5 answers
Gabi
Student
Dublin, California
1
Question
Asked
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AP Statistics, Physics, or both?
Hi,
I'm in my senior year of highschool and wondering if AP Statistics and regular Physics are must-take classes if I want to go into Pharmacology. I think both are extremely valuable but with a calculus course, handling all 3 might be a challenge for me. Should I push myself to take all three or just pick 1 to go along with reg. calculus?
Thank you!
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5 answers
Danielle Mullins
Pharmacist
4
Answers
Louisville, Kentucky
Updated
Danielle’s Answer
Calculus and Physics are pre-requisites for Pharmacy school (PharmD program). I suggest taking Calculus and/or Physics now, as they will prepare you for college-level classes. You may even be able to test out of it in college, especially with a high AP score. Statistics is required as part of the PharmD program, so you would not be able to test out of that now. You could take a Statistics course in high school to get you familiar with the topic, but the Pharmacy Statistics will be much more specific to pharmaceutical studies.
Ann Mary Holmes
Pharmacist
1
Answer
Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona
Updated
Ann Mary’s Answer
Physics is a required course in most pharmacy cirriculums, statistics is not.
Karissa Helton
Teacher
202
Answers
Miami, Florida
Updated
Karissa’s Answer
You do not need Statistics. That course is for business majors. To go to school to be a Pharmacist you need to take the PCAT exam. This exam covers Math so you want to do well in Calculus and this requires a time investment. My recommendation is to take regular Physics and regular Calculus.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Gabi
Statistical Engineer here. If she ever wanted to get into the quality side of pharmacology, statistics becomes extremely important.
Cody Gaspar
Andrew Au
Professor of Mathematics & Statistics, Retired
178
Answers
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
Taking regular Calculus, regular Physics, and AP Statistics at the same time can be a handful.
Based on my understanding, you need to fulfill the GER (General Education Requirement) in both mathematics and science in college. Hence, the regular Calculus and regular Physics classes will get you better prepared for the college-level mathematics (may be Calculus I and Calculus II) and general physics (Physics I and Physics II) classes.
On the other hand, if you score 4 or higher in AP Statistics, it can be articulated into an Introductory Statistics course in many colleges. Based on my observation, Introductory Statistics is a very hateful course for many college students. Hence, it may not be a bad idea to get this out of the way in high school.
Lastly, a major question is whether a course in statistics is required in Pharmacology. Well, I do not know the curriculum of Pharmacology. However, I believe it can be a required course because you need to understand data analysis in this field. After all, rigorous statistical testing is necessary for drug approval by FDA.
It will be a tough decision, but I would suggest that you take on the challenge of these three courses. It is a good training for the rigorous academic curriculum in Pharmacology.
Based on my understanding, you need to fulfill the GER (General Education Requirement) in both mathematics and science in college. Hence, the regular Calculus and regular Physics classes will get you better prepared for the college-level mathematics (may be Calculus I and Calculus II) and general physics (Physics I and Physics II) classes.
On the other hand, if you score 4 or higher in AP Statistics, it can be articulated into an Introductory Statistics course in many colleges. Based on my observation, Introductory Statistics is a very hateful course for many college students. Hence, it may not be a bad idea to get this out of the way in high school.
Lastly, a major question is whether a course in statistics is required in Pharmacology. Well, I do not know the curriculum of Pharmacology. However, I believe it can be a required course because you need to understand data analysis in this field. After all, rigorous statistical testing is necessary for drug approval by FDA.
It will be a tough decision, but I would suggest that you take on the challenge of these three courses. It is a good training for the rigorous academic curriculum in Pharmacology.
Thank you so much for answering.
Gabi
Heather Eades Pharm.D, BCGP
Pharmacist
6
Answers
Manakin, Virginia
Updated
Heather’s Answer
Most likely it would benefit you to have all 3, but the bigger question is if it is a prerequisite. Look at the prerequisites for the schools you want to go to and go from there. You only have to have what they require, they will teach you the rest. It would be a handful to take all 3 for sure. I hope that helps
I will use this advice as I prepare for my career.
Gabi