starting pharmacy prerequisites, advice needed please

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

dragonphoenix

New Member
10+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I have a BA in psychology. I have 5 years of experience working in both a community and hospital pharmacy setting. I need to take around 14 prerequisite classes before I can even be considered a candidate for pharmacy school. I have to take all the core science classes. When are the PCAT's usually taken? When would you begin to apply to schools? Are there any accepted pharmacy students who would like to share their success stories? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙂
 
I have a BA in psychology. I have 5 years of experience working in both a community and hospital pharmacy setting. I need to take around 14 prerequisite classes before I can even be considered a candidate for pharmacy school. I have to take all the core science classes. When are the PCAT's usually taken? When would you begin to apply to schools? Are there any accepted pharmacy students who would like to share their success stories? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙂

Hey there and welcome. You'll be able to find a lot of the answers that you seek from using the search function and/or reading old threads. There are pages upon pages of threads from people just like you with the same exact questions you have. You might also want to read the sticky posts - Our friendly mods have provided lots of "up front" information for new folks to get up to speed quickly.

You'll be applying for a cycle the year before you're going to finish your pre-requisites - Think of this as done at the end of your "Junior" year.

I have Psychology undergraduate education some 2-ply toilet paper as well and I was accepted on my first cycle, even with a few CC classes, so I think you'll be fine. Just make sure you get all A's!
 
I have a BA in psychology. I have 5 years of experience working in both a community and hospital pharmacy setting. I need to take around 14 prerequisite classes before I can even be considered a candidate for pharmacy school. I have to take all the core science classes. When are the PCAT's usually taken? When would you begin to apply to schools? Are there any accepted pharmacy students who would like to share their success stories? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙂

Typically you apply to pharmacy schools right after your first year of pre-reqs, but each school has a unique application cycle. Some use PharmCAS, some don't.

I recommend taking the August PCAT after your first year so that, if you do poorly, you still have a last chance option in the October PCAT. Some schools might require earlier scores or have their applications close earlier than Texas schools.

The best thing to do is make a list of schools you're interested in and then research them further by looking at their websites and reading threads here. My sig has a link to a document that shows you what each school requires more or less.