GPA: 2.9 (I'm serious.) 2 + 4 program. P1 = ~2.1, P2 = ~2.3, P3 = 3.8, P4 so far = 3.8
No leadership positions. Member of ASHP, ACCP, and my state organization. I've attended my state organization conference for the past two years and ASHP midyear this year.
I'm in the process of getting a paper published in a minor peer-reviewed journal.
I've volunteered at diabetes fairs, pharmacy advocacy things, and in two free clinics.. including an inner-city one in a rather bad city.
No work experience whatsoever. I've never had a job in my life. I tried finding one last year but absolutely no one was hiring.
Applied: 8
Interviewed: 2
Matched at my first choice, a small hospital where I had an introductory experiential in my P3 year.
Everyone loves a redemption story. I messed up big early on in pharmacy school. I knew that I had dug myself into a deep hole so starting the summer before P3 I went into overdrive. I read DiPiro and Goodman & Gilman for fun. I worked on my ability to quote studies. I went to every single networking-type event and made a point to introduce myself to anyone and everyone. I volunteered at every single volunteer opportunity that my school provided.
I completely shut down my non-pharmacy social life. On days when I didn't have a volunteer thing or networking thing, I studied from the moment I got home until the moment I went to bed. I downloaded Anki, a flashcard maker, and made over 10,000 flashcards over the course of the year. Anki uses a timed method to show you flashcards so I reviewed everything the entire year through.
I went to CV-writing classes. I came up with a killer personal statement. I was honest, I admitted to screwing up and did my best to frame it as my humbling moment. The period in which I discovered that I wasn't God's gift to pharmacy, that I had to get my ass in line, and the period in which I absolutely fell in love with the profession.
I put my absolute 100% best in on my rotations, especially those taught by intimidating professors. Letters of rec will get you a long way, especially if they're written by someone known to be intimidating.
I had my introductory institutional experience at the hospital that I matched with. When things were slow, I'd ask the pharmacy manager whether she had any extra projects that I could work on. Not things for a grade, just things to help out the hospital and better patient outcomes. For my assignments, I wrote well researched papers that I think went well beyond what they were expecting. My preceptors actually learned things from them and saved them to use as examples for future students. I think that helped a lot, too.
