Is it worth taking a year off of school to try again to get into my dream pharmacy school?

[Colorado303]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

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[mentos]

It doesn't matter which pharmacy school you go to. You will likely end up unemployed no matter where you graduate from.

 

[rxkrafted]

Please do your research before entering this saturated pharmacy market.
There is a high probability that you end up working in retail if you graduate... Do you think Wags or CVS cares which pharmacy school you graduated from? I'm just being realistic. There is no such thing as a #1 pharmacy school.

 

[mentos]

Please do your research before entering this saturated pharmacy market.
There is a high probability that you end up working in retail if you graduate... Do you think Wags or CVS cares which pharmacy school you graduated from? I'm just being realistic. There is no such thing as a #1 pharmacy school.

I'd say the probability of being unemployed is higher. There are unemployed pharmDs today. Four years from now, there will be 60,000 more pharmDs.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

Yeah "retail as a backup" shouldn't exist in the english language anymore, seeing as how new grads who WANT to go to retail can AT BEST get 32 hr/week jobs these days.

So basically if you go into pharmacy school wanting to do "clinical" or "nontraditional" and don't match for residency, retail is not even an option for you since you gambled and lost.

 

[GravityBeetle]

Good on UW for keeping there class sizes below 100 though despite serving such a large metro as Seattle. Can't say the same for CU

 

[PharmtoCS]

Consider it a blessing in disguise if you get rejected. You just got rejected from a scam that will cost you $200k+ and 4 years of your life only to be unemployed or greatly underemployed.

 

[BC_89]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

In terms of pharmacy: What do you call a person who graduated from Washington and one who graduated from Colorado? A pharmacist. That is your end goal...to be a pharmacist. Being able to locate work in those regions is on you.

Unless the cost has an extreme differential it wont matter where you go.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

You are losing potentially one year of income... maybe finances do not matter to you ?? its all a personal choice

 

[Timbo]

You are losing potentially one year of income... maybe finances do not matter to you ?? its all a personal choice

If anyone is pursuing pharmacy these days most likely finances do not matter to them. They are doing it purely for passion

 

[mentos]

If anyone is pursuing pharmacy these days most likely finances do not matter to them. They are doing it purely for passion

Must be nice. I wish I had 200k and 4 years of free time to pursue my passion of skiing, scuba diving or golfing.

 

[TerryTerry]

Please do your research before entering this saturated pharmacy market.
There is a high probability that you end up working in retail if you graduate... Do you think Wags or CVS cares which pharmacy school you graduated from? I'm just being realistic. There is no such thing as a #1 pharmacy school.

high probability of ending up working in retail might not be a thing by the time he graduates.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

high probability of ending up working in retail might not be a thing by the time he graduates.

It's not even a thing today. We need to stop misleading people.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

If you're gonna take the year off, mind as well study for the mcat and go to med school. I took a year off to retake some of my prereqs. Now that I look back, I should've just studied for mcat and gone to med school... even if it's like the Caribbean schools. Much better option than any pharmacy school right now. Shoot, I would be in my 3rd year of residency.... damn... it feels worse than losing out on the hottest girl i've ever been with... but then again i wouldn't know how that feels either since i have a hot wife lol... my point is, go find yourself a hot trophy wife that makes alot of money lol

 

[mentos]

If you're gonna take the year off, mind as well study for the mcat and go to med school. I took a year off to retake some of my prereqs. Now that I look back, I should've just studied for mcat and gone to med school... even if it's like the Caribbean schools. Much better option than any pharmacy school right now. Shoot, I would be in my 3rd year of residency.... damn... it feels worse than losing out on the hottest girl i've ever been with... but then again i wouldn't know how that feels either since i have a hot wife lol... my point is, go find yourself a hot trophy wife that makes alot of money lol

Man if I was single I'd move to DC. There are many successful single ladies (many big firm lawyers) in the area and they outnumber men. My female friends tell me anytime a guy walks into a bar, all the single ladies watch. I don't know why pharmacists don't date outside of their profession.

 

[PharmtoCS]

I don't know why pharmacists don't date outside of their profession.

I wonder if others are catching on that pharmacists are likely to be $200k+ in debt either working odd hours or unemployed/underemployed.

 

[deleted562805]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

Are you a stellar student? It looks like you are because you want to get into top pharmacy schools. I think you should consider medical school. Take the MCAT and apply. Physicians are in demand. If not, try Nursing school. Benefits of BSN is less debt and nursing is also in demand.

Stay away from pharmacy school!!!

If you want clinical pharmacy, you are better off becoming a physician for the same time commitment plus an unusual income. Plus, more autonomy in terms of patient care.

If you want clinical pharmacy and do not get into medical school after 10 times of reapplying, you are better off becoming a CRNA, NP after BSN or PA. You can have a independent practice, you get reimbursed for your services, and you will be in less debt than pharmacy.

 

[gwarm01]

Must be nice. I wish I had 200k and 4 years of free time to pursue my passion of skiing, scuba diving or golfing.

Imagine actually viewing pharmacy as a passion in life rather than your career. I'm with you. An independently wealthy version of myself would be following his passion of deep sea fishing across the world.

OP - which school offers lower tuition? Can I assume you will get in-state rates in CO based on your avatar? It's hard to imagine the variables that would make UW the answer to this question.

 

[mentos]

Imagine actually viewing pharmacy as a passion in life rather than your career. I'm with you. An independently wealthy version of myself would be following his passion of deep sea fishing across the world.

OP - which school offers lower tuition? Can I assume you will get in-state rates in CO based on your avatar? It's hard to imagine the variables that would make UW the answer to this question.

I've never heard of people more passionate about their career than in the pre-pharm forum. Except for those guys who get to oil up Victoria Secret models.

 

[deleted562805]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

Also, FYI, BLS job growth statistics project pharmacy job growth at 0% from 2019 to 2028. Hopefully, this statistic is enough to make you stay away from pharmacy school

 

[rxkrafted]

Also, FYI, BLS job growth statistics project pharmacy job growth at 0% from 2019 to 2028. Hopefully, this statistic is enough to make you stay away from pharmacy school

This prepharm kid is not going to take our advice. He/she has a dream pharmacy school for goodness sake lol.

 

[deleted562805]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

Hey Man. I know the schools have got you thinking like a top pharmacy school matters, but in reality it does not matter with respect to employment.

You seem like a bright stellar student. Please do not think that pharmacy school will be like medical school with respect to grades and GPA

In medical school, grades do matter. Your grades and Board scores determine what speciality you will practice and where you will match. Medical school has mechanisms in place to help you network. Networking in medical school is just icing on the cake and Grades/scores are meat of what determines your practice.

In pharmacy school, Strong network, Strong ECs, and work experience as a intern matter way more than your GPA.

Also let’s compare medical residency vs clinical pharmacy residency.
With medical residency/ fellowship, you will assured a job that you trained for as the network is built in, even for the most bottleneck jobs like surgery.

In clinical pharmacy residency, even though you completed both residencies, you still have to have a huge network to land you a job that you trained for. It’s not a guarantee since the network is not built into the program. If you do not have a strong network, you get a job in which you are overqualified for or worse unemployed depending on where you live.( i.e. huge metro city).

Please go in with the notion that stellar grades in pharmacy school do not matter if you do not have a strong network.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

If I had the opportunity to rewind the clock 7 years and be rejected from pharmacy school I would take it in a heartbeat. You don't understand what an incredible opportunity you have to go into computer science or engineering now.

What if the engineering/Computer Science becomes saturated..?? Everyone is now going in that field...

 

[PharmtoCS]

What if the engineering/Computer Science becomes saturated..?? Everyone is now going in that field...

They actually are experiencing explosive growth unlike pharmacy which is expected to shrink in the next 10 years. There is a shortage of computer programmers right now.

 

[mentos]

What if the engineering/Computer Science becomes saturated..?? Everyone is now going in that field...

They are in demand now and they have projected job growth. Pharmacy hasn't been that way in over ten years.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

They are in demand now and they have projected job growth. Pharmacy hasn't been that way in over ten years.

Computer Science /" software engineer" if you get a job payscale is 48k-78k a year in my area...
I remember 10 years ago, Pharmacist used to get 40k sign on bonuses with 140k salary.. There used to be massive layoffs in the computer field, outsourcing and a lot of things that are usually not noticed by general public. And a common misconception that everyone has, not everyone work for Google.

 

[mentos]

Computer Science /" software engineer" if you get a job payscale is 48k-78k a year in my area...
I remember 10 years ago, Pharmacist used to get 40k sign on bonuses with 140k salary.. There used to be massive layoffs, outsourcing and a lot of things that are usually not noticed by general public.

That's a stretch. Maybe in 2006-2007 but those sign on bonuses weren't abundant in 2010. The great recession changed everything.

Well it's 2020 now. What's better, 48-78k with little or no debt in a desirable location or 70-90k with 200k debt in BFE if you're lucky to get a job?

 

[mentos]

If I had the opportunity to rewind the clock 7 years and be rejected from pharmacy school I would take it in a heartbeat. You don't understand what an incredible opportunity you have to go into computer science or engineering now.

"But the market will correct itself"
"But it's my passion"

 

[King2440]

That's a stretch. Maybe in 2006-2007 but those sign on bonuses weren't abundant in 2010. The great recession changed everything.

Well it's 2020 now. What's better, 48-78k with little or no debt in a desirable location or 70-90k with 200k debt in BFE if you're lucky to get a job?

*Also very little job security

 

[TerryTerry]

I was studying computer programming before I changed my major to pharmacy in year 2007. Biggest mistake in my life.
That`s why I always tell people here to follow the passion and not money.

...Oh, wait... they ARE following their passions.. geez

 

[deleted562805]

*Also very little job security

Also very little mobility compared to Computer Science or Medicine.

 

[LivingMyBestLife]

I did not get accepted to my dream school (University of Washington) and am contemplating taking a year off to try again next cycle. I did get into my 2nd choice (University of Colorado) and they allow me to decide if I want to start Fall/2020 or Fall/2021. What do you guys think? Is it worth taking another year to try again or just settle for my #2 and start this fall?

The school you go to barely matters. It can not overcome the massive saturation this career is experiencing now.