Advice?

[LovingPharmacy]

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Hi everyone! I am new to the forum, so I am not sure if I should have posted this in the WAMC thread, but it is also a more circumstance-specific question geared towards my admissions into pharmacy school. I will be applying to pharmacy schools this summer and here is my profile at the moment:

GPA: 3.45
PCAT: 81%
Other things:
-Have done research for 4 semesters in a biology lab (with a second author publication in submission)
-Certified pharmacy tech
-Worked in Hospital and Retail while juggling school and still working
-Started the Pre-Pharmacy club at my school and also started another club (I am also involved in several other organizations on my campus, but these are the main ones I dedicate my time to)

Here is the issue I am having. Although my profile looks somewhat okay, I was on academic probation for the second semester of my freshman year due to an honor code violation at my school (I actually failed my biology class because of this). I know this looks highly unfavorable towards admissions into pharmacy school, but I am unsure how to approach this in terms of admissions. Should I talk about this issue at the interview or my PharmCas essay to expand maybe how I feel I have overcome this and have learned from this experience? Would that be a good way to approach this issue? Has anyone known someone who has been through the same issue and if they got accepted or rejected to pharmacy school? I have definitely matured through the years, but I don't know what admissions will think regarding this issue.

I sincerely regret what I did in my Freshman year of college, and although I would like to change the past, there are some things I cannot change. I am just hoping admissions will be understanding.

Anybody who has any advice on this issue, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong thread.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Everyone makes mistakes, since we're human. The important thing to do is not repeat them, and it looks as though you've done a good job separating "then" from "now" and learned your lesson.

I would definitely address this in your essay. Absolutely 100%... I can't imagine anything you'd want to talk about more than the fact that you made a mistake you sincerely regret and improved yourself.

Aside from that your profile, as you said, looks great!

 

[OldPharm]

Everyone makes mistakes, since we're human. The important thing to do is not repeat them, and it looks as though you've done a good job separating "then" from "now" and learned your lesson.

I would definitely address this in your essay. Absolutely 100%... I can't imagine anything you'd want to talk about more than the fact that you made a mistake you sincerely regret and improved yourself.

Aside from that your profile, as you said, looks great!

Great advice! You can't hide or run away from what happened, so why not open your essay with this topic? Also, seems like you have proved through actions that you are a changed person. That's good. Good luck!

 

[By3Times1Minus1]

That's perfect for your personal statement 👍

I was going to say the same thing Leo said. You definitely do not want to want to make this the elephant in the room during an interview. People make mistakes. It's how you deal with them, learn from them, and change yourself because of them that makes you a better person for it. I would definitely very firmly address this either in your statement of purpose or maybe even submit a supplemental essay detailing this situation. UIC, for example, used PharmCAS but had a question in their supplemental app giving you a chance to explain anything you think the adcom might need to know about your academic record and personal reasons you think affected it. It sounds like you learned from this mistake and got on the right track afterwards. At one of my interviews, an admissions counselor talked to us about applicants getting admitted but then the university finds out they didn't disclose something like a DUI conviction, and the students end up getting expelled after starting school. As she put it, "The DUI looks kind of bad, but the lie is much worse." You can turn this into a positive point in your essay/interview by showing the adcom how much you learned from the experience and matured/changed for the better. Good luck to you!

 

[Pancakesteve]

LovingPharmacy,

I was put on academic probation during my Freshman year. I put more value on being free and partying, than I did on studying. I took a semester off, went to a community college to try to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and I turned things around. My GPA at the Community College was like a 3.8, and after going back to the university, it's going up drastically. This coming Fall, I'll be going to Ferris State for Pharmacy school.

And I'm not the only person with a story like this. A friend of mine was in the same boat as me *but at a different school.* His freshman year grades were paltry, but after he got his act together, his GPA for the rest of his undergrad was stellar. He's currently in Medical School. And I'm sure there are tons of people with stories like this.

Like others have said, we all make mistakes. Just address them, and learn from them. It seems you've come a long way since then. I think you'll be alright. 😉

 

[LovingPharmacy]

Thank you so much for all your comments. I really do appreciate all the honesty and advice. I have called some schools and asked to discuss this issue with their pharmacy advisor, but some of the responses I have been getting from people kind of went toward the direction of "you are screwed", so I was highly doubting the prospect of me getting in...

Is the personal statement essay something that should be submitted with PharmCas? I know some schools do not have a secondary app question that asks you to explain previous issues like mine, but some schools do. If I write my personal statement regarding this issue, will it seem redundant doing so again for the secondaries that have the question of "explain previous academic issues"? Thanks.

 

[By3Times1Minus1]

Is the personal statement essay something that should be submitted with PharmCas? I know some schools do not have a secondary app question that asks you to explain previous issues like mine, but some schools do. If I write my personal statement regarding this issue, will it seem redundant doing so again for the secondaries that have the question of "explain previous academic issues"? Thanks.

I would suggest writing 2 versions of your SOP, 1 including this topic and 1 without it to submit to schools accordingly.