Pre-Pharmacy Course Load and Planning
My first semester in college did not have any specific approach to it. I just signed up for the general courses that are required for those seeking healthcare related careers. This approach to college resulted in the loss of 1 year of my life, 1 year of potential income, and 1 year of tuition costs. Most importantly however, loss of 1 year focusing on more important things in life such as friends and family.
During this process I learned how to plan out my coursework over the next several years. The result proved to be a success. In 3 years I graduated with my bachelors degree and was on my way to Pharmacy School. It is critical to plan out everything to save time and money.
Tip #1: Do not focus on a bachelors degree. Yes, I did say above that I received my bachelors. However, my first year was wasted time which resulted in enough credits that allowed me to get my bachelors degree. I strongly believe there is no need for a bachelors degree when you plan to become a pharmacist. The bachelors degree is practically meaningless unless you plan to switch careers. The big question is why would you switch careers if pharmacy is your passion?
Tip #2: Research Prerequisite courses required for the schools you are interested in. Focus on these classes. Try to fill your quarter or semester with prerequisite courses only. This will allow you to apply to pharmacy school 1-2 years earlier compared to pursuing a bachelors degree. It is best to continue pursuing a bachelors degree if you are waiting for the next cycle of pharmacy school applications. If this is not the case, always focus on completing prerequisite courses!
Tip #3: Use an excel sheet to help you visualize your coursework over the next several years. I found this to be very useful in planning and getting organized. Schools offer specific courses only one time a year either in fall, winter, or spring quarter. Also many courses have their own prerequisites to even register for the course.
- Example: You cannot take Human Anatomy without taking some basic intro biology courses. Also Human Anatomy may only be offered in the Spring Quarter. You must plan accordingly so you do not miss the window for registration.
This can throw a wrench into your timeline if you were not planning ahead. Leave a reply. Is there any tips you would share for those planning their Pre-Pharmacy coursework?
Course Load Planning
A great way to to plan course load is to think about your strengths and weaknesses. What subjects did you excel in during high school? What subjects caused you trouble? The traditional course load is 15 credits. This may result in 3 to 5 classes depending on quarter vs semester system. I would recommend sticking to a minimum of 15 credits to get everything completed in a timely manner. You can adjust the credits based on your performance.
I created a systematic approach to planning out my coursework. To make things easy lets say that a typical quarter you will take 3 courses that are 5 credits each. I started by rating my coursework difficulty level with 1, 2, or 3.
- 1 = Easy
- 2 = Moderate
- 3 = Hard
My goal was to average out the difficulty level for each quarter to maximize my GPA. Each quarter ended up with combinations of either 3, 3, 1 (hard, hard, easy) or 3, 2, 2 (hard, moderate, moderate) or 2, 2, 2 (moderate, moderate, moderate). Avoid taking combinations that are 1, 1, 1 (easy, easy, easy) or 1, 1, 2 (easy, easy, moderate) or 1, 2, 2 (easy, moderate, moderate). The end result was a success. My grades improved dramatically and my time was optimized. What worked best for you planning course loads? Leave a reply below.
I hope the recommendations above will help guide, motivate, and inspire you to achieve your goals. Follow my blog for more tips and advice on how to become a pharmacist. What are your experiences? Please comment below and share your thoughts.