Advice

[OKgirl]

If you could offer advice to a student going into pre-pharmacy, what would you say?

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[eelo]

If you could offer advice to a student going into pre-pharmacy, what would you say?

My best advice: Websites like this one are a great source of information, but they're full of overachievers (or possibly liars). Do NOT feel like the people posting in here represent the average pharmacy applicant (your competition). People with 3.0 GPAs and PCATs of 70 are still competitive for many schools; not every applicant will have a 3.92 GPA and a 97 PCAT.

So, don't stress!

 

[omnione]

1. Try to get some experience as a pharmacy technician or even a few shadowing experiences. If you hate those experiences, then it's quite possible that you won't like the full gig much.

2. Try to conceptualize and not rote memorize the content in your classes, especially the science ones. It'll make studying for the PCAT a lot easier if you can retain information.

3. Think about getting a major and having alternate plans. The increasing competitiveness of pharmacy school admissions means that not everyone gets in after two years of undergraduate work represented with decent stats. You may be in school longer than you think and/or some other profession may fulfill your career goals. I used to be a pre-med but I understood back during my sophomore year that wasn't the only profession out there that suited my career goals. Pharmacy became an option and the switch was seamless because I planned for it during the process as opposed to having to stay in school to make the switch.

4. Read this forum often. Okay, this isn't a shameless plug but this is a good site to learn what NOT to do during the application process from people who made mistakes such as myself. Also, assess the level of competency of the pre-pharmacy adviser and club to see if those are good sources of information and networking.

5. Get to know your professors. You don't need to be so close that you are their prime candidate for research, but a good letter of reference comes from someone who knows you beyond some anonymous face in the crowd.

I'm sure others will add to this post.

 

[Utterdevotion]

1. If you can't get a pharm tech job, volunteer at a hospital (keep in mind that many states have regulations). If that doesn't pan out, anything health related would work as well.

2. Get to know a pharmacist. If you don't get a chance to work with them, just stop by and talk to them near the end of their work day when it's not as busy. You'll get an inside feel on what it's like. Most pharmacists will be honest with you, telling you both the pros and cons. And you never know, if you get to know them well enough, when they get an opening, they might just give you a call.

3. Extracurriculars (but don't do TOO many! Pick a few that you are interested in and be active in them!) and leadership positions are important! They show that you are not only a well rounded student, but that you are dedicated. Leadership is key; and in organizations they show that you can both lead, and follow.

4. Details for science classes are important, but understanding the BIG picture is much more important.

5. Practice makes perfect. That's true in your chem, physics, and math classes.

6. Research early. Research about the profession and the schools you might be interested in. The schools' requirements will help tailor the classes you might want to take first, and make sure you do well in. Researching about the profession includes not only learning more about community pharmacy; take a look at all the different carreer options that pharmacy encompasses. This will also help you think about why you want to do pharmacy.

7. Stay on top of pharmacy news. It's a good habit to pick up and will help a lot once you enter into the application process (including the interview).

8. Don't be afraid to ask. Ask your advisor, your pre-pharmacy organization, and us on SDN (most of us don't bite )

9. School and a 4.0 is NOT your life. Go out, have fun, and enjoy undergrad!!
One can only truly grow through experiences.

I'll add some more later if I think of some

 

[rxchrissarasota]

One thing that I think is often neglected is leadership experience, whether in work or extracurriculars. Every app will ask if you held positions in clubs/student gov, etc. They ask this because as a pharmacist, you will be running the show in the pharmacy, even if you're not the head pharmacist or pharmacy manager. When you're on duty, you're in charge. Pharmacists need to be able to effectively manage the technicians to ensure efficient work flow and good customer service. Not to mention all the other duties involving inventory management, proper record keeping, etc. Now, that being said, I know that leadership experience is not required, as many accepted students here can attest to, but it will definately help make you a more well rounded applicant, and hopefully someday a better pharmacist.

 

[OKgirl]

Anymore advice?

 

[mike36]

9. School and a 4.0 is NOT your life. Go out, have fun, and enjoy undergrad!!
One can only truly grow through experiences.

This is very true! And it will give you something to talk about in the interview besides school and pharmacy. I'm not sure, but I'm betting that the interviewers get tired of talking to the same old applicants that do nothing but study and research pharmacy.

 

[Pharmpills]

I would say try ur best not to take classes u dont need to that will pull ur GPA down. try to boost ur science GPA even if it means taking science classes that arnt a pre-req. instead of repeating a class where u made a C just take an easy science class to counter it but try not to do it alot. take pcat with alot of studying to see how well u do, if u dont do too well then retake but make sure u study more and use alot of sources outside from typical kaplan (use kaplan too but dont use it solely) gluck