<p>As I scrutinize about what colleges I should apply to this fall, I judge that my best chances lie in the LAC. Hear me out: </p>
<p>Although I have been in the States for 6 years, I have to apply as an international student, which heightens the competition to the extreme (especially in the elite colleges). Being from Taiwan doesn’t help either. Therefore, I think LAC are better because some offer really generous aids to international students. (Our income is <$10,000.)</p>
<p>My stats? I have a 4.0 (and 4.57 because my school did not offer many honors classes. my workload was as demanding as it could be), got a 34 on the ACT, 2090 on the SAT (I will retaking this in Oct), and 800 on MathII (am waiting for the other SAT II scores; they should be in the 700’s). In addition, I won a local science fair, participated (but didn’t place) in Intel ISEF, qualified for AIME, founded Science Olympiad at our school & received lots of medals at State & 1 at Nationals. Lastly, I hope several leadership positions in clubs… That’s about it for my weak EC.</p>
<p>In short, I want to become a pharmacist. Will attending a LAC prepare me well for Schools of Pharmacy? What LAC are known for their biology (my intended major) or science programs? </p>
<p>You should look at the University of the Pacific in CA. </p>
<p>Although Stockton is nothing to write home about, the campus is very nice, a LAC-size but also an emphasis on real-life learning in coops and internships. With your stats, you’d probably qualify for merit aid. It has pre-pharmacy and accelerated programs that guarantee admission to the pharmacy program. </p>
<p>i dunno but with that stat, i’d imagine you’d be admitted into some top-notch LACs… 2090 SAT is kinda lacking but your ACT is 34 and you can always retake SAT.</p>
<p>owlie!!: how’s the bio program in williams? it wasn’t amongst the most popular majors… and it puts heavy emphasis on humanities (from what I know), which i don’t particularily adore, at all ^ ^ll</p>
<p>OP - With your statistics, you stand a very good chance of being accepted at a wide range of schools. If you are serious about pharmacy, however, it really doesn’t matter where you go for your pre-requisites. Every pharmacy school has their own list of required courses and you need to look these up on the schools’ websites. There really is no such thing as a pre-pharmacy major. In fact, are you aware that you can be admitted into pharmacy programs as a high school graduate? To obtain a PharmD takes about six years for most programs. These generally consist of two years of undergraduate work (with very specific required courses depending on the specific pharmacy school) followed by entry into a pharmacy school that then usually lasts four years. These last four years are considered graduate or professional level and lead to the professional degree of doctor of pharmacy or PharmD. Please note that the two years of undergraduate work can generally be taken at any accredited four-year or community college.</p>
<p>You can also apply to pharmacy programs after completing a four year degree (BA of BS) and some schools do require this. Again, if you are serious about pharmacy, look at the various schools of pharmacy and see what they want. That will give you much more applicable information than merely asking what LAC is best.</p>
<p>Just for starters, here is a very brief listing of some schools that offer the PharmD degree:
University of Michigan
University of Pittsburgh
Rutgers University
UC San Francisco - Graduate program only
Ohio State University
Duquesne University
and many more…</p>
<p>Going to Mudd is a bad idea if you want to get into good pharmacy schools. Mudd’s biology and chemistry departments likely don’t have enough breadth to prepare you well. I’m also assuming that pharmacy schools don’t like low GPAs (median GPA at Mudd is around 3.3 and it is unbelievably difficult to get above a 3.5).</p>
<p>Well they do have like close to 100 percent acceptance rate for students who apply to med school, with most getting into their first choice if not their second at the very least.</p>
<p>I am not 100% sure about pharmacy yet, so I would like to get my BS to keep my options open. I guess I can go anywhere that offers good bio/chem classes & generous financial aids… = /… I guess this narrows the “list” somewhat.</p>
<p>just curious: where do pharmacists usually go to college? is there a pattern?</p>
<p>Here’s a discussion forum dedicated to pharmacy school issues. You might be able to get some more informed and specific answers to pharmacy questions from the folks that post there, since they are pharmacy students or practicing pharmacists.</p>