Confused....HELP!

[Allright]

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First i would like to say how great this forum is, I wish i would have come upon it sooner.

my situation
my gpa is pretty low (2.9) and thus far no pharm experience. i am currently an undergrad going for a B.A in Bio with a minor in Chem graduating in SP 08. i have been cruising through the forums and noticed many people saying to retake classes to increase the GPA. i went to my schools websight to see their policies on retaking classes and it states
"Students who hold a bacheors degree may not repeat cources for replacement of credit they earned as an undergraduate nor may they repeat courses at other institutions for the purpose of improving their Universities gpa."

i was hoping after i graduate to retake some prereqs that i recieved a C in at a community college.. so does this mean i cant repeat courses to improve my gpa? or does pharmcas just avg out the 2 scores regardless..

also would it be more benificial to pursue the B.S as i have noticed a majority here recieved that before applying. For me it would be one extra semester and give me a chance to retake some of those classes as well..

another thing.. i have noticed people saying to "shadow" for pharm exp does this mean just to follow a pharmacist around and take notes?
when you contact a pharmacy is this what you ask for ? to shadow one of their pharmacists

thanks for any help

 

[choylifut]

First i would like to say how great this forum is, I wish i would have come upon it sooner.

my situation
my gpa is pretty low (2.9) and thus far no pharm experience. i am currently an undergrad going for a B.A in Bio with a minor in Chem graduating in SP 08. i have been cruising through the forums and noticed many people saying to retake classes to increase the GPA. i went to my schools websight to see their policies on retaking classes and it states
"Students who hold a bacheors degree may not repeat cources for replacement of credit they earned as an undergraduate nor may they repeat courses at other institutions for the purpose of improving their Universities gpa."

i was hoping after i graduate to retake some prereqs that i recieved a C in at a community college.. so does this mean i cant repeat courses to improve my gpa? or does pharmcas just avg out the 2 scores regardless..

also would it be more benificial to pursue the B.S as i have noticed a majority here recieved that before applying. For me it would be one extra semester and give me a chance to retake some of those classes as well..

another thing.. i have noticed people saying to "shadow" for pharm exp does this mean just to follow a pharmacist around and take notes?
when you contact a pharmacy is this what you ask for ? to shadow one of their pharmacists

thanks for any help

It is in your best interest to shadow a pharmacist since most pharmacy program REQUIRE a pharmacist's LOR. You could volunteer at the hospital, get a job at your community pharmacy, or anything health-care related that interests you. On the other hand, I know people who were admitted without pharm experience BUT they possess a pretty solid GPA and EC.

 

[Pharmpills]

First i would like to say how great this forum is, I wish i would have come upon it sooner.

my situation
my gpa is pretty low (2.9) and thus far no pharm experience. i am currently an undergrad going for a B.A in Bio with a minor in Chem graduating in SP 08. i have been cruising through the forums and noticed many people saying to retake classes to increase the GPA. i went to my schools websight to see their policies on retaking classes and it states
"Students who hold a bacheors degree may not repeat cources for replacement of credit they earned as an undergraduate nor may they repeat courses at other institutions for the purpose of improving their Universities gpa."

i was hoping after i graduate to retake some prereqs that i recieved a C in at a community college.. so does this mean i cant repeat courses to improve my gpa? or does pharmcas just avg out the 2 scores regardless..

also would it be more benificial to pursue the B.S as i have noticed a majority here recieved that before applying. For me it would be one extra semester and give me a chance to retake some of those classes as well..

another thing.. i have noticed people saying to "shadow" for pharm exp does this mean just to follow a pharmacist around and take notes?
when you contact a pharmacy is this what you ask for ? to shadow one of their pharmacists

thanks for any help

whats ur pcat score?

 

[Allright]

thank you for the replies

the pharm schools i am intersted in do not require pcat however if the situation rises where i need to apply out of state i would then of course have to take it.. however as of yet i have not taken it..

my main consern right now is getting my gpa up. i have one semester left or 2 if i decide to go for B.S but even 2 semesters does not improve the gpa that much (to make me competitive with high gpa) that is why i was interested in retaking some pre reqs that i got C's in..

i am also currently searching for volunteer work in my area . even if it isnt in a pharmacy field i think anything will help...

i inquired with work in a hospital but i think they require health screening which includes blood work.. and i afraid of needles..no problem with injections its just the blood being drawn out..

 

[choylifut]

thank you for the replies

the pharm schools i am intersted in do not require pcat however if the situation rises where i need to apply out of state i would then of course have to take it.. however as of yet i have not taken it..

my main consern right now is getting my gpa up. i have one semester left or 2 if i decide to go for B.S but even 2 semesters does not improve the gpa that much (to make me competitive with high gpa) that is why i was interested in retaking some pre reqs that i got C's in..

i am also currently searching for volunteer work in my area . even if it isnt in a pharmacy field i think anything will help...

i inquired with work in a hospital but i think they require health screening which includes blood work.. and i afraid of needles..no problem with injections its just the blood being drawn out..

I volunteer at my hospital and (most hospitals I check) require volunteers to do a TB test, nothing blood work related. RE needles, FACE YOUR FEARS!! LOL!

 

[Allright]

^^
yea that can be a great point to make in any potential interview
overcoming fear of needles...

from what i understand the grade adjustment done by pharmcas is that any repeat classes are taken as just another class taken and semester points are just added to the total (as if you are taking another class) while the class with the bad grade remains in the total.. am i correct??

also i am curious as to how many of the people that have taken Ochem as upper division? taken at University not CC
my first semester was lower division (got a B)
second semester was upper division (got a C) also one lab lower division (got C)
will the pharm schools take into consideration the upper division ochem class?

i was considering retaking the second semester at CC with the lab.


thanks for the replies

 

[Farmer83]

First i would like to say how great this forum is, I wish i would have come upon it sooner.

my situation
my gpa is pretty low (2.9) and thus far no pharm experience. i am currently an undergrad going for a B.A in Bio with a minor in Chem graduating in SP 08. i have been cruising through the forums and noticed many people saying to retake classes to increase the GPA. i went to my schools websight to see their policies on retaking classes and it states
"Students who hold a bacheors degree may not repeat cources for replacement of credit they earned as an undergraduate nor may they repeat courses at other institutions for the purpose of improving their Universities gpa."

i was hoping after i graduate to retake some prereqs that i recieved a C in at a community college.. so does this mean i cant repeat courses to improve my gpa? or does pharmcas just avg out the 2 scores regardless..

also would it be more benificial to pursue the B.S as i have noticed a majority here recieved that before applying. For me it would be one extra semester and give me a chance to retake some of those classes as well..

another thing.. i have noticed people saying to "shadow" for pharm exp does this mean just to follow a pharmacist around and take notes?
when you contact a pharmacy is this what you ask for ? to shadow one of their pharmacists

thanks for any help

Well it seems you can't repeat courses at your particular university. Maybe once you graduate, you can repeat it at a community college? I'm in the same boat. I have a 2.8 GPA and in the process of getting through my supplemental applications. Just try to be optimistic through the process and hope that you'll get in. 🙂 Try to get some pharmacy experience if possible. I luckily found a place this past summer where I could volunteer.

Don't worry about your stats. It may be low, but as a lot of people have been saying, pharmacy schools want to see that upward trend. My stats aren't great either. I have a 2.8 GPA, BS in Biology, a 85 PCAT score, and some volunteer pharmacy experience. But i have a gradual upward trend in my grades and I think the 10 pharmacy schools will take that into account.

Good luck!

 

[stkyrice]

^^
yea that can be a great point to make in any potential interview
overcoming fear of needles...

from what i understand the grade adjustment done by pharmcas is that any repeat classes are taken as just another class taken and semester points are just added to the total (as if you are taking another class) while the class with the bad grade remains in the total.. am i correct??

also i am curious as to how many of the people that have taken Ochem as upper division? taken at University not CC
my first semester was lower division (got a B)
second semester was upper division (got a C) also one lab lower division (got C)
will the pharm schools take into consideration the upper division ochem class?

i was considering retaking the second semester at CC with the lab.


thanks for the replies

To answer the first question, yes, all your classes, even if they are retakes will just be added and calculated into your GPA and will not replace your grades.

As for o-chem, it doesn't really matter if it's upper or lower division, but given the grades that you've got, you'll need to repeat it. I got C's in all 3 quarters of o-chem the first time around. I retook it and got a B for first semester and then an A+ for second semester, and that earned me my UCSF interview invite. Considering that many schools consider o-chem as a major part of pharm, especially since you'll probably do at least one to two more quarters of advanced o-chem your first year, you'll need to raise that up for your app to even be considered. Some of my friends who got rejected from UCSF said that the profs really take o-chem into account (one got C's in first semester o-chem every time she's taken it and was rejected by all of the schools she applied to because of it), and I'm pretty sure that most pharm schools will look at it the same way.

As long as you fulfill the requirements set up by that school, most schools won't care whether it's upper or lower division. Considering that upper division courses tend to grade relatively easier than lower, the fact that you got a C in your upper division o-chem class will probably work seriously against you.

 

[OKgirl]

i inquired with work in a hospital but i think they require health screening which includes blood work.. and i afraid of needles..no problem with injections its just the blood being drawn out..

The needles they use for that are usually very small and you barely even notice it going in.

To anyone who knows--when they are calculating your gpa, do they also use the classes that weren't required for the pre-reqs? If they do, then I think what you could do is take additional classes that aren't required so you can rasie your gpa w/o retaking any classes.

 

[Allright]

^^^
from what i understand pharmcas is gonna take ALL your classes that you have taken in college..

farmer 83
i read over my universitys websight and it says that you can retake classes and they will replace second grade onto your gpa but the original grade remains on transcript. but pharmcas avgs it out anyways

i am trying to do a preliminary gpa calculation of my science classes
im not sure about these classes if i should include them in my science gpa
Human Sexuality(health science)
Human Development (i think its a nursing class)
Health Ed.( i think a nutriton class)

thank you for any help

 

[Allright]

As long as you fulfill the requirements set up by that school, most schools won't care whether it's upper or lower division. Considering that upper division courses tend to grade relatively easier than lower, the fact that you got a C in your upper division o-chem class will probably work seriously against you.

not from my experience do upper div class grade easier in fact its mostly the opposite with a high precentage of the class in the "C" rannge going into the final with 2-3 "A" in a class of 40+

most pharm schools that i have seen require 8 total units for ochem with labs in both classes..

I am in a bit of a delima as the ochem series is set up a bit differently then the 8 units system.
the first ochem class was 3 units with no lab and you cant take the first lab untill you finished the class. next semester you take lab as a seperare class concurrently with ochem 2 totaling 9 units. if i were to take the second ochem lab (which my teacher said was not needed for pre-health students) and it too is upper div would total 12 units..
do you guys think what i have taken so far fullfills schools requirements?
i was gonna retake ochem 2 anyways which is class and lab together at a CC

 

[LuvCaramelFraps]

To answer the first question, yes, all your classes, even if they are retakes will just be added and calculated into your GPA and will not replace your grades.

As for o-chem, it doesn't really matter if it's upper or lower division, but given the grades that you've got, you'll need to repeat it. I got C's in all 3 quarters of o-chem the first time around. I retook it and got a B for first semester and then an A+ for second semester, and that earned me my UCSF interview invite. Considering that many schools consider o-chem as a major part of pharm, especially since you'll probably do at least one to two more quarters of advanced o-chem your first year, you'll need to raise that up for your app to even be considered. Some of my friends who got rejected from UCSF said that the profs really take o-chem into account (one got C's in first semester o-chem every time she's taken it and was rejected by all of the schools she applied to because of it), and I'm pretty sure that most pharm schools will look at it the same way.

As long as you fulfill the requirements set up by that school, most schools won't care whether it's upper or lower division. Considering that upper division courses tend to grade relatively easier than lower, the fact that you got a C in your upper division o-chem class will probably work seriously against you.

Hey Stkyrice, you said that your O-Chem grades played an important role in getting a UCSF interview and I'd like to apply there for Fall 2009. I'd like to have your opinion on my situation: I got an A in lecture and A lab the first quarter of O-Chem, an A- in lecture and an A in lab the second quarter of O-Chem, a C+ in lecture and an A in lab the third quarter in O-Chem (I totally bombed the lecture final!) so that my OChem grade averages to a 3.55. I also took advanced upper division O-Chem and got a B. I was thinking about taking a refresher course in OChem at a CC since I took it back in 2003-2004. Do you think that will help smoothen over the stupid C+ I got? Because I know for a fact that I can do better than a C+. I'll probably just end up taking it just to prove to myself that I can do better. LoL. I don't know if that makes any sense.

 

[stkyrice]

Hey Stkyrice, you said that your O-Chem grades played an important role in getting a UCSF interview and I'd like to apply there for Fall 2009. I'd like to have your opinion on my situation: I got an A in lecture and A lab the first quarter of O-Chem, an A- in lecture and an A in lab the second quarter of O-Chem, a C+ in lecture and an A in lab the third quarter in O-Chem (I totally bombed the lecture final!) so that my OChem grade averages to a 3.55. I also took advanced upper division O-Chem and got a B. I was thinking about taking a refresher course in OChem at a CC since I took it back in 2003-2004. Do you think that will help smoothen over the stupid C+ I got? Because I know for a fact that I can do better than a C+. I'll probably just end up taking it just to prove to myself that I can do better. LoL. I don't know if that makes any sense.

Makes perfect sense. 🙂

Considering you aced the first two quarters of o-chem, I wouldn't sweat it, but there's nothing wrong with retaking it and acing the last quarter. UCSF really looks at o-chem, and a C+ could probably just be seen as a blip, especially since you got a B in advanced o-chem, and your o-chem GPA is a 3.55.

I was forced to retake o-chem since I had first taken it 15 years ago, and many schools require retakes if it's been 7+ years (UCSF doesn't, btw). I talked to the guys in OSACA (UCSF's student affairs office), and they said that retakes are good--only if you improve significantly in them. The fact I went from a C in o-chem in '92 to an A+ in '07 counts for a lot, I think. 🙂

 

[stkyrice]

not from my experience do upper div class grade easier in fact its mostly the opposite with a high precentage of the class in the "C" rannge going into the final with 2-3 "A" in a class of 40+

most pharm schools that i have seen require 8 total units for ochem with labs in both classes..

I am in a bit of a delima as the ochem series is set up a bit differently then the 8 units system.
the first ochem class was 3 units with no lab and you cant take the first lab untill you finished the class. next semester you take lab as a seperare class concurrently with ochem 2 totaling 9 units. if i were to take the second ochem lab (which my teacher said was not needed for pre-health students) and it too is upper div would total 12 units..
do you guys think what i have taken so far fullfills schools requirements?
i was gonna retake ochem 2 anyways which is class and lab together at a CC

You'll have to look at the requirements for each school, though I think o-chem lab and lecture are required for nearly all pharm schools. If it's still unclear, call the schools' student affairs offices up directly so you're not second guessing and so you can plan your schedule.