Pressures of Pharmacy School

[sp10]

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Hi,

I was hoping to receive some feedback or advice regarding the pressures one might face in PharmD program. I am considering getting a degree in PharmD and am currently preparing for the PCAT. I do realize that the program will be rigorous and challenging but are there any horror stories? University of Wisconsin- Madison is at the top of my list, but I am curious to see what other universities are like as well.

PS: I have a MS degree already so I am used to some of the pressures from grad school.

Thanks for the info folks!

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

Hi,

I was hoping to receive some feedback or advice regarding the pressures one might face in PharmD program. I am considering getting a degree in PharmD and am currently preparing for the PCAT. I do realize that the program will be rigorous and challenging but are there any horror stories? University of Wisconsin- Madison is at the top of my list, but I am curious to see what other universities are like as well.

PS: I have a MS degree already so I am used to some of the pressures from grad school.

Thanks for the info folks!

If you have gone through a masters program then you probably know how to manage your time and study well, so you should be fine.

Pressure increases for students who have multiple things going on outside of school: spouse, kids, part-time job, leadership positions in organizations, committees, research, volunteer committments, etc.

If you are just going to school and maybe working a few hours a week, you will have lots of free time! This is coming from a 4 year PharmD program perspective, I can not speak for 3 year program pressures.

 

[type b pharmD]

P1.. is easier than undergrad! The difficulty of pharmacy school, while high, is overrated. Like the poster above said, if you have many commitments outside of school, you may have almost zero free time during 2nd and 3rd years, but if you limit yourself and also know how to study efficiently, you'll still find plenty of time for yourself. It isnt the same as say, med school or a PhD where you are expected to sacrifice most of your life. The rhythm of pharmacy school feels a lot like undergrad. Attend some lectures, write some papers, a scattering of projects, reading, test studying, etc. It's just more of it than before. If you struggled with 15 credits a semester in undergrad with no job or commitment, pharmacy school will be a shock. If you thought undergrad was easy, pharmacy school will never present you with a workload you can't manage. In my opinion (based on rumors and anecotes), people who drop out usually do so because of factors that arent directly related to academic coursework. Such as family tragedy, a pregnancy, injury/illness, change of career plans, etc. Sure a few people fail out but you see most of them completing the course satisfactorily the 2nd time around.

 

[J ROD]

Before I went to pharmacy school, all I heard was how hard it was, etc....

Just more science classes and time studying...was not hard....more a bother with all the BS!!

My GPA actually went up...😀

 

[Tygacil]

eh, pharmacy school is cake. What'll you'll realize is the difference in the amount of effort it takes to get a 'meh' grade vs an A is substantial. So if meh is okay with you, then plan on lots of partying.

 

[deleted205891]

I wouldn't say cake, and I know a few "horror stories", but the majority of people are fine. I know quite a few people in my program with Ds in various classes, but probably 90% of the people that enter the professional phase and don't choose to take time off graduate on time (keep in mind that this is a 0-6 program, the percentage is usually higher in other programs). As long as you keep up with studying and attempt to understand the material (not just memorize it), you should be OK.

 

[crazybob]

eh, pharmacy school is cake. What'll you'll realize is the difference in the amount of effort it takes to get a 'meh' grade vs an A is substantial. So if meh is okay with you, then plan on lots of partying.

I wouldn't trust this statement. Especially when it's coming from a pre-med student.

 

[confettiflyer]

pharm school really isn't that bad...it depends on how rigorous your previous curriculum was and how well you performed. I think it's easy to get B's/B+'s and a little extra effort to get those A's. I'm actually having an easier time in pharm school classes than some undergrad classes, but as a whole, the program itself is one step up from undergrad in terms of difficulty.

 

[ForcedEntry]

eh, pharmacy school is cake. What'll you'll realize is the difference in the amount of effort it takes to get a 'meh' grade vs an A is substantial. So if meh is okay with you, then plan on lots of partying.

and the UF med students (some) say we are crazy...theirs is much easier.

 

[Zrchrn]

If you go to a real pharmacy school 🙂p) then it's certainly not easy and unless you did engineering for undergrad, it is significantly harder than undergrad. I can speak for UFCOP, and 2nd year here is ridiculous in the amount of information and tests you have to go through. In classes like pharmacotherapy, aside from normal tests, you also have to stand up in front of 140+ people and get grilled on material you've been studying and if you crash and burn, then you get to do it publicly. The tests deal with the smallest details. I had 3 questions on one minor bullet point on a 50 question test (out of 283 slides each with 5-7 bullet points).
That said I have taken a look at some of the curriculum for the weaker retail mill school, and that does look like it's a joke. That said, the Accreditation council is planing a "crackdown", lets see if they carry it out.

 

[Zrchrn]

and the UF med students (some) say we are crazy...theirs is much easier.

Yeah, when I tell my friends in med. and dent. here our scheduals+curriculum they just shake their heads.

 

[evilolive]

That said I have taken a look at some of the curriculum for the weaker retail mill school, and that does look like it's a joke. That said, the Accreditation council is planing a "crackdown", lets see if they carry it out.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[297point1]

That said I have taken a look at some of the curriculum for the weaker retail mill school, and that does look like it's a joke. That said, the Accreditation council is planing a "crackdown", lets see if they carry it out.

Enlighten me, please...because I am unaware of any "crackdown".

ACPE is adding (many) more hurdles to get a school open, but once you are open, it's only the periodic re-accreditation visits [every 2-6 years] that a school faces, and the same rules apply to every school at those visits.

I don't know when the last time a school has lost accreditation, but I don't beleive it has happened (other than voluntarily, in the case of Columbia in 1976) in the last 40 years.

(I am well aware of the problems at HICP, but that was simply a scam)

Crackdown? Just more hurdles to clear, and plenty of time given to clear them.

 

[Tygacil]

Eh trust who you want, I graduated from pharmacy school this past may.

 

[SHC1984]

eh, pharmacy school is cake. What'll you'll realize is the difference in the amount of effort it takes to get a 'meh' grade vs an A is substantial. So if meh is okay with you, then plan on lots of partying.

+1

But I am sure it's like that for every school...anyone can get a C or B...it's the A that requires work!