Strange situation, trying to test out the water.

[clockwork247]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm currently finishing up my management science (economic related) degree @ UCSD, but lately I've been thinking of expanding my possibility by attempting to get the prerequisite of pharm school.

Basically, begining this fall I'll have 1 whole year @ UCSD, I will complete my degree with 4 classes leaving a possibility of 10 classes open up for grabs (take w/e I want).

I've been doing some research (just a tiny bit), and apparently these are the required classes that I should have (and don't have right now)

Chemistry i and ii with Lab
organic Chemistry i and ii with Lab
Biology
Physics
Anatomy and Physiology i and ii
Genetics or Genomic Biology
Biochemistry
microbiology with Lab
immunology


Some of these classes I can take at a community college, and others such as "organic chem", "genetics" ect... will need to be taken at a 4 year university such as the one I'm attending (UCSD).

However there's a good chance I won't get to come back to UCSD after next year because I'm very close to finishing my degree, AND it'll put me over the maximum units allow (I'll have to talk to my academic advisor about this to confirm).

There's another possibility that I can apply to another 4 year university close to where I live (SDSU) to complete those requirement, I'm not too sure how that'll work and if they would take someone who completed a BS at another school in their school as an undergrad.

And ofcouse I'll have to study and try to get a good score on the PCAT (I think that's what it's call).

My over all GPA is just a 2.5 (very low), upper division GPA is slightly higher (2.9~), but at any rate both are pretty dam low. So I'm reluctant to attemp this option right now, too many uncertainty and things I don't know about. If you guys can shine some light into this situation it'll be a great help for me 🙂 I know for sure I'll get better grades on these classes just because I'm a little more mature and experience with college compare to 4 years ago when I was a freshman. Not really sure if it'll help the situation.

 

[UES Girl]

I'm currently finishing up my management science (economic related) degree @ UCSD, but lately I've been thinking of expanding my possibility by attempting to get the prerequisite of pharm school.

Basically, begining this fall I'll have 1 whole year @ UCSD, I will complete my degree with 4 classes leaving a possibility of 10 classes open up for grabs (take w/e I want).

I've been doing some research (just a tiny bit), and apparently these are the required classes that I should have (and don't have right now)

Chemistry i and ii with Lab
organic Chemistry i and ii with Lab
Biology
Physics
Anatomy and Physiology i and ii
Genetics or Genomic Biology
Biochemistry
microbiology with Lab
immunology


Some of these classes I can take at a community college, and others such as "organic chem", "genetics" ect... will need to be taken at a 4 year university such as the one I'm attending (UCSD).

However there's a good chance I won't get to come back to UCSD after next year because I'm very close to finishing my degree, AND it'll put me over the maximum units allow (I'll have to talk to my academic advisor about this to confirm).

There's another possibility that I can apply to another 4 year university close to where I live (SDSU) to complete those requirement, I'm not too sure how that'll work and if they would take someone who completed a BS at another school in their school as an undergrad.

And ofcouse I'll have to study and try to get a good score on the PCAT (I think that's what it's call).

My over all GPA is just a 2.5 (very low), upper division GPA is slightly higher (2.9~), but at any rate both are pretty dam low. So I'm reluctant to attemp this option right now, too many uncertainty and things I don't know about. If you guys can shine some light into this situation it'll be a great help for me 🙂 I know for sure I'll get better grades on these classes just because I'm a little more mature and experience with college compare to 4 years ago when I was a freshman. Not really sure if it'll help the situation.

I think you can start taking them at UCSD and then continue taking them wherever you please whether it's SDSU or CC. There has been lots of topics about whether it matters if you take them at CC or 4 year school later on, I personally don't think it does, but it's up to you where to take them.

In any any case you won't finish them in a year. I guess I am not sure if that's one of the questions you are asking - I know you said you can take 10 extra classes that you can potentially take along with your business classes, but the thing is - these classes and labs are sequential - meaning you can't take genetics unless you complete a year of bio first and you can't take organic chemistry untill you complete at least 1 semester of general chem. So it will be impossible for you to finish classes in a year just because they are in a sequence.

I am really not sure what you are asking - but I suggest you start taking classes at UCSD now and then do whatever it takes to finish the remaining pre-reqs. I also suggest you work you butt off, because not only your GPA needs serious improvement but also because science classes generally require more effort and time than non-science courses.

Otherwise, good luck and I hope that everything works out for you as best as it can !

 

[clockwork247]

I think you can start taking them at UCSD and then continue taking them wherever you please whether it's SDSU or CC. There has been lots of topics about whether it matters if you take them at CC or 4 year school later on, I personally don't think it does, but it's up to you where to take them.

In any any case you won't finish them in a year. I guess I am not sure if that's one of the questions you are asking - I know you said you can take 10 extra classes that you can potentially take along with your business classes, but the thing is - these classes and labs are sequential - meaning you can't take genetics unless you complete a year of bio first and you can't take organic chemistry untill you complete at least 1 semester of general chem. So it will be impossible for you to finish classes in a year just because they are in a sequence.

I am really not sure what you are asking - but I suggest you start taking classes at UCSD now and then do whatever it takes to finish the remaining pre-reqs. I also suggest you work you butt off, because not only your GPA needs serious improvement but also because science classes generally require more effort and time than non-science courses.

Otherwise, good luck and I hope that everything works out for you as best as it can !

I'm actually not trying to finish it in 1 year (that's impossible haha), I'm just trying to see if I can actually come back to school and finish those requirement after I get my BS.

I actually took 1 general chem/physic class during freshman year, it wasn't that bad, and I didn't want to do science at the time.

I guess the main problem I'm having right now is determining if it's worth it to pursue such a route, it'll put me back 1 extra year (which I don't mind since the economy is pretty bad right now, hard to get a job anyways), I can always work part time and take less classes.

The GPA thing is probably not gonna work, I'm accumulating 4 years worth of credit in that GPA, nothing will change it now (not much anyways), I'm hoping to start fresh with these require classes.

PS: my major isn't bussiness, it's economic with a concentration on operational research (more math/stats/calculation), it's actually not bad, just that jobs aren't great (not poor just not great), and the pay is quite average to below average. I figured since I already done my GE and I can take classes at community college, why not give it a try and see where it takes me.

 

[2farmornot]

before you start taking any classes, id suggest you to volunteer or at the very least talk to some pharmacists to be sure you really are interested in it. this way you dont commit all that time only to change your mind later.

if you do undergo it, i would project more than 10 classes because likely you'll be applying to numerous schools. and at least with my application, even graduating as a bio major from ucsd, ive been finding increasing number of classes that ill need to take after contacting and verifying with each school. 10 classes can become an extra 15 very easily.

 

[clockwork247]

before you start taking any classes, id suggest you to volunteer or at the very least talk to some pharmacists to be sure you really are interested in it. this way you dont commit all that time only to change your mind later.

if you do undergo it, i would project more than 10 classes because likely you'll be applying to numerous schools. and at least with my application, even graduating as a bio major from ucsd, ive been finding increasing number of classes that ill need to take after contacting and verifying with each school. 10 classes can become an extra 15 very easily.

Actually what I meant was that I have 10 extra classes for next year, if I'm gonna do this, it'll take another extra year (which probably equate to 24 classes total + 2 summer session).

So this is why I'm considering the option and see if it's actually worth it. Especially with my super low GPA I'm really doubting my chances. And I really wanted to have a run at those chem classes and see what it's like.

 

[baykillawhale]

This is what getting into pharm school is all about:

-Stats: Your major, GPA
-Extracurriculars: Volunteering or somehow showing that you want to get into pharm.
-Personal statement: This is where you SHINE when you have both a high GPA or low GPA.


You can get in.
Deciding to take 1.5 years of classes you weren't originally planning on taking in order to satisfy pharm req's is up to you though. I would say that taking those classes would help you out a lot with finding a different type of job in the future if pharm doesnt work out. But then again I don't know what your interested in job wise if you didnt turn out to go pharm.