Scheduling question - Advice, please

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JJVmom

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My class scheduling dilemma has thrown off my plan. Here's my situation.

I have a B.S. in hotel mgm't from 1995. Now I'm taking the classes I'm missing, so I can apply to Creighton's Distance Pathway program. I was hoping to complete the classes by the spring 2010 then start pharm college that fall. That was before I knew you had to take the PCAT a year before you plan to start. Here's my dilemma...

I have 6 classes left to take to meet prereqs: 3 chemistry's and 3 biology's, (all lab classes). I was planning on taking 2 each semester, like this:

Spring 2009:
2nd general chem
1st bio (Bio 202)

Summer 2009:
Anatomy (the only prereq I have left offered in the summer session)

Fall 2009:
1st Ochem
2nd bio (Bio 204)

Take PCAT

Spring 2010:
2nd Ochem

Fall 2010: Start Pharmacy College

I need to take the PCAT by Oct 2009 to start pharmacy college in the fall 2010, right?

Unfortunately, the chem and bio I was planning for this spring are both the same days. With my children and husband's schedule, there's no way I could be at the school from 9am - 9pm. I also don't think this would be to my advantage to get A's in these classes, since I haven't had biology since high school (I'm 36 now). I'm going to take Bio 101 (not required) this fall as a prereq for anatomy b/c I won't have the Bio 202 class done as I had planned.

Will I be able to do well on the fall 2009 PCAT if I don't have my bio series done? (I will have taken Bio 101, Anatomy, and 1/2 of first bio sequence class).

Or, should I just plan on taking the PCAT during the summer of 2010 and starting pharmacy college in Fall 2011? (If that's the case, I won't take anatomy during the summer, but spring 2010 instead.) I really didn't want to wait an entire year between finishing my prereqs and starting pharmacy college (assuming I get in.), but I may not have a choice.

I'd appreciate any thoughts from those who have been in this situation. Thanks!

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Moved to PCAT forum because of topic.

Not having much bio or OChem under your belt will definitely be a disadvantage, especially for the bio. I would suggest self-studying for those parts. If you feel that you can self-study, I would go ahead and take the PCAT in Fall 2009 so you don't have to wait. Additionally, if you think you will do well on the other sections, those scores will offset slightly lower scores for bio and chem. You should also look at how Creighton considers PCAT scores. Most schools will take the highest score regardless of how many times you take it. So if Creighton does that, you might as well take it and see what happens.
 
Moved to PCAT forum because of topic.

Not having much bio or OChem under your belt will definitely be a disadvantage, especially for the bio. I would suggest self-studying for those parts. If you feel that you can self-study, I would go ahead and take the PCAT in Fall 2009 so you don't have to wait. Additionally, if you think you will do well on the other sections, those scores will offset slightly lower scores for bio and chem. You should also look at how Creighton considers PCAT scores. Most schools will take the highest score regardless of how many times you take it. So if Creighton does that, you might as well take it and see what happens.


From what I can tell, Creighton does weight the PCAT heavily. I've think I made the decision to wait one more year to start pharm school, so I can keep my GPA high. I was really nervous about taking anatomy in the summer.

Thank you for your advice!
 
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