At what point would you give up?

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jemc2000 said:
How many years would you keep trying? I don't know how many more times I am willing to go through this. I don't know what else I can do to prove I am worthy of these schools. I've increased my gpa about as far as I am able without commiting identity theft and starting over. I will have completed my BS by this July. I have great LORs and ECs. I am working in a pharmacy and in fact got my CPht after only being there a couple months. I'm not ready to give up, ( I haven't received any letters yet), but I am really hoping I don't have to do this again next year.
:(

You make me want to cry! I hate to see someone so deserving not even get the chance to prove herself.:(

But, like you said, you haven't received any letters yet! Stay hopeful...:)
 
Thanks Dana. MPH is a good idea. I am only 2 courses from being able to get a minor in PH, but I will look at what MS programs USF has to offer.

As for Creighton, I actually did talk to someone face to face. The Executive Director of Admissions came to Tampa last year and I met with her. She gave me the "only 60 seats speech", but she seemed pleased with the questions I asked and gave me hope that I would stand a chance in 2006. Basically the best I have gotten from any admissions people from Creighton this year are, "we are still looking at applications and we will get back to you". Add to that, Pharmcas took 2 months to get my grades and application package to Creighton this year.

As for UF, last year they wanted at least a 3.0, so this year I brought my grade up to a 3.3 and now this year they are only looking at 3.5. So I am pretty much not putting much hope into UF.

I was not looking for pity from anyone, nor even a "keep the faith" (though I do appreciate those), I just was looking for some options. For those of you who gave me some, thank you.
 
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jemc2000 said:
Thanks Dana. MPH is a good idea. I am only 2 courses from being able to get a minor in PH, but I will look at what MS programs USF has to offer.

As for Creighton, I actually did talk to someone face to face. The Executive Director of Admissions came to Tampa last year and I met with her. She gave me the "only 60 seats speech", but she seemed pleased with the questions I asked and gave me hope that I would stand a chance in 2006. Basically the best I have gotten from any admissions people from Creighton this year are, "we are still looking at applications and we will get back to you". Add to that, Pharmcas took 2 months to get my grades and application package to Creighton this year.

As for UF, last year they wanted at least a 3.0, so this year I brought my grade up to a 3.3 and now this year they are only looking at 3.5. So I am pretty much not putting much hope into UF.

I was not looking for pity from anyone, nor even a "keep the faith" (though I do appreciate those), I just was looking for some options. For those of you who gave me some, thank you.

Thank you Michele. Honestly, your GPA is low for any school across the US, and FL schools are super super competitive, so it may be best for you to investigate other options. You only got the standard "We've received your application" crap from Creighton, so if you want to go there, schedule a personal telephone interview with them (you have to do more girlfriend) Also, have you investigated the competitiveness of internet programs?

I honest to god thought your GPA was at least a 3.6 or 3.7. It would be hard for FL to review applications much lower than that. Look at their statistics. If your scores deviate greatly, you probably are not a match at that school.

Other professional schools (Physician's Assistant, OT, PT etc) may not be as competitive as Pharmacy. Would you be willing to make this adjustment?

Keep trying but let them know your situation first hand. Be realistic to yourself about your chances too. I have to say that it is a shame that you live in one of the most popular places to live in the US and you can't move. This hurts you, no matter what others say on here.

Good luck to you but if you can't get into Pharmacy School, my suggestion is for you to go into something else that you will be interested in. (Dont get one degree and use it for another one later - Life is short and you dont want to collect Social Security before you get out of school.)

Keep in touch. Good luck!
 
calrx said:
You make me want to cry! I hate to see someone so deserving not even get the chance to prove herself.:(

But, like you said, you haven't received any letters yet! Stay hopeful...:)

let's get realistic here. we all know that with a bachelors degree, it's still difficult to get accepted, let alone, an interview. with a bachelors and a gpa below 3.5, i suggest mailing in your application in the earlier possible. if you dont have a bachelors, you best better have at least 3.75 gpa and above. a friend's friend didnt have a bachelors, but her gpa was a great one, 4.0, she got an interview at neveda and got in.

but never give up, just apply again next year and this time do it early. also, i dont know why pharmcas took 2 mts to mail your gpas to perspective schools. pharmcas took only 2-3 weeks for me. i know that when pharmcas started the applic. process, within 3 weeks from the starting date, i finished my application and all the schools i applied to got my application very early on in the process...
 
stickandstone said:
let's get realistic here. we all know that with a bachelors degree, it's still difficult to get accepted, let alone, an interview. with a bachelors and a gpa below 3.5, i suggest mailing in your application in the earlier possible. if you dont have a bachelors, you best better have at least 3.75 gpa and above. a friend's friend didnt have a bachelors, but her gpa was a great one, 4.0, she got an interview at neveda and got in.

but never give up, just apply again next year and this time do it early. also, i dont know why pharmcas took 2 mts to mail your gpas to perspective schools. pharmcas took only 2-3 weeks for me. i know that when pharmcas started the applic. process, within 3 weeks from the starting date, i finished my application and all the schools i applied to got my application very early on in the process...

There are a lot of people on SDN that have less than a 3.5 GPA that get interviews and acceptances for that matter. Where are you getting your information? In the FAQs section there is a chart where all of the US pharmacy schools list there stats. Check it out and you will see that many pharmacy schools have an average GPA of less than 3.5. In fact, UF has their expected average GPA for the incoming 2006 class to be 3.45-3.55 according to Pharmcas website.

PS: When did you friend's friend have an interview with USN?
 
stickandstone said:
let's get realistic here. we all know that with a bachelors degree, it's still difficult to get accepted, let alone, an interview. with a bachelors and a gpa below 3.5, i suggest mailing in your application in the earlier possible. if you dont have a bachelors, you best better have at least 3.75 gpa and above. a friend's friend didnt have a bachelors, but her gpa was a great one, 4.0, she got an interview at neveda and got in.

but never give up, just apply again next year and this time do it early. also, i dont know why pharmcas took 2 mts to mail your gpas to perspective schools. pharmcas took only 2-3 weeks for me. i know that when pharmcas started the applic. process, within 3 weeks from the starting date, i finished my application and all the schools i applied to got my application very early on in the process...

Yes, let's get realistic here. Are you referring to UF specifically or all pharmacy schools in general. Your response might hold some weight if you are talking about getting into UF; however, TONS of people get accepted to other pharmacy schools with GPAs below 3.5! And the crap about having a 3.75 and above is a little extreme.
 
Smilescali said:
There are a lot of people on SDN that have less than a 3.5 GPA that get interviews and acceptances for that matter. Where are you getting your information? In the FAQs section there is a chart where all of the US pharmacy schools list there stats. Check it out and you will see that many pharmacy schools have an average GPA of less than 3.5. In fact, UF has their expected average GPA for the incoming 2006 class to be 3.45-3.55 according to Pharmcas website.

PS: When did you friend's friend have an interview with USN?
i meant that if you dont hava a degree then it's best to have a 3.5 gpa+ in order to even get an interview.
 
Smilescali said:
There are a lot of people on SDN that have less than a 3.5 GPA that get interviews and acceptances for that matter. Where are you getting your information? In the FAQs section there is a chart where all of the US pharmacy schools list there stats. Check it out and you will see that many pharmacy schools have an average GPA of less than 3.5. In fact, UF has their expected average GPA for the incoming 2006 class to be 3.45-3.55 according to Pharmcas website.

PS: When did you friend's friend have an interview with USN?

last year, she didnt have a degree at all but maintained a 4.0 and got accepted. at usc workshop, the admission lady even said that it's better to have a bachelors. i think, just my 2 cents, if you dont have a bachelors, then to be a competitive candidate, you should 1. have a stellar gpa, not your aveg 3.0...candidates with 3.0+ also have a bachelors.. 2. your essay answers better stand out....3. be one of the first people to turn in your applic to say...pharmcas.

i, myself, didnt have a stellar gpa, overall 3.3, science 3.57, bachelors degree. i considered my gpa was aveg comparing to other students. i was prepared for this a year prior. i got myself a pharm clerk job, got my application in at the early stage, got my transcripts to pharmcas very early, warned my prof. to prepare the recommendation letters. I did all those things months before the pharmcas was avail. to my relief, i got 5 interviews and got accepted to 2 schools and waited on one.
 
What about retaking classes for UF that you got a B in? Instead of 3.0 for 4 credits you would get 3.5 for 8 credits? So let us assume you have straight B's in the prereqs. If you took every single prereq over again, you would have exactly a 3.5! Is it possible to bring your Prereq GPA up to 3.5 by doing this?
I did not realize divorce was an issue. Otherwise I would have told you to apply to PBA and Nova.


How did you do on the PCAT second time around? I know UF made you retake it!

Also, don't feel bad. I am in two way too competitive fields and I am thinking about doing pharmacy or dentistry after my PhD (since I can take the prereqs for free while I am finishing up the thesis). My first field was classical music and I could get into the major competitions but not further because my connections were not strong enough. My own teacher even discouraged me. Now I am in biostatistics (applied to clinical trials and epidemiology), applied to 10 internships, after finishing my masters degree, and got rejected from all of them (did not even get an interview invite that was serious (GSK interview I could tell I was not being seriously considered at all). And my bachelors GPA is a 3.987 from UCF and my masters GPA is a 3.929.

Why, you might ask? I am up against international students who have worked as chemical engineers, business people, computer programmers, in their country for several years and THEN come over here. These students NEVER EVER make mistakes in their classes, earn close to perfect GPA's, and the kicker is that they have more work experience than I do. I do not have work experience since I majored in statistics in my undergrad and all entry jobs require Masters or PhD. And by the way, some of these students apply to the same entry level positions that I would be applying to. So you see what I am up against. I AM NOT COMPETITIVE!!!!!!!!!

Furthermore, Brigham Young University statistics department (which only has a bachelor sand masters degree, but no PhD) has a very strong alumni connection in my field. Alumni from this school like to vote their graduates into pharmaceutical companies, and the financial sector as well. So I am also up against this as well. Statistics is a very small world just like music.

So, other situations could definitely be more frustrating!!!
 
Hi Michele
I was in the same boat, I applied 4 times until I heard something and this time I heard something. I was on the W.L last year and got interviews from schools this year that never replied to me in the past 3 years. DONT GIVE UP. Improve your PCAT SCORE and keep working. Talk to some of the Deans, express how much you want to attend. Seriously if I got in you definatley can!
 
Boy, if everyone's comments up to this point hasn't motivated to do something about her situation, nothing ever will.

Michele, you've got work to do girlfriend, so good luck and give 'em hell!
 
TennisBoy78 said:
(Why in the heck she is talking to us about it---WE ARE NOT ADMISSIONS)

I guess because this is an open forum where people come for feedback and advice.
 
ndearwater said:
I guess because this is an open forum where people come for feedback and advice.
nah....
that cant be the reason.....
 
Michele,

I think UF is a heavy Research orientated school (I could be wrong). If it is, I would get a masters in a science discipline (molecular biology, immunology, medicinal chemistry etc.) or I would get a job in biotech or an academic research associate position. I know Scripps institute is opening a research facility in Florida so there should be positions there. It seems like your stats are good but a lot of these research heavy schools want to bring in people who are willing to do research and publish papers in order to raise notoriety of the school. I think with research experience and the willingness to do research, should get you in. Don't give up.
 
TheChemist said:
Michele,

I think UF is a heavy Research orientated school (I could be wrong). If it is, I would get a masters in a science discipline (molecular biology, immunology, medicinal chemistry etc.) or I would get a job in biotech or an academic research associate position. I know Scripps institute is opening a research facility in Florida so there should be positions there. It seems like your stats are good but a lot of these research heavy schools want to bring in people who are willing to do research and publish papers in order to raise notoriety of the school. I think with research experience and the willingness to do research, should get you in. Don't give up.

Scripps is opening near West Palm Beach, which is too far from where she lives.
 
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