Changing careers - need advice

[hope4fall2010]

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Hello,

I am new to this forum, but would like any thoughts you could offer. I am currently a math teacher, but I have decided to change careers. I am very much interested in pharmacy, but am only able to work on my pre-reqs part-time right now. I have been taking night classes for the last year or so. At the end of this school year, I am going to quit teaching, and return to school full-time to finish up my pre-reqs. I am most interested in attending Texas Tech, but would, of course, go anywhere accepted.

I have some basic questions to get me on the right track:
1) As a teacher, I have voluteered as a non-paid tutor to my students...over 200 hours (or more) over the last three years. Does this count as "volunteer experience"? And how do I verify it?
2) I am deeply concerned about the PCAT, as I feel it is the biggest way I can impress the admissions committee since my GPA is not stellar and my bachelors is BA, not BS...should I take the PCAT before I have finished chem to get a better feel for it and do well in the future?
3) How many times can you take PCAT? Does it look bad if you take it too many?

Here are my stats:
AA 2001, BA-psychology 2003
gpa 3.65 (but on the rise)
still need BIO 2 (retaking since its been 10 years), CHEM 1/2, PHYSICS, MICRO, O CHEM 1/2, & GENETICS

Please advise on how I can make myself more competitive for application.

THANKS!

 

[inquirer89]

1) Just my opinion, but I believe it could count. Unfortunately I have no idea how you can back it. But on PharmCAS, you don't necessarily need to verify with actual proof. At the very least you can talk about it in your personal statement. Maybe provide your principal's phone number?

2) If you want to have a feel, take Pearson's practice test online, which is the same company that makes the PCAT. It's as close as the real thing, a lot more cheaper, and the score is unofficial. But don't be too worried about making a great score....improvement in you gpa, the fact that you're switching careers, having a BA over BS, etc. will make you a "different" candidate. Admissions love diversity!

3) Some schools have a limit, but generally you can take it as many as you want. But you probably won't get better after 3 tries.

I'd also suggest getting some pharmacy experience (as a volunteer or tech) to prove to yourself and to admissions that you know what you're getting into. Good luck!

 

[rxlynn]

I was in a somewhat similar situation - out of school a long time, so I felt that I really needed to do well on the PCAT. I would personally not recommend taking more than twice at the most. I went into it with the mindset that I was only taking the test once, so I had to go for it as hard as I could. I think that if you get a good review book (Kaplan, not Barrons) and study hard you can do fine the first time waiting until after you take the class. The key to doing well is that you must have a good sense of timing. I struggled with the math section, but before I took it I had done a lot of practice tests so I knew what pace I needed to work at and had practiced how to triage questions so that I didn't spend a lot of time on questions that I would never be able to do. It ended up being my weakest section (72), but doing well on the rest made up for it. You will probably do really well on the reading and language portions with your background, and presumably much better on the math than I did, so that will help to bring up your composite.

 

[hope4fall2010]

Hi,

I am new to this but need help as I am changing careers. I am currently a certified math teacher in TX. I graduated college in 2003 with a BA in psychology. I have been teaching for three years, but am going to quit at the end of this school year to finish up my prerequisites.

Here are my questions:

1) I have a BA, so I've taken classes such as comm. and stats., but they were several years ago. I got an A in both, and have been working as a math teacher...do I still have to retake them?

2) I've spent literally hundreds of hours staying after school tutoring my students (and other teachers' students) without pay...can I count this as volunteer experience? And if so, how do I verify it?

3) For the TX schools, do I need to have political science as a prereq even though I have my degree?

4) I haven't taken Chem 1/2, OChem 1/2, Physics, or Microbiology yet...but I am wondering if I should still take the PCAT to get a "feel" for it and the real conditions? Or is that just dumb?

5) How many times can you take PCAT? Does it look bad if you take it too many times? Do they take the highest score? Or the newest one?

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

 

[fenixtnlfan]

1) Depends on the schools you apply to. Some have cutoff dates, which vary in length.
2) Yes that counts as volunteering. I've never seen a school that requires verification.
3) Don't know about Texas, but my guess is yes if its a prereq unless the school specifically states you are exempt from that course because you have a degree. I've seen schools that will exempt you from some courses if you have a degree, and some that don't.
4) Waste of money until you've taken more of those courses because you won't even know what the test is asking you about. Pearson, the company that runs the PCAT, offers practice tests online you can buy if you really want a look at the PCAT. Though I still suggest you get more of those courses finished first. Physics isn't on the PCAT by the way.
5) You can take the PCAT as many times as you want and most schools take the highest score. Though there are schools that will take your newest one or average your scores together. I wouldn't suggest taking the PCAT more than 3-4 times because schools see all your scores and will probably wonder what's going on by that point. Plus, if you can't get a good score on the PCAT w/in a few tries, you probably never will.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

Merged threads. Please don't double post the same topic.

 

[hope4fall2010]

Merged threads. Please don't double post the same topic.

Sorry...that was my first post. I couldn't find it, so I assumed it didn't go through.

 

[RdRaider]

Hi,

I am new to this but need help as I am changing careers. I am currently a certified math teacher in TX. I graduated college in 2003 with a BA in psychology. I have been teaching for three years, but am going to quit at the end of this school year to finish up my prerequisites.

Here are my questions:

1) I have a BA, so I've taken classes such as comm. and stats., but they were several years ago. I got an A in both, and have been working as a math teacher...do I still have to retake them?

2) I've spent literally hundreds of hours staying after school tutoring my students (and other teachers' students) without pay...can I count this as volunteer experience? And if so, how do I verify it?

3) For the TX schools, do I need to have political science as a prereq even though I have my degree?

4) I haven't taken Chem 1/2, OChem 1/2, Physics, or Microbiology yet...but I am wondering if I should still take the PCAT to get a "feel" for it and the real conditions? Or is that just dumb?

5) How many times can you take PCAT? Does it look bad if you take it too many times? Do they take the highest score? Or the newest one?

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

I'm actually a student at Tech right now.
3) Poly Sci will count on your Humanities and social sciences pre-reqs. You need to have at least 15 credit hours of those.
4) No that is a waste of cash. When you jump into Chem1/2, take Gellene if you can, he is a great professor! When you take Biology, try and stay away from Dini, at all costs. Just ask around, he has a reputation on campus. haha
5) You can take it as many times as you want, but I believe the adcoms will have access to the scores you received on the test each test.

Here is a list of pre-reqs that Tech's pharmacy school requires. The pre-req's are 90% the same as UT's, A&M's, UIW's, UNT(When they actually open their school 😛), UH, etc.

 

[hope4fall2010]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions...they'll definitely save me some major money.

I've got another question though, is it better for me to take prereqs at a university and MAYBE get a second bachelors? or take at a cc where I know the professors to take and that the school offers LOTS of outside help? I'm thinking my gpa might suffer if i went to a university, but then i'd be getting a BS, rather than just acquiring more hours.

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions...they'll definitely save me some major money.

I've got another question though, is it better for me to take prereqs at a university and MAYBE get a second bachelors? or take at a cc where I know the professors to take and that the school offers LOTS of outside help? I'm thinking my gpa might suffer if i went to a university, but then i'd be getting a BS, rather than just acquiring more hours.

This is always a tough one to answer. IMO, I would go to the university and get the BS if you are only a few classes away. The university will offer lots of extra help as well. Just stop by the library or talk to your professors. Most likely out of the study groups, TAs, office hours and library tutors you will find the extra help you want.
If I was you, I would go schedule a sit down with the prepharmacy adviser at the university and tell the adviser your situation, tell them your plan/options and ask for their opinion. Show them that you are serious about this career change and that you know that it is best to get info from the source. Plus it never hurts for you to get your face out there.