Any parents here??

[mudanhua313]

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I am a mom with a two year old. I have been in this country for six years. I am a full time student and I have just taken the PCAT yesterday. My score was really low 🙁 and I was really depressed. Although one thing is that I did not have time to study at all. So I just wonder if there are any parents here who are also applying for pharmacy school and how do you guys study with kids? Would anyone know how studying makes a difference?

 

[linh89]

First, i dont have kid but i know if you didnt really study for it at least 3 months, you gonna get bad score; my first time took it is really bad cuz it just took the test right after christmas and i never have enough time to review the materials.
Second, take all classes in pre pharmacy required and use Kaplan book or Dr. Collins materials

 

[mudanhua313]

I know it was my fault not being prepared for it but sometimes it is just hard when you have kids, housework, school work, and work to deal with at the same time. I just wanted to be sure I am not alone on this low score. Do you know if low score on the first time affect the chance of getting in to the school that you want?

 

[linh89]

i havent got accepted yet so i really dont know. But last time i checked on websites, they said that if the first time is low but the second times is higher, it could tell the school you are able to handle the program somehow

 

[Pojman]

I also have children (2 to be exact). The only thing that makes it possible for me is a lump sum of savings in my bank account, and a very supportive spouse. If I did not have these two things, I would not be able to do what I am doing now.

 

[PharmMom2011]

I am a mom with a two year old. I have been in this country for six years. I am a full time student and I have just taken the PCAT yesterday. My score was really low 🙁 and I was really depressed. Although one thing is that I did not have time to study at all. So I just wonder if there are any parents here who are also applying for pharmacy school and how do you guys study with kids? Would anyone know how studying makes a difference?

I have 2 kids and spent much of last summer studying for the PCAT. I took it in July and did not do as well as I had hoped, then purchased the Dr. Collins materials and did very well in September. I kept my study materials out and every time I had a moment, did a couple of practice questions or read a small part of some of my study materials. I did practice exams and longer stretches of studying once the kids were in bed.

Good luck!

 

[mudanhua313]

I have 2 kids and spent much of last summer studying for the PCAT. I took it in July and did not do as well as I had hoped, then purchased the Dr. Collins materials and did very well in September. I kept my study materials out and every time I had a moment, did a couple of practice questions or read a small part of some of my study materials. I did practice exams and longer stretches of studying once the kids were in bed.

Good luck!

That is really great. I just took one 2 days ago and I wonder should I take the one in September because it is kinda coming soon. I am not sure if I will have enough time to do that much review because I am currently working and I am going back to school on August 24th and I will be taking Microbiology, math, and statistic(but I won;t be working after I go back to school). I actually have another problem because If I get a good enough score in September, I will probably have a chance to be accepted and will be enrolled in August, 2014. But if I take the one in January, I will have to wait until august 2014 to enroll. And if I wait until then, I would probably have enough time to finish my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry. I just do not know if I should get it or not since I do not know how would this degree do me any good if I will be getting my pharm D. The only thing I know is that if I have a bachelor's degree, I would not be able to qualify for pell grant anymore. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Your opinions will be very appreciated. Thank you.

 

[linh89]

That is really great. I just took one 2 days ago and I wonder should I take the one in September because it is kinda coming soon. I am not sure if I will have enough time to do that much review because I am currently working and I am going back to school on August 24th and I will be taking Microbiology, math, and statistic(but I won;t be working after I go back to school). I actually have another problem because If I get a good enough score in September, I will probably have a chance to be accepted and will be enrolled in August, 2014. But if I take the one in January, I will have to wait until august 2014 to enroll. And if I wait until then, I would probably have enough time to finish my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry. I just do not know if I should get it or not since I do not know how would this degree do me any good if I will be getting my pharm D. The only thing I know is that if I have a bachelor's degree, I would not be able to qualify for pell grant anymore. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Your opinions will be very appreciated. Thank you.

well i took the one on Jan this year and still have enough time to apply for the school. The dead end is like the end of February.
So, all you need to do is gather any other documents and transcripts and send those to PharmCAS and e-submit the application as soon as you can. The score from PCAT will be updated automatic when it is available, you dont need to wait the score to be available to apply.

 

[mudanhua313]

Maybe I should talk to the school that I am applying to because their deadline for application is Dec 3 and I thought i would have to have the score before that. By the way, do you guys have any experience working or volunteering in a pharmacy. I tried 20 plus pharmacies and no one is hiring and plus they say they cannot hire someone unless that have a pharm tech degree. And even volunteering is a problem because it has something to do with confidentiality.

 

[linh89]

Maybe I should talk to the school that I am applying to because their deadline for application is Dec 3 and I thought i would have to have the score before that. By the way, do you guys have any experience working or volunteering in a pharmacy. I tried 20 plus pharmacies and no one is hiring and plus they say they cannot hire someone unless that have a pharm tech degree. And even volunteering is a problem because it has something to do with confidentiality.

I have three years experience in pharmacy until now. Even if you have a certificated from PTCB, it would not guarantee that you will have the job though. normally pharmacy have job when the technicians got accepted to pharmacy schools and move to another place; so i would say try to apply around august is the best time. good luck with that and keep looking
From what i did research last time, some school you even got interview before you have your PCAT score though, so check with them

 

[Pojman]

And even volunteering is a problem because it has something to do with confidentiality.

Just so you know - The "confidentiality excuse" is something that they just use as an easy answer instead of just saying no. I have volunteered/shadowed in 3 different pharmacies, and all I had to do in each of those pharmacies is sign a piece of paper stating that I had read their HIPPA policy.

Unfortunately, I think it is all about who you know. The three pharmacies that I volunteered /shadowed in were places where I had connections with employees that had already worked there.

Reach out in your social network and see if there is anyone that can set you up with a resource within a pharmacy. For me, that was the best way to get it done. Use facebook if you have to, put out a notification to your network that you are looking for someone that can help get your foot in the door as a volunteer/shadower in a pharmacy.

Good luck

 

[mudanhua313]

Just so you know - The "confidentiality excuse" is something that they just use as an easy answer instead of just saying no. I have volunteered/shadowed in 3 different pharmacies, and all I had to do in each of those pharmacies is sign a piece of paper stating that I had read their HIPPA policy.

Unfortunately, I think it is all about who you know. The three pharmacies that I volunteered /shadowed in were places where I had connections with employees that had already worked there.

Reach out in your social network and see if there is anyone that can set you up with a resource within a pharmacy. For me, that was the best way to get it done. Use facebook if you have to, put out a notification to your network that you are looking for someone that can help get your foot in the door as a volunteer/shadower in a pharmacy.

Good luck

Thank you. I will try to reach out at the pharmacies that I applied to and see whether I can volunteer if I sign something for them. But I will probably focus more on my next PCAT exam in September this month and then when I am almost done, then I will start calling. Thank you for you info.