pre-pharm major?

[arlington07]

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i am currently a undeclared freshman at local 4-year university, i am taking pre-pharm prereqs but i am not sure what i should major in other than bio/chem. does anyone have on any suggestions...i hope i can go to pharm school without finishing my bach. degree also..but just in case that doesn't happen i still want to pursue my degree..

 

[OKgirl]

Right now my major is just pre-pharmacy. I didn't really know you could choose different things.

 

[arlington07]

my university doesnt have pre-pharm as an option in what i can major in?

 

[kdoddzie]

I'm switching from Pre-Dental to Pre-Pharmacy but I'm majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. At my school you can't major in "Pre-Pharmacy" but most of the advisers have told me to look into the sciences which is why I chose what I did.

 

[OKgirl]

I'd say major in chemistry since there is so much chemistry in the pre-reqs.

I'm curious, do you actually have to complete all of your major's classes or do you just say its your major & do the pre-pharm? Do you have to get a degree in that major before applying?

 

[pharwanabe]

i am currently a undeclared freshman at local 4-year university, i am taking pre-pharm prereqs but i am not sure what i should major in other than bio/chem. does anyone have on any suggestions...i hope i can go to pharm school without finishing my bach. degree also..but just in case that doesn't happen i still want to pursue my degree..

i think you should take few other classes and see if you like it. At my university, you can major in biology, but do an emphasis, in like npb, or ecology or something of that sort, or do biochemistry as a major. All of these classes that you might take in that major will help you sooner or later. espeically on PCAT if you ever plan on taking them.
But over all its a personal preference as to if you would be able to handle it and what interests you most and you can do well in it.
Also i think it would be a smart choice to get a BS because schools are getting so competitive and if you do have a BS it only improves you chances. and plus u'll have a BS to fall back on.
hope it helps

 

[jspwinter]

First of all pre-pharm is not a major. It's a designation. You're not going to get a 4yr degree in "pre-pharmacy". There is no such thing. and Okgirl, I don't understand what you're asking. If you're asking if you need to finish a major to apply to pharmacy school, the answer is no. But it will make your application all the more competitive. And also that's what pre-reqs are for. You complete those and then you can apply.

 

[drugdoc]

You can major in anything - I did in Interior Design.

 

[OKgirl]

First of all pre-pharm is not a major. It's a designation. You're not going to get a 4yr degree in "pre-pharmacy". There is no such thing. and Okgirl, I don't understand what you're asking. If you're asking if you need to finish a major to apply to pharmacy school, the answer is no. But it will make your application all the more competitive. And also that's what pre-reqs are for. You complete those and then you can apply.

I don't really know how to word this, but what I meant is if I major in chemistry, do I do the courses that are required for the chemistry major OR do I just say chemistry is my major and do all my pre-pharmacy pre-reqs instead? I

 

[stardustmemory]

You can major in anything but you still have to fulfill the prepharm reqs. They may vary from school to school so I would look up the ones you'll probably apply to

 

[mike36]

I don't really know how to word this, but what I meant is if I major in chemistry, do I do the courses that are required for the chemistry major OR do I just say chemistry is my major and do all my pre-pharmacy pre-reqs instead? I

To complete a major, you have to complete all the requirements in the course catalog at your school. In addition to these requirements for the major, you need to complete all the prereq classes for each pharmacy school you are applying for.

As an example, for my degree there were several classes I had to take that were not required for pharmacy admissions, like biochemistry. But there were some classes I had to take for pre-pharmacy prereqs that were not part of my degree, like statistics.

I hope this helps.

 

[labrat024]

If you don't plan on getting a four year degree and need to declare a major for financial assistance purposes, then just declare your major and take all of your prepharmacy courses. Once you complete the courses and get accepted to a pharmacy school just don't go back. It should be that easy. If you don't want it to be completely obvious then declare a bio or chem major because most of the coursework falls under the requirements for those degrees. I did biochem which was even better because you needed bio, chem, organic, physics, and calc. Also, if you decide to get a BS in biochem to strengthen your application the biochem and molecular biology sequence will definitely be useful for when you start pharm school. The upper level chemistry courses will also demonstrate to the adcoms that you have the capacity to understand upper level science material.

 

[evilolive]

Do whatever you want as long as you do well. It really doesn't matter what you study. A lot of my friends were music and theater majors who got into prestigious medical schools, so I'd assume pharmacy doesn't really care about that either.

 

[arlington07]

thnx labrat....once school starts again ima look into the degree requirements of biochem..ect......i appreciate your advice

 

[labrat024]

Do whatever you want as long as you do well. It really doesn't matter what you study. A lot of my friends were music and theater majors who got into prestigious medical schools, so I'd assume pharmacy doesn't really care about that either.

Why?? The classes would be useless.....at least for pharmacy school, and that's what is important. How about satisfying your thirst for knowledge in more intellectually stimulating subjects? That's always a good reason too. I would say that you shouldn't choose a bunk out major just so your undergrad years will we a walk in the park.

 

[evilolive]

Why?? The classes would be useless.....at least for pharmacy school, and that's what is important. How about satisfying your thirst for knowledge in more intellectually stimulating subjects? That's always a good reason too. I would say that you shouldn't choose a bunk out major just so your undergrad years will we a walk in the park.

No one said to take cop-out subjects - students usually do well in classes they enjoy. I'm saying that you should study what you really want so you don't have any regrets while fulfilling prerequisites. Taking background information for the sake of some notion of preparation is a waste of time, as pharmacy school contains a lot of information that has very little overlap with what is attainable at the undergraduate level. It's all taught so everyone starts on the same page. I'm not saying this applies to all curricula and subjects, but I spent so much of my time taking prerequisites that I ignored many of the fascinating classes that could have enriched my undergraduate years. For me personally, it's not getting that PharmD that really matters, it's the path I choose to get there. The journey is by far more important than the destination (within reason of course).

 

[stardustmemory]

Why?? The classes would be useless.....at least for pharmacy school, and that's what is important. How about satisfying your thirst for knowledge in more intellectually stimulating subjects? That's always a good reason too. I would say that you shouldn't choose a bunk out major just so your undergrad years will we a walk in the park.

Who says music and theater majors are easy? Sure, you probably won't cover the absolute configuration of chiral compounds if your life depended on it, but can you act (well)? Can you play an instrument (well)? If you think about it..it's HARDER to major in something completely opposite while doing prepharm/premed/predental/preopt. On top of satisfying your major requirements (hours of practice, memorizing lines, yadayadayada) you have to squeeze in the pre health reqs, whereas if you just majored in chemistry, almost all the reqs are already covered. 🙄

Professional schools also like to see that you major in something you're passionate about, be it aerospace engineering or theater arts. You don't have to like chemistry to like pharmacy, in which case doing chemistry just for the heck of it doesn't guarantee you'll be good at pharm 🙄

 

[labrat024]

Who says music and theater majors are easy? Sure, you probably won't cover the absolute configuration of chiral compounds if your life depended on it, but can you act (well)? Can you play an instrument (well)? If you think about it..it's HARDER to major in something completely opposite while doing prepharm/premed/predental/preopt. On top of satisfying your major requirements (hours of practice, memorizing lines, yadayadayada) you have to squeeze in the pre health reqs, whereas if you just majored in chemistry, almost all the reqs are already covered. 🙄

Professional schools also like to see that you major in something you're passionate about, be it aerospace engineering or theater arts. You don't have to like chemistry to like pharmacy, in which case doing chemistry just for the heck of it doesn't guarantee you'll be good at pharm 🙄

I would not disagree here.