Should I even try?

[patsfan24]

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Hey everyone. Just signed up here after doing some browsing. Great info.

So I am about to graduate from Florida State with a Psychology degree in December. College was a struggle for me and I spent a lot of it depressed and not wanting to be in school/not knowing what I really wanted to do.

I have had a rebirth of sorts and now feel really motivated to pursue a career in health care and pharmacy really interests me. I've spent A LOT of time online searching through schools and programs and how to go about becoming a pharmacist, but I'm still pretty confused about the whole process.

So I suppose my question is, what would be my next move after graduation? I will have majored in psychology, minored in biology. My GPA will be right around a 3.0. Being a psych major, I didn't take all the necessary prereqs for pharmacy school. I have the bio classes down, but didn't take any chemistry, physics, anatomy, or calculus classes. Can I take these at a community college and then apply to Pharm school? Maybe also boosting my GPA in the process? Or is my GPA permanent upon graduation? I don't have any experience in volunteering or anything, but would obviously be ready to get out and get some things on my resume once I am headed in the right direction.

I suppose my overall question is, at this point, is it even worth it? I'd have to take out loans to pay for getting my prereqs done, then take out more loans to actually go to pharmacy school. I'd have to get a lot of extracurriculars to make my resume more appealing. Beyond that, is my GPA even in the ballpark where I could be accepted into a PharmD program?

If anyone recommends a better career choice, I am all ears. I know that I want to be in health care. I want to help people. I was digging around in medical diagnostic imaging (radiography, ultrasound sonography, etc) for a little, but I feel as though if I'm going to spend the time for more schooling after my bachelors, I may as well go for the gold with pharmacy.

Any advice would be great. Thank you if you spent the time reading this!

 

[rxphd]

I would. Your GPA is still decent and yes, you could take the prereqs at a community college and boost your GPA.

 

[nomad339]

I would really recommend you find a volunteer position at a hospital or independent pharmacy to determine if you really like it. And if you do, then I would spend the time and money taking classes at a community college and preparing for the PCAT.

Simply doing online research about the field does not cut it. Go out there and experience it for yourself, first hand.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Hey everyone. Just signed up here after doing some browsing. Great info.

So I am about to graduate from Florida State with a Psychology degree in December. College was a struggle for me and I spent a lot of it depressed and not wanting to be in school/not knowing what I really wanted to do.

I have had a rebirth of sorts and now feel really motivated to pursue a career in health care and pharmacy really interests me. I've spent A LOT of time online searching through schools and programs and how to go about becoming a pharmacist, but I'm still pretty confused about the whole process.

So I suppose my question is, what would be my next move after graduation? I will have majored in psychology, minored in biology. My GPA will be right around a 3.0. Being a psych major, I didn't take all the necessary prereqs for pharmacy school. I have the bio classes down, but didn't take any chemistry, physics, anatomy, or calculus classes. Can I take these at a community college and then apply to Pharm school? Maybe also boosting my GPA in the process? Or is my GPA permanent upon graduation? I don't have any experience in volunteering or anything, but would obviously be ready to get out and get some things on my resume once I am headed in the right direction.

I suppose my overall question is, at this point, is it even worth it? I'd have to take out loans to pay for getting my prereqs done, then take out more loans to actually go to pharmacy school. I'd have to get a lot of extracurriculars to make my resume more appealing. Beyond that, is my GPA even in the ballpark where I could be accepted into a PharmD program?

If anyone recommends a better career choice, I am all ears. I know that I want to be in health care. I want to help people. I was digging around in medical diagnostic imaging (radiography, ultrasound sonography, etc) for a little, but I feel as though if I'm going to spend the time for more schooling after my bachelors, I may as well go for the gold with pharmacy.

Any advice would be great. Thank you if you spent the time reading this!

I can advise regarding your GPA/prereqs. If you are at least somewhat dedicated to try out Pharmacy, take the prereqs and see how you do. A ~3.0 GPA studying Psychology is not competitive. However, maybe the 2nd time around you will do better.

 

[Benjamin West]

you seem like your mind is already made up with Pharmacy so go for that. I only know about sonography as thats the field my brother works in. I agree with nomad339 to take up a volunteer position first to find out if its for you. Last thing you want to do is end up stick in a career you don't enjoy.

 

[Rx Jezter]

I'm definitely seconding what nomad339 suggested. Don't commit to this road unless you're absolutely positive this is what you want to do. I know pharmacists who never bothered to get field experience prior to applying to and even graduating from pharmacy school and now they hate their lives. Granted, they work retail but pharmacy is not a field for everyone.

 

[Jeanine B]

If I were you, I would pick some schools you would like to apply to, see what they require, then make a plan of when you will take all of those classes. Next thing is to prepare for the PCAT. A lot of the prereq classes will help you with what is on the PCAT so its probably best to take it after you have completed the rest of the classes (chemistry and organic chemistry for sure). I would also go and meet with admissions at the schools you would like to apply to (if they are close) or call the ones you are interested in if they are further away, and talk to them about what classes you need. A lot of schools are more than willing to help you set up a plan. Besides these things, I would try and get a job as a pharm tech or volunteering with something pharmacy related, and definitely shadowing if you can't get a job. I was fortunate to get a job as a pharm tech right before the application process opened up this past summer so I could add it to my resume and it definitely opened my eyes to how the pharmacy world really is behind the scenes. I graduated from a university and I am finishing up my pre-reqs now at a CC college to save money and none of the schools I have applied to have had a problem with it, and I already have an interview in a couple weeks out in Colorado. I def say give it a try 🙂 Good luck!

 

[MLH]

I suggest working in pharmacy or shawdowing before investing money and time into a path that you are unhappy with or unsure about. Also, yes you can take prereqs at community college and save money but depending on where you want to go they could possibly require upper level science courses that would need to be taken at the University. And on the personal note if you were depressed at the university maybe trying to apply to a smaller private pharmacy college might make you happier than being at a very competitive cut throat school...?? Other than that learning and investing in yourself is never a waste! You want it go for it!