3.0 GPA. Should I choose this route?

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Rick Anderson

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Hi everyone, I wanted some feedback on whether or not you guys think this would be a reasonable decision for me. I am currently 23 years old and 6 classes away from getting my B.S. in Health Administration at Cal State Northridge. My cumulative GPA is a 3.0 with an upwards trend of a 3.87 last semester and hoping to finish off with all A's the remainder of my degree. I have recently gained interest in going into a PharmD program but didn't know if it was worth a shot because of my seemingly low GPA.

To put it into perspective, i have been working at a medical supply/pharmacy full time as both a customer service supervisor and a medical biller for 3 years. This is also my current job but the problem is that I have been working on the medical supply side of the business and not the pharmacy. The reason for this is because i never had the urgency to do pharmacy until now. As I am working towards my B.S. I am planning on taking the pre reqs for pharmacy so i can apply. Although I have not worked directly in the pharmacy side, I am extremely close to both the pharmacy manager and the pharmacist and can surely get some experience in that department if needed.

My question is, if i do well in the pre req classes and get a high PCAT score, do i have a chance of getting into some schools in California with my minimal experience? I know many of you say this is a bad profession to get into because of the limited jobs, but this is something i really want to do and it helps knowing that i have my B.S. in Health Administration to fall back on if i ever have trouble with getting a job. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thank you!

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Just about anyone can get into pharmacy school as long as you have a pulse and qualify for $200k+ in student loans. The real hard part is landing a job. You will most definitely have to relocate far from your area if you ever want the chance to land a full time job.

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming or engineering that offer better job prospects, pay well, offer a better quality of life, and do not require you to take out $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school.
 
Just about anyone can get into pharmacy school as long as you have a pulse and qualify for $200k+ in student loans. The real hard part is landing a job. You will most definitely have to relocate far from your area if you ever want the chance to land a full time job.

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming or engineering that offer better job prospects, pay well, offer a better quality of life, and do not require you to take out $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school.


Stoich - u are not a stoich coefficient LOL, stop pasting same stuff everywhere about other professions. and stop giving misleading/false info

Rich, my advice is to pursue this field if you have a passion it, however be willing to relocate for internship or jobs if needed.

Here is the link for upcoming graduates job outlook

 
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Hey Rick! I think there's a lot of talk in regards to saturation of pharmacy but from my personal experience, my friends who have graduated pharmacy school all have job offers ready to go. Some of my friends will end up relocating but that may just be due to their own preference.

If you do well in your prerequisite classes and have a high PCAT score, you have a great chance of getting into pharmacy school. I actually got into one of the top pharmacy schools with minimal pharmacy experience. Most of my experience came from volunteering at schools and hospitals but very little dealing with medications.

Being close with the pharmacy manager and pharmacist can give you the experience and perhaps help you in recommendation letters in the future. In my opinion, as long as you have the drive to continue to do well and pursue pharmacy, then you should look into it further.

Good luck and hope this helps!
 
I had a pretty low GPA. However, after two years, I had an upward trend. Overall GPA is 3.2 and I got into UOP. Don't let the stats scare you.
 
Pick pharmacy if you want. Total applications to schools are at a low and many schools are even struggling to fill their classes. This means someone who never had a shot of getting accepted now will probably get in. So to answer your question if you have a chance if you do well in your pre reqs and obtain a high PCAT, yes - you will get in.

Getting in isn't hard. Now finding a job afterward will be difficult. There are hiring freezes at many retail pharmacies. I work for a Kroger pharmacy and we are not hiring any of the current 2018 graduates. All of this years interns have been told they will not be hired at Kroger. Now maybe things will be different 4 or 5 years from now. I don't see it happening personally.

Next of course will be the long list of schools that have extended their deadline to apply on Pharmcas (due to low application #'s as previously stated). Some schools will even wave PCAT requirements if your GPA is high enough. It's actually quite gross and predatory how some of these schools are acting. I cannot think of a single person at my interview date that was not accepted, something to ruminate on for you.

Lastly, I would like to tell you that with changes to the role of the Pharmacy Tech: Tech's will be able to vaccinate, verify medications etc. This will probably vary state by state but is only going to make matters worse. So it's your choice: Acceptance with unclear future, or maybe a different profession.
 
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