college?
Posted by admin on 25 Aug 2008 6:48 pm. Filed under Higher Education (University +).
Nikki ツ asked:
ok if i want to go to college to become a pharmacist i know i have to major two years in biology first, right?
what’s an undergrad school?
how many credits of biology do i need before i apply to a pharmacy school?
how many biology credits can i earn in a year of college?
how many credits can u get by taking a college course during highschool?
best answer-answers all/most of these questions.
thanks to everyone!
ok if i want to go to college to become a pharmacist i know i have to major two years in biology first, right?
what’s an undergrad school?
how many credits of biology do i need before i apply to a pharmacy school?
how many biology credits can i earn in a year of college?
how many credits can u get by taking a college course during highschool?
best answer-answers all/most of these questions.
thanks to everyone!
On August 28th, 2008 at 11:57 am
When you start college, you are an undergraduate student. You will remain an undergraduate until you graduate with a bachelors degree. If you want to further your education, you apply to graduate school to earn a masters, then doctorate degree.
Just like in high school, your first year you are a freshman, then sophomore, junior, and senior. The first two years are referred to as lower division (100 and 200-level) coursework, and the last two as upper division (300 and 400-level). To earn a bachelors degree, you need to have successfully completed 128 hours minimum, with 50 hours of upper division courses.
Most classes in college are 3 credits, meaning you attend class 3 hours/week. This can be done one hour on M/W/F or one-and-a-half hours on T/Th. Science requires a mandatory co-existing lab; the credit is only 1 hr., but you will spend more than one hour per week completing this requirement. An advisor in Student Services/Pharmacy School will help you select your courses based upon your transcript.
Biology (and other) courses are sequenced, so usually you can take two per year (8 credits). If you opt to attend summer school, you can fit in 4 more credits of science or 6 credits in another area. You will need anatomy/physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and math in addition to biology.
The number of credits you can take in high school will depend upon what they offer. I suggest you obtain a copy of the college’s catalog where you plan to attend, and study the courses and sequencing listed. Then you’ll be able to plan your course of studies and be on track.
I was able to attend summer school in high school, and finish a semester early (graduate in January), so I could attend college. That may be an option you wish to look into.
Pharmacy School is very competitive, and is a five year program. Keep studying, do your best, and stay focused and you will be very successful…in college and life.
Best wishes.
On August 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
General Research Guides for Students:
Easy to use links that will help with all your research needs, try typing a keyword or two into the search engine and see what happens.
On August 29th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
First, you can major in whatever you want. Art history or photography or whatever but you need to take your prerequisite classes for pharmacy. An undergrad school is the school that grants you your bachelors. Anything after a bachelors is a graduate degree. Depending on your high school, you can take up to 3 cr. hours a semester starting your Junior year. Also, AP credits count towards your associate degree which can help when it comes to Chemistry and classes that you need to get into pharmacy. You need to take the PCat- which is the pharmacy entrance exam. Biology is usually a 4 credit course. You will probably need to take Biology 1 and 2/both with lab, Anat & Phys 1 and 2/ both with lab, organic chem 1 and 2/ both with lab, Physics 1 and 2.
On August 30th, 2008 at 2:10 am
I know that you’re looking for an answer to all of these questions, but you’re actually a bit misinformed about how to go about getting into a lot of pharmacy programs. While you are correct that many are basically just biology for some time before that actual pharmacy program starts, many schools actually have just a 6 year pharmacist program (PharmD). The two that I know of at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne university, also in Pittsburgh (can you guess where I live?), and I know there are many other schools around the country that are the same way.
These programs are essentially seperated into a pre-pharmacy and pharmacist program where you actually have to have good enough grades to continue in it.
Really the only time that you need to worry about just bio courses before pharmacy school is if you end up at a school without a pharmacy program and want to transfer to a different school.
As far as how many credits you can actually earn during a year of school, that depends a lot on what you take in high school, if the college you go to will accept credit you earn early, and how hard you want to work. Many colleges will allow you to take as many classes as you can handle (”overloading”) even if it is beyond what is recommended. Just remember not to overwork yourself or your grades will suffer and pharmacy school might not be an option then.
This all can’t be generalized too much as it really depends on your high school and what colleges you end up looking at. Either way, I wish you the best of luck as this country needs as many good, qualified, and most important passionate pharmacists as it can get! Its an excellent and rewarding profession that pays well, but you will have to work hard both in school and once you get out. I hope this all helps and that everything works out for you!
On September 1st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
1. ok if i want to go to college to become a pharmacist i know i have to major two years in biology first, right?
No. You will be a Chemistry Major! Pharmacy requires a lot of Chemistry not Bilogy. You don’t major in Chemistry in this case for 2 years..your major is for 4 years. through out your whole university experience. if you’re ‘iffy’ about pharmacy and not sure what you want to major in then you can choose to be undecided..and when you do make up your mind then declare your major at the time. your major has to be declared before you start your junior year (3rd).
2. what’s an undergrad school?
an undergraduate school is a regular 4 year university that provides students with an undergraduate degree (bachelor’s)
a graduate school (which is usually within the same university) provides students with a graduate degree (master’s etc..)
3. how many credits of biology do i need before i apply to a pharmacy school?
you HAVE to see an advisor at whatever school you are planning to study pharmacy. They will tell you what they are looking for in their incoming students.
But first you need to make sure you meet all the requirements for your undergraduate degree (first 4 years, Bacherlors, in Chemistry) which should cover what you need to get into Pharmacy school.
4. how many biology credits can i earn in a year of college?
You can take as many classes in a year as you want. Usually about 21 credits maximum. Anything over that is considered an over-load and you have to get permission to take more. You can take all the Biology or Chemistry sequence..Ex: Bio 100,101,102,103,104 etc.. but remember that in sciences one class is usually a prerequisite for the other. such as you need 100 to take 101 you need 101 to take 102 etc…
5. how many credits can u get by taking a college course during highschool?
it should equal the same number of credits as if you were to take it at the college. You have to get the permission of your school to do so and so that they will count it towards your high school transcript and that it will count in college. you need something in writing.
Good Luck!
make sure you see an academic advisor! MAKE SURE!
On September 2nd, 2008 at 3:19 am
You’re a little off track. First, there are two ways to get into Pharmacy school–one is to complete a 3 yr. pre-pharmacy program and then transfer, but you have to have a very high GPA in order to do this and not all pharmacy schools will accept you without an undergraduate degree, and the other is to get an undergraduate Bachelor’s degree, either a BA or a BS and then go on to Pharmacy school.
If you go the pre-pharmacy route, you don’t have a major, you complete the required curriculum for the pre-pharmacy major. If you get your BA or BS first, you can choose any major you want, but you would do well to major in one of the sciences, and you would actually be better prepared if you majored in chemistry than biology. I’m not sure where you got the 2 yrs. of biology idea, but it’s not accurate. NO pharmacy school will accept you with only 2 yrs. of undergraduate courses.
An “undergrad school” is any 4 yr. college or university–undergrad means the courses you take before you graduate with a college degree. After you graduate with a BA or BS, you go on to graduate school if you’d like–either to get your Master’s degree, PhD, Pharmacy school, Law school, Med school, etc.
You can take college courses while you’re still in high school and the credits will all count towards your college degree as long as they are college level courses and not remedial courses–you can take as many as your high school will allow. You can take as many biology courses in a year of college as you’d like–hey, you could take 3 or 4 courses a semester if you’d like, but it’s not going to get you what you need–you need either the pre-pharmacy curriculum, which includes english, calculus, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, etc., or you need a Bachelor’s degree–either a BA or a BS, which also include almost 2 yrs. of liberal arts courses in addition to your science courses. Colleges do not tell you what you have to take or not take or how many of each subject you can take per semester. You choose your courses, and can take whatever you’re willing to pay for. You can take 5 arts courses in a semester if you’d like, or whatever interestes you. But if you want to graduate in a reasonable amount of time, there are certain courses you have to take, and it’s better to follow their outline.
Your best bet would be to check with the Pharmacy school that you’re intending to go to and see what their admission requirements are. You can find this information online. Good luck.