Advice/Comments needed!

[nocturnes]

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Hey all, just found this forum and it's been a great help.
Just wanted to post this up and hope for some insight from all of you:

I am about to start my 4th year at UC San Diego as a Human Biology major.
From reading a good number of posts in this section, I understand that to even be considered a competitive student for Pharmacy schools your GPA should at least be above a 3.0 (Cum GPA and/or Math-Science GPA).

So here are my stats:
Cumulative GPA: 2.6
- Averaged a C in both Gen. Chem (B+ lab) and Organic Chem (no lab yet)
- Averaged a C in two Math classes (Calculus/Analytical Geometry + Differential Equations)
- Averaged a C+ in three lower-division Biology classes
- Averaged a B+ in two upper-division Biology classes (Genetics and Metabolic Biochemistry)
- Averaged a B/B+ in three physics classes (Mechanics, Electricity + Magnetism, and Waves + Optics)

Extracurriculars
- Volunteered in both Pharmacy and Radiology departments at UCSD Medical Centers (volunteered Radiology while I was waitlisted for the Pharmacy department).
- Volunteering in one of my school's bioengineering labs, helping out with cell cultures and the like
- Took the Pharmacy Technician Certification (no school/classes taken) test two years ago and passed, but never had the opportunity to get a job as one, am planning for re-certification.
- Member of my school's student Pre-Pharmacy society/association.
- Serving/attending a local church and on-campus ministry (if that helps any).

I'm sure a good number of you have read the above and are thinking that it's probably impossible for me to get anywhere in pharmacy, and I don't blame you: my staggering GPA (especially my poor chemistry performance, which is essential to pharmacy) is a result of being an irresponsible student for my first two years and still not quite picking up the slack in my just-finished third year. However, I'd still like to think getting into Pharmacy school is still possible, with just a lot more extra time and work.

I understand that finishing my fourth year with stellar grades isn't enough to push my GPA to anywhere impressive, so I'm planning to retake some of those math and science classes that I didn't do so hot in, but I'm still sort of confused on how to go about that. Do I absolutely need to enroll in a post-baccalaureate program (if so, can anybody provide information on programs in California)? Or is it possible to just take these individual classes at a CC or a JC?

I also plan on applying for a pharm technician job or even a cashier job at the pharmacy, just so I can see how retail pharmacy works (I suppose shadowing would work, but I'm looking for something much more long-term; possibly volunteer again). Would pharmacies these days accept a pharmacy technician with no real experience of the job?

Please give me some feedback! I need the cold, hard facts please. Thanks if you've read this entire post, and I greatly appreciate your comments.

 

[dorkiePanda]

I think you should try and apply any ways, so that you can get familiar with the process, if you are really set on making pharmacy your career path. There is an improvement in your grades as you went along in your studies, so that's bound to speak for something? Honestly I think upper division is way harder than intro classes, just because they require a different type of understanding as well as prep test.

There are definitely strengths that you can play on, like your involvement in the community and your experience in the pharmacy, even if it's just volunteer and not paid work.

But definitely look at specific schools and their requirements, some schools tell you explicitly what their GPA requirement is even before you begin the application process.

Good luck!

 

[Project2015]

Post-bacc program won't be necessary. CCC is okay after you graduate.

It'll be very hard to find a tech job without experience just because jobs are hard to come by these days and there's no incentive for them to use up resources on training when unnecessary, especially on someone with no intentions of staying long term.

 

[Indypharm]

Hey all, just found this forum and it's been a great help.
Just wanted to post this up and hope for some insight from all of you:

I am about to start my 4th year at UC San Diego as a Human Biology major.
From reading a good number of posts in this section, I understand that to even be considered a competitive student for Pharmacy schools your GPA should at least be above a 3.0 (Cum GPA and/or Math-Science GPA).

So here are my stats:
Cumulative GPA: 2.6
- Averaged a C in both Gen. Chem (B+ lab) and Organic Chem (no lab yet)
- Averaged a C in two Math classes (Calculus/Analytical Geometry + Differential Equations)
- Averaged a C+ in three lower-division Biology classes
- Averaged a B+ in two upper-division Biology classes (Genetics and Metabolic Biochemistry)
- Averaged a B/B+ in three physics classes (Mechanics, Electricity + Magnetism, and Waves + Optics)

Extracurriculars
- Volunteered in both Pharmacy and Radiology departments at UCSD Medical Centers (volunteered Radiology while I was waitlisted for the Pharmacy department).
- Volunteering in one of my school's bioengineering labs, helping out with cell cultures and the like
- Took the Pharmacy Technician Certification (no school/classes taken) test two years ago and passed, but never had the opportunity to get a job as one, am planning for re-certification.
- Member of my school's student Pre-Pharmacy society/association.
- Serving/attending a local church and on-campus ministry (if that helps any).

I'm sure a good number of you have read the above and are thinking that it's probably impossible for me to get anywhere in pharmacy, and I don't blame you: my staggering GPA (especially my poor chemistry performance, which is essential to pharmacy) is a result of being an irresponsible student for my first two years and still not quite picking up the slack in my just-finished third year. However, I'd still like to think getting into Pharmacy school is still possible, with just a lot more extra time and work.

I understand that finishing my fourth year with stellar grades isn't enough to push my GPA to anywhere impressive, so I'm planning to retake some of those math and science classes that I didn't do so hot in, but I'm still sort of confused on how to go about that. Do I absolutely need to enroll in a post-baccalaureate program (if so, can anybody provide information on programs in California)? Or is it possible to just take these individual classes at a CC or a JC?

I also plan on applying for a pharm technician job or even a cashier job at the pharmacy, just so I can see how retail pharmacy works (I suppose shadowing would work, but I'm looking for something much more long-term; possibly volunteer again). Would pharmacies these days accept a pharmacy technician with no real experience of the job?

Please give me some feedback! I need the cold, hard facts please. Thanks if you've read this entire post, and I greatly appreciate your comments.

Retake those classes, but make sure you know the policies of the schools you are applying to regarding retakes and C's. I know some schools have a limit on each when it comes to prerequisites. Good luck!

 

[Passion4Sci]

I'd re-take the courses at a CC. A post-bacc would work (UCSF has an awesome one) but they can be more expensive than a CC and really wouldn't be necessary.

If you can pull A's in all the chemistry courses and raise your cGPA to a more palatable 3.0, you'll have a good shot at getting "in the door" so that you can explain your sub-par performance on a personal statement or supplemental.