Better chances the second time you apply?

[danderson]

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If you apply to a pharmacy school and are not accepted, do you think it is advantageous for them to see your application again on the next application cycle? Some of my stats are not as good as they could be as opposed to a year from now, and also a year from now my PCAT will probably be better from taking it more than once. My chances are not the greatest this time around, but aside from just giving it a shot, do you think it will be helpful for schools to see that I have kept trying?

Any and all opinions are very appreciated.. : )

 

[urbanfeel]

If pharmacy is the career you are committed to, then yes I think you should apply again. If your GPA is low, you should retake pre-reqs at a cc or if you can afford it at a university. Doing well on your PCATs will also help you if your GPA is low, meaning 80-85 and above. Do you have pharmacy experience? I think that is a definite boost on your app. I was in the same situation as you, and I was just accepted into a pharmacy school 🙂 if you have any questions let me know. I know this whole process is brutal at times.

 

[Dnic]

Get pharmacy experience so you can explain your desire for pharmacy, improve your PCAT score by putting in more effort, and apply for early decision. Early decision applicants can have lower stats because no seats have been filled yet, and those universities want money!!

 

[danderson]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll explain the situation further. I have a chemistry degree with a biology minor, but for various reasons my GPA basically sucks. It is extremely low. However, I have taken a lot of upper level classes that go way beyond the pre-reqs, but I guess that doesn't matter if your GPA sucks. All classes were taken at a pretty decent university. Some classes I re-took a few times which killed my GPA, such as Calc 1. But then passed Calc 2 on the first try which is wayy more difficult, go figure..

Honors Chem 1: B+
Chem 2: C
Honors English: B+, A
Calc 1 (retook 3 times): C-
Orgo 1 (first try) : A-
Orgo 2: C
Bio 1: B+
Bio 2: C
Public Speaking: C+
Macro and Micro: B
Psychology: A-
Physics 1: C
Physics 2: C-

Fairly evenly got A's, B's and C's in all the labs. Got plenty of A's in all the electives.

Have one year experience in a research lab and can get a great LOR from the principal investigator, who is very highly regarded. Can get another good LOR from a professor. No pharmacy experience or volunteer hours.

I am in the second semester of a chemistry masters and have a 4.0 so far. If I miraculously got accepted this year I would just drop out of the masters. I'm taking PCAT for first time in january. I could apply late in this cycle just for the hell of it. By next year's cycle I will have a masters with a high GPA, hopefully an extremely high PCAT score after taking it twice, and I will have taken anatomy which I haven't taken yet. GPA can't be improved too much because I have a ton of hours completed.

I'm an intelligent, caring and helpful guy and I'm positive I would make a great pharmacist. I should have just done the pre-reqs and applied to pharmacy school. It is frustrating that I know people who entered 0-6 programs right when I started college, and they are almost done. It is also frustrating that I could have just taken a lot of these classes at a community college.. it is so much more difficult at a decent school where they are trying to weed people out of the programs. I'm sure if I could manage to get an interview I would be in.

 

[danderson]

So to clarify the original point of the thread, I have almost no chance of getting in this year, but I will have a chance next year I'm pretty sure. Will putting in an application for this year help me out for next year? Or could it even hurt my chances for next year?..

 

[Golden Bear]

If you don't apply this year, your chances are absolutely zero for getting in this year.

 

[ValeRx]

I'm not sure why you would bother to even waste the money and time to apply this year if you have no intentions of trying to get in. Apply two years in a row can only benefit you if you have improved upon your application from the previous year.

 

[danderson]

I'm not sure why you would bother to even waste the money and time to apply this year if you have no intentions of trying to get in. Apply two years in a row can only benefit you if you have improved upon your application from the previous year.

If I was accepted then I would drop the masters and go ahead with the pharmacy school. Next years application would definitely be better than this one..

I think the general impression I'm getting from reading around the forum is that a second, improved application shows some commitment and dedication.

Oh and Golden Bear, your post post made me laugh out loud. Indisputable logic.

 

[xtsukiyox]

I think the general impression I'm getting from reading around the forum is that a second, improved application shows some commitment and dedication.

I think you've got this backwards. You would apply to pharmacy school for 2012 matriculation to try to get in... You wouldn't apply to attempt to bolster next year's application.

Am I missing something? 😕

 

[danderson]

I think you've got this backwards. You would apply to pharmacy school for 2012 matriculation to try to get in... You wouldn't apply to attempt to bolster next year's application.

Am I missing something? 😕

Do you think it could hurt my chances later? like "oh not this guy again.." hahaha

edit-
OK let's maybe turn this into a "what are my chances" thread. Assume I get a 90%+ on January's PCAT, and also assume I start a pharmacy job or volunteering now, giving me about 4 months of it before the application..

And how was everyone's halloween?

 

[danderson]

Applied last night to a pharmacy technician opening nearby.

*fingers crossed*

 

[Krnluve24]

I would take pcat in January first, see the score, and then go from there. It seems like a waste of money if you are not fully prepared to apply this cycle. Get everything ready early and give your best shot next cycle. And remember, you also need letters of recommendation.

 

[danderson]

I would take pcat in January first, see the score, and then go from there. It seems like a waste of money if you are not fully prepared to apply this cycle. Get everything ready early and give your best shot next cycle. And remember, you also need letters of recommendation.

Seems like a good plan. If I don't ace the PCAT I'm pretty sure my chances of admission are effectively 0%, which would be a waste of time (especially those LORs) and money. If I score well I'm going to apply.

 

[danderson]

I have applied to seven pharmacy technician jobs and not one response.. how hard is it to get a pharm tech job? Seriously..

Should I just take the certification test?

 

[Carboxide]

You do know, by the way, that a LOT of schools do NOT accept a C-, right?

 

[danderson]

Yes I am taking Calc 1 this spring and hopefully going for an A. And I think only one of the schools I applied to require physics II..

 

[iBeast]

If you do well on the PCAT in January, why wouldn't you you apply for 2012? Late admissions are possible. Just check the deadlines for the schools you are interested in.