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I can only speak for Pacific's program because I'm in it.</p>
<p>Just let me clarify first that students can't choose whether to be a 5, 6, or 7-year pre-pharm. Once in the program, students can choose to "decelerate" (our own lingo for de-accelerate) or drop from the program entirely. As a pre-pharm, you are only guaranteed a spot in the review process when your transition year comes. If you meet all of the program's minimum requirements, which is harder than it looks (and has deflated many egos in my pre-pharmacy class faster than Superman can fly), only that's when you're pretty much guaranteed a spot in pharmacy school. Yes, there have been instances where pre-pharm students did not transition into the pharmacy school. Not all pre-pharm students transition on time.</p>
<p>The general question, it seems, is "Is it hard?" My general and biased answer is yes. Yes, it's hard. Then again, there is no such thing as an easy major. I've had as much as 3 breakdowns because adjusting to the demands and expectations of the program has been extremely hard and trying. High school is a big, fat joke.</p>
<p>Hazmat has the right idea but in TJL School of Pharmacy, Pacific's pharmacy school, it doesn't matter. Pharmacy students are given hands-on experience in a little bit of everything in their practicum year. 6 weeks in a hospital, 6 weeks in retail, 6 weeks in research, you get the gist.</p>
<p>Tarun45 has demonstrated a pervading misconception about the program. Don't take it personally that I called you on it, but it's good that you did so someone can correct it. The application is reviewed extensively by the pharmacy school's own staff and they're cracking down on applicants. To put it simply, it's going to be harder to get into the program. The pharmacy school has decided to limit acceptances in its 2+3 program because, to put it simply, it's hard. Pacific's program is really, really competitive - to get into and to complete. They've made huge changes in the program already; some changes are affecting students who are majoring in the sciences, but are not in the program. </p>
<p>For instance, there's been talk that, beginning with this year's freshman class, any future pre-pharmacy student is required to maintain a 3.0 math/sci GPA and, I believe, a 3.2 overall GPA, making my class the last class which the pharm school requires to maintain a 2.7 math/sci GPA and a 3.0 overall GPA. From the looks on the program's site @ pacific.edu, that's not the case, but we have talked about this in our Pharmacy Orientation course and the administration responsible for the whole program seemed pretty sure to implement the change starting this year. I'd hate to see the students misinformed because the site wasn't updated.</p>
<p>While numbers are very important (ie SATs and h.s. GPA), that's not their only determining factor. I only received a 1190 on my SATs (the earlier version of the SATs) and a 3.9, but I got into the 3+3 program and received a considerable amount of scholarship money. Essays are just important and so is the quality of the referral letter. As an advice, have a science teacher write the recommendation letter for you. I think that might give your application a little more 'umph,' considering that you are applying for a program that exists because of science.</p>
<p>Also, the only way you can get any degree as a 2+3 is by taking summer sessions, which also depends on what you're majoring in; heck, even the summer sessions route is doubtful. It's just not realistic. There is no time to major in anything in such a short amount of time, especially with Organic Chemistry, Human Anatomy, and Microbiology on the 2+3 student's plate. Again, the only way to get any degree is by decelerating to 3+3 (to get a minor or major) or 4+3 (to major). A friend's brother decelerated from 2+3 to 3+3, majored in Biology, and graduated this year from TJL. Only the 4+3 pre-pharms can major in anything, as long as they maintain both GPAs as required. If the 2+3 and 3+3 pre-pharms strictly follow what's outlined on Pacific's site, they will only receive a PharmD and no other degree.</p>
<p>i3asketballboy, Pacific offers a PharmD/PhD program. It's been mentioned in my Pharmacy Orientation class also, but because it's something that I'm not interested in, I didn't retain any of the details. Just check out the website.</p>
<p>88888888 asked a good question. The only adequate answer to that is to each, his own. If you think that you'll be satisfied with only ever being good at being a pharmacist, then pursuing a straight PharmD is the track for you. This is something that only you can answer for yourself based on your experiences. My friends and I have all decided to take a different path because we are pursuing minors: Classical Studies, Religious Studies, and Art, respectively. You can take many roads to arrive at one destination. I'm pursuing a PharmD, but I have every intention of going back to school to get a bachelor's in a subject I'm passionate about.</p>
<p>Finally, there are a lot of students who fail classes at the pharmacy school. The brightest of the bright students fall and fall hard - a reality not lost on us current pre-pharms. But our advantage as pre-pharms is, we have good support from each other and pharm school students because of common experience.</p>
<p>PMs are welcomed, but my response time will be a bit slow because I'm working. I also responded here: [url ="<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=214012%22%5Dthe">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=214012"]the</a> long response. If anyone's interested in reading, go ahead. I want to help out those who are interested in the pharmacy program to the best of my abilities as the field needs more people. One of the pharmacists I work with (who also happens to be a TJL School of Pharmacy alumnus) told me that the projected time that the field will experience a shortage of pharmacists is approximately 20 years. Compared to the shortage in other fields in medicine, most notably nursing, it's not as dire...</p>
<p>But pharmacists are still needed. So join us!
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