Shreyashi.98 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hey! Sorry if this is not the right place to post this sort of question... But I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about Pharmacology? I am really interested in pharmacodynamics and plan on going into the path of neuropharmacology. I am currently in Year 11, 4 months till my IGCSE's. We have to submit our IB options by the end of this month, so I though it would be better if I chose my subjects that fulfill the prerequisites of most of the top universities. My question is does anyone know what the undergraduate course is called and whether there are any universities that you would suggest me? I am interested in applying in USA, UK and Singapore. The subjects for IB that I am planning on are: HL: Chemistry, Mathematic and Business & Management SL: English Language/Literature, French B, PhysicsThanks A lot! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul34 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 In terms of unis, it is very hard to suggest some as we are unaware of your capabilities, however one that does come to mind regarding your desired field is John Hopkins. As for your intended major, i would take bio HL instead of B&M, and replace physics with it. i do not believe (yet i may be wrong) universities require math hl as it is normally for engineering. If you are worried about the workload then you may want to think about switching it with an social science as it is extremely, EXTREMELY demanding. At this time you are in a prime position to be strategic as it pertains to your languages, and thats all i am going to say about that . In terms of B&M, many universities do not view it as rigorous/HL course and that is why i would suggest switching it with another humanities such as Economics, History, Geo or even Psychology. Good luck and if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shreyashi.98 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Hey.. Thanks for replying! In one of our career induction evenings, we were handed out a paper which had some popular fields with their required prerequisites and HL maths was there for pharmacy. I checked out some one of the high end universities and did some googling and all the sites mentioned HL chemistry with either HL bio/physics or maths. Our school doesn't recommend 2 sciences unless it its absolutely mandatory such as for medical. However, I will still have a chat with my science teachers and ask for their recommendations. For B&M, I just had a conversation with my current Enterprise (Practical version of Business studies) teacher and he suggested that HL B&M would be an easier 7 than taking HL Economics since even I am keen on taking Economics HL. However if I do switch my sciences around I would go for SL economics. In terms of the graduate program, I think I would have to apply for the PharmD program after finishing high school. However some universities for example UCSF mentions prerequisites such as 1 full year of certain biology and stuff like that. Here is the link: http://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/pharmd/admissions/steps/1/academic/Hence I am a bit confused about whether I need to do a bachelors in pharmaceutical sciences or so and then apply for pharmD. Thanks A lot once again! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayumi Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 I would definitely recommend doing two HL sciences if you're interested in that field. I agree with paul34 to a certain extent e.g. taking HL Biology instead of BM. Even though HL Maths may be difficult and demanding, if you think you can do it I think it would be best to keep that as one of your HL options! in terms of BM or Economics.. I think it would be better to choose SL Economics. It's perceived as a much more traditional subject and quite a few top universities (e.g. LSE) prefer Economics over BM. So that's just something to think about. BUT, don't be afraid to do a subject that you really want to! Before, I was really interested in studying medicine so I took HL Chemistry + Biology but now I wish I wish I took HL Physics instead of Biology as I'm no longer interested in medicine (Physics was one of my favourite subjects before IB). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shreyashi.98 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Even I had thought that the Bio-Chem combo would be more beneficial but the thing is that that BIO curriculum is so much based on plants and ecology stuff that it bores me. I absolutely love cell biology. Could you give me a brief about the HL Bio curriculum? Thanks! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul34 Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 So I do my biology exam this may (aiming for a 7 god-willing) and we have finished the syllabus. the truth of the matter is you will never be able to escape plants even in your desired industry and believe it or not, the plant syllabus is sooooo much easier comparably and the IB love to ask about it so if you can master that you are in good hands. In terms of your field, it may not seem useful (the ib plant stuff) but it is still good to have some knowledge if your field every requires you to know about plants which pharmacology might. Furthermore you would think the plant unit is boring, but as soon as you feel like you are going to die of boredom, the seemingly useless content on the plants actually gets interesting. nevertheless you do 2 and a bit units on it so it is not that much, including ecology. To be honest you would think you would enjoy the topic on the human body and it is abundantly interesting, however the way the marking works for HL is unpredictable so it is hard in that. the content in biology is the hardest part because there is soo much to know but a committed student should easily pull off a 5. btw in HL, we have to do 11 units of which 1 and a half units are focused on pants solely, then there is the ecology unit (if you count that), and bits and pieces there about plants but in terms of cells for example. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayumi Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 lool I pretty much despise every single topic for Biology. Pretty much the key to doing well in Biology is memorising everything. But, the data response questions are a major killer (even if I have memorised everything the data response questions always always has to screw me over).btw, I just checked NUS requirement for a bsc in pharmInternational Baccalaureate are - Very Good Pass in HL Chemistry and Very Good Pass in either HL Biology or HL Physics or HL Mathematics so you don't necessarily have to do HL Biology So maybe think about doing HL Physics instead or something? Either way, doing two HL sciences really allows you to have more options for different degrees if you decide to change your mind for what you want to study. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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