Pre Pharmacy Freshman Questions

[aphan9]

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Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum, and I hope it will help me very much. I am entering as a freshman at the University of Florida and will be majoring in pre-pharmacy. I have not had my freshman orientation yet; however, I would like to know a few things prior to going so that I am prepared. I have gone through numerous post on this forum; however, I am still not clear on a few things.
First off, I am not exactly clear on the path it takes to become a pharmacist. I have heard many different things. Is it 2 years of undergraduate working on pre-pharmacy requirements, and then 4 years of pharmacy school? Could someone give me some sort of timeline, please?
Second, I think I will be taking general biology/chemistry, and calculus my first year. Will I have enough information to take the PCAT? Will it hurt to take the PCAT multiple times?
Lastly, do any of you have advice for me or any other pre-pharmacy freshman? Like if you could change something you have done as a freshman, what would it be? or any general advice regarding to college?

Thanks for reading! I hope to meet you guys.

 

[whtcstlefanatic]

Hey I just finished my first year of Pre-Pharmacy so I'm pretty new but I may be able to help out. First off, you're correct with the 2 years undergrad and 4 years Pharmacy School. Actually, it could be X years undergrad and then the 4 years as long as you complete all of the pre-requisite classes for that particular school. You can also choose to get a Bachelors/other degrees and then apply to Pharmacy school so it would be 4 years+ and then 4 years of Pharmacy school.

Chem/bio/calc for the first year sounds good but that will probably won't be enough for the PCAT. You're probably going to want to take organic chemistry first before taking the PCAT. As for taking the test multiple times, I'm not quite sure about that because the school I'm at right now doesn't require it.

There are actually two things I wish I did differenly. The first is I wish I got my PTCB Pharm tech certification BEFORE my first year so that I could work asap. I'm not sure about your situation so it may not apply to you but it was very difficult to find a job without that liscence.

The other thing was not knowing how much work I actually had to put in for my classes. I also took Chem, Bio, and Calc my first semester along with Econ. I blew off Econ (not smart) and didn't put enough time into Chem. It hit me after I got my first Econ and Chem exams back, 75 on chem and 76 on Econ. I was NOT happy at all so I started to work extra hard after that. Ended up with an A in Econ and a B in chem which is decent I guess. Anyways, my advice is get off to a good start and don't wait until your first exam to get it going.

Good Luck!

 

[diastole]

I try to help people out on the PCAT forum and often they ask what is the best way to study. I think the most important factor is what happens before you even begin to prepare. You should take your math/bio/chem classes with long term learning as your first goal. You want to have this material down solid so you don't have to study that much when you get to the PCAT. That means you won't be able to study the night before the test and expect to retain the info. You might be successful with cramming to get a good grade but in many cases, good enough for the grade is not the same as real understanding. If you concentrate on really learning the material, the grades will follow.

Another thing you should do is to prepare for the rest of your application package. Try to build relationships for Letters of Rec. Start working on your extra-curriculars. Try to get pharmacy experience. The sooner you start, the stronger your application will be later on unless you overload yourself to the point your GPA suffers. I would make your classes your first priority and work on the rest as you get a feel for how much effort it is going to take.

 

[aphan9]

Thanks for your responses!

I totally understand what you mean diastole. I have crammed for many tests during high school, and I would forget everything the next day. I will have no problem with math, since I'm good at it. I am currently reviewing chemistry over summer so that I'm prepared. I will eventually get to bio. Hopefully, my first year won't be too tough so that I can adjust to college mode.

I have already volunteered in the pharmacy department at my local hospital during high school. So that should be a great start. I will figure out something similar for college.

whtcstlefanatic, for the PTCB Pharm tech certification, what is required? and what can you do with the certification?

 

[Passion4Sci]

whtcstlefanatic, for the PTCB Pharm tech certification, what is required? and what can you do with the certification?

This has been covered on this forum a million times - You register for the exam at ptcb.org, and take it, pass with a score of =>600 (out of 900) and you're sent this crappy little piece of paper in the mail ~5 weeks later. With this piece of paper, you can register with your state (State rules differ, make sure you consult the board of pharmacy of your state) as a CPhT, and start making big money (just kidding). But yeah, that's how it's done.

With the cert, you can work as a certified pharmacy technician. Amazing, I know, who'd have thought with a Certified Pharmacy Technician certificate, you could work as a Certified Pharmacy Technician? What's this world coming to... Anyway, you can apply to places as a CPhT that do not normally accept people without the cert, like Rite-Aid and CVS (Although I've heard that sometimes they DO hire people pre-cert?). In this respect, it can get you on the fast track to get pharmacy experience with which you can enrich your application.