octopus said:
So as you may or may not know, pharmacy school consists mainly of anal retentive grade obsessed students who study lots. I'm just wondering if this really matters in the long run. Will Mr. 4.0 have that much more of an advantage after graduation than some laid back student with a, let's say 2.9? I don't think it's worth it to sacrifice three years of your life to books because you're getting employed as long as you graduate. I'm curious as to what other people's opinions are on this.
Hey there,
You ask do grades matter? Well depends what you aspire to do. If you want to work in retail, not really, like you said, you have a guaranteed job upon graduation. Will your employer ask you for your grades, highly unlikely. So it seems like grades dont' matter. But do they.
Now here is the scenario where they do. One the constant studying and striving for grades builds a personality that constantly tries to excell and seeks higher things. So it's not the studying per se that's improtant, but keeping intensity in what you do at all times, never letting the slack go. That keeps you sharp and competent.
Second, if you wanna go work in a hospital and wanna do a residency, or fellowship, if you got good grades you can pick and choose where you wanna go. If you don't you will proably find a place, but you can't be as choosy. Also you can get scholarships. Depending on how good you are anywhere from 500 to 5000 dollars. That is pretty easy money for just studying.
You ask is there a difference in competency, I think so. Because people who have higher grades typically strive for higher things. The good thing for the guy who doesn't try, who "gets C's for G's" he will not be competing with these "high grade seekers" b/c they will look for higher more intense positions. So that's why it doesn't seem that really there is a diff. If you were competing against those with high avg, who are constantly striving for higher, you would get beaten out.
Also ask yourself, if you were a pt, would you want the guy who got C's taking care of you and can fix your drug regimen 79% of the time or you won't the guy who always strives to give his best, think about that?
Good luck champ.
