I have been admitted into the 3+3 Pre-Pharmacy program at UOP. I understand that it will be hard learning extensive chemistry and biology but what I’m worried about is how worth it this program is. If I were to go to this school, I would have to leave home 5 hours away just to attend this school in the middle of nowhere. I also understand that you have to 100% commit what you’re studying for, into Pharmacy. I’m scared of the risks so I would really like to know the benefits of this program if there are any? I’m hesitant because I’m now wondering if I should go to a Cal State near my house which is much cheaper and go to a Pharm graduate school later on. I was stoked in the beginning when I got into UOP but now I’m feeling uneasy because how would a senior in high school already know what she wants to study or major in?! Thank you.
I obviously can’t help you make up your mind regarding what you want to study, but if you are confident about pharmacy UOP is a good choice. You will have a higher chance of making it into PharmD school if you are on the 3+3 track, as you are guaranteed an interview to the pharmacy school if you pass the pre-requisite courses. Also, you are out in the workforce one year earlier, making a whole extra year’s salary then if you were to attend a CSU (where it could take you up to 5 years to finish your bachelor’s degree depending on the availability of courses…). Have you visited the campus, talked to a professor/or a pharmacist, or sat in on a class? That could help you make up your mind to see if UOP is a good fit for you.
The UOP Accelerated Pre-Pharm Advantage program does not “guarantee” admission into the actual pharmacy college even if you meet the GPA requirements. After your second year of pre-pharm, you are screened through a writing sample, 3 recommendations and an interview. Not all pre-pharm applicants are accepted. Also the tuition without room & board for the two undergraduate years $40,822 per year and the pharmacy years is $65,721 (not including some additional pharmacy incidental fees for technology, etc.) because there are 3 semesters in each pharmacy year. Room and board is estimated at approximately $17,000 per year. (See http://www.pacific.edu/Documents/finance/student-accounts/14-15%20Annual%20Cost%20Sheet.pdf). Also, the UOP Accelerated program does not include a bachelor’s degree which may be important later if you decide to get an MBA or other non-pharmacy graduate degree.
It is a very expensive first three years if you are not selected for the pharmD program after the guaranteed interview. The extra year’s salary mentioned by the previous poster won’t make up for the $186,000 that you will spend to be at UOP just for the first three years, unless you get a huge scholarship.
So unless you are offered a huge financial aid package that doesn’t have to be repaid or your parents have the means to easily support you in those programs, you’ll probably want to be pretty sure that pharmacy school is your main goal and you would screen through after your 2nd year in college to get into the pharmacy graduate school.
UC San Diego has a BS in Pharmacological Chemistry which would be a great undergraduate degree for pharmacy and many other careers. A bachelor’s degree from UCSD would be much less expensive if you are paying in-state tuition. You would still have to apply to a graduate pharmacy school, but with much less debt behind you.
You might also want to check out getting licensed as a pharmacy technician and getting a part time job in a pharmacy rather than just shadowing in a pharmacy. Our DS who is now a PharmD started that way in high school. He was 16 and stayed in his California high school, but took the GED and the PCTB exams (studied on his own with a book from Barnes & Noble) just to meet the licensing qualifications and then easily got part time work that fit around his school and sports schedules. It gave him a good idea about whether or not to choose pharmacy as his major.
If you are looking for a guaranteed freshman entry PharmD program, there 10 universities that has a true guaranteed zero-6 year PharmD program (“guaranteed acceptance” meaning no test, no interview, as long as you maintain a 3.0 GPA and no grade less than a C) check out the following schools:
Florida A & M University
Massachusetts - Boston
Northeastern University
Ohio Northern University
Rutgers University
St. John’s University
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
University of Findlay
University of Rhode Island
University of the Sciences