should i go to SJU 6 year pharmd or ACPHS pharmd?
both gave me around 33k in aid, but sju gave me 6 year aid compared to acphs which only gave me 4 year aid. both don’t require the pcat. i know SJU is the oldest pharmacy school in the country, but also it’s not that prestigious? i don’t think i’ll get a bachelor’s either.
i was also looking for a bsmd program and applied to pharmacy also, but i’m not getting many bsmd acceptances–the only one i’ve gotten so far is the seton hall bsmd, which only offers an interview to a medical school, not a guaranteed acceptance, and i also have to take the mcat. seton hall also offered me sizeable aid, but i’m not sure.
not all my decisions are out yet but i don’t think i’m getting into many bsdo or bsmd programs as of rn, i’m expecting an acceptance from ru pharmd tho, but no financial aid.
There is something that I am wondering about. Do you want to be a pharmacist or a doctor? To me this seems like a potentially very difficult question for a high school student to accurately know the answer to.
It is very difficult to get into medical school. It is even more difficult to get accepted into a BSMD program straight out of high school.
In terms of acceptance to BSMD programs, how much experience do you already have in a medical environment?
I only know one person who went to Seton Hall. They got their graduate degrees at Columbia, and still speak well of the quality of education that they got at Seton Hall. They have done well with a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall.
To me this seems very early to decide on your career path.
i was set on becoming a physician early on in my high school career.
i’ve been a part of numerous programs set forth by my local medical school and have 200+ hours of shadowing done during my summers. i also work at an office currently. i’m also almost an emt (finished the course, will be certified in the coming spring)
i applied to pharmacy schools as a sort of backup, but clearly they’re giving me a better response than the bsmd schools are, and my parents are advising me to choose pharmacy over any potential four year offers i would get since it’s a stable job field, and since it’s a guaranteed admission program.
i’m open to start shadowing pharmacists, but i was slightly set on becoming a physician in the first place–but i also have no experience within the pharmaceutical field is like. any feedback would be appreciated!
Do not do pharmacy as a backup! You are- what- 17 years old? You don’t have to have your forever job path fixed and set this year!!!
There are dozens of cool health related fields you likely know nothing about (and some of which did not exist when your parents were in college). Why can’t you just go to college with an interest in health and then explore the various professions once you’ve got some college courses under your belt?
when i meant backup i didn’t mean it in a derogatory way (if it seemed like it i’m so sorry!) i just meant i have no experience, i’m still open to it, i would’ve preferred a bsmd–i’m essentially saying that it’s not my first choice but still up there.
even though it’s still up there i wanted to make sure the two programs that i got into were worth considering–have you heard about disadvantages of these two schools, do you know anyone from them, etc.
also, i applied to 20 schools, two of which were four years and state schools, so essentially my safeties (what a terrible decision)
of these 20 schools:
three are pharmacy (got into 2, one hasn’t come out yet)
six are bs/do
two are the safeties (one has a bs/md (REJECTED) and a pharmd so i applied to three programs from one school – slightly confusing)
one is pa (decisions haven’t come out, but if i get in i’m probably taking pa over pharmd)
rest are bsmds
i would like to go to a college with an interest in health but i’d probably end up going the traditional route to medical school anyway, but my parents would rather have me have a guaranteed acceptance to something–so it’s mainly due to them
also if i did go the traditional route, i’d have to stay in state, and every four year i’m planning on applying to during winter break is not in state, but all places i would love to go
let me know if anything seems confusing here! it looks a bit convoluted
Ok….your post is confusing me a little so my questions might have already been answered.
If you want to be a physician and do not get accepted to bsmd programs, why not try the traditional route? What is the rush to have your career decided now?
Why is your state school a terrible idea? Did you apply to any schools that might give you merit?
I feel you are way too young to have this type of career stress. You should be finding a college that you like and trying new classes, etc.
What B.S. is that supposed to be?
I don’t see that offered at Seton Hall?
The careers of a Pharmacist vs. a Physician couldn’t be more different.
If you have done that much shadowing, and you have gone through the EMT program, then you already have a better idea of the field as most others. Even more insights into the grunt work will follow once you get your state certification and actively “ride”.
I would plan on attending any college that offers a pre-med program. This way there’ll be pre-med specific advisors to help you figure out which classes to take. By the time you’re in your 3rd semester, you’ll have a pretty good idea if intense “science” courses truly are working out for you - and evaluate whether you are still targeting med school later, or realize that you prefer to segue into other fields.
If you are already uncertain about your ability to get into medical school later, then one very good “backup plan” for picking colleges is something like this:
The only flaw in this plan is that PA programs don’t like being the backup for failed med school applicants. They welcome RN’s who actually have hands on patient care experience, who want advanced training. They welcome college grads who have identified PA as the path they want. But they seem resistant to being seen as the “program of last resort” for kids whose MCAT scores are too low for med school.
Thank you for clarifying.
I wasn’t suggesting it as a backup after failing to get into med school, but rather as a different more straight-forward way to be able to practice certain medicine. The one I linked to was a combined 3+3 college program, leading straight to a BS Bio then MS PA.
That is quite a bit of shadowing for someone who is still in high school. This actually is likely to help you with the BSMD programs. However, the vast majority of doctors did a rather more traditional 4 year bachelor’s degree, and then applied to medical school (either sending in their applications during their senior year of undergraduate education to start the following year, or taking one or more gap years).
I agree with others, I would neither expect to get accepted to a BSMD program straight out of high school, nor give up my dream of being a doctor while still a high school student. You can attend almost any university and complete the required classes to apply to MD programs.
However, I think that the acceptance that you have to Seton Hall is very much worth considering. I would not worry about the MD part not being guaranteed. An MD is not going to be guaranteed for someone who has not even started their freshman year of university. The person who I know well who went to Seton Hall (in a medical related field) speaks well of the quality of the education that she got, and did well with graduate school admissions and did well as a graduate student and since then on the job.
One daughter is currently studying for her DVM. The process of getting accepted is very similar to MD programs (the required undergraduate premed / prevet classes are the same, the related medical experience is however with animals). The rigor of the program once you are in it is also similar. She has seen a small number of students drop out even after starting the DVM program. All of this is challenging for any student. However, she did not even apply to DVM programs until just over a year after she got her bachelor’s degree.
However, with your acceptance to Seton Hall, you already have your first step in the right direction if you still want to be an MD.
The other thing to point out is that you do not need to either start in a BS/MD program nor attend a “famous” university to get accepted to MD programs. If you look at students in any very good MD program, they will have gotten their bachelor’s degrees at a very wide range of universities.
I want to thank you for this. I have somewhat limited experience with EMT’s, but they did pretty much save my life once (this task being completed by the hospital that they took me to). I do understand that saving lives is something that they do quite often.
If you /your parents are leaning toward pharmacy because you think it is a well-paying, highly in-demand job, you/they may want to rethink that perception.
The NIH reports:
The annual number of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) graduates is projected to exceed the number of annual pharmacist job openings over the next 10 years. Loss of retail sector jobs will be partially offset by projected gains in several other sectors; however, oversupply will persist until the number of graduates is more reflective of job market capacity.
Since 2000, there has been a 74% increase in the number of pharmacy schools (from 82 in 2000 to 143 in 20183) and an 81% increase in total enrollment (from 34,481 in 2000 to 62,504 in 2018). And new pharm schools are continuing to open. Nine new schools have opened since 2018.
The BLS says…
Projected demand for pharmacists has finally hit zero overall net growth according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment projections for pharmacists for 2018 and 2028…Annual openings for new pharmacists entering the profession are projected to be 14,100 through 2028, and in 2018, there were 14,905 graduates from established pharmacy schools.
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If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor. If you want to be a pharmacist, be a pharmacist. But these jobs are not same at all.
And consider, just because you didn’t get interviewed by any BSMD programs doesn’t mean you won’t be able to become a doctor. 97% of med students entered through the traditional pathway of earning a 4 year degree, then applying to medical school.
And as other posters have mentioned, the prestige of your undergrad matters almost not at all to med school admission committee. Choose an undergrad that offers you the best combination of fit (happier students do better academically), cost (because med school is enormously expensive and pre-meds are strongly advised to minimize undergrad debt) and opportunities (both academic and non-academic).
I applied and got in to this program from two undergraduates (so two bs/do acceptances) but they had to reject me because I had too many college credits from my dual enrollment program–this is currently being looked into by my guidance counselor, but I don’t think they’ll reconsider me–they were pretty solid about my rejection and clearly stated that it was because of my college credits.
I’ve gotten merit from almost every school that I’ve applied to, but my state school has multiple campuses–I got into the campus that is farthest from my house. If I get into the one closest to my house, I’ll probably end up going.
Yes, that’s exactly what happened. They told me in the end of October that I was accepted, and that I should book an interview in January. Then, after I asked them whether the acceptance was contingent on the interview or not, they replied back saying that I’m no longer eligible for the program because I have too many college credits, counting AP and dual enrollment credits.
