Chances to getting into good pharmacy schools? Success stories?

[pastaismylife]

Hi all. I really want to go to a good California pharmacy school like USC, UCSF, or UCSD. I am a well-rounded student but my GPA isn't super stellar. I have a 2.8 cumulative and 2.6 for math and science. In terms of my extracurriculars, I'm part of the Pre-pharm club at my school and served as an officer for a year. I served two different officer positions with a cultural club that promoted and developed the Native American community in the math and sciences at my school. I'm a freelance artist and sell paintings to my local community (because I'm a #brokestudent). I was an officer for a medical women's club. I've tutored for three years now with international students. Volunteered at multiple health clinics. Participated in my school's traveling women's choir and symphony orchestra on scholarship for a year. And I've been heavily involved with research this past year (2018-2019), having been a part of two research programs, participating in research at my school, and traveled to three out of state national conferences to present my projects at symposiums. I've shadowed a pharmacist since the beginning of this year and I'm currently obtaining my pharm tech certification by the end of this summer so that I can get some work experience as a pharm tech. I've also been to several pharmacy conferences this past year and learned a lot about the career which has just developed my interest in this field even more. Based off the conferences I've been to, I learned that some schools will look at the applicant holistically. But I don't want to completely lean on that. I've also heard some (not all) schools will actually consider your PCAT score if your GPA is lacking. So I'm also scheduling to take the PCAT as well this summer just in case. I can get great recommendation letters but I also know that it's not the biggest factor in decisions either, but that it can help as a deal-breaker or deal-maker for borderline applicants. Reason-being why I want to go to a good pharmacy school here in California is because I want to stay and work here in Cali. I want a school that will provide me opportunity to do research still as well as options for residencies especially shadowing under a pharmacist with a specialisation because that is what I want to achieve one day. During this period of time, I've had some outside struggle and hardship which I feel can provide some explanation to my low GPA. I'm going to apply this fall anyway despite my GPA, but I'm also open to applying (most likely) for next fall as well. However, anyway, what are the chances of me getting accepted this fall? What advice do you guys recommend? Any success stories out there too?

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[DagS132]

Sounds like you have everything covered except a good gpa(most schools require a min cpga >= 2.75). You literally already have the answers and already am on your way to get accepted. Do well on the PCAT and go forward with your plans on working at a pharmacy.

 

[BC_89]

Hi all. I really want to go to a good California pharmacy school like USC, UCSF, or UCSD. I am a well-rounded student but my GPA isn't super stellar. I have a 2.8 cumulative and 2.6 for math and science. In terms of my extracurriculars, I'm part of the Pre-pharm club at my school and served as an officer for a year. I served two different officer positions with a cultural club that promoted and developed the Native American community in the math and sciences at my school. I'm a freelance artist and sell paintings to my local community (because I'm a #brokestudent). I was an officer for a medical women's club. I've tutored for three years now with international students. Volunteered at multiple health clinics. Participated in my school's traveling women's choir and symphony orchestra on scholarship for a year. And I've been heavily involved with research this past year (2018-2019), having been a part of two research programs, participating in research at my school, and traveled to three out of state national conferences to present my projects at symposiums. I've shadowed a pharmacist since the beginning of this year and I'm currently obtaining my pharm tech certification by the end of this summer so that I can get some work experience as a pharm tech. I've also been to several pharmacy conferences this past year and learned a lot about the career which has just developed my interest in this field even more. Based off the conferences I've been to, I learned that some schools will look at the applicant holistically. But I don't want to completely lean on that. I've also heard some (not all) schools will actually consider your PCAT score if your GPA is lacking. So I'm also scheduling to take the PCAT as well this summer just in case. I can get great recommendation letters but I also know that it's not the biggest factor in decisions either, but that it can help as a deal-breaker or deal-maker for borderline applicants. Reason-being why I want to go to a good pharmacy school here in California is because I want to stay and work here in Cali. I want a school that will provide me opportunity to do research still as well as options for residencies especially shadowing under a pharmacist with a specialisation because that is what I want to achieve one day. During this period of time, I've had some outside struggle and hardship which I feel can provide some explanation to my low GPA. I'm going to apply this fall anyway despite my GPA, but I'm also open to applying (most likely) for next fall as well. However, anyway, what are the chances of me getting accepted this fall? What advice do you guys recommend? Any success stories out there too?

1) Get the experience working as a tech. This will bring a different light to the profession vs shadowing a “specialist.”

2) See what current licensed professionals have to say with saturation. Especially in California:

Job Market

Pharmacy job market discussions and opportunities.

forums.studentdoctor.net

3) Have an open mind with debt to income ratio. If your pulling closer to $200k + in student debt upon graduation, then you must be doing this out of passion and not financial gain.

4) Specialist Pharmacists are unicorn-niche jobs. Expect retail and see if you’d be satisfied.

After all this in consideration, if you cast a wide net to other programs beyond California, you may land an interview or two. As for top programs, I wouldn’t dwell on it without safety schools.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

Hi all. I really want to go to a good California pharmacy school like USC, UCSF, or UCSD. I am a well-rounded student but my GPA isn't super stellar. I have a 2.8 cumulative and 2.6 for math and science. In terms of my extracurriculars, I'm part of the Pre-pharm club at my school and served as an officer for a year. I served two different officer positions with a cultural club that promoted and developed the Native American community in the math and sciences at my school. I'm a freelance artist and sell paintings to my local community (because I'm a #brokestudent). I was an officer for a medical women's club. I've tutored for three years now with international students. Volunteered at multiple health clinics. Participated in my school's traveling women's choir and symphony orchestra on scholarship for a year. And I've been heavily involved with research this past year (2018-2019), having been a part of two research programs, participating in research at my school, and traveled to three out of state national conferences to present my projects at symposiums. I've shadowed a pharmacist since the beginning of this year and I'm currently obtaining my pharm tech certification by the end of this summer so that I can get some work experience as a pharm tech. I've also been to several pharmacy conferences this past year and learned a lot about the career which has just developed my interest in this field even more. Based off the conferences I've been to, I learned that some schools will look at the applicant holistically. But I don't want to completely lean on that. I've also heard some (not all) schools will actually consider your PCAT score if your GPA is lacking. So I'm also scheduling to take the PCAT as well this summer just in case. I can get great recommendation letters but I also know that it's not the biggest factor in decisions either, but that it can help as a deal-breaker or deal-maker for borderline applicants. Reason-being why I want to go to a good pharmacy school here in California is because I want to stay and work here in Cali. I want a school that will provide me opportunity to do research still as well as options for residencies especially shadowing under a pharmacist with a specialisation because that is what I want to achieve one day. During this period of time, I've had some outside struggle and hardship which I feel can provide some explanation to my low GPA. I'm going to apply this fall anyway despite my GPA, but I'm also open to applying (most likely) for next fall as well. However, anyway, what are the chances of me getting accepted this fall? What advice do you guys recommend? Any success stories out there too?

Your chances and others success stories are futile since your chances of getting a job after you graduate will be exponentially smaller.

We now have the head of apha admitting how they messed up and the profession is going down the toilet. Many posts in pharmacy forum about this. If i were you, i would take little chance you have with your borderline numbers and run as fast and as far as you can from pharmacy.

 

[Timbo]

I've also been to several pharmacy conferences this past year and learned a lot about the career which has just developed my interest in this field even more. Based off the conferences I've been to, I learned that some schools will look at the applicant holistically.

I'm curious which organizations sponsored those conferences? And during those conferences did they at any time talk about the current state of the job market, declining job opportunities, decreasing salaries, and increasing unemployment? How recent were these conferences? While the saturation problem has been brewing for many years, it has been only recently that APhA and ACPE acknowledged the issue. However they have chosen to leave it to the "free market" to correct itself.

 

[PharmtoCS]

If you want to stay in California then I would not even bother with pharmacy. You will most definitely have to move out of state after you graduate due to the lack of jobs in the state and the number of students graduating each year from all the newly opened pharmacy schools.

 

[AM77]

Let’s put it this way. You want to be a pharmacist living and working in California? Your best bet is if your father is the director of Kaiser Permanente or a pharmacy supervisor of CVS. End of story.

 

[RPhHopeful2019]

I'm a recent grad from one of those schools that you mentioned. I am also unemployed with no real prospects. I love pharmacy and my patients but finding a job here is hard. Getting into pharmacy school is the easy part.

I had a 3.4 GPA from a state school and was in a pharmacy club with board positions, etc. Being a minority definitely helps; it helped me at least. It sounds like you basically just wrote your personal statement and it sounds amazing. Schools are looking for students who bring something different to the table, not necessarily the ones with the best GPA. I would recommend just doing the best you can on your personal statement. The personal statement is what is going to make a staff member interested in you and I would argue that in some cases it is more important than your GPA.

Good luck and I wish you the best!

 

[mentos]

I'm a recent grad from one of those schools that you mentioned. I am also unemployed with no real prospects. I love pharmacy and my patients but finding a job here is hard. Getting into pharmacy school is the easy part.

I had a 3.4 GPA from a state school and was in a pharmacy club with board positions, etc. Being a minority definitely helps; it helped me at least. It sounds like you basically just wrote your personal statement and it sounds amazing. Schools are looking for students who bring something different to the table, not necessarily the ones with the best GPA. I would recommend just doing the best you can on your personal statement. The personal statement is what is going to make a staff member interested in you and I would argue that in some cases it is more important than your GPA.

Good luck and I wish you the best!

If you're a recent grad with no real job prospects (sorry to hear that), why would you recommend a pre-pharm to go to the same school? Serious question. The job market will be even worse in 4 years.

 

[pastaismylife]

1) Get the experience working as a tech. This will bring a different light to the profession vs shadowing a “specialist.”

2) See what current licensed professionals have to say with saturation. Especially in California:

Job Market

Pharmacy job market discussions and opportunities.

forums.studentdoctor.net

3) Have an open mind with debt to income ratio. If your pulling closer to $200k + in student debt upon graduation, then you must be doing this out of passion and not financial gain.

4) Specialist Pharmacists are unicorn-niche jobs. Expect retail and see if you’d be satisfied.

After all this in consideration, if you cast a wide net to other programs beyond California, you may land an interview or two. As for top programs, I wouldn’t dwell on it without safety schools.

Yes, I'm planning on getting my pharm tech cert soon so that I can start getting that work experience. My overall goal is to work as an oncology pharmacist (inspired from my mother's health situation)... so retail isn't something I'd be satisfied with (but in terms of temporary experience I'm fine with). From all the mentors I've had and some friend-family relations, I have some connections to land a hospital job. Although I have those connections, I still really care about what school I go to and I've been told that if I'd want to stay in California then I'd need to go to a California school (which ones though, I'm not quite certain of yet). Is that entirely true though? I know it's competitive in California and I definitely want to stay here mainly due to family reasons. However, I also know that (for sure) that I can get into a Top 40 pharm school but it's out-of-state. I think I will most likely apply there anyway as a back-up, but I'm still unsure if it's a correct move or not. Seeing that majority if not all California pharmacy schools are expensive (or just pharm schools in general), I have already been looking into loan repayment programs (e.g. through military, community service - things of that sort) and I'm honestly completely fine with participating in them. If anything, I get more experience and the chance to meet more people which I look forward to and I don't mind putting in the extra work. Although it's late in the game, I've realised I am quite passionate about this career and with having had exposure to other medical field professions, this particular career aligns with my interests more in terms of how I want to utilise it and get out from it. So I can't really see me doing anything else. Thank you for breaking down your points to me! This was very helpful to think about.

 

[pastaismylife]

I'm a recent grad from one of those schools that you mentioned. I am also unemployed with no real prospects. I love pharmacy and my patients but finding a job here is hard. Getting into pharmacy school is the easy part.

I had a 3.4 GPA from a state school and was in a pharmacy club with board positions, etc. Being a minority definitely helps; it helped me at least. It sounds like you basically just wrote your personal statement and it sounds amazing. Schools are looking for students who bring something different to the table, not necessarily the ones with the best GPA. I would recommend just doing the best you can on your personal statement. The personal statement is what is going to make a staff member interested in you and I would argue that in some cases it is more important than your GPA.

Good luck and I wish you the best!

Yes! Unfortunately that is what I hear:/ Despite it though, I'm going to go for it anyways. And thank you for advice!! I will definitely do my best on my personal statement! ^_^

 

[PharmtoCS]

If you want to stay in California, you should not pursue pharmacy. Period. You would be doing your family a disservice by taking on astronomical loans with the possibility of having to move away from them indefinitely due to the lack of jobs in state, or be unemployed/underemployed.

Computer science or engineering would be far better choices.

 

[Chem7]

If you want to stay in California, you should not pursue pharmacy. Period. You would be doing your family a disservice by taking on astronomical loans with the possibility of having to move away from them indefinitely due to the lack of jobs in state, or be unemployed/underemployed.

Computer science or engineering would be far better choices.

So you convinced now, right ? You changing to Computer Science lol

 

[Sine Cura]

As a proud UCSF denial (applied to 2 pharmacy schools) and proud Stanford denial (applied to 3 undergrad schools), I still have a job and it is not the end of the world even if you don't get into a California school.

 

[zNoodlez]

Being a passionate student is great, but do not use that passion as an excuse for being ignorant. Pharmacy is a dying profession, and until wages hitting the lowest bottom, majority of schools close down and the supply of newly pharmacists yearly reduced significantly, I do not see Pharmacy as a viable field to choose. I wish OP the best of luck.

 

[BackRowChi]

Obligatory BLS link #46

Pharmacists : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pharmacists dispense prescription medications and provide information to patients about the drugs and their use.

www.bls.gov

We talk a lot about evidence based medicine in this discipline. We're told that in order to achieve the best patient outcomes, hard data needs to back up our decisions. Wishful thinking and hope does not yield a healthy patient.

Please do this for yourself. You have an astonishing amount of data available to you to tell you that going to pharmacy school is an objectively poor decision. Jobless new grads abound. There are not enough residencies to meet half of the demand. Your chances of success in finding gainful employment (ESPECIALLY in California) are dismally low. Weigh the facts, not your passion.

Edit: I completely missed that this was a post from 2018. Whatever.

 

[mentos]

Edit: I completely missed that this was a post from 2018. Whatever.

OP posted in 2019.

 

[mp612]

California is heavily saturated and expensive to attend compared to other states. I have met many candidates in interviews that flew from California. Illinois is becoming the same way with 5 pharmacy schools all near the Chicagoland area except SIUE. Maybe apply out of state, but if your heart is set on California then keep doing you.

 

[TC621]

California is heavily saturated and expensive to attend compared to other states. I have met many candidates in interviews that flew from California. Illinois is becoming the same way with 5 pharmacy schools all near the Chicagoland area except SIUE. Maybe apply out of state, but if your heart is set on California then keep doing you.

You understand pharmacy is becoming saturated, yet you are still choosing to begin school this upcoming semester. Why are you so set on pharmacy? I'm just curious, I graduated last year and was just like you going in. So the saturation has only gotten worse. Want to see it from a new pre pharm point of view.