Applying for Fall 2010 (formerly the Class of 2014!)

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delano2000 said:
Even though my stats are OK I still need to keep my options open so I have finally made my selection of schools and I am relatively happy with my choices. I just need to get PharmCAS started now.
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I spent a few hours looking at schools yesterday, I have my list too finally. My list has changed 3 times already lol
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delano2000 said:
Yea mine changed about 5 times. I just limited my choices based on my pre-reqs and if I could live there for 4-6 years.
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Ya I checked my prereq's, cost, in/out of state acceptance, and the option of a dual degree. Location didn't matter too much, pretty much anywhere but here

pharm B said:
Congrats! Now the real fun begins.


THE WAIT

:smuggrin::xf:
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and trying to completely fill out all of the supps:thumbdown:
edit:All supps finished, printed, and checks written except buffalo. Should be mailed out Monday or Tuesday
 
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jmcfa002 said:
Ya I checked my prereq's, cost, in/out of state acceptance, and the option of a dual degree. Location didn't matter too much, pretty much anywhere but here


and trying to completely fill out all of the supps:thumbdown:
edit:All supps finished, printed, and checks written except buffalo. Should be mailed out Monday or Tuesday
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That is good. Doing all these damn apps are very time consuming.:mad:
 
delano2000 said:
That is good. Doing all these damn apps are very time consuming.:mad:
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I'd been working on the essays all summer because I knew that would be the hardest part. Actually inputting everything like classes taken and grades received was tedious and time consuming. I don't see why schools want what classes you took and your grades if you send them pharmcas too...
 
I JUST GOT AN INTERVIEW FOR VCU!!!!!!!!! OCTOBER 10 at 1 PM!!!:soexcited:
 
Thanks so much! I could've actually had an interview next Saturday, but I chose to go with the later date because I have an Anatomy and Physiology practical on the 28th. Bummer!
 
that's one of the 2 things I'm most worried about now. Interviews conflicting with school schedule, and how I'm going to be able to attend out of state interviews the cheapest way possible (if I get any...)
 
jmcfa002 said:
that's one of the 2 things I'm most worried about now. Interviews conflicting with school schedule, and how I'm going to be able to attend out of state interviews the cheapest way possible (if I get any...)
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I was really worried about that (conflicting with school schedule) and then my first interview is at the end of January. Now I wish that it conflicted with something earlier so I could just get it over with.
 
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Yea, I really worried about having to miss classes for interviews. The nice thing is, VCU does all of their interviews on Saturdays!!!
 
This is my first post on the forum.

I just submitted my PharmCAS! Now the waiting begins...:xf:
 
4 interviews now. MWU glendale and downers grove, shenandoah and Belmont. It stressful cause the interview dates are too close together. October 2,9,10,12. FML
 
Another night in pharmacy = another night of cheap beer to compensate.

Good lord, I can't hack dealing with retail garbage.

Had a woman come in, and she had to be able to see how busy we were. She proceeded to waste about 30 minutes of our time by asking easy questions slowly, wanting to price check things (and then "What about after my insurance?").

Out of an Rx with 5 medications, she only wanted 1 and the Rx back, then all 5, then 3. Then none.

And a woman read "T, A, M, I, Flu" off to me and said "I don't know how you say that. What is that, Theraflu?"

:uhno:
 
pharm B said:
Another night in pharmacy = another night of cheap beer to compensate.

Good lord, I can't hack dealing with retail garbage.

Had a woman come in, and she had to be able to see how busy we were. She proceeded to waste about 30 minutes of our time by asking easy questions slowly, wanting to price check things (and then "What about after my insurance?").

Out of an Rx with 5 medications, she only wanted 1 and the Rx back, then all 5, then 3. Then none.

And a woman read "T, A, M, I, Flu" off to me and said "I don't know how you say that. What is that, Theraflu?"

:uhno:
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Lol, im sorry to hear that my friend. Ive privileged to work at an independent pharmacy in one of the richest towns in Illinois. Rarely do we have any problems.
 
Tell her it's pronounced Oseltamivir.

LOL =]

Unfortunately, I am finding that as I shadow pharmacists in a clinical hospital setting, there are idiots everywhere. The only difference is that in a hospital you're not separated by the glass/wall, instead you're within arm's reach of the pt, so it's really difficult not to smack them sometimes.
 
pharm B said:
Another night in pharmacy = another night of cheap beer to compensate.

Good lord, I can't hack dealing with retail garbage.

Had a woman come in, and she had to be able to see how busy we were. She proceeded to waste about 30 minutes of our time by asking easy questions slowly, wanting to price check things (and then "What about after my insurance?").

Out of an Rx with 5 medications, she only wanted 1 and the Rx back, then all 5, then 3. Then none.

And a woman read "T, A, M, I, Flu" off to me and said "I don't know how you say that. What is that, Theraflu?"
:uhno:
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Classic!!!
 
pharm B said:
Not sure if anyone else in this group is waiting for PCAT scores, but they've been sent to PharmCAS. Pearson reps said the online option should be available "very very soon."
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do they mean today?
 
I'm not sure. I called Pearson last Friday and asked about the online viewing of scores. The rep said that scores would be mailed out Wednesday and could be online as early as Tuesday. Someone today called and asked again when they saw PharmCAS updated. Pearson said the scores would be up soon.

So I assume soon today...

I hope today... :D
 
pharm B said:
I'm not sure. I called Pearson last Friday and asked about the online viewing of scores. The rep said that scores would be mailed out Wednesday and could be online as early as Tuesday. Someone today called and asked again when they saw PharmCAS updated. Pearson said the scores would be up soon.

So I assume soon today...

I hope today... :D
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:xf:
 
Ahhh yes I remember the wait for scores. I paid for mine online and then a couple hours later the mailman came with the paper copy.
 
delano2000 said:
Damn. The entire application process is gruesome. I have yet to take the PCAT and I am so freakin' nervous already.
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I'm in Socal, so I took the PCAT at USC. I was in aw. Being at USC was an awesome experience. Don't be nervous. You've prepared a long time, just do what you know how to do best. You'll do fine:D

The whole pharmacy school thing is really intimidating. From what I've read, it seems like we've all done pretty well in our undergraduate, and should have nothing to worry about. But there is still that chance, that what if...What if I don't get excepted? what will I do then? etc...I guess that is what makes us keep trying harder
 
pharm B said:
I just found out a store has an item of interest, so I'm going to go pursue that distraction. By the time I get home, maybe the scores will be posted or the mailman will be holding one indicator of my future in his hands.
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I just saw in you're blog you were a nuclear reactor operator in the navy?!!?!?! how'd you like that?
 
delano2000 said:
Damn. The entire application process is gruesome. I have yet to take the PCAT and I am so freakin' nervous already.
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I'm with you. :( Taking the October one, and I'm feeling more and more stressed as it draws closer.
 
jmcfa002 said:
I just saw in you're blog you were a nuclear reactor operator in the navy?!!?!?! how'd you like that?
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It had its ups and downs. The downs outnumbered the ups, so I decided not to make a career out of it. It was awesome to control fission for a living, though. I did like that part.

Answering high bells (high speeds) was really fun, since it involved people all over the ship co-ordinating things together.
 
The PCAT isn't nearly as bad as you think it is going to be as long as you have at least looked through a practice test so you know what you are getting yourself into. I thought the finals for my orgo classes were much harder, although perhaps not as stressful. If you did well in all of your prereqs then you should do just fine. If you already aren't a good student and hope that you will miraculously become one on the day of the PCAT in order to save your chances....OK then yeah you should be worried.
 
I am trying to stay positive about it. I have done good so far but there are a lot of the courses I have yet to take and that is the part that is making me so freakin' nervous. Calculus???? I just started O.Chem, so, those are the ones that I am worried about moreso than anything else.
 
delano2000 said:
I am trying to stay positive about it. I have done good so far but there are a lot of the courses I have yet to take and that is the part that is making me so freakin' nervous. Calculus???? I just started O.Chem, so, those are the ones that I am worried about moreso than anything else.
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For the math part practice estimating calculations in your head. In any class if you have a calculation that you have to do round off all the numbers and quickly get a rough estimate and check and see how close you can come for practice. Since it is all multiple choice this is the best thing that you can practice in my opinion. For a good chunk of the questions you just need to be able to quickly estimate about what the answer is and find the choice that makes sense. The calculus is rather simple so if you have taken calc 1 you should be fine. If you haven't taken any calc look up how to take simple derivatives at least and don't worry about the rest.
This is all I did to prep for the math section and it ended up being my best section (99th percentile). Of course math has always been my strong point but I think that even someone week at math should be able to pull off a strong score here if they practice using there brain rather than a calculator all the time and remember to just guess and move on if you aren't sure right away. (I know too many people that ran out of time on this section in particular)
For orgo if you are at least past the point where you learn SN1, SN2 and naming of molecules then you will be able to get some of the problems but yeah orgo will be hard without having taken it completely yet. I found myself using material I remembered learning at the end of orgo 2 on the PCAT.
 
pharm B said:
Just got my PCAT scores back and I'm worried. I got an 89 composite, but a 44 in bio.

SCREWED.
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Well not necessarily although it will limit your options more than you probably want. I see from your profile everything else is pretty solid. You could always retake and focus on bio. I would think though that your composite score will get your foot in the door to most places and at least land you an interview. If you feel comfortable about your interview skills then you can close the deal in person.
 
I'll just post my scores here. I don't think I'll be re-taking it, but I'm calling schools today to find out what their opinions are.

Verbal Ability 450 97
Biology 398 44
Reading Comprehension 431 88
Quantitative Ability 430 85
Chemistry 430 85
Composite 428 89

Edit: Just got off the phone with Texas A&M, and they say they like looking at the subject scores, but the Composite is what they're really going to be looking at.

So I'm okay with my 89. :D
 
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It seems like everyone I know a got 3 or below on the writing scores... That seems odd. I know I'm a (grammatically) good writer. I don't really make mistakes when it comes to spelling and grammar and I used up I think two or three pages for my response.

Does Pearson just not care any more? No mistakes = 3, some mistakes =2
 
I am actually feeling better now that I have seen that everyone gets 3/3. I was actually concerned that schools might look at that and consider it to be a poor score but since everyone gets that score I suppose it really is meaningless.
 
will7678 said:
For the math part practice estimating calculations in your head. In any class if you have a calculation that you have to do round off all the numbers and quickly get a rough estimate and check and see how close you can come for practice. Since it is all multiple choice this is the best thing that you can practice in my opinion. For a good chunk of the questions you just need to be able to quickly estimate about what the answer is and find the choice that makes sense. The calculus is rather simple so if you have taken calc 1 you should be fine. If you haven't taken any calc look up how to take simple derivatives at least and don't worry about the rest.
This is all I did to prep for the math section and it ended up being my best section (99th percentile). Of course math has always been my strong point but I think that even someone week at math should be able to pull off a strong score here if they practice using there brain rather than a calculator all the time and remember to just guess and move on if you aren't sure right away. (I know too many people that ran out of time on this section in particular)
For orgo if you are at least past the point where you learn SN1, SN2 and naming of molecules then you will be able to get some of the problems but yeah orgo will be hard without having taken it completely yet. I found myself using material I remembered learning at the end of orgo 2 on the PCAT.
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OK I will keep that in mind. I bought a calculus and organic chem book for dummies so I will be going through that just to be on the safe side. I am still kinda nervous since the August PCAT takers got their scores and some people start saying that it was so hard. :scared:
 
delano2000 said:
OK I will keep that in mind. I bought a calculus and organic chem book for dummies so I will be going through that just to be on the safe side. I am still kinda nervous since the August PCAT takers got their scores and some people start saying that it was so hard. :scared:
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Has there ever been a PCAT where a bunch of people didn't say it was soooo hard? It is a rough day and you come out of it pretty drained but that doesn't mean it isn't doable. Just focus on your studies and you will hopefully be fine. Remember that you are taking the PCAT without the benefit of finishing all the prereqs first. As long as your grades and the rest of your application are good then all you need to shoot for is a score on the PCAT that will at least not get your app tossed out. You can then point out somewhere in your app that while you did relatively well on the PCAT without the benefit of taking the classes. Mention that you took initiative and studied new material on your own. Not everything will be spoon fed in pharm school and it will look good if you can show that you can teach yourself new topics.
 
ahhh...today was first day of classes for me. Definately not ready to start classes again, but I'm ready to get it out of the way. Its weird being senior in college....
 
I'm going through a rough stretch of days. Government and statistics tests today, MCAT scores last night, Microbiology test Monday, and World Lit test Tuesday (along with turning in 2 papers as part of the test).

Are you guys involved with a bunch of student organizations? I've been thinking about joining another one or two.
 
I'm an officer in the Pre-Pharm club, thats it right now. I may join chem club...
how many are you in now?
 
I'm President of our Biology & Health Science Club, I'm involved with the Freemasons A LOT (I think I'm probably the youngest member of the Texas Lodge of Research, but not sure), I'm a semi-active advisor for a youth group called DeMolay. My college paid for my initial membership to the American Nuclear Society, but they don't seem very active, so I might not renew.

But our Student Government is reorganizing and has quite a leadership void. I was thinking about running for Pres to kind of start things off on a certain concrete path.
 
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