OT: Always Wear Underwear
 

Hi Guys

To those people out there who have low PCAT and GPA'as and have given up all their hopes.
here is my success story

took the pcat for the first time back in 2007 and got a 38 percent, and didnt get accepted for 2008 cycle with 2 yr's of college coursework.

so i took the pcat again this august and got a 21 total. had already recived my BS in pharmaceutical science in june, and was enrolled in the MS in pharmaceutical analysis. my BS GPA was 3.31.
so so far nothing competitive or special

I had worked at CVS for total of 3 years, and had also done my BS internship at GSK (Glaxo Smith Kline) for 6 months.

I applied to 6 schools and got rejected from 2 right on spot. one school gave me an interview back in october. I was like well heck with it i dont care anymore, i know i'm not gonna get accepted, this is gonna be a joke walking infront of admission comittee with a 21 pcat score.
anyways i was brave enough to spend 1200 dollars for a trip to the school's location for an interview.

At the interview i just decided not to think of the low pcat and avarage gpa but more of WHY i want to be a pharmacist, and not what good grades i wish i had or what fantastic PCAT scores i wish i had recived.

anyways the interview went pretty well and i came back home in a depressed manner, since i knew there was NO WAY for a person to get into Doctor of Pharmacy with a 21 or 34 pcat.

interview was on a wednesday, i got back home on thursday and guess what???
they called me on friday letting me know that i was accepted........
everything has changed for me since then. I'm glad there are still school's out there that dont just look at what's on papaer but rather what's in your heart and who you really are.

so now i pulled out of the MS program. i dont have to take any pre-req's since i have my BS and have the spring semester all to myself til August '10.

Moral of Story.....
NEVER GIVE UP... I'm sure you guys have waaaay better stats than i do, and if i did it im sure you all can do it too. dont worry if you have a low pcat. keep your head up and go for it.
GOOD LUCK

Congratulations!!:) Thanks for sharing! That is inspiring! Best of luck to you in 2010!

*Just to clarify* The inspirational part is not that one may struggle with a standardized exam and still gain rx school admittance, rather Campbell did not give up on themselves. I'm also curious now, what school?

I would say the following:


I read the title of your thread and almost got teary eyed. Congratulations - clearly, this is very happy news and a big celebration is due !


Go out with your family and have an incredible dinner. I still vividly remember the awesome and delicious food I ate with my family when celebrating last year my acceptance ( pic below) !

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...thPORKCHOP.jpg


I am concerned somewhat about your pcat score and what it could potentially mean it terms of your readiness to handle rigors of pharmacy school. However, I also think the fact that you got admitted means that admissions comittee finds you academically prepared to handle pharmacy school.

You have a clean start so if you get your stuff together and develop good study habbits, you should succeed.

I have respect for you based on your posting history but don't ruin his happy moment.

If he's not ready, he'll flunk out - simple as that.

If he's ready, he's handle it just fine.

I talked about this with my boyfriend: what really makes each one of us so very special that we are where we are ?

Am I UCSF material ? I'm around people that have written books, published research publications, graduated from law school, and these people are my classmates. Am I good enough to be where I am ?

He or she clearly had something extrardinary about him that with such pardon me, crappy stats, he got admitted nevertheless.

Let's not spoil what may be the happiest moment in his life.

agree!

Good story. Congrats! I wish you success in pharmacy school next year.

I actually agree with this statement. I could be drunk, stoned and have one eye and one hand and still score better than that on the PCAT.

I hope that's not a reflection of your true academic abilities, but if it is I hope to never have to call you a colleague.

Doing that bad on a GPA and that bad on the PCAT should not equal acceptance.

I hate to post again in this thread, but for christ's sake he has a 3.31 GPA - that's not nearly that bad of a GPA. That's about what I had when I graduated - and I've had As and B+s in most pre-reqs and almost all As in upper division. It's a B average at least and based on the amount of credits he took, it's a decent GPA to have.

Yes, his PCAT score is terribly low, but GPA is not nearly as bad as you make it out to be. GPA is subjective measure, a person can have a 4.0 in liberal arts and be hell of a lot less prepared for pharm school than someone with a 3.4 in biochemistry let's say. GPA fluffling practices exist too - think about how hard it is to keep up good GPA for 5 years it takes you to complete your BS. vs 2 years to complete your pre-reqs.

Read last year's threads if you want to see exactly how many interviews I got with that GPA.

I congratulate you on your acceptance! I am not pleased however about the negetive posts from a couple of our more pessemistic friends. I can assure you however that they have not earned the right to make those statements since I am certain that they do not sit on the admissions committee of pharmacy school in this country. I am also applying to pharmacy school for 2010 and I am currently 44 years old. My GPA is currently a 3.48 and I was in the 54th percentile on the PCAT. Not a real stellar performance by some peoples standards but when you take into account the fact that my wife and I had 9 children at home when I started school, I worked between 50-55 hours every week as a manager of a wholesale supply house, and still attended school at night for never less than 12 but sometimes as much as 15 credit hours a semester, and I also worked at a retail pharmacy for 10-12 hours on the weekends, it brings the GPA and the PCAT scores into a new light. There are alot of people that need to understand that it is not necessarily how you score on a test that determines your success or failure, but the character that you exhibit along the way! Any self respecting admissions commitee realizes this and they certainly must have realized it with you!! You took your early defeats and went back and built a stronger foundation, and more importantly you built character by not quiting and investing the $1200 into building your future.
I find it funny that some of the comments made were directed at being able to handle the rigors of pharmacy school. These types of comments are usually made by someone who has not developed the maturity to understand many of life's experiences, or has not developed a strong work ethic. Of course pharmacy school is demanding and rigorous, but so is having a family, working full time and going to school full time, starting a new job, or a myriad of other life experiences that most people deal with everyday!
I am personally proud of your accomplishment, and I am thankful that there are pharmacy schools out there that recognize a persons character and work ethic over ones ability to score good on a test! Good luck to you!!

Oh it's inspiring, most people would realize that pharmacy is not for them with such low pcat scores. However, Campbell said "F" the pcat and figured they were outside of the pcat standardization confine. Campbell knew they had more to offer than test results and apparently an admissions board did as well. If I got those scores twice I would be applying to PA school. ;)

I'm Inspired!!!:thumbup:

Congrats, OP! :thumbup:

I am very happy to hear your not-a-quitter story.. Congrat. OP !!! TIME TO PARTYYYYYY LIKE NEVER BEFORE !!! Enjoy the holiday everyone ..

Campbell,

I am not surprised you got in.

What is your ethnic background?

Nice post.

Just remember we're on SDN. There's a blunt bunch of people on here. I guess they overlook the fact that this particular pharmacy school saw potential in this candidate, whereas some people on here are questioning this person's credentials given his/her PCAT score. The PCAT isn't even required by all schools nationwide. I don't even think there is concrete evidence to prove it's a reliable predictor of success in pharmacy school. If there's one thing the OP can take from all the hate on here it's to prove these suckas on SDNs wrong by acing courses in pharmacy school. I'm always cheering for the underdogs!

It's a nice story, but it's a rare one. Some pharmacy schools make their first round of cuts based strictly on the numbers (PCAT, GPA, etc). Obviously this school did not make these cuts, so congratulations to the OP.

He got into Ole Miss, according to his previous posts.

Totally did not read that as 3.31 when I read that last night. I retract that part of my post then

:thumbup: +9

Nothing to contribute besides asking Cheb why she isn't choosing to go to the moon anymore.

Congratulation OP! You have made it to pharmacy school. I wish you do the best on pharmacy school.

Yeah, Star Trek > Avatar

:meanie:

I disagree with you, my big brother in the pharmacy fraternity I joined a couple of semesters ago is about to hit rotations and he made a 48 on the PCAT. He's also Rho Chi and will graduate Magna Cum Laude (I hope I spelled that right).

A low PCAT does not determine how someone will do in pharmacy school, don't be silly.

Jeeez, some of you guys...

The guy makes a post telling how he got accepted to pharmacy school (which is his dream), telling other people if they are in similar situations, that its not IMPOSSIBLE to get in despite a terrible pcat score...

And you guys shoot him down, WELL, YOU SHOULDNT BE IN PHARMACY SCHOOL NA NA NA NA *points finger*
How childish is that? Hold your words, what good is it telling someone online that they shouldn't in fact be in school when a whole board of people decided he should be?
I mean comeon, thats childish.
The dude got into school, be happy for him. Sure, maybe he shouldn't be in pharmacy school, but do you really need to tell him that?
As someone already previously stated, if he can't handle the coursework, he'll flunk out, if he survives, then he really is qualified to be in pharmacy school.

And yeah, a high pcat score doesn't mean you're going to do super awesome in pharmacy school and vice versa... it may be a good indicator, but by no means a do all end all. Obviously the adcom felt that he was a qualified individual, despite the pcat score.

I know tons of individuals who bomb standardized tests, but are in fact very very smart. Remember, standardized test apart from everything else prolly test your ability to answer questinos correctly under extreme time pressures.
Last time I checked, professionals, whether it be lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, WHATEVER, don't have to answer 60 questions in 30 minutes in the real world. Some people don't operate well under time crunches..
Some people may need an extra minute or so to figure something out, but understand it just as well, if not better.

Jeez

I like Avatar now :(, I should get off SDN for a couple days - so much studying too do. :(

These guys just like to sit in their chair thinking they're the king of the castle, king of the castle, oh go do this go do this.

Just don't drink their kool-aid, it can mess you up.

let me just clarify some stuff

1. i think they went with my 07 pcat ( idont remember what it was but iguess it was between 37 to 43)
2. thank for positive feedbacks and those negative one really got me. now i'm having doubt about my acceptance. but i have my letter and a copy of the check that they cashed to reserve my seat.
so they cant call me and tell me that they have changed their mind. hahaha that would be aweful. I dont really know what's gonna happen to me if they change their mind. oh god????????????????????

As long as they cash your check, the deal is sealed. Congratulation again, dont worry about your Pcat. I have friends that score 92 on the Pcat, and I scored 80% and I am one of very top students in class while he is a C student. I say this to prove that Pcat do not reflect your ability to succeed in Pharmacy school but patience and dedication play a main role of your success.

+11

no offense to the op but considering how easy of a test the PCAT this is rather depressing. in all honesty the PCAT is a complete joke... even if english is your second language one should still be able to pull AT LEAST a 70% on this test.

Troll post? Don't most schools use a computer first to weed out all the really low scores?? (I doubt any school actually reads all their applications, no way will anyone have that kind of time on their hands...they will most likely only read the applications that meet certain score cut offs only) The computer will throw the application in the trash pile before a real person can actually read it. I question the validity of this post as well.

well thank god the school im applying to had an average PCAT below your standards. congrats the PCAT is easy for you, but not all people are blessed with the ability to do well on standardized tests.

I enjoyed your story campbell, thanks for sharing! dont get discouraged by some negative feedback online. as long as you have confidence in your ability to do well in pharmacy school, thats all that matters..
besides, not all pharm schools are super competitive. im applying with a 45 PCAT composite (my horrendous reading and verbal scores brought it down) and a 3.6 GPA. I didn't score up to par on the SAT either but still managed to make deans every quarter while taking the science/math pre-pharm courseload.I have worked in a pharmacy for two years so I know what Im getting myself into and thats all that matters. :thumbup:

actually, an admissions officer once informed us that someone with a PCAT score as low as 13 had gotten accepted. why would they weed out low scores and and low gpas when each school has admissions requirements to begins with? it be would like encouraging people who really don't stand a chance to waste time and money in applying to pharmacy school.

thank god indeed. being able to do well on standardized tests is not a "blessing". being able to perform under pressure is an essential characteristic that every pharmacist should have.

Pharmacy schools recieve thousands of applications each year. There is no way in hell they will have time to read even half of those applications. Therefore they most likely take the money of all those applications but only read the ones that MEET their standards. A low GPA and low PCAT application will most likely be thrown into the trash can before any human actually opens it and read it.

Why will they weed out low scores and low gpas?? b/c like you said those people don't stand a chance. They can apply and the school will love to take their money, but they will not get accepted or even looked at. Reading applications take TIME and I doubt anyone will read a application that doesn't meet with the standards.

Thats a good point, a lot of pharmacy schools are like that but I know for a fact that I the one I'm applying to isn't like that.

i agree that pharmacists must have the ability to do well under pressure but lets be realistic, whats tested on the PCAT is nothing like everyday tasks of a pharmacist. I have worked under several pharmacists, including 60+ yr old guys who I am sure have the ability to find integrals, list the details of glycolosis and know the exact result of an acid catalyzed rxn between an ester and alcohol. so the next time a new grad pharmacist who scored in the 90th percentile on the pcat asks me (a tech) for help resolving an insurance problem, I will tell them that they should know because of their steller PCAT score.

It's like what I've always been told, there's academia's way of doing things and then there's the real world's way of doing thing.

I agree ^

No offense, but don't you go to St John's? That's a 0-6 program. You're not even required to take the PCAT, right? Just wondering

Ohh ok. Just curious. I don't know too much about St John Fisher, except that it's a pricey school in a desirable location. I was always under the impression that it was a 0-6 school, but I guess I'm wrong. Best of luck to you though.

I haven't taken the PCAT yet because none of the schools I've applied to requires it...although on practice tests, I've been scoring around 80-85 overall. It's not a difficult exam, but I totally understand why people struggle with it.

congrats!!!
I agree with everyone else, PCAT score is only used to weed people who aren't motivated, determined and passionate about pharmacy OUT. It's not used to measure whether or not you're going to be a GREAT PHARMACIST. same with GPA, I Know people who 4.0 GPA's but have no common sense and people who do great on standardized testing and have low GPA's. Although, PCAT shows something, it does not show everything.

Although, you're PCAT could use some improvement, you can show that through hard work in pharmacy school since you've been given the opportunity :)


Take Irish's comment and use it to motivate yourself to prove him wrong :)

CONGRATS again!

We got trolled, look at OP.

I knew it!!!! Oh and the lowest PCAT score in my class that I heard of is a 58...so I figure it couldn't be any lower than that in real life. LOL...

[QUOTE=IrishHammer;8918660] I took the PCAT before having taken Biology II and Organic Chemistry, so i barely knew anything in those sections. Still got 79th percentile overall.[/QUOTE]


For your PCAT scores, congrats, but for the rest of us Earthlins the exam is not easy. The PCAT is important but 14 schools that doesn't requires applicants to take it do prove that it is not vital to ones success in pharmacy school. For example, Washington State University doesn't need the PCAT yet it's ranked higher that St. John. :idea:

Hey guys I'm new to this forum, what exactly entails a "troll?" And what motivates one to do such a "troll?" Just to "F" with us?

WSU will indeed have PCAT next year. This is the last year. Too many applicants, they need their "weeding" tool. :laugh: