Pharmacy
Admission Requirements
Although admission requirements vary for specific schools, most pharmacy schools require the following Guilford College courses:
- Chemistry 111 and 112 (General Chemistry)
- Chemistry 231 and 232 (Organic Chemistry)
- Biology 111 (Integrative Biology: Molecules and Cells)
- Biology 112 (Integrative Biology: Organisms, Ecology and Evolution)
- Biology 341 and 342 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II)
- Biology 315 (Microbiology)
- Physics 211 and 212 (General Physics)
- Math 112 (Elementary Statistics)
- Math 122 (Calculus )
Completing Guilford College’s Foundations and Explorations requirements usually satisfy additional course requirements in English, the humanities and social sciences. Note that many pharmacy schools do not require an undergraduate degree, and thus only require the specific science pre-requisites listed above.
Course Recommendations
Students should plan to take Chemistry 111 and 112 and Biology 111 or 112 in thier first year.
Suggested Activities
Pharmacy schools view experience in health-related fields before applying to their program as essential. Students can gain this necessary experience through internships, summer employment and volunteer work. Both the pre-health professions advisers and the Career and Community Learning Center can help students find these experiences.
The Standardized Admissions Exam
Most pharmacy schools require the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT). This test should be taken in the late spring or early summer of the year before the student plans to martriculate in pharmacy school. The PCAT content assumes that students have had the courses listed above, with the exception of Physics 211 and 212.
Applying to Pharmacy School
Most pharmacy schools subscribe to the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS). Students who wish to apply to pharmay school should complete this common application, which will then be distributed to all the PA schools to which the student plans to apply. The completed application should be submitted by August of the year before the student plans to matriculate in PA school.