Do I still have a chance at pharmacy school?

[chicitygirl]

I am a student at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). Im going into my Junior year Fall 2011. My past academic experiences at SIU were not that good, considering I had an a personal issue/illness that played a big role in my grades. My freshman year I had a gpa of 1.846 for the first semester & had a gpa of 2.75 spring semester. My cumulative gpa for my freshman year was a 2.28. Sophomore year was even worse, my cumulative gpa at the moment is a 1.848. These horrible gpa's placed me on academic probation in school as well as ineligibility for financial aid.
I'm currently taking Physics 131, Math 122 & Macroeconomics at a community college this summer. Pharmacy is a career I have chosen because it is really what I wanted to do, however I understand that from this point on I have to focus & put my personal issue & past illness behind me to get a gpa close to 4.0 for each semester here on out. My original academic plan was to fulfill pre-pharmacy pre-reqs as well as complete a degree in Biological Science and then apply to a Pharmacy school. I spoke to a academic adviser at SIU & she completely shot me down, stating that Pharmacy school is not in my future and told me to change my academic plan solely based on continuing in completing a degree in Biological Science and to not finish off my pre-pharmacy pre-reqs. I also asked if transfering to a community college to raise my gpa would help at all, & she still told me that pharmacy is not an option.This really upset me, because I am fully aware of my capabilities & know that I can get good grades. I was in the honor roll my whole academic life, & graduated high school with a 3.5 gpa with merit awards in health care & was also on the honor roll. I know this doesn't count anymore, but just states that I was a good student until dealing with issues that i had faced during my first 2 years of college.
I'm worried that now after talking to an academic advisor, that getting into a Pharmacy school or becoming a Pharmacist is not in my future.

Is there really no chance of me getting admitted into any Pharmacy school? I would appreciate any honest opinions or advice.

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[Jabberwocky12]

I am a student at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). Im going into my Junior year Fall 2011. My past academic experiences at SIU were not that good, considering I had an a personal issue/illness that played a big role in my grades. My freshman year I had a gpa of 1.846 for the first semester & had a gpa of 2.75 spring semester. My cumulative gpa for my freshman year was a 2.28. Sophomore year was even worse, my cumulative gpa at the moment is a 1.848. These horrible gpa's placed me on academic probation in school as well as ineligibility for financial aid.
I'm currently taking Physics 131, Math 122 & Macroeconomics at a community college this summer. Pharmacy is a career I have chosen because it is really what I wanted to do, however I understand that from this point on I have to focus & put my personal issue & past illness behind me to get a gpa close to 4.0 for each semester here on out. My original academic plan was to fulfill pre-pharmacy pre-reqs as well as complete a degree in Biological Science and then apply to a Pharmacy school. I spoke to a academic adviser at SIU & she completely shot me down, stating that Pharmacy school is not in my future and told me to change my academic plan solely based on continuing in completing a degree in Biological Science and to not finish off my pre-pharmacy pre-reqs. I also asked if transfering to a community college to raise my gpa would help at all, & she still told me that pharmacy is not an option.This really upset me, because I am fully aware of my capabilities & know that I can get good grades. I was in the honor roll my whole academic life, & graduated high school with a 3.5 gpa with merit awards in health care & was also on the honor roll. I know this doesn't count anymore, but just states that I was a good student until dealing with issues that i had faced during my first 2 years of college.
I'm worried that now after talking to an academic advisor, that getting into a Pharmacy school or becoming a Pharmacist is not in my future.

Is there really no chance of me getting admitted into any Pharmacy school? I would appreciate any honest opinions or advice.

While there are still possibilities of getting into pharmacy school, your advisor was using past experiences as a correlation to future expectations. The majority of people who have your performance typically give up and the advisor might have have reason to believe you would be the same. Some advisors are also just giant dicks, so you be the judge on how that applies to you. You can still get into pharmacy school but you will have more work to do than the average bear, boo boo.

You will definitely need to get your GPA up. More than likely all of the classes you took the last 2 years will have to be retaken, so act like you have never been in school before.

You will need stellar LORs, ECs (both in pharmacy and not if possible) and work experience in 1-2 pharmacy settings would never hurt. Hospital and retail though retail at least would be beneficial.

A strong upward trend in grades and a strong PCAT will help most students out. Not all people grew up with mommy and daddy taking care of them and the worst problem a student has had was not getting a new car for graduation. Adcoms respect that and care about the applicant at the time of applying, not how they were when the initial grades were done.

We all make mistakes, I myself am one of them. Send me a PM if you want some more specifics but doing searches around here will show that a lot of people don't have 4.0s throughout college before being accepted.

Just find out what has happened before and fix it because the longer you wait before improving grades, the bigger the hole you have to pull yourself out from.

 

[crazybob]

I am a student at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). Im going into my Junior year Fall 2011. My past academic experiences at SIU were not that good, considering I had an a personal issue/illness that played a big role in my grades.

My freshman year I had a gpa of 1.846 for the first semester & had a gpa of 2.75 spring semester. My cumulative gpa for my freshman year was a 2.28.

Sophomore year was even worse, my cumulative gpa at the moment is a 1.848.

Are you able to retake the classes where you didn't do as well as you wanted?

I'm currently taking Physics 131, Math 122 & Macroeconomics at a community college this summer.

Is that General Physics?

What type of math is Math 122?

Are you taking all three in the same session?

My original academic plan was to fulfill pre-pharmacy pre-reqs as well as complete a degree in Biological Science and then apply to a Pharmacy school.

I would recommend completing a degree so that you will be more competitive.

I also asked if transfering to a community college to raise my gpa would help at all, & she still told me that pharmacy is not an option.

If I were going to retake those courses, I would do it at the original institution where they were offered. Then transfer to a community college for other courses that haven't been taken before.

 

[Passion4Sci]

A cGPA sub <2.0 is going to be a really, really deep hole to dig yourself out of even by re-taking all your failed classes and getting As in them. It's not impossible, but one thing that concerns me (and will likely trouble the AdCom also) is that you had such a horrible illness but didn't seek a temporary release from school! I can't imagine a university that wouldn't accommodate a student with a semester off for a verifiable, documented illness that severely interacts with his/her performance. That's neither here nor there now however you should have an answer ready for it and perhaps even address it in your PS...

Whatever happens you will need to create a distinct chasm between "then" and "now" and when you re-take the coursework, do it with gusto and persistence... because it's going to be a really big uphill battle. Apply widely and, IMO, take the PCAT after preparing very well for it. A 80-90th %tile score on the PCAT would go a long way in assuaging concerns that any prospective school would have about your ability to succeed in a rigorous academic setting.

 

[chicitygirl]

Yes I was able to retake them, I retook Chemistry with a high C & a B in the chem lab, I got a B in math so i didnt retake that. I got A's in English & got a B in psych. Im currently retaking MATH 122 b/c I got a D in it, although the D wasn't really my fault. I had to teach myself the math, & my advisor knew I had to b/c my math teacher was not a very good math teacher. He didnt teach math while in class, but rather made jokes & never finished a problem that he started. I'm retaking Chemistry 210 (inorganic chem) to get a better grade in fall 2011.

Physics 131 is general physics, Math 122 is Trig. & As previously stated, Yes I am taking all 3 (Physics, Math & MacroEcon) this summer. I have Physics lecture Mon/Wed 11-1:40pm, & Physics Lab Tues/Thurs 11-1:40pm; MacroEcon on Mon/Wed 6:30-9:45pm & Math 122 Tues/Thurs 6:30-9:45pm.

My plan is to fulfill pre-pharmacy prereqs while Bio Science class requirements to graduate w/ a degree in Bio Science. After graduating & getting the degree after 3yrs, I was planning to go to Pharmacy School - any of which I get admitted into.

Thanks for your reply/help! Really appreciate it!

 

[pharmschooler]

Concentrate on getting your degree first.

Even if you can hack it as a pharm student, that's an awfully low GPA to recover from and your subsequent low grades on your retakes aren't doing you much good so far.

At least a degree will prove you can set a goal and accomplish it. You might even take a few years off to work after getting a degree, then come back and do those prereqs again. I know that sounds like a long time from now, but it won't feel like that long, and some schools will look past early poor grades if you can come back a second time with a straight 4.0.

What Passion4Sci said about creating a distinct chasm between your grades/outlook on school/ability to succeed "then" vs. "now" is a very true statement, especially in this case.

I wish you the best. I've had classmates coming back years after a similar start. Some were very bright, and more capable students than I, but because of their early failures they had great difficulty gaining admission to professional programs.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

There are other ways to separate yourself from the bunch as well. Namely, your ECs, PCAT, and LORs.

ECs: Get a lot of work in leadership and in pharmacy; both at the same time would be stellar. Get employed, volunteer, whatever you need to do. Shadow pharmacists, work for multiple fields, get them to write you an LOR. Get some EC where you are leading others and teaching and communicating with people, both on your team and for the "lay people." That shows you have the abilities necessary to be a successful pharmacist. Research is nice but not as big of a deal as it is with medicine.

PCAT: This is the most standardized way to know how you're doing compared to others. Schools vary in difficulty for courses but the PCAT stays the same. If you can do an 80+ (or preferably a 90+) on the PCAT you show you are learning the material and it is sticking with you.

LOR: These get people to see who you are from other's perspective. Get a pharmacist or 2 to recommend you and have them do it well dammit! A science professor, pharmacist, and employer/volunteer manager are the best IMO depending on how many are necessary. This shows most of the facets you want the adcoms to see of you from a professional standpoint.

While not mentioned as much, your personal statement is key as well. You need people to see your life how you see it. Why pharmacy? What drives you and how are you prepared? A lot of people screw up grades and then improve, what made you change? Why should you be chosen with your old grades over someone else who didn't make those mistakes? You want the adcoms to believe you are going to be one helluva good pharmacist.

I do agree with completing a degree. Maybe even a masters or do something in healthcare and then re-enroll as a non-trad. Those people have less consideration for older, poor grades as a result. Plus it gets you some real world experience. my goal, since my GPA had a crappy year as well, is to work as a pharm tech in retail or a hospital for a year and get work experience, LOR, leadership, and everything. Then I also have my name in the books for possible intern experience later down the line.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jabberwocky12]

Oh and for the record, I never really need assistance from a pre-health advisor. The only use they have for me are getting me resources I cannot access myself or getting permits to enter certain classes like public speaking or communication classes.

Since they need to know so many areas- Vet, PT, optometry, med (DO vs MD), pharmacy, dent, podiatry, and etc. and etc. they don't have the specialized knowledge and background like you will find here on SDN.

Just do some search functions here and ask questions IF you can't find them, and we'll try to help.

 

[chicitygirl]

I'm really trying hard to get everything straightened out & figure out my options based on my academic experience from my home institution & financal aid ineligibility. As I've previously stated, I'm currently taking 3 classes with a total of 10 credit hours. I'm taking physics 131 (general physics), math 122 (trig) & MacroEconomics - which are all prereqs for both prepharmacy and biological science. Currently, I am getting A's in all 3 classes. I've come up with a couple of options that hopefully will work, please tell me if these are possible, which one is better, etc.

1) Since i'm put on ineligibility for financial aid at my home institution, my advisor told me I have no chance in pharmacy now, so I should just continue in getting a degree in biological science & fill out an academic plan that is based soley on biological science & she will approve it for me to get my financial aid back. After she approves it, I have to write a letter of appeal to get my financial aid back - in that letter, I plan on talking about my illness. My advisor also told me to also write about an "administrative error" - since appartently in her opinion I was put in the wrong program (pre-pharmacy program). After all that gets approved, I have to follow the academic plan based on finishing the biological science degree. I will then go to my home institution and continue in finishing requirements to get a degree in biological science. When I get my degree, I plan to go to a community college to finish off my prerequisites for prepharmacy, by then the only prereqs I would have to fulfill is sociology 108 (intro to sociology) & I also plan to retake some Chem 200 (since I got a C) to get an A - after I take those clases, I would have fulfilled all prereqs needed for Pharmacy School + a degree in Biological Science. I have already had a nonpaid internship at a retail pharmacy with some volunteer work done. I plan to add some pharmacy exposure such as work, job shadow, etc & also do more volunteer work & a health professions club. In the meantime, I'll be studying for the PCAT's, & hope to take it after I get the prereqs done & then apply to a pharmacy school. The only problem here is that work is very limited at my home institution b/c my school is located in a very very small town with only 2 walgreens, one wal-mart, & one hospital - which only gives me 4 pharmacies that I can get opportunities from, even if - these opportunities might not be given to me.

Another option is:

2) Instead of returning to my home institution (since its a low gpa), maybe I could transfer to the community college (that I'm currently attending for summer) for a year & take classes that pertain to both prepharmacy & biological science, & maintain my gpa here since I currently hold a gpa close to a 4.0 based on my A's in all 3 classes. After a year in CC, then transfer to UIC (university of illinois chicago) & finish off there - getting a degree in bioligical science & then apply to their UIC's pharmacy school. The only thing here is, that since i'm ineligibile for financial aid at my home instituion - it might affect my financial aid for community college this year if I do transfer, I dont know if my current good grades will play a factor in my financial aid eligibility for CC since I became ineligible for Financial Aid because my satisfactory academic progress was <2.0. But at home in chicago, in a big city, there's so many opportunities for me to find easily in terms of work, job shadow, volunteer work, etc...

Help?!?!

 

[pharmschooler]

I'd do the first plan. My friend who tried to dig herself out of her low GPA had issues with professional schools accepting her retake grades from chemistry because she retook the classes too soon (~1 year) after her first time taking them. That's why I'd do the degree first, then go back and do retakes later. Check on the policies with the colleges of pharmacy where you have interest, first, before taking my advice.

Good job getting your ducks in a row. Keep it up!

 

[phathead]

After my first two years in undergrad I had a GPA of 2.0 which included a lot of the core pre-reqs for pharm school.

It took an extra 3 and a half years of school, but I did get it up to a 3.0 and ultimately was accepted to five different schools.

Interesting you bring this up as I'm revising a draft for my site which follows a similar thought process to this.

My advice, seeing as I have been in your place, is this:

1) Do not strive for 4.0s every semester. Not only is it impractical, but it will cause you to go in a downward spiral while you continually fail to meet that goal. My GPA per semester increased every succeeding semester (except 1) and my last semester in undergrad I earned something like a 3.7

2) You really have to sit down and look at yourself and figure out why you did so poorly. It's scary, its uncomfortable and... it just sucks. But it's the only way you can learn from your mistakes and move on.

3) If you're looking at UIC or anything in that area, moving down to a CC will hurt your chances. You could do a year there to perhaps get your bearings back, but do not count on success there bringing too much to your application. I would go with option 1 and work on getting a degree. Having a BS/BA when applying often gives you a boost in the application process.

4) You need spectacular ECs. I chose to rely on extensive and varied pharmacy experience, but you don't have to go that route.

5) Ace the PCAT. Aim for 85 or higher and do not take it until you are completely ready.

It's going to be hard and it's going to suck.... I won't sugar-coat it. I sacrificed a lot during my time. I missed spending time with friends for several years, which sucks even more since one died suddenly last fall, but if it's what you want to do, you do it.

And when you get in, you go back to that adviser and tell them to kiss it. Cause that's what I did.

 

[cjflahave]

After my first two years in undergrad I had a GPA of 2.0 which included a lot of the core pre-reqs for pharm school.

It took an extra 3 and a half years of school, but I did get it up to a 3.0 and ultimately was accepted to five different schools.

Interesting you bring this up as I'm revising a draft for my site which follows a similar thought process to this.

My advice, seeing as I have been in your place, is this:

1) Do not strive for 4.0s every semester. Not only is it impractical, but it will cause you to go in a downward spiral while you continually fail to meet that goal. My GPA per semester increased every succeeding semester (except 1) and my last semester in undergrad I earned something like a 3.7

2) You really have to sit down and look at yourself and figure out why you did so poorly. It's scary, its uncomfortable and... it just sucks. But it's the only way you can learn from your mistakes and move on.

3) If you're looking at UIC or anything in that area, moving down to a CC will hurt your chances. You could do a year there to perhaps get your bearings back, but do not count on success there bringing too much to your application. I would go with option 1 and work on getting a degree. Having a BS/BA when applying often gives you a boost in the application process.

4) You need spectacular ECs. I chose to rely on extensive and varied pharmacy experience, but you don't have to go that route.

5) Ace the PCAT. Aim for 85 or higher and do not take it until you are completely ready.

It's going to be hard and it's going to suck.... I won't sugar-coat it. I sacrificed a lot during my time. I missed spending time with friends for several years, which sucks even more since one died suddenly last fall, but if it's what you want to do, you do it.

And when you get in, you go back to that adviser and tell them to kiss it. Cause that's what I did.

Same here.

I had GPA around 2.5 with a social science degree. I didn't know what I wanted to do my first time through college, so I did an easy major and partied often. My schooling was free due to my dad working at the college.

After deciding pharmacy is what I wanted to do, I went back to take all the science classes I didn't take my first time. I received a 3.5 or above each semester. I could have had it all done it two years, but I decided to do it in three so I could enjoy my summers. I also worked as a tech for those 3 years.

Like phathead said, it is going to be hard and suck, but you have to decide how bad you want it.

 

[Verily Verily]

I am a student at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). Im going into my Junior year Fall 2011. My past academic experiences at SIU were not that good, considering I had an a personal issue/illness that played a big role in my grades. My freshman year I had a gpa of 1.846 for the first semester & had a gpa of 2.75 spring semester. My cumulative gpa for my freshman year was a 2.28. Sophomore year was even worse, my cumulative gpa at the moment is a 1.848. These horrible gpa's placed me on academic probation in school as well as ineligibility for financial aid.
I'm currently taking Physics 131, Math 122 & Macroeconomics at a community college this summer. Pharmacy is a career I have chosen because it is really what I wanted to do, however I understand that from this point on I have to focus & put my personal issue & past illness behind me to get a gpa close to 4.0 for each semester here on out. My original academic plan was to fulfill pre-pharmacy pre-reqs as well as complete a degree in Biological Science and then apply to a Pharmacy school. I spoke to a academic adviser at SIU & she completely shot me down, stating that Pharmacy school is not in my future and told me to change my academic plan solely based on continuing in completing a degree in Biological Science and to not finish off my pre-pharmacy pre-reqs. I also asked if transfering to a community college to raise my gpa would help at all, & she still told me that pharmacy is not an option.This really upset me, because I am fully aware of my capabilities & know that I can get good grades. I was in the honor roll my whole academic life, & graduated high school with a 3.5 gpa with merit awards in health care & was also on the honor roll. I know this doesn't count anymore, but just states that I was a good student until dealing with issues that i had faced during my first 2 years of college.
I'm worried that now after talking to an academic advisor, that getting into a Pharmacy school or becoming a Pharmacist is not in my future.

Is there really no chance of me getting admitted into any Pharmacy school? I would appreciate any honest opinions or advice.

I was thinking to create a thread to ask basically the same question but since I've seen yours, not needed yet. Yea my situation is pretty much bad. I went to a community college not exactly sure if i wanted to do business but I did anyway just because I felt my first 2years of college experience should be best utilized working towards a degree than just taking random courses but that didn't work out the way I expected it to be. I ended up doing 3 years in college and being kicked out for academic probation with a staggering 1.71 gpa. I now have 6 D's on my record and mostly C's with 1 A and probably 1 or 2 B's. When I got kicked out I was so tight about me not being able to go back and finish my associates( I had 3 classes left)and Now its practically mandatory I transfer to a another Junior College and lose half my Credits(30+) my situation is that I missed about a year of possible schooling. However during this Depressive point of my life I came to look ahead and realized It was time to do what I have to do. I wanted to do Science where I felt that society most benefited from. I made a choice for chemistry which lead me to dreams about a Phd and now Pharmacy. Now I'm not even @ square 1, I'm actually in the negative...SO now My question is just the same. Do I still have a chance at pharmacy school?

 

[Passion4Sci]

I was thinking to create a thread to ask basically the same question but since I've seen yours, not needed yet. Yea my situation is pretty much bad. I went to a community college not exactly sure if i wanted to do business but I did anyway just because I felt my first 2years of college experience should be best utilized working towards a degree than just taking random courses but that didn't work out the way I expected it to be. I ended up doing 3 years in college and being kicked out for academic probation with a staggering 1.71 gpa. I now have 6 D's on my record and mostly C's with 1 A and probably 1 or 2 B's. When I got kicked out I was so tight about me not being able to go back and finish my associates( I had 3 classes left)and Now its practically mandatory I transfer to a another Junior College and lose half my Credits(30+) my situation is that I missed about a year of possible schooling. However during this Depressive point of my life I came to look ahead and realized It was time to do what I have to do. I wanted to do Science where I felt that society most benefited from. I made a choice for chemistry which lead me to dreams about a Phd and now Pharmacy. Now I'm not even @ square 1, I'm actually in the negative...SO now My question is just the same. Do I still have a chance at pharmacy school?

I am going to reply to your thread. Please don't double post in the future (this is a copy+paste from your thread, or vice versa). Don't do it.

 

[txgrl22]

Same here.

I had GPA around 2.5 with a social science degree. I didn't know what I wanted to do my first time through college, so I did an easy major and partied often. My schooling was free due to my dad working at the college.

After deciding pharmacy is what I wanted to do, I went back to take all the science classes I didn't take my first time. I received a 3.5 or above each semester. I could have had it all done it two years, but I decided to do it in three so I could enjoy my summers. I also worked as a tech for those 3 years.

Like phathead said, it is going to be hard and suck, but you have to decide how bad you want it.

I'm in the same situation! I'll be graduating with a 2.6 with a sociology degree this summer. I'm going back to take my science classes in the fall and I was just wondering if you had any other advice that oculd benefit me later on down the road? Was it difficult to work as a pharm tech & take classes at the same time?

 

[R2pharmD2]

My past academic experiences at SIU were not that good, considering I had an a personal issue/illness that played a big role in my grades. My freshman year I had a gpa of 1.846 for the first semester & had a gpa of 2.75 spring semester. My cumulative gpa for my freshman year was a 2.28. Sophomore year was even worse, my cumulative gpa at the moment is a 1.848. These horrible gpa's placed me on academic probation in school as well as ineligibility for financial aid.

My advisor also told me to also write about an "administrative error" - since appartently in her opinion I was put in the wrong program (pre-pharmacy program).

Im currently retaking MATH 122 b/c I got a D in it, although the D wasn't really my fault. I had to teach myself the math, & my advisor knew I had to b/c my math teacher was not a very good math teacher. He didnt teach math while in class, but rather made jokes & never finished a problem that he started.

I don't say this to be mean, but you need to take responsibility for your performance in school thus far. Being sick was out of your control, but continuing with school when you were clearly overwhelmed and blaming your poor grades on being placed in the wrong program or a bad professor screams of immaturity. Look, I've been there. I had a 2.6 when I dropped out of college, took some time off, got my **** together, came back and graduated with a 3.6 and got into my first choice pharmacy school. But I didn't go back and blame my failures on my circumstances at the time or on anyone else but me. I suggest you do the same, and then you might have a shot.

 

[chicitygirl]

I don't say this to be mean, but you need to take responsibility for your performance in school thus far. Being sick was out of your control, but continuing with school when you were clearly overwhelmed and blaming your poor grades on being placed in the wrong program or a bad professor screams of immaturity. Look, I've been there. I had a 2.6 when I dropped out of college, took some time off, got my **** together, came back and graduated with a 3.6 and got into my first choice pharmacy school. But I didn't go back and blame my failures on my circumstances at the time or on anyone else but me. I suggest you do the same, and then you might have a shot.

I do take responsibility for my grades. I didn't blame my poor GPA on anything else. If anything, I was explaining what I was going through while in the course of taking these prerequisites.

1) Yes I was sick and with what I had, it was hard to keep up with school or even go to the classes.

My advisor also told me to also write about an "administrative error" - since appartently in her opinion I was put in the wrong program (pre-pharmacy program).

2) I didn't blame my poor GPA on being in the wrong program. I stated, that my adviser told me to write about an "administrative error" in my letter of financial aid suspension appeal, because in her OPINION - the pre-pharmacy program was the wrong program for me to be placed in. I never once said, I had poor grades because I was in the wrong program. Even if, being placed in the wrong program or not is not an excuse for poor grades. And, I wasn't in the wrong program since pre-pharmacy is what I chose so that I could prep for pharmacy school.

3) I never blame my grade on a teacher except this one time. I went to math class everyday, and did not learn one thing. I only learned about a youtube video, some jokes, and my math teacher's personal life because he was going through a divorce and custody battle. I learned more teaching myself the math than from my own math teacher. I had to teach myself by buying a math book rather than teach myself through the book my teacher made himself. I tried, and as a matter of fact, my D was among the highest grades in the class.

I have refocused, that's why I have come up with two plans to get where I want to go. I just had a interview for CVS Caremark Corp a couple days ago *cross my fingers* that I get it. & I've had a non-paid pharmacy student internship in 2009 at Walgreens, where I filled prescriptions, dealt with customers, labeling, and med inventory and shadowed both Pharmacist & Pharmacy Tech. I've been doing volunteer work at two major hospitals in chicago, and am working on getting a health-care related job (hopefully pharmacy) while going to school. So far, I've maintained my A's in each summer class I'm taking as well as do volunteer work in between classes and on weekends.

I've read the posts regarding which plan I should take. Most of you suggest I remain at SIU and get my degree. I really want to transfer to the community college here since I've already maintained an A and attend the community college for at least a year to take courses to finish up prerequisites for pharmacy school as well as some required classes for biological science. While in school at the community college, I can still continue my volunteer work at the hospitals as well as get a job (these opportunities are very hard to obtain at SIU because it a small town where they lack alot of these opportunities). I was then going to apply to transfer at another institution (maybe UIC?) where I can get my biological science degree. After that, then apply to UIC's pharmacy school as well as other pharmacy schools

I have alot of connections with healthcare, and through my network I could get a job if I do stay home rather than go back to SIU. An internship at Blue Cross Blue Shield is in the works in the pharmacy department, I also have another job interview for North Shore. I'm still awaiting any other calls from other places I've applied to...

This is why I really want to stay here rather than go back to SIU, But according to everyone else on here, I guess that's not the suggest plan to take =/.

Is this really not a good plan of action? I also do have a financial issue that affects why I don't want to go to SIU. I've mentioned before about my financial ineligibility... However, I dont know if my financial ineligibility will also apply for the community college if I do transfer, I wont find out that answer til Monday. Even if it does apply, a community college is alot cheaper for my parents to pay for than SIU.

I've been really busy in terms of trying to get schoolwork together. This summer, I literally do not have a summer. I have class morning and nights and I end at 10pm. My only break of the day is from 2-6:00pm, and within that time I volunteer from 2-4pm, do homework/study til class starts at 6:30pm. I wake up early on weekends to get my homework done and also do homework that is listed for the next week, just so I get it done so that the free time I do have after volunteer work & before class - i use to study, as well as in the am before my my am class. Also on the weekends, I do volunteer work. And the time that's left, I spend with family and study -- This might not show much to some of you, but I am dedicated to getting this together and getting on the right track.

 

[BugzB]

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