The prospect of another semester of classes, assignments and exams is enough to make many students feel a little sick. But when students actually do become ill, they have a number of options in the State College area to get their medications.

Last fall, when Pat Murphy (sophomore-architectural engineering) was new to Penn State and needed a prescription drug, he got his prescription at home and was able to have it filled through an automated phone system at a pharmacy in State College. "I was surprised at how easy it was to get my prescription filled," Murphy said.

University Health Services maintains its own on-campus pharmacy in Ritenour Building to serve student needs, said Ellen Nagy, marketing manager for UHS. That pharmacy fills over 60,000 prescriptions each year, all reduced in price because of a Penn State subsidy. The most requested pills were birth control, the antibiotic amoxicillin and allergy medications.

UHS can't refill prescriptions from other pharmacies. They accept only written prescriptions from home physicians or UHS staff. Students can request refills from UHS by calling in or ordering online.

An alternative to UHS is to use one of the larger businesses in State College, such as CVS Pharmacy, 116 W. College Ave. CVS accepts all major insurance cards, said pharmacist Richard Nakles.

Nakles said another advantage of using town commercial pharmacies is the ability to get prescriptions transferred from other pharmacies. Students' home doctors can also call in new prescriptions.

Some pharmacies also allow parents to leave a credit card on file so students don't need to worry about copayments or other charges.