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Some Useful Pre-Pharmacy Documents and Links. Some alternative school options if pharmacy is looking out of reach:
PrePharmacy Synopsis This one-page document gives an overview of the MSUM pre-pharmacy program; the time-line that it takes to complete a PharmD (normally 3 or 4 year in college and 4 in Pharmacy School, the last being clinical); and the normal standards of admission for pharmacy school.
Pre-Pharmacy Chemistry Degree Class Schedule This document gives a schedule for completing pre-pharmacy requirements while earning a Chemistry B.A. Degree with Emphasis in Biological Chemistry. The program is designed so that the majority of explicitly pre-pharmacy courses are taken during the first 2-3 years, in advance of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT).
Pre-Pharmacy Biology Degree Class Schedule This document gives a schedule for completing pre-pharmacy requirements while earning a Biology B.A. Degree with Emphasis in Health and Medical Sciences. The program is designed so that the majority of explicitly pre-pharmacy courses are taken during the first 2-3 years, in advance of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT).
List of Math-Science Courses Required by Most Pre-Pharmacy Programs
PCAT Home Page Site includes scheduling information, application schedules, and a desciption of the PCAT content. The PCAT is frequently taken during June or August, 12-15 months before actually starting pharmacy college. January and October test dates are also available.
PCAT Study Site http://www.mometrix.com/academy/pcat-test/ Nice site that provides discussion of test structure, distribution of topics, etc..
Directory of US Pharmacy Schools Provides a listing and contact information for all American colleges of pharmacy, often with application information and deadlines provides. A link to international schools is included as well. Can be sorted by state, by .
Admissions Factors at U of M and NDSU This document details some of the factors that impact acceptance into pharmacy school at the U of M and NDSU; lists the average GPA (3.75 and 3.85); lists the starting salary for recent graduates (>$100K for U of M grads in 2008); mentions residency requirements (non-factor at U of M, huge huge factor at NDSU); and some other miscellany.
Occupational Outlook for Pharmacists This links to a government website giving a thorough overview of occupational considerations regarding pharmacy, including salary information.
Pharmacy Technicians Information Pharmacy Technician is different and requires less school (by far) than Pharmacy Doctorate (PharmD)
MSUM Pre-Nursing Program Often Pre-Pharmacy students are also interested in Pre-Nursing. See MSUM's standard pre-nursing program here. For more information, contact Donna Heald, phone 477-2166, email heald@mnstate.edu
Link to National Association of Chain Drug Stores General information on careers in pharmacy included.
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
Some Alternative Health Care Fields that Sometimes Work for Students Whose Qualifications aren't Quite Good Enough for Pharmacy School, with Links to Websites With Additional Information:
| Optometry |
OAT: Optometry Admissions Test
Optometry Schools
Optometry Schools 2
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*Depending on the school, average GPA's for 2007 entering classes ranged from 3.20 to 3.67.
*The same classes that prepare for pre-pharmacy work for pre-optometry. Three years is normally enough to cover the classes.
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| Chiropractic |
Northwestern College of Chiropractic
Chiropractice Colleges
Chiropractice Schools 2
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*Average GPA for students admitted to Northwestern is 3.2, much lower than for pharmacy. .
*The same classes that prepare for pre-pharmacy are much more than acceptable for chiropractic school. Three years of college is required. |
| Medical Technology |
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*Professor Kathryn Wise in biosciences is the Med Technology advisor.
*I don't have GPA data, but I know that pre-pharmacy track more than qualifies a student for entrance into med tech programs, and that the GPA requirements for med tech are much lower than for pharmacy. Med tech programs are also shorter.
*There is a nice med tech internship/training program at the local hospitals.
*Medical technology encompasses a host of specialty areas.
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| Nursing |
MSUM Pre-Nursing Program |
MSUM has a strong nursing program. Unfortunately few of the classes that are used towards pre-pharmacy are the same as required by the nursing program. But some can be applied toward other nursing programs. |
AMA Listing of 60 Health Professions,
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*Includes job descriptions, educational requirements, and contact information.
*This list is excellent, although still not comprehensive. (For example, pharmacist is not included...) |
| Listing of 66 Health Care Careers and Income Ranges |
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This provides another nice list of possible careers to pursue. I'm not sure how good the salary data is. Dates vary a lot, and many of the salaries may be misleading (low) because the earnings of part-time workers are included. But the list does provide a nice listing of specialty areas, and of the kind of salaries that are avaiilable. |
| Graduate School in Chemistry |
Links to lists of grad schools in:
*Chemistry
*Biochemistry
*Medicinal Chemistry
*Molecular Biology |
*GPA requirements are much lower for chemistry than for pharmacy. (Chemistry majors are few, and big universities like UM or NDSU need grad students to teach undergraduate labs. Thus the demand for chemistry grad students is much higher than the supply.)
* Anybody with a 3.0 GPA can get into a good program.
* While the full chemistry B.S. degreeis preferred, a BA degree is definitely sufficient, and not even that is required. Grad schools very much want our chemistry majors.
*You get paid in chemistry grad school (normally >$20K plus tuition waived), unlike in health professional schools you are paying tuition.
*Typical Ph.D. takes 5 years, a masters 3. |
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