Has anyone’s child applied to a PharmD program? If so, I would love some insight into whatever info you are willing to share. My D18 is exploring this possibility. Thanks 
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Is she looking for a 2+4 program, or 0-6?
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What state are you in?
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@mommdc thank you for responding! We are in CT I’m trying to figure out which way is better - 2+4 or 0-6. She is interested in medicine - originally thinking pre-med to med school so we were looking for a really strong liberal arts - sciences program but then just recently was thinking the pharmacy end of things so I wanted to get as much info as possible. I really know nothing at all about it. She would like to stay on the east coast - North Carolina - Vermont.
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There are a lot of schools with PharmD programs in the east coast - Northeastern (Boston, 0-6), St. John’s University (NY, 0-6), Rutgers (0-6, NJ), UPitt (2+4). If she’s unsure, I suggest applying to 2+4 schools, because it might be easier to transfer to other majors at the end of the 2nd year before or after she takes the PCAT for the grad school phase. If she’s more confident, 0-6 is a great choice!
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Thanks! I have been doing a ton of searches and looked at some of those schools. I think we need to look at the programs a little more in detail once she makes up her mind.
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She may want to consider that Pharmacy is becoming a more saturated field than in previous years.
If she is sure about pharmacy, have her investigate instate options first, and ones she could get a lot of merit.
My D has shadowed pharmacists, and has worked in two pharmacies in her senior year of high school, and freshman/sophomore year of college. Chemistry was her favorite subject in HS. She is pretty sure that this is the career she wants.
But there are lots of other options. One of her friends is interested in becoming a PA. Another friend is studying biostatistics.
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My best friend is a pharmacist and her son thinks he wants to do PharmD, so she’s been looking into options. One thing that has surprised her is that there is a difference in how some of the programs treat tuition/funding/financial aid. Some of those programs will treat the latter portion as graduate school, which can really impact the family’s contribution. She also found an 8 year program at Ohio State and was really turned off by that one as she felt it was unnecessary to be that long.
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If she really wants to go to med school, is it worth going to school for the extra 2 years to get the PharmD? She will be in training for at least another 7-10 years once she enters med school.
Plus its vital to get really high marks (3.8+ GPA) when applying to med school. I think it will be harder to maintain a high GPA in a pharmacy course as compared to others.
@Suburbmom yes we looked at Ohio State for merit option. They said my D could get about $18k merit, but required a bachelor’s degree for pharmacy, and OOS tuition for PharmD program was much higher than our own excellent instate option Pitt.
Yes there is a lot of variance between
PharmD programs, some require 60 some credits of prerequisites, some as much as 78 (UKY).
Some consider 2 year prepharmacy and P1/P2 undergrad and P3/P4 grad school while some only consider prepharmacy as undergrad and P1-P4 grad school (U Buffalo for example).
Some limit number of OOS accepted to PharmD program (UKY I think).
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@sgopal2 Yes, I agree with you. She is 16 years old and I’m sure she really isn’t 100% sure of anything. She has always wanted to be a surgeon or radiation oncologist but I started questioning whether she really wanted to put that many years into education etc. So, I think her mindset was maybe a 2-4 program with heavy sciences so she can “test the waters” and have a back up. Med school is her plan with a strong liberal arts program but that a Pharm D option after 2 years would be nice? Her dream would be BC then Med School but if that falls through (big reach) then she was considering a Pharm program as well as some other good pre-med schools with strong sciences, etc.
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No matter if she is going to end up going to med school or pharmacy school, she should look at schools that give merit. The lower the undergrad expenses, the less to borrow for med school/grad school.
U conn might or might not offer merit for high stats instate students.
They have a pharmacy program open house in the spring I think, and they have a special program in pharmacy (SPiP) for high school students, which allows for anticipated acceptance to the pharmD program if requirements are met.
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@mommdc yes, merit will definitely be a consideration! So true about saving the $$ for grad school. So expensive now for these kids to get a degree. We will apply to UCONN because it is in state. Also, I think URI has PharmD 0-6 for reduced cost for CT students but I’m not positive - if she definitely decides to go that route. Thanks for the UCONN link :))) I get so exhausted googling all of this stuff! Nice to click on a link!
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@xaviermom2017 Please save your daughter from this field. There are very few good jobs. I tell you this since I have practiced pharmacy for over 25 years. I know I may come across as the “get off my lawn” old man but I know quite a few young pharmacists that will tell you the same. If she doesn’t want to invest in medicine then have her look into PA school. I actually told my kids that I will support you in any major EXCEPT pharmacy. I graduated from pharmacy school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Right school, wrong career. Act now don’t wait.
@NosyCaliparent thank you for the input. My research has generally substantiated your position. I feel that her other choices - radiation oncology; genetics etc. are more viable career paths. I have also suggested psychology, physical therapy and biotechnology. She is great in the sciences and math department and is interested in a hospital setting. I really wanted her to take the law school path but so far I have been unsuccessful lol. We shall see. Having said all that I am going to have her not restrict herself to a 0-6 and I am recommending a strong science program instead so she can keep her options open. No rush.
My daughter is at South Carolina. It is a 2+4 program. The nice thing about South Carolina is if she gets an undergrad scholarship it is good for 4 years. So my daughter got a scholarship that was “in state+ 4K” so in her P1 and P2 year she continues to get in state tuition-4K. Plus they have a “reduced” out of state tuition if you get scholarship in your P3 and P4 year. It has been very affordable. I think if you intern and are at the top of your class - there are absolutely jobs. I think some “older” pharmacists that don’t have a PharmD have a problem changing jobs because the younger pharmacists have to have their PharmD and have more clinical experience. At least this is what several of my friends that are pharmacists are saying.
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If you can only see yourself as a pharmacist then that is what you should be. My thought is that schools are starting pharmacy schools because people are flocking to them in search of high salaries. Over saturation took away the high salaries and bonuses, also produced lots of pharmacist whose only goal is $$$. The best school are still difficult to get into. I’m in CA and most everyone is a PharmD. I’m happy and am clinical with lots of great experience. I feel for the young who cannot find a full time job and are often treated poorly by their company.
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@xaviermom2017 I would encourage her not to give up on her med school dream just yet. My son is a freshman in college on the west coast and wants to attend medical school. I told him not to look at it as 10 years of school but just break it up as a series of goals. Has she taken the ACT or SAT? Scores? Once she is in undergrad then she can keep options open. Pharmacy for the most part is a closed profession. If she does it for a while and does not like it, it is difficult to move to something else while pre-med will allow her to have more options.
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