Aha, I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask because I'm still doing the degree for my interest in the relevant subjects (biology, chemistry, biochemistry) but wanted a degree that would be useful to me upon graduation if I did decide to utilise that degree in my future career (hence pharmacy > medical science). But I will try my best:
- A lot of work and/or cramming (depending on how organised you are)
- A lot of stress as a result
- You actually learn chemical concepts and interesting biological stuff for once, but of course that makes it harder to grasp because it's real learning, not rote learning
- Several times I've thought of dropping and people have also wondered whether it's the right course for them--it is a lot of work after all!
Um, the timetabling varies a bit from semester to semester--I had 2 3-hour breaks two days in semester 1, 2006 so of course that meant I was spending more than 30 hours at uni a week. As opposed to last semester, when I had some Fridays off (not every week, but I got in at least 3-4 Fridays off for the whole 13 week semester).
Generally the subjects are split so that everyone is good at
something --I was the biology/psychology group as opposed to the majority chemistry/mathematics group, and in both semesters 1 and 2 (year 1, that is), you get to visit a community pharmacy and make notes. You also have the opportunity to interview someone with a chronic illness and then write up a report on the psychology of illness (quoting your interviewee as an example)--haha, can you tell I absolutely love this?
Then there's the standard human biology
(preceded by an utterly gay biology course, no matter whether you do the "Beginners" or "Continuers" course, in semester 1), chemistry, statistics (first semester only--utterly hated it) and pharmaceutical calculations. So there's a bit of something for everyone there--hopefully I've answered your question?
Please feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!