Which Subject Test Should a Pharmacist Take: Chem or Bio?

[Dooh]

Can someone please explain to me, which subject is more important, Chem or Bio, if i want to be a pharmacist. I need to take two subject tests, one of them has to be math while the other I am trying to decide between chem and bio. Which 1 is used more often in the realm of pharmacy?

 

[Zaimeen]

Well, I would suggest Chemistry is much more important in you were to be a pharmacist

 

[mrjeffy321]

also consider which one you will do better on, if you can blow through the biology test and ace it, when you struggle at chemistry, then you might want to take biology.

 

[Zaimeen]

But I think if you are striving to become a Pharmacist, look at the suject areas to which you should focus first rather than looking at which subject you are good at.

______________________________________________________

AKG

"Nothing is impossible in life, however difficult it may seem"

 

[GCT]

Doesn't matter, take which ever subject you prefer to take...which I'm guessing is biology (most people prefer bio rather than chem). From my experience most people who get accepted to pharmacy are completely inadequate at chemistry.

Try to get a decent gpa (3.3 or above) and a decent PCAT score (90 percentile or above), but most of all you need to develop a professional resume. In fact I've known quite a few cases where the gpa and PCAT were close to insufficient yet due to a great work history and volunteering history, were accepted. You need to show interest in the field. Read up a lot on the different areas of pharmacy, developments, get into it as much as possible. One way to definitely show that you are interested in the field of pharmacy is to work as a pharmacy technician, this is a very, very, very big plus. If your scores and resume are sufficient, you'll get the interview, where they will basically test the degree to which you have delved yourself in the field. So be knowledgeable. This is one of the most distinguishing aspects of pharmacy v.s. medicine, the latter requires you to be quite smart while with the former you can get past your intelligence scale through diligence. I applied to a great pharmacy school, and due to sufficient grade and test score (99th percentile), got the interview, yet I didn't know virtually anything about the pharmacy career, thus got placed on the waiting list in the end.

 

[Dooh]

I think i have more confidense in chem that bio. Last year, when i was taking bio, i was a slacker. I got through that class with a 90% overall grade at the end of the year. Chem on the other hand is diffirent. I am currently stil taking chem and I am learning a lot and having fun in this class at the same time. everything seems to be easy in chem, maybe except for those darn ions that i have to memorize, so i think i should take chem.

 

[Dooh]

Oh by the way, does anyone know any site where i can get a head start in learning about medical/pharmacy stuff?

 

[GCT]

Do you have a particular college/university in mind? Go to there site and browse through the requirements, statistic of admitted students, and learn about the type of degrees offered.

 

[Dooh]

I'm planning to apply to UC Davis, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Cruz. Hmm, ill take your advice and browse their site then. Thanks

 

[Moonbear]

Pharmacy will require learning both biology and chemistry. It's a very intensive curriculum (usually a 5-year program). You need both because you need to both understand the chemical compounds that formulate pharmaceuticals as well as the biological activities of those drugs and their target systems. Most likely, the chemistry subject test will be more useful, but you may even need both for some programs, so check their specific requirements. If they give you the choice of either, take the one you'll be strongest in.

 

[GCT]

Yeah, learning chemistry can help, however, in the end, if your aim is to work at Wal-mart or somewhat, (earning a fair amount of money ~70 thousand annually) it's not too important in the end. If you wish to go onto a fellowship and/or become a pharmacologist doing research, then of course, definitely chemistry is a big plus.