What undergraduate course electives will help the most in pharmacy school?

[Demure Allure]

I am just finishing my second semester of undergrad, so I am still taking many of the basic prereqs; however, looking to the future I would like to plan for classes that will aid in my success with pharmacy school. I plan to start the application process next summer for the 2014-2015 application cycle, so I have managed to have it so that all my pharmacy prereqs will be completed by Spring 2014. I am struggling to plan for my last year of undergrad since I will be a few classes short of completing my degree and I feel as though it would be more beneficial to ensure my success in pharmacy school rather than burning myself out my last year just to get a Biomedical Sciences degree (which has little value without further professional education). *Note: I have spoken with the admissions officers at my top pharmacy school (University of Florida) and they told me that having a bachelors degree or not would be my decision, and did not seem to emphasize the need of having one so I do not believe it would greatly effect my chances of getting into pharmacy school*

I will already be taking the "standard" science track for my major and prereqs with Biology 1 & 2, Chemistry up to Organic 2, General Microbiology, Immunology, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, and up to Physics 2. What I'm mostly asking for is any "unusual" or at least unrequired courses that you feel would be beneficial in pharmacy school that I can take as electives.

I wouldn't mind taking classes outside of my major if they would be beneficial to me in pharmacy school. As a point of reference, these are the restricted electives offered at my university for my Biomedical Sciences major:

Biochemistry II
Biochemical methods
Pathogenic microbiology
Bacterial genetics and physiology
Determinative & systemic microbiology
Infectious processes
Cellular microbiology: Host-pathogen Interactions
Epidemiology of infectious diseases
Molecular biotechnology
Virology
Environmental microbiology
Methods in biotechnology
Molecular biology of disease
Applied microbiology
Current topics in molecular biology
Techniques in clinical microscopy
Hematology
Hemostasis
Clinical parasitology
Immunodiagnostics
Advanced clinical chemistry I
Advanced clinical chemistry II
Genetics
Human physiology
Molecular and cellular pharmacology
Foundation of bio-imaging science
Tissue engineering
Genetics II
Experimental molecular biology
Endocrinology
Immunobiology
Cancer biology
Signal transduction mechanics
Human gross anatomy & disection techniques
Human anatomy
Neurobiology
Embryology/development
Human clinical embryology and cngenital malformation
Clinical neuroanatomy and neuroscience
Human histology
Essentials of neuroanatomy
Pathogenic microbiology lab
Honors undergraduate thesis II
General mycology
Principles of infectious disease
Cancer biology
Clinical neuroscience
Stem cell biology

Any help and/or opinions are appreciated!

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[Rouelle]

That's a pretty nice selection of electives to choose from. I think the "best" electives will certainly vary by the pharmacy school you ultimately end up attending. Based on the school I attend, however, I think you can't go wrong by taking as much biochemistry, physiology, and immunology as possible. In particular autonomic physiology/pharmacology and immunology keep coming up again and again in our courses.

 

[Skrumpy]

Any help and/or opinions are appreciated!

You'll take biochem in pharmacy school so taking it in undergrad would give you a definite advantage. I'm sure the molecular/cellular pharmacology course would come in handy as well. The other angle is that you will be taught all that you *need* to know in pharmacy school so why not pick a couple of things that you *want* to take? Maybe a couple that seem interesting to you. They may or may not have direct applicability to pharmacy later on, but you never know, aspects could come in handy at some point.

 

[Demure Allure]

Thanks for both of your answers! I'll definitely try to work those classes into my schedule.

I'm actually taking a psychology class per semester (working on a psychology minor) because those classes are so fascinating. I'm just finishing up Psychology of Aging and aside from the "death and bereavement" chapter it was really fun!

 

[Skrumpy]

Thanks for both of your answers! I'll definitely try to work those classes into my schedule.

I'm actually taking a psychology class per semester (working on a psychology minor) because those classes are so fascinating. I'm just finishing up Psychology of Aging and aside from the "death and bereavement" chapter it was really fun!

My anthropology courses (got a minor in anthro) were some of the most interesting and fun classes I had during my undergrad.

 

[Guitarmacy]

Immunology, Cellular/Molecular Bio, Advanced Biochemistry, and anything to do with pharmacology. Look into what the school's Psychology department has, they might have classes like Psychopharmacology which will give you a jump start in pharmacy school.