I was wondering what my chances of getting into pharmacy school are. I goofed around my first two years of college (was immature) and as a result I ended up re-taking some core courses like gen chem I/II and calculus I. Although I re-enrolled in those courses and got either a B or C, the D's really take a toll on my overall cumulative GPA. My stats are as followed:
- Cumulative GPA = 3.01
- Science GPA (low scores replaced with new scores) = 2.82
- Science GPA (low scores included) = 2.50
- Last 45 credit hours GPA = 3.11
- Academic Year 1 GPA = 2.32
- Academic Year 2 GPA = 2.37
- Academic Year 3 GPA = 2.59
- Academic Year 4 GPA = 3.75
- PCAT = NONE
- Degree = B.S. in Biological Science (UMD)
- Pharmacy Experience = 1 year CVS pharmacy technician
- Industry Experience = 3 years as analytical development research associate (biopharmaceuticals)
My biggest concern is landing an interview given my low overall GPA. I'm going to be straightforward with the admissions committee and tell them the truth regarding why I performed so poorly my first two years of undergrad.
I'm a responsible person now, married with a child, working full-time in industry now.
Please give me some input as to my realistic chances of landing an interview, thanks.
I think, your qualification is not so bad (I've seen worse on here). You show upward trend, evidenced in your last year of college. You completed a bachelor degree and pharmacy / industry work / research experience, and that is very good. You are also married and having a family and that could help adding to your characters.
Your cGPA is 3.01, which clears you for the cutoff line for pharmacy school application (most schools require a min cGPA ~ 2.50 - 2.75 to consider an application). So you might land some interviews alright to non-PCAT schools. For PCAT schools, you would need some good PCAT score (~60-70's percentile) .
But your sGPA is still under 3.0s (2.82).
IMHO the #1 concern of a typical adcom would be academic ability / performance, esp. you would like to get in to good schools (mid to top-tier). Thus, your effort now should be focused on showing adcoms that your academic ability / performance would not be a concern at all.
To do that, I think you should:
-retake or taking some courses (e.g. prereq, or upper level science courses) just to raise your sGPA at least to 3.0 as you are already very close (2.82)
-take the PCAT and score very well (you should aim for at least 80's percentile, ideally 90's)
-if you could, have your professors in science classes (even from the ones you retook) to write you excellent LORs. Just tell them your situation and ask them if they are willing to write excellent LORs for you.
In short, as of right now, I think you would have ~ 70+ % to land some interviews and about the same percentage to get an acceptance to some pharmacy schools provided you have a decent PCAT score (~ 60-70s's percentile) and apply to enough schools (I would apply to 7-12 schools) and wide enough range from new / unranked / low-tier schools to mid- / top-tier schools. For better schools, you need to have excellent PCAT (80's-90's), sGPA ~ 3.0+, and excellent LORs for the same chance for interviews and/or acceptance.
You will get in some pharmacy schools !! GL
