Are you on track? workshop

[Utterdevotion]

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Here is a handout I made for one of my pre-pharmacy society meetings.
This is a sample 2/4 year plan. It is not to be followed to the point!

ARE YOU ON TRACK??​

2-4 YEAR PROGRAM::

Freshman
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations that interest you
• Make a resume with your current skills and activities
• Volunteer/shadow
• If you have work study – choose to work with a science professor with his research
• May even find work experience 2nd semester
• Go to professor office hours, maintain relationship with them even after the semester is over for recommendations

Summer:
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors that you would want a recommendation for. One should be a science professor, another one could be from volunteer/work experience if you have it
• Begin application

Sophomore
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Have many people look over your personal statement before you submit
• Remember that Early Decision and rolling schools have deadlines as early as September 1st.
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as soon as possible
• Interviews will be in the spring
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position

THEN RELAX!!

---------------------

ARE YOU ON TRACK??​

4-4 YEAR PROGRAM::

Freshman
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations that interest you
• Make a resume with your current skills and activities
• Volunteer/shadow
• If you have work study – choose to work with a science professor with his research
• Go to professor office hours, maintain relationship with them even after the semester is over for recommendations

Sophomore
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position
• May even find work experience

Junior
• Maintain good GPA and organizations
• Update your resume if needed
• Should have some volunteer/shadow/work experience
• Maintain organizations and leadership positions

Summer:
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors that you would want a recommendation for. One should be a science professor, another one could be from volunteer/work experience if you have it
• Begin application

Senior
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Have many people look over your personal statement before you submit
• Remember that Early Decision and rolling schools have deadlines as early as September 1st.
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as soon as possible
• Interviews will be in the spring
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position

TIME TO RELAX!!

 

[binghamkid]

Here is a handout I made for one of my pre-pharmacy society meetings.
This is a sample 2/4 year plan. It is not to be followed to the point!

ARE YOU ON TRACK??​

2-4 YEAR PROGRAM::

Freshman
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations that interest you
• Make a resume with your current skills and activities
• Volunteer/shadow
• If you have work study – choose to work with a science professor with his research
• May even find work experience 2nd semester
• Go to professor office hours, maintain relationship with them even after the semester is over for recommendations

Summer:
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors that you would want a recommendation for. One should be a science professor, another one could be from volunteer/work experience if you have it
• Begin application

Sophomore
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Have many people look over your personal statement before you submit
• Remember that Early Decision and rolling schools have deadlines as early as September 1st.
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as soon as possible
• Interviews will be in the spring
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position

THEN RELAX!!

---------------------

ARE YOU ON TRACK??​

4-4 YEAR PROGRAM::

Freshman
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations that interest you
• Make a resume with your current skills and activities
• Volunteer/shadow
• If you have work study – choose to work with a science professor with his research
• Go to professor office hours, maintain relationship with them even after the semester is over for recommendations

Sophomore
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position
• May even find work experience

Junior
• Maintain good GPA and organizations
• Update your resume if needed
• Should have some volunteer/shadow/work experience
• Maintain organizations and leadership positions

Summer:
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors that you would want a recommendation for. One should be a science professor, another one could be from volunteer/work experience if you have it
• Begin application

Senior
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume
• Have many people look over your personal statement before you submit
• Remember that Early Decision and rolling schools have deadlines as early as September 1st.
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as soon as possible
• Interviews will be in the spring
• Maintain organizations that you liked from last year. Attempt to gain a leadership position

TIME TO RELAX!!

Excellent post as usual, UD =)

 

[pcproduct]

Maintaining a relationship with professors worries me more than anything.

 

[binghamkid]

Maintaining a relationship with professors worries me more than anything.

If you've been going to office hours regularly, just make a point to stop by the professor's office like once or twice a month. You don't need to take them out to coffee every week, but a nice update once a month is always a good thing.

 

[Utterdevotion]

Maintaining a relationship with professors worries me more than anything.

A way to do that is to go to their offices for visits, not only to ask questions about the course but to just talk. Professors love to talk about themselves. Ask them about their research or advice! Plus, professors are great for connections! 🙂

 

[ButlerPharm.D.]

For 2+4 students I would recommend that they take the October PCAT during their sophomore year instead of the summer following their freshman year. This way, they will at least have been exposed to anatomy, perhaps some physiology, and organic.

 

[omnione]

Maintaining a relationship with professors worries me more than anything.

Yeah, just ask questions after class and go to office hours. However, don't drown them with your admiration. There's a fine line in being a standout student and an annoying stalker.😉

Oh, and don't ask questions during lecture. Questions often annoy your classmates and can annoy your professor if it is an irrelevant question. See this Facebook group for details: LINK

 

[binghamkid]

Yeah, just ask questions after class and go to office hours. However, don't drown them with your admiration. There's a fine line in being a standout student and an annoying stalker.😉

Oh, and don't ask questions during lecture. Questions often annoy your classmates and can annoy your professor if it is an irrelevant question. See this Facebook group for details: LINK

So totally true. I nearly wanted to strangle this one girl in my major. Everytime she opened her mouth, we all knew it was time to have a snack because it would take about 15 minutes before she was done arguing with the professor over a technicality in the example on the board. Good thing it was after lunch, so I always got my afternoon siesta.

 

[Hels2007]

Oh, and don't ask questions during lecture. Questions often annoy your classmates and can annoy your professor if it is an irrelevant question. See this Facebook group for details: LINK

However, GOOD questions are always greatly appreciated. If everyone just sits there with a blank look on their faces, I feel like I have just wasted an hour of my life talking at a wall, and I have no idea whether anyone understoon anything, or cared enough. Annoying questions are bad (one of my former classmates literally drove me up the wall, asking 10 dumb questions each lecture during our first year, until one of the profs had a serious talk with him, and he went down to 1-2 a day), but a good professor knows to nip them in the bud. Too in-depth questions can be bad too, as I personally find it hard to resist the temptation to answer for 15 minutes, but no questions at all is kind of disappointing. Maybe were I an old, experienced teacher, it wouldn't be. 😳

 

[Farmercyst]

Perhaps this is slightly off-topic, but I think it fits here. If you are assigned a faculty advisor, make your visit to them more than just, "Yes, I know what I need to take, can you take the hold off my registration please." Each year we were required to see an advisor who was on faculty for the college our major was in (in my case I had to see a chem professor each fall) We discussed where I was in my coursework, where I was applying, homework for the times I was in her class that particular year. I also talked to her about her running the LA marathon, her research, family, etc. I can't imagine her LOR being anything less than spectacular.

Even on a 2+4 track that would give you two years with that professor. Don't just go once a year. If they're assigned as your advisor, you can talk to them anytime, and normally they will make time for you, even if you never have to take a class with them.

 

[Hels2007]

Perhaps this is slightly off-topic, but I think it fits here. If you are assigned a faculty advisor, make your visit to them more than just, "Yes, I know what I need to take, can you take the hold off my registration please."

Exactly. I never asked for the LOR from my advisor, but I bothered him with all kinds of questions like "which track would be more helpful for me in the future if that's what I want to do" and he gave me a lot of helpful links and a couple useful contacts from among his former classmates. And I had him check my letters of intent and my CV, and got some great advice - not direct, but things he said would give me an idea, maybe not even related - but very very useful. But I am one of those people who love gathering advice and ideas from others to digest them into my own final product. 🙂

 

[shaun009]

If life were scripted, it wouldn't be as fun. Making mistakes builds character.

 

[Utterdevotion]

I think it's a good time to bump some of my really old threads up. I'm sure some of you will find it useful 🙂