I go to Texas A&M and had a rough semester this past semester.
3.0-3.3 GPA good enough for Texas Pharmacy Schools?
- Thread starter Cplay7
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sure why not. study & work harder.
Most schools look at a variety of factors for making a decision, GPA being one of them. I think schools can be fairly forgiving if you have one bad semester, so long as you learn from your mistake, and have a decisively upward trend. We all have rough patches in life, and many admissions committees realize that. They just want to make sure that the bad grades are an anomaly, not the trend. One of the most important things is to be able to self-reflect and figure out what went wrong, and what can you do to improve. Did you take too many classes that semester? Spent too much time with extracurricular activities which didn't leave enough time to study? Spent too much time procrastinating and not using time efficiently?
Besides GPA, admissions committees also look in involvement in extracurricular, leadership experience and dedication to the profession. If you haven't done so already, I would highly recommend you look into becoming a pharmacy technician and getting some pharmacy experience. Being a well-rounded individual with lots of leadership and pharmacy experience can often help offset a lower GPA.
The last piece of the puzzle is performing well on the PCAT. The test is not difficult, so long as you are sufficiently prepared. In addition to refreshing up on your chemistry, math, biology and whatnot, one of the most important parts is practicing the test format, which I think was the most challenging aspect. Taking practice exams on the computer and becoming familiar with the test format can really help reduce anxiety on the test day, and insure you can perform to the best of your ability.
When are you planning on applying? If you've got a year or two, you definitely have time to turn things around. Don't get discouraged!
Maybe you will find some inspiration with my story. I'm a non-traditional student, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Education in 2008. My grades were pretty hit or miss, and I had a noticeably downward trend over the four years, since I stopped putting effort into my school work and didn't really study. I ended up graduating with a 3.3 GPA, but one that was riddled with C's and even some F's. When I decided to go back to school to do prereqs for pharmacy school, I decided to get my act together, change my study habits, and for the past few years I've managed to get A's in all of my classes, pulling my overall GPA up to a 3.5. I studied really hard and scored a 99 composite on the PCAT. I've also been a pharmacy technician for 4 years now. I've recently been accepted into UT Austin, and am very excited to start school in the fall.
Anything is possible! Good luck to you.
Besides GPA, admissions committees also look in involvement in extracurricular, leadership experience and dedication to the profession. If you haven't done so already, I would highly recommend you look into becoming a pharmacy technician and getting some pharmacy experience. Being a well-rounded individual with lots of leadership and pharmacy experience can often help offset a lower GPA.
The last piece of the puzzle is performing well on the PCAT. The test is not difficult, so long as you are sufficiently prepared. In addition to refreshing up on your chemistry, math, biology and whatnot, one of the most important parts is practicing the test format, which I think was the most challenging aspect. Taking practice exams on the computer and becoming familiar with the test format can really help reduce anxiety on the test day, and insure you can perform to the best of your ability.
When are you planning on applying? If you've got a year or two, you definitely have time to turn things around. Don't get discouraged!
Maybe you will find some inspiration with my story. I'm a non-traditional student, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Education in 2008. My grades were pretty hit or miss, and I had a noticeably downward trend over the four years, since I stopped putting effort into my school work and didn't really study. I ended up graduating with a 3.3 GPA, but one that was riddled with C's and even some F's. When I decided to go back to school to do prereqs for pharmacy school, I decided to get my act together, change my study habits, and for the past few years I've managed to get A's in all of my classes, pulling my overall GPA up to a 3.5. I studied really hard and scored a 99 composite on the PCAT. I've also been a pharmacy technician for 4 years now. I've recently been accepted into UT Austin, and am very excited to start school in the fall.
Anything is possible! Good luck to you.
I had a 3.05 GPA and got accepted into all 4 schools I interviewed at (1 school didn't invite my for interview).
4/5 isn't bad for a 3.05 GPA, so I'd say your chances are good.
I made up for my GPA by working at CVS as a technician 30 hours/week and scoring a 90 composite on my PCAT. Without these two factors I doubt I would have been accepted anywhere.
4/5 isn't bad for a 3.05 GPA, so I'd say your chances are good.
I made up for my GPA by working at CVS as a technician 30 hours/week and scoring a 90 composite on my PCAT. Without these two factors I doubt I would have been accepted anywhere.
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