I am interested in getting a pharmD but I heard that I don’t even need to have a bachelors at all so my plan is that whatever major I choose I am just going to ignore it and do the pharmacy prerequisites. So my question is, what major should I even apply for since I can basically pick any major but I do want to find the best major to should apply to because I do know that colleges like it if you have taken extracurriculars and classes in high school that are related to healthcare that which I do have.
You do need an undergraduate degree, but that degree can be any major of your choosing so long as you also fulfill the prerequisites for pharm school. Perhaps you misstated or mistyped what “you heard”…
You can find a lot of information on the PharmCAS site.
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What major interests you ? That’s what you should study.
That’s what you should choose.
Likely a good summary from the web:
For an undergraduate major to pursue a Pharm.D., the most common and beneficial choices are science-focused majors like chemistry, biology, or biochemistry because they provide a strong foundation for the required coursework. However, you can technically major in any field as long as you complete the specific prerequisite courses, which often include chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, and psychology. Another option is a health sciences major, or even a less science-intensive degree like English, if you are diligent about taking the necessary science prerequisites to be eligible for pharmacy school.
Science-focused majors
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Chemistry or Biochemistry:
Often considered the most direct path due to the heavy emphasis on organic and general chemistry in pharmacy school.
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A very popular choice that provides a strong foundation for the biological sciences required in pharmacy school.
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This major is directly relevant and can provide a strong advantage for your future studies.
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Biomedical or Chemical Engineering:
These can be good options, but you will need to ensure you have time to complete all the necessary science prerequisites.
Other options
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An ideal choice if you are interested in medicine or pharmacy and want a major that directly relates to health professions.
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English or Humanities:
If you excel in reading and writing, a humanities major can be a viable path, especially because the pharmacy college admission test (PCAT) has a reading and writing section. You must, however, be proactive about completing the required science courses.
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This can be a good choice as psychology and human behavior are part of the pharmacy curriculum.
How to choose
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Prioritize fulfilling prerequisites:
Regardless of your major, your main priority is to complete the specific science prerequisite courses required by the pharmacy schools you’re interested in.
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Check with your target schools:
Prerequisites can vary, so it’s crucial to check the specific requirements for each program you plan to apply to.
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Consider your interests:
You can technically major in anything, so choose a major you are passionate about to make your undergraduate experience more enjoyable and to ensure you have a potential career path if you decide not to pursue pharmacy right away.
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Generally speaking I think that a student’s major should be a compromise between what you like, what you are good at, and what can help you to develop a career. There is a lot to consider here, and this does take time to figure out. There are some majors such as mathematics or biology which can apply to a number of possible careers, but which do not necessarily point to any one specific career. Thus a student can graduate with a bachelor’s degree in for example biology and still not have decided what they will do with their career. We each figure it out over time.
Your extracurricular activities do not need to have anything to do with your major.
It is very common for students to change their major after they get to university. As two examples, both daughters changed their major after starting university. Similarly I did not even pick a major until the end of my freshman year. This is normal (some schools require you to pick a major before you start, some do not, some do not even allow you to pick a major until the end of freshman year or beginning of sophomore year).
In some schools you need to apply to change your major. If you are trying to change into a few specialized majors such as engineering or computer science at some schools, or if your grades are bad, this might be an issue in some cases. In most cases that I am familiar with this was not a problem at all. The student might have needed to apply to change major, but the application was in most cases accepted quickly and easily.
This is a good place to start. You start with a major that you are interested in, take a few classes in a few different subjects, and see how it comes out over time.
I also agree that chemistry is a major that seems to be closely related to pharmacy. I know someone for example who was a biology major working in a lab, at a company where they were trying to find a drug that would take out a particular hormone in order to help treat a particular disease. They had chemists or biochemists who would figure out which specific drugs seemed likely to take out the hormone, and biologists who would then run tests with human cells and see whether the hormone was impacted by the drug, and also whether anything unfortunate seemed to be happening at the same time (such as cells dying). Certainly organic chemists were needed to keep this research going in an attempt to develop useful and valuable drugs.
You probably should just apply for the major that you find most interesting, and see how it goes over time. Again, do not be concerned about whether any ECs fit your intended major – in most cases there does not need to be a fit between ECs and major.
Public Health is another pathway to consider. If you want to go into pharmacuetical sales, you can get a business degree as long as you meet all of the pre-pharm requirements. Biochemical engineering gives you lots of options within the pharmaceutical sciences to pursue at the PhD level, but it’s a grueling major.
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I would think a chemistry major would be better prep for drug development R&D. Mant biomedical engineering degrees are about things like prosthetics rather than drug development.