2.85 GPA. Where do go?

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audxyang

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My GPA is 2.85 and my science GPA is 2.9.
I am a junior in college and I'm trying to improve my grade.

Which school should I apply to?

I am considering LIU, ACPHS, NOVA, and LECOM.

Do I have a chance?
 
audxyang said:
My GPA is 2.85 and my science GPA is 2.9.
I am a junior in college and I'm trying to improve my grade.

Which school should I apply to?

I am considering LIU, ACPHS, NOVA, and LECOM.

Do I have a chance?
Click to expand...

NOVA! They only require 2.0 GPA
 
Melazine said:
pharmacy schools no longer requre a valid GPA due to lack of applicants and poor job outlook for the graduates. You can apply anywhere.
Click to expand...
I saw some of my friends got rejected because their GPA was not good enough (2.80ish~) and PCAT is ~40 percentile
 
audxyang said:
I saw some of my friends got rejected because their GPA was not good enough (2.80ish~) and PCAT is ~40 percentile
Click to expand...
I'm sorry that your friends got rejected, it must have been their bad luck. I would not trust the GPA requirements on their websites. I knew plenty of people got into pharmacy school with GPA <3.0. However, you should seriously consider reading the pharmacy forum before applying to any pharmacy school (see links below). The job market and pharmacy board exam pass rates are very low right now. ACPHS has the highest NAPLEX pass rate among the schools you mentioned, but the education I got from there was disappointing. Very rude professors and students. Tuition increases every year. Two of my classmates graduated ACPHS in 2016, one of them finally got a job in 2018, she only works 2 hours a week with less than $30/hour pay rate. The other friend (who was not born in the US) gave up and became a housewife. Although they all got in with >3.5 GPA, but it didn't matter. I even got a phone call from a despirate pharmacy resident the other day asking if we were hiring. Sigh....

Please read: NAPLEX pass rate, Pharmacy job outlook? , I feel so bad for each and everyone of you, How bad is the job market in your area?, Insight and Regrets of Pharmacy Students

Once you have read all those, please educate your parents or friends if they suggested pharmacy. If this was your dream career, I'm sure none of these discouragments matter, right?

Best of luck!
 
Last edited:
Melazine said:
I'm sorry that your friends got rejected, it must have been their bad luck. I would not trust the GPA requirements on their websites. I knew plenty of people got into pharmacy school with GPA <3.0. However, you should seriously consider reading the pharmacy forum before applying to any pharmacy school (see links below). The job market and pharmacy board exam pass rates are very low right now. ACPHS has the highest NAPLEX pass rate among the schools you mentioned, but the education I got from there was disappointing. Very rude professors and students. Tuition increases every year. Two of my classmates graduated ACPHS in 2016, one of them finally got a job in 2018, she only works 2 hours a week with less than $30/hour pay rate. The other friend (who was not born in the US) gave up and became a housewife. Although they all got in with >3.5 GPA, but it didn't matter. I even got a phone call from a despirate pharmacy resident the other day asking if we were hiring. Sigh....



Once you have read all those, please educate your parents or friends if they suggested pharmacy. If this was your dream career, I'm sure none of these discouragments matter, right?

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

Tbh i need to get into pharm school so I can stay in the US for couple more years, and then the PharmD degree will help a lot once I come back to my country and get a good job. (I am international student)

I am studying for PCAT and still have Orgo chem, microbiology classes to improve my GPA.

However I don't have any pharm experience.

Do I have a chance? I am very worried...
 
audxyang said:
Tbh i need to get into pharm school so I can stay in the US for couple more years, and then the PharmD degree will help a lot once I come back to my country and get a good job. (I am international student)

I am studying for PCAT and still have Orgo chem, microbiology classes to improve my GPA.

However I don't have any pharm experience.

Do I have a chance? I am very worried...
Click to expand...

Ahh I see. Yes you have a chance, just apply to them all if you don't care about the job market in the US. ACPHS has a Vermont campus too, they have been short on applicants. It's a tough school though, I knew quite a few people dropped out midway. Get some volunteer experiences in pharmacy might help.
 
Melazine said:
Ahh I see. Yes you have a chance, just apply to them all if you don't care about the job market in the US. ACPHS has a Vermont campus too, they have been short on applicants. It's a tough school though, I knew quite a few people dropped out midway. Get some volunteer experiences in pharmacy might help.
Click to expand...
thank you! I applied to CVS and Walgreens but I got rejected because i didn't have retail experience, still trying...
 
audxyang said:
My GPA is 2.85 and my science GPA is 2.9.
I am a junior in college and I'm trying to improve my grade.

Which school should I apply to?

I am considering LIU, ACPHS, NOVA, and LECOM.

Do I have a chance?
Click to expand...
Just with that, probably not. You need to add other things. I have a lower GPA but I got accepted to 2 out of 2 schools I interviewed at so far. Still got more interviews too. I have good EC's, including president of a sorority, 2+ years volunteering at Planned Parenthood, 1+ years pharm tech, and (technically) non-traditional applicant bc I left college and went back after 2 years.

Sent from my LG-H870DS using SDN mobile
 
Getting into pharmacy school is no longer much of an accomplishment now that practically anyone who is willing to sign away $200k+ in loans can get in.
 
Do not listen to these people up here! super discouraging & false statements about job market and stuff. Go forward if you want to be in this field. Apply to schools and willing to relocate for internship and jobs.
 
Pharm0112 said:
Do not listen to these people up here! super discouraging & false statements about job market and stuff. Go forward if you want to be in this field. Apply to schools and willing to relocate for internship and jobs.
Click to expand...

Speaking of false advertisements about the job market, are you referring to the pharmacy schools that keep claiming there will be a shortage of pharmacists and will accept almost anyone who applies so that they can collect $200k per head?
 
Pharm0112 said:
Do not listen to these people up here! super discouraging & false statements about job market and stuff. Go forward if you want to be in this field. Apply to schools and willing to relocate for internship and jobs.
Click to expand...
They're not wrong about the job market. but it's up to each person to make an informed decision by doing their own research in conjunction with statements from actual pharmacists who are just reporting what they see in their field.
 
I have 2.85 GPA haven't taken anatomy and physiology yet..No pharmacy volunteer experience but I have

a lot of research experience (USDA and university )

emergency department volunteer hours

Leadership experience: student government senator for 2 years, leadership award, leadership training certificate

Work: private tutor, retail associAte and intern at leukemia lymphoma society

I did not take PCAT because some pharmacy schools does not require it

Do I have a chance to ANY pharmacy school ?
 
Jaderose said:
I have 2.85 GPA haven't taken anatomy and physiology yet..No pharmacy volunteer experience but I have

a lot of research experience (USDA and university )

emergency department volunteer hours

Leadership experience: student government senator for 2 years, leadership award, leadership training certificate

Work: private tutor, retail associAte and intern at leukemia lymphoma society

I did not take PCAT because some pharmacy schools does not require it

Do I have a chance to ANY pharmacy school ?
Click to expand...
How are your chemistry (Gen Chems, Ochems, and Biochems) scores?
Do you have any pharmacy experience (shadowing, volunteer, or work experience)?
 
Who knows, maybe you can just show up on the first day of class to see if a school has any seats open. I'm sure there are plenty of schools that would love to fill their seats.
 
Jaderose said:
I have 2.85 GPA haven't taken anatomy and physiology yet..No pharmacy volunteer experience but I have
a lot of research experience (USDA and university )
emergency department volunteer hours
Leadership experience: student government senator for 2 years, leadership award, leadership training certificate
Work: private tutor, retail associAte and intern at leukemia lymphoma society
I did not take PCAT because some pharmacy schools does not require it
Do I have a chance to ANY pharmacy school ?
Click to expand...

1) Yes, you have a chance on many pharmacy schools. Some pharmacy schools have lengthened their deadline, because they haven't received enough applicants to fill their seats. There are plenty of posts on here, from people who've been accepted to pharmacy school with lower than the supposed minimum requirements.

2) Have you taken Organic Chemistry yet? Why do you want to go into pharmacy? You need to be finishing your required classes and get some actual experience working in a pharmacy, before you start thinking of applying to pharmacy school.
 
With that GPA I don’t think you’ll get in anywhere tbh. Maybe if you apply early in the cycle, maybe if apply to some of the bottom feeder schools.

If you do get in somewhere, do you think you can get past the hard science courses?

Pharmacy isn’t the best career option right now. Dont just look at the salary figures and think it’s an easy way to make money. The easiest part is getting accepted to pharmacy school. Think about it.
 
Silverpolish said:
Just with that, probably not. You need to add other things. I have a lower GPA but I got accepted to 2 out of 2 schools I interviewed at so far. Still got more interviews too. I have good EC's, including president of a sorority, 2+ years volunteering at Planned Parenthood, 1+ years pharm tech, and (technically) non-traditional applicant bc I left college and went back after 2 years.
Any tips? I have a low gpa as well
Sent from my LG-H870DS using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
Can you give any tips? I have a low gpa as well and I’m trying to get into Pharmacy school?
 
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