Best way to explain low gpa/lots of work exp

[ChasingMyDreams]

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Due to unfortunate circumstances I have been forced to work many hours while in school...on average about 30 hrs a week with some weeks above 40 and a few 70-80 hour weeks. I work in hospital pharmacy. This has provided with much real pharmacy experience and I feel that it has placed me ahead of my classmates that didnt work or worked very little but my gpa has suffered. If I do relative well in my third year I should finish with a gpa just below 3.0.

What is the best way to present this to residency/fellowship interviewers?

Any perspective will be helpful,
Thanks

 

[rph3664]

How did you manage to work 80 hours a week and stay in school? Just tell them the truth, I guess.

BTW, a cumulative GPA just below 3.0 was the norm, not the exception, when I was in school.

 

[UES Girl]

How did you manage to work 80 hours a week and stay in school? Just tell them the truth, I guess.

BTW, a cumulative GPA just below 3.0 was the norm, not the exception, when I was in school.

Seriously, talking to my classmates this seems to be the average GPA.

Cheer up OP, you might just be in a better position OP than you think. It's all about selling yourself too. You need to look at this as an advantage and be able to sell yourself as a person with a vast work experience not from a negative point of view as a person with a low GPA.

 

[Praziquantel86]

The way you just did. Make sure you emphasize the work experience and what that has provided you in your personal statement.

If you're sub 3.0, there are some programs that will exclude you on that basis alone. Not much you can do about that, so I recommend applying broadly. If you commit yourself to large University programs, you may find yourself with a lack of options.

 

[UES Girl]

The way you just did. Make sure you emphasize the work experience and what that has provided you in your personal statement.

If you're sub 3.0, there are some programs that will exclude you on that basis alone. Not much you can do about that, so I recommend applying broadly. If you commit yourself to large University programs, you may find yourself with a lack of options.

This is an idiotic question so pardon my ignorance please but I am so clueless: do you actually interview prior to the matching and ranking process like you did for pharm schools or is the ranking/matching solely an electronic process programs conduct without actually meeting face to face ?

 

[ChasingMyDreams]

This is an idiotic question so pardon my ignorance please but I am so clueless: do you actually interview prior to the matching and ranking process like you did for pharm schools or is the ranking/matching solely an electronic process programs conduct without actually meeting face to face ?

No question is an idiotic question...you do apply and interview similar to the admissions process and the match is after all applicants have interviewed, usually in mid march...it would probably be advantageous for you to peruse the ASHP website and read the residency section and watch some of the videos...

 

[ChasingMyDreams]

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging responses...I am surprised to hear that below a 3.0 is the average...At my school it seems like very few people are in my shoes...and i guess the people who are interested in residency are more towards the top of the curve...

 

[ChasingMyDreams]

How did you manage to work 80 hours a week and stay in school? Just tell them the truth, I guess.

BTW, a cumulative GPA just below 3.0 was the norm, not the exception, when I was in school.

Lots of help from classmates and very little sleep. I always maximize my time...when I deliver pyxis refills I walk around with note cards, when I pull drugs I try to remember each mech of action, side effects, etc...and when I enter orders I try to determine each disease state and alternative txs...oh yea, and lots of coffee...

 

[Ackj]

How did you manage to work 80 hours a week and stay in school? Just tell them the truth, I guess.

BTW, a cumulative GPA just below 3.0 was the norm, not the exception, when I was in school.

Let me try to figure this out, 24x7= 168 hours/wk, minus 80 working leaves 88. School is probably 35-40 hr/wk on average, so that leaves 48 hours for for studying, transportation, eating, recreation, and sleep, which is less than 7 hours a day. Even assuming you work and live at school, meaning no time spent driving back and forth, you really have no time to do anything besides attend school, work, and sleep.

M-F class 8a-4p, work 4p-4a, eat/sleep 4a-8a. Weekends work 10 hours a day and catch up on sleep. Doesn't sound fun or healthy. If that was your life, a gpa of 2.9 sounds remarkable.

 

[rph3664]

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging responses...I am surprised to hear that below a 3.0 is the average...At my school it seems like very few people are in my shoes...and i guess the people who are interested in residency are more towards the top of the curve...

This was also true in the early and mid 1990s for the people who were going the Pharm.D. route, or pursuing a graduate degree. Once you get out into the "real" world, almost nobody will ask for your GPA.

I say "almost" because I did see an application a few months ago where it was requested, but not required. I don't remember, if indeed I ever knew, what mine was.

 

[MindOverMatter]

when I pull drugs I try to remember each mech of action, side effects, etc...and when I enter orders I try to determine each disease state and alternative txs

I'm finding this to be an excellent way to prepare for the Naplex. If I can't recall something, I'll look it up real quick and get a brief review of the drug/disease state. Hopefully this works out for me, since I'm milking this grad intern pay for all it's worth right now.