20 Things You Only Understand If You’re A Pharmacy Major At SJU
So you’re a student in St. John’s University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. You know that your six-year journey may not be easy, but that it’s ultimately very rewarding—and you definitely know the following 20 ups and downs better than anyone else. Keep reading for 20 things you only understand if you’re a pharmacy major at SJU!
1. Living on coffee: 3 times a day, from 3 different sources.
AKA the Health Education Resource Center (because it’s free), Dunkin’ Donuts (because every class that isn’t lab is in the same building), and Starbucks (because you will stand on that long line as a means of procrastination. You also use the excuse #treatyoself).
2. Not knowing what the campus library looks like.
You study in H.E.R.C. All of your homework is done in H.E.R.C. You live in H.E.R.C. Where’s the library again?
3. Not being the biggest fan of Marillac Auditorium.
Every time you step inside, you flash back to every single organic chemistry exam you’ve ever taken and (cried over).
4. Having a new professor, if not a new course, every week—so every other day feels like the first day of class.
“You have finals already?” – Everyone in every other major. In September.
5. Wishing you’d listened to upperclassmen and secured straight A’s your first two years.
You’re a student here for six years, desperately clutching onto your academic scholarship by your third.
6. Struggling to stretch 24 hours every day while still getting adequate sleep.
You have a lab report to finish, two quizzes and a midterm to study for, and a rotation site to report to for several hours, yet you’re still positive that you might be able to get a full eight hours of sleep. Maybe in another world.
7. Waiting for that one student in your class to pop the post-exam question of the century.
*Raises hand* “Will there be a curve?”
8. The dreaded block schedule.
You technically can’t choose your classes and you won’t know who your professors are until pretty much the first week of the semester. You’re guaranteed at least one class at 7:30 in the morning, and it’s nearly impossible to make changes to the schedule you’re given. Stay strong, though.
9. Asking around your entire major to find someone to cover your shift during midterms/finals.
Since, you know, almost everyone in pharmacy works at CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid. But then again, you’re all trying to get a day off to study at the same time. One of the biggest struggles of a pharmacy major at SJU.
10. Feeling like you’re going to be in school for the rest of your life.
All of your extra-major friends graduate when you become a super senior. And then a super-super senior.
11. Having bragging rights because you don’t have to take the PCAT to get into the professional program.
You’re basically in the program from the start, given that you maintain the GPA and professional GPA requirements. Take that, every other pharmacy school in the area.
12. Getting a little too used to the smell of formaldehyde and every other initially traumatizing experience coming from biomedical (specifically: anatomy) lab.
You almost passed out in the middle of your first rat dissection, and now you have no problem with eating your lunch while studying the incredibly detailed photographs of their insides in your lab manual.
13. Thinking you’re essentially Derek Shepherd and every other TV drama medical professional.
Dr. Shepherd is devastated because he lost a patient and you’re devastated because you just found out that you have two exams in the same day. #relatable
14. Memorizing what seems like ten thousand different drugs, what they’re used for, and every name they could possibly be called by.
And much more. Your brain is a warehouse for this field of knowledge. You low-key feel accomplished from this alone. Plus, you save cash by purchasing CVS-brand loratadine in place of Claritin.
15. Praying you won’t be scheduled to do your rotations 20 miles away from where you live.
You applied to work at the hospital that’s 5 minutes away from your house, but you already know you’re going to be assigned to the site that’s on the other side of the world.
16. Consolidating notes with your classmates, because Google Docs is life.
No PowerPoint? No problem. When you and all of your friends are typing notes on the same shared document, you’re guaranteed not to miss out on important information no matter how quickly your professor goes through the lecture. #squadgoals
17. Having Blackboard make or break your day.
You refresh the page at least ten times daily when you just know that your grades will be posted. May the odds be ever in your favor.
18. Seeing that this isn’t just an ordinary hexagon.
As a pharmacy major at SJU, never in your life do you want to hear the term “cyclohexane” again.
19. Putting your arms through your white coat for the first time.
Your third year being your first professional year is motivation enough to keep you going when classes begin to get tougher. The White Coat Ceremony is essentially “graduation day #1” and when your name is called and your coat is put on you, you feel a sense of accomplishment and determination to fulfill your goals as a pharmacy student—but you’re also itching to fast-forward through the next four years and graduate for real, already!
20. Looking forward to meaningfully having “Doctor” added to your name at the finish line.
All of the hard work and sleepless nights as a pharmacy major at SJU will pay off on graduation day, when you receive your Pharm.D. You’ll finally see yourself making a difference in healthcare and medicine—making the world a better place, one patient at a time (after you pass the NAPLEX exam, of course).
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