Which undergraduate degree would be best for Pharmacy school?

What are the advantages of a joint undergrad and graduate pharmacy program rather than a regular undergrad degree and then pharmacy school?

• Please help, I need to know what is a better option for me. Does the joint program offer exposure to real pharmacy settings and working more so than a regular major in undergrad while ...show more

• Answer:

  As far as I understand, the joint undergrad-pharmacy school option is only 6 years instead of 8. In the first two years you will be going through an accelerated science-heavy curriculum that are usually pre-requisites for most pharmacy schools. They will also offer a few classes throughout those two years to get you familiar with the pharmaceutical field, but mostly the first two years are meant to be the years where you learn your basic science principles. The next four years will be like any other pharmacy school: You take three years of classes with some introductory rotations either during the semester or during the summers, and then you will have one year of just advanced rotations. Ultimately you will end up with a PharmD, but no bachelor's degree. If you decide to go the other path and get a bachelor's degree before applying to pharmacy school, then that will take 8 years to complete. You don't have to cramp up your schedule as much with science classes (unlike the first two years of the joint program) and you have the freedom to take a variety of different classes depending on your major. Once you finish undergrad, then you can apply to Pharmacy school but you will have to go through the entire application process which includes: completing Pharmcas, taking your PCAT, and getting letters of recommendation. You do not have to do any of this if you do the joint program. As you can tell, the two paths are very different and you need to think carefully about what you want out of your college experience. If you do the joint program: you're basically already admitted into pharmacy school (assuming you maintain a certain GPA), you're in classes with the same people for all of your 6 years, you have to pay less money since the total time spent pursuing your PharmD will be 6 years instead of 8 years, and you will be able to graduate sooner. HOWEVER, if you are not sure that you want to do pharmacy, then by all means do not DO NOT do this. There is nothing worse than being in your 2nd year or 3rd year of the joint program and realizing that you don't want to do pharmacy. All that money you paid would essentially go to waste and you might have to transfer out. If you're sure that you want to do pharmacy, like absolutely sure (you've been in a pharmacy either shadowing or working as a tech and love the experience) then the 0-6 joint program is the most efficient. On the other hand, there are benefits that come with going the regular undergrad and then pharmacy school way. You don't have to pack your schedule in as much, you get to take classes that you like, you can major in anything you want (just make sure to complete your pharmacy pre-requisites), and you get to explore a variety of different clubs/organizations that you wouldn't be able to explore (or wouldn't have time to explore) if you decided to go with the joint program. However, it is longer, you do end up paying more, and you don't get to know your future pharmacist classmates as well as if you went to a joint program. In the end the decision is up to you. My friend is enrolled at St. John's University's 0-6 program 4 years ago and he is excited about graduating with a PharmD in 2 years. I decided to go with the more traditional route and will be entering pharmacy school in the Fall. Personally speaking, I'm glad that I got to explore college life and meet so many different people that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet if I went to a joint program. I really found myself during these 4 undergrad years and they only confirmed my desire to become a pharmacist. It also helped that I got a lot of scholarships/financial aid that paid for most of my tuition so that I didn't really have to worry about the money-side of things. Each person is different, only you can answer which option is better.