If you apply to one school and don’t get in and apply the following year to same school, the school most likely will expect a drastic difference in the application right? I am in a situation where I am not the best candidate for a school and due to the years of undergrad pre-requisites I can only apply to this school near me right now. I am trying to figure out how pharmacy schools think because I can’t decide whether to wait and do 3 year undergrad or just apply right now. The school I want to apply to has an average PCAT score in the 80 percents, math/science gpa: 3.4ish, cumulative : 3.5ish. My PCAT score is in the 60s range, math/science gpa: 3.35, cumulative:3.5ish. I am very confused on what to do! Application deadline is January 5th.
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Application Confusion
Started by Future Pharmacist :)
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Hi @Future Pharmacist :) - one thing some people will try is to reach out to the admissions office when they've been rejected to ask what they might do to improve their candidacy. There's no reason not to apply this year if you have completed all the pre-requisites, have such a competitive GPA, and meet the minimum required PCAT score. It is unlikely your application this year will hurt your chances in future years you apply (I know many people who have been admitted after the second or even third application to a program). The only real drawbacks are the time and effort it takes to apply as well as the cost of applying this year. One of the first things you should start thinking about is requesting letters of recommendations because it's a common courtesy to try to give your references 2-3 weeks to write a (really good 🙂 ) letter on your behalf, should you apply now.
If you decide to apply next year (either for the first or second time), I agree with you that you'll want to make your application as strong as possible. Pharmacy schools don't require you to complete a bachelor's degree so long as you've completed the pre-requisites, and you have a pretty competititve GPA, so there's not necessarily a need to take more classes to boost your GPA. There are a few good reasons to take more classes, however: if pharmacy schools you've applied to indicate that more schooling would benefit your application, or to take classes that could boost your PCAT score. It seems to me that taking some time over the next year to improve your PCAT could make you a very attractive candidate, more so than additional schooling.
It's also my hunch that pharmacy programs will value pharmacy-related experience over additional schooling. If you take the next year to work as a pharmacy tech or gain other similar experiences, that'll (1) reaffirm your passion for pharmacy (and hopefully be something you enjoy!), (2) give you an even greater understanding of the pharmacy world, which you can even discuss in your personal statement or interviews, and (3) prove to pharmacy schools that you know pharmacy is the career for you - and that you'd make a great pharmacist (especially if you can get a letter of rec from your supervisor)!
If you decide to apply next year (either for the first or second time), I agree with you that you'll want to make your application as strong as possible. Pharmacy schools don't require you to complete a bachelor's degree so long as you've completed the pre-requisites, and you have a pretty competititve GPA, so there's not necessarily a need to take more classes to boost your GPA. There are a few good reasons to take more classes, however: if pharmacy schools you've applied to indicate that more schooling would benefit your application, or to take classes that could boost your PCAT score. It seems to me that taking some time over the next year to improve your PCAT could make you a very attractive candidate, more so than additional schooling.
It's also my hunch that pharmacy programs will value pharmacy-related experience over additional schooling. If you take the next year to work as a pharmacy tech or gain other similar experiences, that'll (1) reaffirm your passion for pharmacy (and hopefully be something you enjoy!), (2) give you an even greater understanding of the pharmacy world, which you can even discuss in your personal statement or interviews, and (3) prove to pharmacy schools that you know pharmacy is the career for you - and that you'd make a great pharmacist (especially if you can get a letter of rec from your supervisor)!
