lkf725

I think that as long as you have all of the prerequisite classes, they probably don't care what you majored in.

virtuoso28

Isn't it just easier just to get into a 0-6 program??

basically just go right after high school even if you want to be a doctor or want this as a back up because after 6 years you could apply for medical school and by then you'll have completed many of the classes they require for 7 year med programs. So maybe you'll have to wait 1-2 years longer to get your med degree or something [I haven't really looked into medical school] but if you want to get out of that half way through, you'll still have pharmacy to fall back on. Just get started in pharmacy right away, it's the easiest [and least time consuming] path in my opinion.

btw Patel, I'm planning on going to Rutgers this fall

lkf725

I know pharmacists who have gone on to medical school, some immediately after graduation and some after working for a few years. And the pharmacy degree would be a good back-up.

There really is no reason at all to get a bachelors degree before applying to pharmacy, unless it just takes you four years to get in.

I don't think pharmacy classes will be applicable to medical school. Sometimes classes in the pharmacy school are separate from those in the colleges of arts and sciences (different course numbers and syllabi), so don't assume that pharmacy biochem = premed biochem.

pharmacogenomic

I would disagree with the point of not getting a bachelors. Increasingly, there are forces to bring the profession's overall standing towards equal footing with its medicine and dental counterparts (the debate rages on in terms of whether or not this is a good idea, let alone feasible). Most schools view a bachelors favorably; schools value the breadth of your education and values you are able to extract from it rather than considering it just a means to an end for admissions. If you view admissions trends at most schools, with every passing year the number of students with bachelors increases barring few exceptions. The education one gets from a bachelors ideally shapes who you are and allows you to bring with you some new perspective from your studies into the profession.

I also agree with lkf that most pharmacy classes will not be applicable to medical school and that it's usually not a good idea just to use pharmacy as a stepping stone. It's a waste of money as well as time, unless your goal was to ultimately combine the two degrees in some unusual manner.

lkf725

Well, I'm not really up on admissions, but I think the reasons we are seeing more degreed pharmacy students include:
1. It takes people several tries to gain admission and they get a bachelors degree by default.
2. People who have a degree and are unable to translate that into meaningful employment turn to pharmacy as a practical career.

It may vary by region, but in my neck of the woods, having a prior degree doesn't help with employment. (I don't know if it affects admissions, but most students here don't have prior degrees). As long as you have your license to hang on the wall, you are good to go.

OKgirl

Getting a bachelors depends on how competitive the school your applying to is.

the 0-6 programs are great IF you KNOW thats what you want to do. If your unsure, do the 2-4 program.

You might try shadowing at a pharmacy to see if its really what you want to do.

pharmacogenomic

Well the thing is with 0-6 programs is that you miss out on a normal collegiate experience. I guess it depends on your priorities. There are people who are very young in my program, but I wonder - why? It's like skipping 3 grades just because you can, but should you? I don't see why people should sell themselves short on an education and collegiate lifestyle. When one works, there will always be more money to be made until one retires. I also acknowledge the flipside of the coin, that being young and poor should things not work out is equally unpleasant. However, you only get to be young once. The question is how to minimize regrets, if there are any to be had at all.

vanessama

so you recommend getting a bachelors first before going to pharmacy school? is it more worth it?

deutsch

i know UOP has a 2+3 pre-pharmacy program. would that be better than 0-6 programs? afterall, you save one whole year!

lkf725

I completely disagree with this. Majoring in pharmacy is no different than studying engineering or nursing or teaching or any liberal arts major. You are still on campus with all of the other students. You will probably become friends with other pharmacy students, but everybody tends to gravitate towards other people who have similar experience and classes, whether it is pharmacy or philosophy, english or engineering.

I also disagree with this statement. Your first two years will have general classes such as biology, chemistry, math and electives in the humanities and social sciences. It is much, much, much easier to enter the pharmacy program and change to a liberal arts major than the other way around. You can change your mind - nobody will force you to stay in pharmacy if you don't like it. Similarly, entering a 0+6 program may allow you to sample pharmacy to see if you even like it.

And finally, if you opt for the 2+3 program and don't get in after 2 years, you will totally regret passing on the gift 0+6 program.

pharmacogenomic

Mm, I disagree. Being in a 0-6 program forces you to condense your prerequisite courses into two years. It's not material that you might necessarily want to rush through, also coming with the side effect of losing the ability to take other classes that might pique your interest. You never really get a chance to fulfill a typical liberal arts curriculum, nor are you given the ability to explore other academic areas other than what limited electives you are given.

There is also the important point of recognizing what is gained in 4 years of college. This is my own personal opinion, but there is a great deal of social, academic, and self-awareness maturation that goes on during these 4 years. Not everyone undergoes nor needs this transformation, however, but a majority of students do. It's a time to discover what you want to do with life, and taking those extra two years (and presumably extra debt) are worth it in the long run. There is a reason why our sister professions require a bachelors because they believe a certain time frame to be a necessary prerequisite for achieving a doctorate. Similar resistance was held against phasing out the BS in pharmacy, I believe this to be the next state of the profession's evolution and stature.

Also, being in a pharmacy program will likely not give you the same quality undergraduate education that one might find at a prestigious private institution should you require that level of hand holding. I know I did. If I enrolled at a public such as UC Berkeley or UCLA, I would have been trampled on by the competition because of the institutionalized competitive spirit at the respective colleges. There were also numerous resources and professional relationships I developed in a smaller setting that helped me advance to where I am today. But, I also admit that it is a limited comparison in that perspective as not everyone has the resources to attend a private institution.

zebes

I've been hearing -- anectdotely more than anything else -- that 2+4 programs were looked at with more respect than the 0-6 programs and that some schools were dropping their 0+6 programs. Has anyone else found this to be true?

zebes, whose daughter is considering pharmacy

pharmacogenomic

Well, more and more students entering pharmacy have a bachelors. One school I interviewed at was UCSF, where 95+% of the class have a degree from year to year. But you are right, there are fewer 0-6 programs straight out of high school (UOP, USP, and Mass College of Pharmacy being some off the top of my head that still exist). I'd also venture that it's also about money, as attrition rates tend to be greater in those schools. I'm also reviewing what I wrote earlier, and I think one of the primary counterarguments to requiring a bachelors is to suit non-traditional students who want to make a career change.

The University of Michigan has also been increasing the average age of its students, requiring volunteering/pharmacy experience. I think of my class, ~80% has a bachelors with most of the rest coming from the University of Michigan undergrad. I think UofM is comfortable with this as the undergraduate science classes are pretty insane in rigor, so my friends tell me. I believe the students who get in with only two years of experience are rather exceptional in quality, which isn't necessarily reflected in most statistics. I've had discussions with some of my classmates who have completed 3 years of undergrad at UofM and while we disagree on the necessity of the bachelors, they certainly represent a small minority of students who can demonstrate their maturity (usually through research, shadowing, being affiliated strongly with pharmacy, having parents as college of pharmacy faculty/practitioners, or volunteering/working in pharmacies for long periods of time).

deutsch

sorry to divert, but say i worked at 2 pharmacies simultaneously for a year so i split my time between the two, would that count as 2 years of experience or just a year?

OKgirl

Its only one year, but two jobs (probably part time). I don't see the point in working in two unless it is hospital and retail. You'd hate to get fired from a job because of a scheduling conflict. I'm a believer in picking one thing and dedicating to it. You rather have one employer say "yes, they were a wonderful worker" instead of having two say "well they missed a lot of work and didn't put their all into it."

The reason why I say not to get into the 0-6 programs is because there isn't as much freedom in them. I personally want to be able to take other classes if I feel like it. Although you could theoretically switch to a different major doesn't mean that you should fill a spot in the program if you aren't sure. I pretty much meant that the poster should shadow/volunteer in a pharmacy and make sure it's what he/she wants to do. Make sure the shoe fits before you buy it.