[ken-21]

hey guys,i have qeustion about my first year at community college...Im planning to major in pharmacy, but i have no idea what class should i talk at first year...after the CC,should i transfer to regular 4years university or Pharm-School?

[fairy_tale]

I'm going to be a senior soon so it's college-decision making time for me ):
My top two choices right now are Mass Pharmacy and Northeastern. I was wondering if anybody here attended either school and would like to share their experiences? (:

[f0reveralways]

hey guys,i have qeustion about my first year at community college...Im planning to major in pharmacy, but i have no idea what class should i talk at first year...after the CC,should i transfer to regular 4years university or Pharm-School?

apply to both at the same time. then make your decision after you know what schools you've been accepted to.


anyway, you should definitely talk to a counselor and plan out your course schedule for your 2-3 years at your CC.


each pharmacy school has different pre-requisities so I would look at each school's website specifically.

generally, most schools want Calculus I, General Chem I & II, O-Chem I & II, Bio I & II.

[lis_sing]

When did everyone here take their PCAT? I'm about to start my sophomore year this fall, and I'm able to apply for pharmacy school this fall.. I wanted to take my PCAT's soon, but i'm not sure I'll be ready. =[ I've only taken gen. chemistry 1 so far.. and I know the pcat has biol and organic chemistry.

I feel like if I don't take the PCAt and get accepted this fall, i'm just going to waste another year in college, when I could be in the pharm program already...

any advice?

Sorry no advice here, but I'm just letting you know that I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm gonna be a sophmore but I've only taken basic chem 1 too and some calculus. I wanna take the PCAT in January but I don't know if I'll pass it when I've never take organic chem at all. I'm gonna talk to my adviser tomorrow and I'll ask her advice.
And I wouldn't think we're wasting our time this year, we're just a little behind on the schedule

[fobchik06]

hey guys!

does anyone know any really good PCAT books that I should buy? And whoever took the PCAT already, how long did it take for you to study til you took the pcat? Im taking summer school rite now, and Im planning to take the PCATs in Aug. but i dont know if i'll be ready because i'm probably going to start studying in the beg. of August :/

any advice pleeeez :]]

[lis_sing]

hey guys!

does anyone know any really good PCAT books that I should buy? And whoever took the PCAT already, how long did it take for you to study til you took the pcat? Im taking summer school rite now, and Im planning to take the PCATs in Aug. but i dont know if i'll be ready because i'm probably going to start studying in the beg. of August :/

any advice pleeeez :]]

I got the Kaplan PCAT 2010-2011 edition review book but since some people said it didn't cover enough organic chemistry I got the McGraw-Hill's PCAT book too. There are also some audio and software program that you can use to study PCAT. I'm thinking of getting a PCAT CD to study on my computer with

When did everyone here take their PCAT? I'm about to start my sophomore year this fall, and I'm able to apply for pharmacy school this fall.. I wanted to take my PCAT's soon, but i'm not sure I'll be ready. =[ I've only taken gen. chemistry 1 so far.. and I know the pcat has biol and organic chemistry.

I feel like if I don't take the PCAt and get accepted this fall, i'm just going to waste another year in college, when I could be in the pharm program already...

any advice?

Ok so I talked to my adviser today and she said that it's ok to take another year to prepare for pharmacy school. Since we haven't taken organic chem yet, it wouldn't be wise to try and take the test unless you wanna try and teach yourself all of the that stuff. Also she said it's very important to have some volunteer or paid experience working in an actual pharmacy where you can shadow a pharmacist. I go to the University of Texas at Austin and their pharmacy school will not even consider your admissions application if you've never had any field experience. So I'm gonna take PCAT next year and this year I'm gonna study organic chem, genetics, and get other preq's out of the way and next summer I'll find some volunteer work and study PCAT so I can take in October.

However, if you really don't wanna wait another year, go talk to your academic adviser and maybe they can figure out another way for you to get into pharmacy school faster. Talking to mine really helped me out a lot. Good luck

[Angel_luvusa]

I got the Kaplan PCAT 2010-2011 edition review book but since some people said it didn't cover enough organic chemistry I got the McGraw-Hill's PCAT book too. There are also some audio and software program that you can use to study PCAT. I'm thinking of getting a PCAT CD to study on my computer with




Ok so I talked to my adviser today and she said that it's ok to take another year to prepare for pharmacy school. Since we haven't taken organic chem yet, it wouldn't be wise to try and take the test unless you wanna try and teach yourself all of the that stuff. Also she said it's very important to have some volunteer or paid experience working in an actual pharmacy where you can shadow a pharmacist. I go to the University of Texas at Austin and their pharmacy school will not even consider your admissions application if you've never had any field experience. So I'm gonna take PCAT next year and this year I'm gonna study organic chem, genetics, and get other preq's out of the way and next summer I'll find some volunteer work and study PCAT so I can take in October.

However, if you really don't wanna wait another year, go talk to your academic adviser and maybe they can figure out another way for you to get into pharmacy school faster. Talking to mine really helped me out a lot. Good luck

Thanks for the input. I guess I'll probably be stuck in the same boat as you, and will take another year to do all of these pre-req's. I tried to talk to my adviser, but honestly she's sucked.. She didn't even listen to me and told me not to take more than 12 credit hours.. wtf. lol. I feel like I'm basically on my own for this one . =/

[CookieCrisp]

I'm not really in the ~pharmacy field~ but still in the College of Pharmacy.

Here's the deal. Hopefully I'll graduate Spring 2010 with a B.S. in Toxicology and minors in both Chemistry and Biology. That's cool and all, but the problem is I have no idea what to do with it. I changed my major a from Pre-Pharm to Toxicology a year and a half ago (my junior year) so I'm still pretty new to the field. This really isn't a question; just me freaking out at a seemingly uncertain future, but any words of encouragement/wisdom would be appreciated.

[nyc88]

I'm not really in the ~pharmacy field~ but still in the College of Pharmacy.

Here's the deal. Hopefully I'll graduate Spring 2010 with a B.S. in Toxicology and minors in both Chemistry and Biology. That's cool and all, but the problem is I have no idea what to do with it. I changed my major a from Pre-Pharm to Toxicology a year and a half ago (my junior year) so I'm still pretty new to the field. This really isn't a question; just me freaking out at a seemingly uncertain future, but any words of encouragement/wisdom would be appreciated.

wait so you won't graduate with a pharmD even if you are in the college of pharmacy? i've never seen it that way before... Anyway, you can go into research if that's what you're interested in that. I'm sure pharmaceutical companies would hire you.

[CookieCrisp]

wait so you won't graduate with a pharmD even if you are in the college of pharmacy? i've never seen it that way before... Anyway, you can go into research if that's what you're interested in that. I'm sure pharmaceutical companies would hire you.

I'm not in Pharmacy School just the College of Pharmacy. It's like being an Biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences...it's just one of the majors you can take up within that college. At my school the College of Pharmacy has two departments Pharmacy and Toxicology. I'm in toxicology.

Anyway, that's the reason I switched from Pre-Pharm--I wanted to do lab work and research; however, there's so many options that I don't know what to do. I've decided not do clinical because it's involves live animals and that's not hot, and I'm not do forensics because I'm really not interested in the law enforcement aspect of it. So I'm thinking maybe Environmental Toxicology or Industrial Hygiene. I live in a small rural town, and those two will allow me to stay in the area, but I have no idea where to go from there.

I know I should take this up with my adviser, but I won't see him until the Fall. I'm the type of person who always has a plan, so that's kinda why I'm freaking out right now. It's the uncertainty of it all.

[HumanError]

okay...i'm totally confused right now, I'm going to Cal State in the falls
so that means I can't transfer to a pharmacy school right? =( If I can, how many years does that take? It takes a total of 8 years for Community college, but what about a cal state?

also, how do you get pre-pharm class?

[bookworm]

ok so this may sound like a really stupid question but I'm really confused as to the application process itself. Do I sign up for the PharmCAS first or the PCAT first?

Any help would be really helpful. TIA

[iCupcake]

Hey guys, I had a question about the pathway to being a pharmacist. I know you don't need to get an undergraduate degree to get accepted in Pharmacy school, but is it worth it to go ahead and get your undergraduate degree anyways? It's only 2 more years of undergraduate work...

[lis_sing]

ok so this may sound like a really stupid question but I'm really confused as to the application process itself. Do I sign up for the PharmCAS first or the PCAT first?

Any help would be really helpful. TIA

You should really read the FAQ's on the PharmCAS website. FAQ's here

This is what they said:
Q: Will PharmCAS "hold" my application until my official PCAT, TOEFL and /or TSE test scores are received?
A: NO. PharmCAS will not hold your file for missing PCAT, TOEFL or TSE test scores. PharmCAS will forward your application to your designated pharmacy schools once your completed application, all U.S. transcripts, and application fee have been received and PharmCAS has verified your application. If your PCAT, TOEFL or TSE scores arrive after your application has been sent to the schools, PharmCAS will forward your test scores to your pharmacy schools in a separate report. Your designated schools, however, may not begin to review your application until your PCAT, TOEFL and TSE scores are received.

[nyc88]

Hey guys, I had a question about the pathway to being a pharmacist. I know you don't need to get an undergraduate degree to get accepted in Pharmacy school, but is it worth it to go ahead and get your undergraduate degree anyways? It's only 2 more years of undergraduate work...

It depends where you want to go to pharmacy school. If you want to go to any of the UCs like UCSF then it is highly recommended that you obtain an undergraduate degree before applying to their pharmacy school. But i go to Uconn pharmacy school which is a 6 year program so I don't need to graduate before I enter their pharmacy school.

So it all depends where you live and where you want to go to pharmacy school. It really doesn't matter besides that unless you decide that pharmacy school isn't for you then you can have the BA or BS to fall back on. The 6 year program helps you graduate faster and make that 6 figure pharmacist salary 2 years ahead of time and saves you 2 years of college tuition!

[wowastyle]

I am still undecided between nursing & pharmacy. I want to do pharmacy bc I've always enjoyed chemistry & am not that great at biology. However, I want to work with kids or babies, so that's my motivation to be a nurse. I'm taking a course in Certified Nursing Assistant but I may end up also taking a course in Pharmacy Technician. I originally wanted to be a doctor, but patients care the most about where the doctor went to school... and I don't think I could get into an ivy league college. I'm still weighing my options and unfortunately the comm college by my house doesn't offer a pharmacy degree or anything close to it, but they do offer in nursing. I hope I figure out soon what I want to do. Luckily, I have a few friends in pharmacy & some in nursing so maybe I can get their opinions.

[haraiso]

So I'll be starting classes at a community college this upcoming fall semester and I'm interested in going into the Pharmacy Field.
But I have no clue what route I'm even supposed to take.

Right now I'm signed up for English, Math, and Sociology.
I'm assuming I have to take some Chemistry & Biology some time in the future like Spring or Next Fall?

[chiluvskk]

^ you should probably start taking it now, assuming you want to transfer in 2 years. This is because you need a year each of bio, chem, organic chem, some calculus (depending on the school), microbiology, physiology, speech, english. lol just check the school's website for better info.

okay...i'm totally confused right now, I'm going to Cal State in the falls
so that means I can't transfer to a pharmacy school right? =( If I can, how many years does that take? It takes a total of 8 years for Community college, but what about a cal state?

also, how do you get pre-pharm class?

my god, you need to google and get your information right >< please! fist off, where did you get the 8 years from? most people do 2 years at a CC to finish their pre-req and then transfer to Pharmacy school which lasts 4 years, for a total of 6 years. However, many schools want you to have a BS degree before you go to pharmacy school, meaning you need to do 4 years at a 4-year university (for example a calstate) and then apply to pharmacy school which is again 4 years, for a total of 8 years. some people from CC do 2 years, transfer to 4-year university to get their BS, and then apply to pharmacy, which then makes it 8 years.

Pre-pharm class is just a list of classes required for pharmacy school. you can check out the list simply through google, or by looking at each school's website.

[lis_sing]

So I'll be starting classes at a community college this upcoming fall semester and I'm interested in going into the Pharmacy Field.
But I have no clue what route I'm even supposed to take.

Right now I'm signed up for English, Math, and Sociology.
I'm assuming I have to take some Chemistry & Biology some time in the future like Spring or Next Fall?

Don't assume that you might need to take this and that. Go to talk to your adviser and find out all the pre-reqs for the pharmacy school that you interested in transferring. If you start early then you can avoid having to waste extra year finishing pre-pharmacy classes. Usually pre-pharmacy work is finished in two years.

[Angel_luvusa]

For those of you who have been accepted into the pharmacy program or have applied to pharmacy schools, how many places did you apply to? My parents want me to only apply to ONE school (which i currently attend) just because it's the cheapest option.. =/ Any advice? Thanks in advance.