does think CC credits are less valuable than Uni credits, based on what they said. If I were a pharma hopeful looking to get into MCPHS Worcester as one of my top choices, I would be glad for the tip off.

 

[seaswim]

Pharmacy schools accept CC credits but the stigma exists for a reason. I have done both and CC classes are easier. So an A from a university means more than an A from CC whether the careers community college attendees will admit it or not.

Not all pharmacy schools accept community college credits. For example, I know Oregon State does not. And I seriously have to disagree with you that CC classes are easier. I've done years of both and it depends on the school.

To the OP, my story is about the same. I spent 4 years at universities and did all of my science pre-reqs at CC. You will send all your transcripts to PharmCAS and they calculate your total GPA. Different schools look for different things, so you can't be too general. Look at specific schools you want to go to and see what specific requirements those schools need.

 

[ws2016]

Personally, you are not trying to use these pre-reqs to attain a degree so if you want to go to CC, do it! There are easy and hard classes/professors in CC so be careful. If you are going for the grade, just find a known easy professor in either CC or Uni, but if you are going to get a C in something you might as well do it in a Uni. Unfortunately some people do not give CC classes the same value, so I if you go to CC make an A.

 

[foomba]

I was also just wondering... what you guys thought about this. Well before taking any classes I want to get a feel for what the job is like and gain some experience. I was thinking about using this upcoming summer, instead of taking classes, to study on my own and get licensed to become a tech. However, i hear that you can become a tech without being licensed so... is it pointless to get the license if i can somehow get a tech job for the summer?

 

[pharm B]

I was also just wondering... what you guys thought about this. Well before taking any classes I want to get a feel for what the job is like and gain some experience. I was thinking about using this upcoming summer, instead of taking classes, to study on my own and get licensed to become a tech. However, i hear that you can become a tech without being licensed so... is it pointless to get the license if i can somehow get a tech job for the summer?

You're more hirable if you have the certification under your belt. Some companies might hire you as a clerk or as a tech-in-training, but I imagine they by and large prefer someone that's certified. I personally would just go ahead and take the test. You can study the book for a few days and pass the exam (for serious).

 

[xtsukiyox]

Check your state BOP website to find out more information on licensure. Certification (through PTCB) is required for licensure in many states, and in most states, you are required to be licensed to work in a pharmacy (although there may be a trainee license). Requirements vary state to state and are quite different.