<p>Does any of the Ivies schools offer Pharmacy as a major? Is it bad to go to an Ivy just for the experience and then transfer later to a Pharmacy school? I'd like to go somewhere prestigious without losing the sight of my major. I considered UT Austin but I'd like to go somewhere out of Texas.</p>
<p>No ivy has a pharmacy major but maybe your desire to go to one means you want to see what else is also out there. IMHO, if you attended any ivy other than Cornell, you would probably tweak your career goals. The may still involve pharmacy but I think you might end up with a broader approach or application.</p>
<p>If you want the major, you should drop the Ivies - not only are they inferior for your purposes, they are irrelevant. </p>
<p>There are lots of great places you could double major with pharmacy, if that’s your interest.</p>
<p>How about MIT? If there’s something that I have more interest than pharmacy, it’s computer engineering. Double major at MIT, is that possible?</p>
<p>Don’t think MIT has pharmacy, either. Nor does Caltech. There are much better places to go for pharm, and you’ll make the same money coming out no matter where you attend.</p>
<p>I guess… lol. STILL I don’t want UT Austin. It’s not because UT is bad but because I want to stay away from my family, as far as possible. Alternatives? I’d love to go to either Boston or NYC. My parents demand prestige, that’s why I keep checking Ivies and MIT. Sigh…</p>
<p>Try University of Illinois in Chicago. And whats with the fixation on pharmacy school?</p>
<p>Pharmacy school b/c of my pharmacy major (which was only suggested by my family… I had no idea about becoming a pharmacist in the first place). I like science, but I like computers more. I wonder if I really should major in pharmacy.</p>
<p>You can take your pre-pharmacy prerequisites at any school, take the PCAT, and apply to PharmD programs. The only tricky part is that many pharmacy schools have different prerequisites, so you’ll want to research them and hopefully the college you choose will give you pre-pharm advising as well. Many PharmD’s get their bachelor’s first and it does make you more attractive to some pharmacy schools and I think it’s a great idea - more time to explore your options, have a balanced education, etc, and there are 3 year PharmD programs available so it only takes 7 years total. BTW, Cornell does have some pre-pharmacy students there, not sure what their declared major is but you could PM BigRedMed or call Cornell.</p>
<p>You can take your pre-pharmacy prerequisites at any school, take the PCAT, and apply to PharmD programs. The only tricky part is that many pharmacy schools have different prerequisites, so you’ll want to research them and hopefully the college you choose will give you pre-pharm advising as well. Many PharmD’s get their bachelor’s first and it does make you more attractive to some pharmacy schools and I think it’s a great idea - more time to explore your options, have a balanced education, etc, and there are 3 year PharmD programs available so it only takes 7 years total. BTW, Cornell does have some pre-pharmacy students there, not sure what their declared major is but you could PM BigRedMed or call Cornell.</p>
<p>But don’t become a pharmacist to please your family or anyone else. If it’s not your thing, you won’t be happy in college or later. This is the time to take the lead and start making decisions about how you’ll live as an adult.</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents have set you up for confusion with a mixed message. Because of your credentials, they’d like to see you somewhere prestigious, being inspired by equally accomplished peers (so would I). But out of financial considerations, they want you to pursue a practical, pre-professional field. The two are different goals with differing paths.</p>
<p>Consider that on a purely functional basis, the process of education in Pharmacy isn’t that different from learning Heating and Air Conditioning Systems (apologies to my pharmacist friends). The difference is that the system is a human rather than a mechanical one, so that adds complexity and (due to the affiliation in our culture with the medical profession) a certain cachet. With certain limited exceptions (mostly at Penn and Cornell), the Ivies are all about breadth of learning, critical and evaluative thought, communication skills, intercultural awareness, skills in acquiring and creating knowledge - the classic liberal arts values. Pharmacy, on the other hand, is about Medicinal Biochemistry, Solution/Dosage Forms, Immunization Theory, Toxicology, etc. The challenges you address will be narrow in scope and highly-specialized, while your friends at the Ivies will be discussing the university questions that would inform any social or professional endeavor.</p>
<p>There’s no reason you can’t have both - that’s certainly what I’d recommend to my own kids - but wanting an Ivy-caliber education and wanting pre-professional training are two very different things.</p>
<p>. . . that was supposed to read “universal questions” - sorry.</p>
<p>you don’t have to get a bachelors in pharmacy, or do a 6 year (BS+2) pharmacy program to become a pharmacist. The best thing for you to do, if you aren’t fully interested in pharmacy, is to get a degree in what you’re interested in, complete the pharm pre-reqs (if you’re still interested), and apply to a 4 year PharmD program. This will allow you some time to make decisions, and not be so locked into a major that you may or may not be interested in.</p>
<p>[United</a> States Pharmacy Schools](<a href=“uspharmd.com - This website is for sale! - uspharmd Resources and Information.”>http://www.uspharmd.com/school/)</p>
<p>That’s a list of schools with pharm degrees. The first thing you need to decide though is whether or not you really want to be a pharmacist. Your parents might want you to become one, but they aren’t the ones sitting in the courses, which are pretty difficult science courses. If you waste your time on them, get low grades, decide pharmacy isn’t for you, you’ll have to spend even more time taking courses to raise your GPA. </p>
<p>Also, you can get a liberal arts education with a pharmacy undergrad or undergrad+2 degree. Most of those schools will require you to take some sort of core. This is similar to undergrad BSN nursing degrees, where you take the nursing courses in addition to liberal arts courses. Ivy-caliber education and pre-professional training are not mutually exclusive. Nursing majors at my school (Georgetown) do it all the time.</p>
<p>Sounds like you should think for yourself, rather than have your parents plan everything for you.</p>
<p>You could look at UMichigan. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that prestigious undergrad schools, even if they have pharm programs, may not have the most prestigious pharm schools. Prestige in Pharm Schools is also somewhat flexible. Prestige in what field? Would you be looking at advanced degrees and teaching, doing research, working for the FDA, or working in retail/business (retail can mean working for a large drug company, or behind the counter of your local drug store…)? </p>
<p>In your situation, pursuing an undergrad degree in your field of interest while ensuring that you take the pharmacy school prerequisites for your top pharmacy school choices, might be the best path. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive paths.</p>
<p>Tufts is in the North East, it has both Pharmacy and Computer Engineering. Not sure if it’s in the same campus though.</p>
<p>Wow… I really didn’t expect this many replies. Is it because of the word “Ivies” in the title? Haha. Let’s see, my interest in programming/comp science is twice that of “regular” science, like bio, chem and physics. And that’s all I can think of when it comes to what I like.</p>
<p>The thing that is really pulling me toward Pharmacy is the salary difference (100K for pharmacists vs. 50K for engineers). Besides, my parents already said that what I want to do is my choice, but since they’ve sacrificed so much, I feel compelled to bring them something reasonable. If I can’t do Law or Medicine (typical Asian jobs, I know, lol), at least I can do something nearly as challenging, like Pharmacy. I don’t know if I should be thinking this way. What are your insights on computer engineering? How respectable is it, and what is the salary I should expect (if the above figures are wrong)?</p>
<p>Grads of top engineering programs tend to make a lot more than a pharmacist. The sky is the limit, many start or are key employees in companies and make millions. The pharmacist job and salary are much more finite. If it’s about money, wait to make the decision until you are in college and get to fully understand the possibilities.</p>
<p>salary isn’t everything, because you also need to think about your sanity. The salary of a Radiologist might be amazing, but is that what I would be happy doing? You can’t make the money if you aren’t happy doing what you’re doing, especially when you’re dealing with the lives of other people. Salary is obviously important in picking a career, but it should not be the main reason why you choose a career, say pharmacy over engineering. </p>
<p>the median salary of pharmacists is higher than engineers, but you also need to think about the degrees involved, as many/most engineers have a BS and maybe a masters, while the new standard for pharmacy is a clinical doctorate (PharmD). you usually complete this after undergrad, and takes 3-4 years.</p>
<p>Hmm. I guess I tend to finish work faster in Comp Sci class than all other classes, and I occasionally write some simple programs to entertain myself. Oh well, I think I’ll be happier with engineering then (wait, is engineering the right name for the job of programmers?)</p>
<p>I thought PharmD is a 6-year program? But anyway, the thought of doing Pharmacy is drifting further and further away 
Only BS for engineers??? +_+ What kind of degree do those guys at Microsoft earn?</p>
<p>Thanks you guys so much. Please keep posting info if you have some.</p>