Pharmacy school after 2 years of college

[ccozzolino]

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How realistic is it to get accepted into a pharmacy school after completing only the pre-pharmacy required courses. This would be the route I would want to take seeing as it would be the least amount of schooling, therefore tuition money, as opposed to getting a 4 year degree then applying. Are pharmacy schools fairly biased to accepting those with a 4 year degree? If so what can be done to make an application to pharmacy school after only 2 years of an undergrad appealing.

 

[kcha90]

In CA you would be universally rejected. Look at the stats- 100% have BA upon matriculation

 

[p0lo]

CA requires a 4 year degree, but a lot of other states don't. I completed only pre-reqs in CC and got accepted to one out of two schools I applied and have an interview coming up for another. This is in Illinois.

 

[GrimeWizard]

How realistic is it to get accepted into a pharmacy school after completing only the pre-pharmacy required courses. This would be the route I would want to take seeing as it would be the least amount of schooling, therefore tuition money, as opposed to getting a 4 year degree then applying. Are pharmacy schools fairly biased to accepting those with a 4 year degree? If so what can be done to make an application to pharmacy school after only 2 years of an undergrad appealing.

What has been said before is true, you wont get accepted into CA schools. But many schools still accept students without a bachelors degree. I've looked into a couple of schools and I would say that 70% of all pharmacy students have bachelors degrees--this is just from looking at 10 schools that I wanted to apply to, so its not that reliable. You could get in if you have a great GPA, a lot of work experience, good LOR's, and a very high PCAT score. I've known a couple of people get in without a bachelors and they had all of those things. I would get a bachelors degree if I were you, because more and more schools are putting an emphasis on getting a bachelors degree. Actually if you look at some of the data from 2005 or so, only 50% of pharmacy students had a bachelors degree. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of pharmacy students with a bachelors degree jumped up to 90+% in the next 5 years. Im not saying its impossible, but the odds are stacked against you.

 

[riggylou]

If I were you, I would put myself in a position where I would do mostly my prereqs first..apply and if you are rejected then you can keep going to earn your BA/BS. No harm in trying..! Editing to add that-- timing is a bit tricky because you apply a whole year before you are planning to attend...so if you apply with only 1 year of prereqs then that does not give them a whole lot to look at. If you wait until you are done with your second year, then you have that whole year while you are applying where you should probably be taking classes...in which case you'd have 3 years of undergrad and may as well keep going? I guess at most you could save 1 years tuition...but undergrad tuition is really a drop in the bucket to the ~$175,000 you will pay for pharm.

 

[glory4england]

How realistic is it to get accepted into a pharmacy school after completing only the pre-pharmacy required courses. This would be the route I would want to take seeing as it would be the least amount of schooling, therefore tuition money, as opposed to getting a 4 year degree then applying. Are pharmacy schools fairly biased to accepting those with a 4 year degree? If so what can be done to make an application to pharmacy school after only 2 years of an undergrad appealing.

If you have work experience, good GPA and PCAT, leadership positions, and can interview well then you'll b fine with 2 years of undergrad.

 

[kcha90]

I would also add that you would be at a competitive disadvantage compared to all the students who have more coursework, experience, and maturity under their belts.

 

[JADpharm28]

I just did my pre-reqs and applied, got into my first choice. Withdrew applications from other two schools I applied to. And go figure, I did my pre-reqs at a CC. I had a high GPA after ~80 credits and 100 hours hospital volunteering, so that may have helped though

 

[kcha90]

I just did my pre-reqs and applied, got into my first choice. Withdrew applications from other two schools I applied to. And go figure, I did my pre-reqs at a CC. I had a high GPA after ~80 credits and 100 hours hospital volunteering, so that may have helped though

Is it a CA school?

 

[JADpharm28]

Is it a CA school?

Nope, but the OP didn't specifically ask about CA

 

[kcha90]

Nope, but the OP didn't specifically ask about CA

I know, I'm just wondering about your case.

 

[JADpharm28]

I know, I'm just wondering about your case.

I'm in Illinois and I was accepted into MWU-CCP. I did one semester at a university that I hated, so I returned to my CC. I was nervous that MWU might question why I did this, but they didn't.

To the OP, depending on the schools you wish to apply to, doing the pre-reqs is fine, but I would look into each program to find out their requirements. In the future, I'm almost positive that Pharmacy schools will move towards requiring a 4 year degree. To make your application appealing, I would get your Pharmacy Technician license in your state and try to find a job in a pharmacy. If you can't do that, then I would recommend shadowing a Pharmacist. If that doesn't work out, then volunteer in your local hospital. I have been volunteering in mine for a year now and I have learned a great deal about healthcare and I find it very rewarding. 😀

 

[ccozzolino]

I'm in Illinois and I was accepted into MWU-CCP. I did one semester at a university that I hated, so I returned to my CC. I was nervous that MWU might question why I did this, but they didn't.

To the OP, depending on the schools you wish to apply to, doing the pre-reqs is fine, but I would look into each program to find out their requirements. In the future, I'm almost positive that Pharmacy schools will move towards requiring a 4 year degree. To make your application appealing, I would get your Pharmacy Technician license in your state and try to find a job in a pharmacy. If you can't do that, then I would recommend shadowing a Pharmacist. If that doesn't work out, then volunteer in your local hospital. I have been volunteering in mine for a year now and I have learned a great deal about healthcare and I find it very rewarding. 😀

Thanks for the input! this actually helps alot seeing as I am from Illinois also and would probably plan on applying to MWU-CCP as well as UIC.