Will it be possible?

[christinalazaro]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello everyone! My name is Christina.
I'm currently a full time pharmacy technician and i am looking to start my pre reqs for pharmacy. My question is, is it possible to take pre reqs part time working Monday through Friday 8-5? I know this will take much longer to complete them but i cannot afford to work part time and go to school full time (car payment, bills, ect)

 

[kmapes]

Hello everyone! My name is Christina.
I'm currently a full time pharmacy technician and i am looking to start my pre reqs for pharmacy. My question is, is it possible to take pre reqs part time working Monday through Friday 8-5? I know this will take much longer to complete them but i cannot afford to work part time and go to school full time (car payment, bills, ect)

It really depends on when classes are offered. It is a possibility, but it may take you a bit longer to finish your prerequisites (more than the typical two years) and you may have to take some classes at a community college. But like I said, it really just depends on where you can take your classes and what times they're offered at.

 

[xtsukiyox]

YES. This is possible. It will be slow going comparatively (I don't recommend 30+ hours with a full time load - it was hard). But you'll get there.

I was able to work 40 hours & take 3 classes at a time - one was M/W with W lab, another T/Th with Th lab, and another 9-3 on Saturday. It was tough, but doable. I did homework on my lunch break & listened to lectures while I did the data entry portion of my job.

Check out your local universities & community colleges for evening & weekend classes. Some classes are only offered at night / weekend in certain semesters, so take that into consideration when planning your course. Try to spread out your classes so you're taking one or two hard classes a semester instead of cramming all your hard sciences together. You do need electives & soft sciences too. Organic Chemistry and Anatomy & Physiology are generally accepted as the hardest / most time consuming parts of the sequence, so I offset these series.

Make sure you check your schools of choice for the following:
- Do you need a bachelor's degree? Do they have upper level prereqs? (If no, you can do all the prereqs at CC rather than Uni. If yes, plan accordingly - lots of Unis try to work around the 8-5.)
- Which classes (if any) can you take online? Science & labs are usually not acceptable, but other classes may be. Get an answer straight from the admissions office.
- Specifically, which prereqs are required, and which prereqs for the prereqs do you need?

If your work schedule is relatively fixed, it can make it easier. Can you shift your schedule or transfer to work nights if you have to finish up classes only offered during the day? I thought I would have to do this for Statistics, but then found a CC offering it at night although I had to drive quite a distance in rush hour to get there. Try to block out study time & set specific goals for that time throughout the week.

Since you're at this point in planning, I would highly suggest doing whatever you can to pay down / off your consumer debt (like credit cards, car payments) prior to pharmacy school. While I hear you can work during most 4 year programs, I'm not sure that many people do well & hold down a full time job. The financial aid packages don't include allowances for consumer debt, either.

 

[xtsukiyox]

By the way,

to SDN!

 

[christinalazaro]

YES. This is possible. It will be slow going comparatively (I don't recommend 30+ hours with a full time load - it was hard). But you'll get there.

I was able to work 40 hours & take 3 classes at a time - one was M/W with W lab, another T/Th with Th lab, and another 9-3 on Saturday. It was tough, but doable. I did homework on my lunch break & listened to lectures while I did the data entry portion of my job.

Check out your local universities & community colleges for evening & weekend classes. Some classes are only offered at night / weekend in certain semesters, so take that into consideration when planning your course. Try to spread out your classes so you're taking one or two hard classes a semester instead of cramming all your hard sciences together. You do need electives & soft sciences too. Organic Chemistry and Anatomy & Physiology are generally accepted as the hardest / most time consuming parts of the sequence, so I offset these series.

Make sure you check your schools of choice for the following:
- Do you need a bachelor's degree? Do they have upper level prereqs? (If no, you can do all the prereqs at CC rather than Uni. If yes, plan accordingly - lots of Unis try to work around the 8-5.)
- Which classes (if any) can you take online? Science & labs are usually not acceptable, but other classes may be. Get an answer straight from the admissions office.
- Specifically, which prereqs are required, and which prereqs for the prereqs do you need?

If your work schedule is relatively fixed, it can make it easier. Can you shift your schedule or transfer to work nights if you have to finish up classes only offered during the day? I thought I would have to do this for Statistics, but then found a CC offering it at night although I had to drive quite a distance in rush hour to get there. Try to block out study time & set specific goals for that time throughout the week.

Since you're at this point in planning, I would highly suggest doing whatever you can to pay down / off your consumer debt (like credit cards, car payments) prior to pharmacy school. While I hear you can work during most 4 year programs, I'm not sure that many people do well & hold down a full time job. The financial aid packages don't include allowances for consumer debt, either.

Thank you! Just curious, how long did it take you to finish you pre peqs, or how long will it take you?

 

[xtsukiyox]

Thank you! Just curious, how long did it take you to finish you pre peqs, or how long will it take you?

I changed my major & got my associates with no debt, so I really took my time. I also got about 18 credits of bad advice from an advisor when I first started, so... yeah. Lesson learned: chart your own path & try to understand how to navigate the system so you know if you're getting junk advice.

Instead, let me answer the more applicable question: I think it can be done in 3 years reasonably, if you know what you're going to do. I actually just charted the most efficient path through MWU's prereqs last week for my s/o, who is going to be in your shoes soon. The caveat is that I only really know for MWU-CPG's prereqs and using the local CC system, which is relatively robust.

Go year round if you can find a summer class to fit your schedule - some of your soft sciences can be done quickly that way to ease your Fall & Spring schedule.

I thought I wanted to be:
computer programmer -> computer science major 😕 -> electrical engineer -> pharmacist

I have extra classes completed:
History of the US to 1870
Intro to Computers (wtf)
College Algebra
Java Programming I & II
Calc II
Calc III & Diff Eq (both dropped)
University Physics with Calculus (I could have taken the easier "for majors")
World Religions
Women in Religion
Mythology
American Sign Language I & II (II dropped)
American Indian Religions (needed for AS tho)
A & P II / Microbiology (I think they'll be useful though, & they covered for other colleges if needed)
That's just off the top of my head.

Yeah, let's just say I didn't take the straight path to pharmacy.