Undergrad school Decision.

[Faulkner]

Hello,
I am a high school senior planning on pursuing a career as a pharmacist and I'm facing a dilemma with my college decision.
I've been accepted to UC irvine, SDSU, and the two calpolys.
However, I think I am down to UC Irvine and SDSU as of now
and the final decision is a hard one to make....
I would like to get to my ultimate goal; pharmacy school; in the most timely and effective method.

I have two options.

1: Attending SDSU, which has less prestige than the UC schools, but will be less competitive in my classes and allow me to achieve a better GPA.
major: biochemistry

2: Attending UC Irvine, which is a UC school with a better prestige and research opportunities, but is also known for its rigorous curriculum and the large population of pre-med/health students like myself that will make way for huge competition.
major: biology

Which option would be the most effective and beneficial decision for my
acceptance into the pharmacy school?
Realistically, Does the prestige matter in this case?
Also, I had originally thought of the B.S. degree as an almost unoffcial requirement for getting into a pharmacy school. Based from your experience/observation, Is the B.S. degree a necessity for pharmacy school?
If I plan and manage my time well to finish my pre-reqs, will I be able to get accepted into a pharmacy school in less than 4 years of undergrad studies?

My ultimate goal is getting into a pharmacy school and successfully pursuing a career as a pharmacist. I would really appreciate every bit of advice that could be offered for my situation.

Also, anyone that is knowledgeable of either SDSU or UCI and the pharmacy schools in CA (which are the only one I'm familiar with... Would it be a good idea to stay in CA for pharmacy school?), please leave your advice and insights about the schools and the pharmacy schools in general.

Thank you.

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[AbsoluteEthanol]

i'm sorry, i didn't read your entire post, it's super lengthy and frankly a no-brainer.


one thing i will say is, do not, and i repeat, DO NOT GO TO SDSU!!!

I just read an article in the San Diego newspaper (Union Tribune) about how terible state is. get this, 32% of the school is not proficient in basic math and grammar.

 

[Transformer]

Hello,
I am a high school senior planning on pursuing a career as a pharmacist and I'm facing a dilemma with my college decision.
I've been accepted to UC irvine, SDSU, and the two calpolys.
However, I think I am down to UC Irvine and SDSU as of now
and the final decision is a hard one to make....
I would like to get to my ultimate goal; pharmacy school; in the most timely and effective method.

I have two options.

1: Attending SDSU, which has less prestige than the UC schools, but will be less competitive in my classes and allow me to achieve a better GPA.
major: biochemistry

2: Attending UC Irvine, which is a UC school with a better prestige and research opportunities, but is also known for its rigorous curriculum and the large population of pre-med/health students like myself that will make way for huge competition.
major: biology

Which option would be the most effective and beneficial decision for my
acceptance into the pharmacy school?
Realistically, Does the prestige matter in this case?
Also, I had originally thought of the B.S. degree as an almost unoffcial requirement for getting into a pharmacy school. Based from your experience/observation, Is the B.S. degree a necessity for pharmacy school?
If I plan and manage my time well to finish my pre-reqs, will I be able to get accepted into a pharmacy school in less than 4 years of undergrad studies?

My ultimate goal is getting into a pharmacy school and successfully pursuing a career as a pharmacist. I would really appreciate every bit of advice that could be offered for my situation.

Also, anyone that is knowledgeable of either SDSU or UCI and the pharmacy schools in CA (which are the only one I'm familiar with... Would it be a good idea to stay in CA for pharmacy school?), please leave your advice and insights about the schools and the pharmacy schools in general.

Thank you.

If you haven't done so, I recommend volunteering at your local phamacy and see if you really want to be a pharmacist. If you already know pharmacy is what you want to do in the future, gamble big. Attend a UC school but make sure you ace all your classes.

The way I would do it is attend a CC or CSU school for 2 years; save money on tuition, take my pre pharm classes, and transfer to a UC and ace all my upper division UC classes. This way, you would graduate with prestigous a UC degree and save about 20 to 40k in tuition.

If your parents are rich or extremely poor (financial aid), then go ahead and attend UC for 4 years.

For everyone else, try the CC/CSU/CALPoly to UC approach

Good luck!

 

[jmcfa002]

I wish I would have gone to CSU/CC before going to a UC. I go to UCR, I know the reject school, or whatever, but it would have been an easier transition from high school if I would have done so

 

[thanawalt]

I chose a CSU, can't complain. Can't brag either, however.

Go where you think you'll get the better grades and more opportunities that you're looking for.

 

[evilolive]

Just be aware that SDSU is packed more like a zoo than UC Irvine. Only 17% graduate within 4 years.

 

[sanfranalaska]

I went to a CSU and really liked it, I was able to get to know the whole chemistry department and get a stellar letter of recommendation as well as a great research opportunity. I would go to the school with the smaller class sizes, because then you can get better letters of recommendation, which is important for your pharmacy app. Also check out what the research is like at both schools. If all undergrads do is wash glassware for research, then stay away. Try to find where you can do more hands on research. Just my two cents.