Which one is better

<p>which one is better: going straight into a PHd program for pharmacy or going to a four-year university and then go to pharm school?</p>

<p>it will be hard to find a good answer here since most of us are focused on medicine and don't know so much about pharm. From what I do know, though, pharmacy school is not nearly as difficult to get into as med school. Most people who consider the combined program route in medicine are trying to avoid the competition and uncertainty associated with the traditional 4 years undergrad to med school path. I don't know if it would be worth your while to lock yourself into a pharm program right now mostly because as long as you can maintain a 3.0 gpa in college and score decently on the PCAT you will have a fair shot at pharmacy school. Incidentally, you wouldn't have to spend 4 years in a university before applying to pharm school--they don't require you to have an undergrad degree, so as long as you take the prereqs in the first 2 years you can apply then, cutting your overall schooling by a couple years. </p>

<p>All of this, of course, is just a brain storm. Whether you decide to go or not is dependent on a variety of other factors, the most important of which is whether or not you truly like the univeristy that has the PhD program.</p>

<p>i'm at a point right now where i'm not sure if i want to become a pharmacist or go into finance...is o-chem really hard?</p>

<p>Ok, by going off what you've said, you should NOT go into a combined pharmacy program.</p>

<p>What am I basing that on?</p>

<p>The fact that you're not SURE that you want to become a pharmacist.</p>

<p>The only reason I would suggest combined programs to any college applicant is if he/she was 100% sure that the profession the program was for (pharmacy in this case) was the profession for them. If you aren't sure between pharmacy and finance (in your case), then I'd recommend against applying for a pharmacy program.</p>

<p>And as Son of Liberty said, pharmacy schools aren't that hard to get into as long as you keep up decent grades; it is much, much easier to get into pharm than medschool</p>

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i'm at a point right now where i'm not sure if i want to become a pharmacist or go into finance...is o-chem really hard?

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</p>

<p>I haven't taken O-chem yet, so I can't comment on that, but I agree with the above poster that you should not go into a pharm program if you are unsure. By that same token however, I don't think you should abandon pharmacy just because you're scared about o-chem. I'm sure orgo will be hard, but so will the classes in pharm school and so will the upper division business classes (if you choose finance). There's no point in hiding from the challenges you will face in your educational career.</p>

<p>Hmm I'm not sure, as I do not know that much about pharmacy and the rigor of acceptance.. but I suggest you be fully certain about your goals before you decide your future now.</p>