Tell me this..

[smsc2009]

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Hi,
I have recently spoke to my high school counselor about my interest in a career in Pharmacy. At the time I did not know to much about 0-6 programs. She advised me to go to the local community college, take the prereqs, and then apply to Pharmacy School. The community college is coming to the campus in a few weeks, should I attend the meeting, is it worth it? My counsler said they I would beable to discuss this all with the admissions person, what do you guys think? I realize that Pharmacy is now an upcoming profession, do you think I will beable to gain acceptance in future years without a B.S.? I will be graduating high school in 2009, so if I do not get into a 0-6 program, I will probably apply to 4 year Pharmacy schools in 2011, does this sound realistic? I read on a thread on this board sometime ago that 0-6 programs tend to accept anyone that applies, for the reason that it is so hard to find someone that want to commit 6 years of their life without having the oppurtunity to change their major. Is there any truth to this? LIU, USP, MCPHS - Boston are the 0-6 programs I am looking at. Western and Temple are the four year Pharmacy programs I plan on applying to if the 0-6 programs do not work out. Anyone have any personal experience with these programs, especially the 0-6 schools?
Thanks

 

[Lurkerkat]

Hard to predict because by 2011 admissions into pharmacy school may be more competitive and you may have to do undergrad for four years to get a BS in order to be considered a competitive applicant. All of the schools I applied to had record breaking number applicants this year. Programs that once got 900 applicants are now getting 1800. Who knows where things will be in four years. Your best bet is getting into a 0-6 program now.

 

[Farmercyst]

I would also say unless your high school counselor is up on pharmacy career paths available, that they are probably shooting from the hip. They're all aware that college is involved, but do they know the difference between 0-6, 2+4, etc. Are they familiar with any of the schools you're looking at. Same thing for the community college. Unless the CC has a lot of pre-health majors and/or the school has a reputation with a pharm/med/vet school, they probably won't know a whole lot more than you do. (Or at least no better than what you can find on your own with a little research.) I'd say your best bet would be to take a day. Look at all the schools online. Look at entry stats, how the 0-6 programs are setup, who they are looking for. Then call either their pre-pharm counselor if they have one, or possibly admissions and see what more info you can get from them. Otherwise you may find yourself taking 8 years to do what you thought would be done in 6.

 

[PharmDJH]

If i were you and really want to stick with pharmacy is to get into a 0-6 program your pretty much grantee a stop when 2011 rolls around going the CC route doesn't

 

[smsc2009]

If i were you and really want to stick with pharmacy is to get into a 0-6 program your pretty much grantee a stop when 2011 rolls around going the CC route doesn't

Yes, I realize that this is why I ask about the admission to 0-6 programs, and how it differs from the 4 year Pharmacy schools.

 

[fmbzp5]

I don't think the 0-6 is a shoe in though. My friend went for the 0-6 program at Albany in 2000 and got in. Now the admissions told him they get like 10 applications for every spot which maybe an inflated number but I wouldn't be surprised though if it is fairly competitive. people realize you can graduate HS get a PharmD in just 6 years and make a 6 figure income hence the increase applicant pool.

 

[Jack555]

Cheapest Route-

Go to a community college and take the prereqs.
Apply to pharmacy school and to your state universities. If you don't get in keep working towards your BS at your state college as well as applying untill you get in or have your BS. Once you have your BS you will probably get in (if you have good grades...make sure you do)



Cheap Route-Do the above but all at a state college.




Expensive but possibly guaranteed route- 0-6 program. The problem is the 2 years has expensive tuition doesn't it?












- I'm personally getting a BS in biotechnology from a Cal State. I want something to fall back on in the case that something went wrong with my pharmacy plans. Plus a lot of the classes will directly help me with pharmacy school.

 

[sle3pyguii]

I think 0-6 is the "safest" method. No PCATs, pharmacy apps.

I think getting a BS somewhere is a great experience though. It gives you time to think over your career choice while having fun.

 

[shaun009]

Through reading some of your previous posts, it seems as though you have many different interests in the medical profession. Why pharmacy? Why optometry? Why anesthesiology? I'm not trying to be a spy but it also seems that every question you have concerning each profession has to do with: how much schooling? what are "my" best chances? why is this advantageous or disadvantageous? In the medical profession (and anyone will tell you this) 85% of the people involved have extremely good reasons for wanting to be a part of this. They dedicate their time, energy, body and soul to this work because they truly want to help someone they've never even met. I think it would be best for you to take a step back from all these questions that are about 2-3 years ahead of where you are now, and evaluate why it is you want to become an optometrist, anesthesiologist or pharmacist. It takes a lot of hard work, effort and commitment.

 

[pharmk011]

0-6 programs definitely do not accept anyone that applies.. they are still fairly competitive. Also, just because you start at a 0-6 does not mean you are locked into it. You can change your major. I was in a 0-6 my freshmen year, decided I didn't like the school and transferred to a place that does 2-4. I also knew many people in my class during my freshmen year that changed their majors because they realized they didn't want to do pharmacy.
0-6 does have it's advantages because you don't have to take the PCAT and you don't have to deal with the stress of interviewing and getting accepted. And, you can change your major if you want. But, it's still hard to get into and you need to work hard in high school. I got in with a 3.96 in hs and most of the people in my pharm class were similar... a lot of them were valedictorians of their classes. You should try to get some pharm experience too.. that helps a lot.

 

[ajh88]

Agree with the other posters...

Just wanted to add that if you are really interested in 0-6 programs, be careful about taking ANY college courses first. The 0-6 program I spoke with (about transferring in - ha ha!) told me that if you take even just 1 course after high school, you have to transfer in as a 3rd year (with very little chance of actually getting in) and cannot begin as a 0-6 student.

If you are really interested in pharmacy but are concerned about 0-6 programs, you could also research schools that offer both undergrad and pharmacy programs - many times they give preference to their undergrad students to some degree (but perhaps not always).

 

[sdn1977]

I dunno - I'm sure these schools work out for some who are absolutely determined to go into pharmacy.

I was absolutely determined as well, but I'd never go directly into a 0-6, even looking back on it all.

Time can be a factor for some - particularly those who are non-trad students. But, as a high school junior or senior - you have nothing but time ahead.

Time should be what gains you experience - not just in your career, but in life. You could indeed shorten the time it takes to get your degree as a pharmacist & get out there & make all those bucks.

But....it may also shorten the time it takes you to become saddened or worse yet, bitter because you did not allow yourself enough time to really decide what you want to do.

Trust me - turning 40 or 50 comes fast (I know - you can't believe it)...but, you will be in your profession a long, long time. Give yourself, if you can, that gift of time to just find out who you are & what you're best at. You may indeed end up in pharmacy, but in a different path than you originally thought you might take.

Good luck!

 

[Jessly56]

if you do decide to go through 4 years as an undergrad first, you have to make sure you do extremely well in all your classes as well as get all the prerequisites done. as others have said, competition is only going to get higher and higher each year. 0-6 is the safest and you are pretty much guaranteed a pharmd degree once youre in (assuming you dont drop out). if it was me, id do the 0-6 year deal. no pcat, interviews or essays. you just have to have good sats and gpa in hs.

 

[smsc2009]

Through reading some of your previous posts, it seems as though you have many different interests in the medical profession. Why pharmacy? Why optometry? Why anesthesiology? I'm not trying to be a spy but it also seems that every question you have concerning each profession has to do with: how much schooling? what are "my" best chances? why is this advantageous or disadvantageous? In the medical profession (and anyone will tell you this) 85% of the people involved have extremely good reasons for wanting to be a part of this. They dedicate their time, energy, body and soul to this work because they truly want to help someone they've never even met. I think it would be best for you to take a step back from all these questions that are about 2-3 years ahead of where you are now, and evaluate why it is you want to become an optometrist, anesthesiologist or pharmacist. It takes a lot of hard work, effort and commitment.

I knew this would probably come up. Why have I been posting in different boards about different careers? Yes, I am intrested in medicine. Yes, I know it takes alot of hard work to become a MD, DO, PharmD, OD, DPM, DDS etc. I have spoken to many physicians about this. I do not simply want to go into something because it is easy. Just because I question my chances does not mean I am looking for an easy way in, of course I want to be informed about what I may be doing what it takes, etc. Honestly before I came to this board I was only thinking about PharmD, and in the back of my mind MD. Reading my posts you have probably seen me mention that I do have some family members in medicine, so yes again I know it takes alot of time and dedication. I have taken the time to read the different boards and find out information about careers, this does not mean that I am necessary wanting to go into the field of optometry, etc. I just want to find out more about it. At this point I am only considering PharmD, and possibly MD. I was thinking about Anesthesiology after coming here and reading that they were similar to Pharmacists, except they work in the OR. I wanted to research more about the profession. I do not just want to rush into something without knowing anything about it. The only other specialties I have thought about are Neurology, Psychiatry, and possibly Ortropedics (This is why I have posted in the DPM boards, asking differences and similarities.) I have come to the Phamacy forums to find out about 0-6 programs. Since it is out of high school it is a different admissions process, I just want to know how admissions criteria differs from the 4 year Pharmacy schools. When I ask question like what are my chances this does not mean that if I choose to go MD and get rejected my first time, I will say "Oh I guess it's time to think about Pharmacy since I did not get into Medicine" like some people do. If I choose Pharmacy I will be choosing it because I want to do it, not because I could not get into medical school, just like if I choose MD I will stick with MD. I just want more information on the 0-6 programs right now. This does not mean that if I don't get into a 0-6 program right out of high school I will go to college do very well, and than apply to medical school, as apposed to Pharmacy school. Again, I am going to pick something I want to do, not something that I can just walk into. I am sorry if I came off as a guy who just wants an easy way into medicine, because I definitely do not,
Thanks

 

[JerryPharmD]

Start taking college classes while you're still in high school, if possible. I wish I would have.

 

[klampster23]

I think what a lot of people don't understand the great logic behind 0-6. The first misunderstanding is that 0-6 is NOT A COMMITMENT!!!!!!!! Your first 2 years and part of your third year is pre-pharmacy aka pre-med aka pre-any other health career. 0-6 schools don't force you not stay there for 6 years. You have the freedom to transfer out whenever you desire. If you don't know exactly what career you would like to pursue in healthcare out of highschool but consider pharmacy as a strong possibility you might as well as go to a
0-6 school as insurance, since there's no pcat or interview or anything. If you decide to go a different route, at least you would have fulfilled all the pre-requisites in the first 2-3 years of 0-6. Heck, even if you want to transfer out after completing 3 years in 0-6, you just have to complete like 1 more semester for you undergrad science degree. This clearly shows that 0-6 is by NO MEANS A COMMITMENT!!!!!!!! It gives you 2 years before you start pharm classes to make sure this is what you really want to do. It's a win-win situation. So the moral is, if you're interested in career in health professions to the smart, logical thing, which is 0-6!!!!!!!!!!! because then you're already in a program and can easily apply to other schools of in the health professions if you truly desire after 2-3 years.

 

[smsc2009]

I think what a lot of people don't understand the great logic behind 0-6. The first misunderstanding is that 0-6 is NOT A COMMITMENT!!!!!!!! Your first 2 years and part of your third year is pre-pharmacy aka pre-med aka pre-any other health career. 0-6 schools don't force you not stay there for 6 years. You have the freedom to transfer out whenever you desire. If you don't know exactly what career you would like to pursue in healthcare out of highschool but consider pharmacy as a strong possibility you might as well as go to a
0-6 school as insurance, since there's no pcat or interview or anything. If you decide to go a different route, at least you would have fulfilled all the pre-requisites in the first 2-3 years of 0-6. Heck, even if you want to transfer out after completing 3 years in 0-6, you just have to complete like 1 more semester for you undergrad science degree. This clearly shows that 0-6 is by NO MEANS A COMMITMENT!!!!!!!! It gives you 2 years before you start pharm classes to make sure this is what you really want to do. It's a win-win situation. So the moral is, if you're interested in career in health professions to the smart, logical thing, which is 0-6!!!!!!!!!!! because then you're already in a program and can easily apply to other schools of in the health professions if you truly desire after 2-3 years.

Wow, I did not know that, I was under the impression that it was a full commitment. Thank you. This makes me only want to apply to the 0-6 even more, because yes, there is a STRONG possiblity that I will want to get a PharmD, however there is also a chance that I will want to get an MD, so it is nice to know that I can leave the program to pursue something else in medicine. After looking over the various programs that offer 0-6 the only ones that I can see myself applying to are LIU, SJU, MCPHS - Boston, and USP. Here's what I will have going for me, strong essay, strong letters of recommendations, 100+ hours of volunteering at a hospital/pharmacy, decent grades (3.0+ GPA) and average - above average sats. I will not have a 3.7+ GPA with 2200+ sats. Do you think I will have a shot at one of the above mentioned 0-6 programs with that on my application? (LIU, SJU, MCPHS - Boston, and USP)
Thanks

 

[klampster23]

You might also want to try st. louis, albany, rutgers, findlay (new one so maybe a bit easier) That's what I did back in 2003. I got into usp and albany but I rejected both offers for SUNY-Buffalo which has early assurance (I'm from T.O. Canada so closer to home) and I was conifdent that I would reach their minimum which was only 3.2 at the time, which I did. Also, take the ACT....a lot easier than SAT.

 

[smsc2009]

You might also want to try st. louis, albany, rutgers, findlay (new one so maybe a bit easier) That's what I did back in 2003. I got into usp and albany but I rejected both offers for SUNY-Buffalo which has early assurance (I'm from T.O. Canada so closer to home) and I was conifdent that I would reach their minimum which was only 3.2 at the time, which I did. Also, take the ACT....a lot easier than SAT.

I plan on taking both the ACT and the SAT. I heard St. Louis and Albany are two of the hardest schools to gain admission. I'd would love to be in Philadelphia, or New York State.

 

[Happyfeet29]

Hi 🙂 ,
I'm also looking to go into a 0-6 program. I was talking to an admissions officer at a pharmacy school and they never recommend going to a CC if you are sure you want to study pharmacy. Best bet is to go directly into the program. I'm looking at Rutgers. Anyone have info about Rutgers University?

 

[ButlerPharm.D.]

St. Louis is one of the easier 0+6 schools to get into.