ADVICE FOR PRE PHARM STUDENT

[prepharm20134]

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Hey guys! I want to do Pharm school. I am senior in college with a 2.7 overall gpa. The reason the my gpa is low is because of countless personal and financial problems I had to deal with during my undergraduate years. I am retaking Organic 1 for the third and retaking Organic 2 for the second time. I didn’t do well in them because of my personals problems and just couldn’t focus on anything beside family. I am very active in community service and clubs on campus, and recently have applied for a pharm tech job. I have also decide to do a Master in biology to raise my GPA and be better prepared for pharm school. I am also going to taking my PCAT sometime in the summer of 2017. Any advice for me? I promise I am passionate about Pharmacy. I know my GPA doesn’t really support that, but I just had a rough undergrad. I hope to apply in a year or so.

 

[pms_testosterone]

You're doing a Masters just to increase your GPA? That is inadvisable. Before you decided to do it, DEFINITELY email the admissions staff at the pharmacy schools you intend to apply to in order to ask if this is a reasonable plan and if they even include graduate GPA in admissions calculations.

Rather than the Masters I would recommend retaking the courses you did poorly in and getting a good score on the PCAT.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Hey guys! I want to do Pharm school. I am senior in college with a 2.7 overall gpa. The reason the my gpa is low is because of countless personal and financial problems I had to deal with during my undergraduate years. I am retaking Organic 1 for the third and retaking Organic 2 for the second time. I didn’t do well in them because of my personals problems and just couldn’t focus on anything beside family. I am very active in community service and clubs on campus, and recently have applied for a pharm tech job. I have also decide to do a Master in biology to raise my GPA and be better prepared for pharm school. I am also going to taking my PCAT sometime in the summer of 2017. Any advice for me? I promise I am passionate about Pharmacy. I know my GPA doesn’t really support that, but I just had a rough undergrad. I hope to apply in a year or so.

From your writing you are likely not an American native. I can tell you that having such low grades and being a non native is going to make your road to pharmacy extremely rough.

 

[PromisedNeverland]

did you guys watch this hilarious clip

 

[prepharm20134]

From your writing you are likely not an American native. I can tell you that having such low grades and being a non native is going to make your road to pharmacy extremely rough.

First, I would like to apologize for my poor writing. I was extremely overwhelm and desperate when I wrote this post. Thank you for your advice. I will definitely consider it. Second, I am actually an American native. I moved to the states when I was four and I have considered this my home ever since.

 

[xothinkpink]

Do really well on the PCAT. GPA is not the only thing they look at, they look at everything. Have stellar recommendations and a great personal essay. And don't keep making excuses for yourself in your essay--explain what happened but be optimistic. They don't want to take in someone who is unstable. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[prepharm20134]

You're doing a Masters just to increase your GPA? That is inadvisable. Before you decided to do it, DEFINITELY email the admissions staff at the pharmacy schools you intend to apply to in order to ask if this is a reasonable plan and if they even include graduate GPA in admissions calculations.

Rather than the Masters I would recommend retaking the courses you did poorly in and getting a good score on the PCAT.

Thank you very much for your advice. Most of my grades are Cs. Should I retake those classes, as well? I am already planned to retake Organic 1 and 2 in the summer. I hope to get a B if not an A. I will be graduating in December of 2018. Also, I have plenty of community service hours and plan to get a Pharm Tech job soon. I have also talked to a few professors who I believe will write me good LORs. Please do correct me if I am wrong. I love feedback, and I am willing to do anything to improve myself and application.

 

[prepharm20134]

Do really well on the PCAT. GPA is not the only thing they look at, they look at everything. Have stellar recommendations and a great personal essay. And don't keep making excuses for yourself in your essay--explain what happened but be optimistic. They don't want to take in someone who is unstable. Hope this helps and good luck!

Thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you so, so much. I am so glad to hear some encouraging words. It felt very nice and uplifting. I plan to take the PCAT sometime in March. Any pointers?

 

[xothinkpink]

Thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you so, so much. I am so glad to hear some encouraging words. It felt very nice and uplifting. I plan to take the PCAT sometime in March. Any pointers?

You mean begin preparing right? Because they only offer the PCAT July/August, September, October, November, and January. Pearson is the most similar to the actual PCAT, even though it's pretty difficult. Kaplan has a detailed biology section. Dr. Collins is good for practice on stand-alone questions.

 

[prepharm20134]

You mean begin preparing right? Because they only offer the PCAT July/August, September, October, November, and January. Pearson is the most similar to the actual PCAT, even though it's pretty difficult. Kaplan has a detailed biology section. Dr. Collins is good for practice on stand-alone questions.

Yes, I meant I will be preparing for the PCAT starting in March. Forgive me for the confusion. I am planning on taking the actual PCAT exam sometime before September. Thank you for the advice. Every bit helps! I appreciate it.

 

[coloredsplash]

Yes make sure to retake those classes you got a C in and try to aim for an A so it can average to a B. I'd say try to increase your GPA to at least a 3.0 and make sure to study for the PCAT 2-3 months in advance! Everything else is good! Good luck!

 

[prepharm20134]

Does it matter if I retake my classes at another university (meaning different from where I attended my undergrad). I go to a private university, and summer classes are so expensive. I am hoping to take them at a public university or maybe even a community college. Since I am a senior, MC (where I attend undergrad now) will not let those classes transfer. Should I still take those classes at a public university and get credit for them? My plan is just to get the classes that I take at the public university transferred over to my Pharmcas applications (official transcripts, of course).

 

[RxRunner]

PharmCAS averages grades, I'd avoid the bio MS and just do better in the prereqs.

 

[yllekyad]

Hey guys, I'm actually hoping to go to pharmacy school as well. I've done fairly well in school so far (I'm a sophomore in my undergrad right now), with the exception of my second semester in school. Unfortunately my GPA dropped after my second semester (for very personal reasons) and I've been working to improve it. As of right now I have a 2.9 GPA (hoping to get it a lot higher), but I was wondering what kind of PCAT score I should have if my GPA doesn't improve very much (doesn't mean I'm not trying to raise my GPA). I volunteer as a Girl Scout troop leader, work 30 hours a week as a tech, am involved with a Christian organization on-campus, and participate in my church choir. I'm hoping to volunteer more or maybe join more groups, but was wondering if maybe my volunteering and involvement makes up for my GPA. My top choice is Ohio State, I want to know what kind of stats I should have before applying to schools (especially Ohio State).

 

[prepharm20134]

PharmCAS averages grades, I'd avoid the bio MS and just do better in the prereqs.

Thank you for your advice. I averaged my grades just as PharmCAS would and I should end up with a 2.9 overall. I am a conversation partner for international student, have about 100+ pharmacy shadowing hours, 100+ volunteer hours at a local children’s hospital, 30 hours from volunteering at a local free health clinic, member of an all girl’s social organization (should have about 60+hours in various jobs), assistant Sunday school teacher at my church. I also work as a desk assistant in the dormitories, and I am hoping to soon get a job as a Pharm tech. I am aiming for a 80-90 on my PCAT. Any recommendations on how to improve my application? I want to send in my application in December 2017. I wanted to apply to UIC, Chicago State, Rosalind Franklin, and Midwestern Chicago.

I just really hope that my past mistakes don’t affect my future. I really am passionate about this field, and I am determined to only improve and better myself. I appreciate any advice. Thank you.