Difficulty of getting into pharm school through community college?

[PharmPrincess90]

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Hi 🙂 I was just wondering what my chances of acceptance are into pharmacy school if i were to go from community college? Can i get into school with an associates of science, or do i just need the requirements? i'm so confused. bleh.👎

And also, since i'm going to be going to pharmacy school, (preferably UMD or VCU, if i'm lucky) i was wondering when i should start planning for my PCATS, such as when i should take them, or when i should start studying for them. I do realize those schools are highly difficult to get into, I just want to know how much work it's going to take to get there. eek.

thankyou 🙂

 

[charfdorn]

Hi 🙂 I was just wondering what my chances of acceptance are into pharmacy school if i were to go from community college? Can i get into school with an associates of science, or do i just need the requirements? i'm so confused. bleh.👎

And also, since i'm going to be going to pharmacy school, (preferably UMD or VCU, if i'm lucky) i was wondering when i should start planning for my PCATS, such as when i should take them, or when i should start studying for them. I do realize those schools are highly difficult to get into, I just want to know how much work it's going to take to get there. eek.

thankyou 🙂

*sigh*

I guess you're probably worried about the surplus, too? PCATS... try to take them in chunks, rather than all at once, and let me know how that goes.

Then do a search and see what other people have said about this.

 

[Passion4Sci]

PCATS in chunks... I love you Charfdorn.

OP... read the stickies and use basic search. This has been covered in like, MORE than ad nauseum, fashion.

 

[drjmariesegars]

It really depends on the school. Not all pharm schools accept community college credits-so communicate with the school early on to make sure they accept them before you pay that money and go through the hassle only to not have them count, you know?

Also, what helps is establishing a relationship with the schools if you can. It sounds like they are in your region. Talk to them-it does make a difference when you start applying.

 

[avuong]

Hello OP,

using the search helps answer some questions, but sometimes it's nice to receive custom answers to your own unique situation.

The best thing for you to do is to call your schools and ask them what their policy is for taking community college courses for pre-reqs, like the above poster said.
Most schools take community college credit so you should be fine.

A typical 2-year prereq schedule goes like this:

Year 1
BIO 1 & BIO 2
Gen CHem 1 & 2
ENGLISH LIT
CALC
+ electives (stats, humanities, micro, social science, speech 101, etc.)

Year 2
O-Chem
Anatomy + Physiology
+ electives (Physics, humanities, microbiology, Econ, etc.)

You should take your PCAT exam after you take at least 1 semester of Organic Chemistry and of anatomy and physiology. You do not need a bachelors degree or even an associates degree for admittance. You only need to fulfill the pre-req requirements and then apply at www.pharmcas.org.

Getting into pharmacy wont be a cake-walk. You will need to bust your buns and get:

• a high GPA (at least 2.5, ideally >3.5),
• a high pcat (at least 80, but of course many people get in with lower than that),
• at least 6 months of volunteering or pharmacy technician experience
• at least 2 letters of recommendation from your professors/ work supervisor
• a good personal statement explaining why you chose pharmacy as a career (dont say for the money/job security/ your parents told you to, instead say you like chemistry and you like helping people, but not in a cliche manner)

If you fulfill the above requirements, you'll make it into pharmacy school in no time!
Best of luck

 

[rphfan2009]

It really depends on the school. Not all pharm schools accept community college credits-so communicate with the school early on to make sure they accept them before you pay that money and go through the hassle only to not have them count, you know?

Also, what helps is establishing a relationship with the schools if you can. It sounds like they are in your region. Talk to them-it does make a difference when you start applying.

Very good advice...listen to this guy.

 

[rphfan2009]

Hi 🙂 I was just wondering what my chances of acceptance are into pharmacy school if i were to go from community college? Can i get into school with an associates of science, or do i just need the requirements? i'm so confused. bleh.👎

And also, since i'm going to be going to pharmacy school, (preferably UMD or VCU, if i'm lucky) i was wondering when i should start planning for my PCATS, such as when i should take them, or when i should start studying for them. I do realize those schools are highly difficult to get into, I just want to know how much work it's going to take to get there. eek.

thankyou 🙂

P.S. Schools in my area won't even look at community college applicants...sad, but a harsh reality. If you do the CC route, be sure to get straight A's.

 

[scha1415]

Hello OP,

using the search helps answer some questions, but sometimes it's nice to receive custom answers to your own unique situation.

The best thing for you to do is to call your schools and ask them what their policy is for taking community college courses for pre-reqs, like the above poster said.
Most schools take community college credit so you should be fine.

A typical 2-year prereq schedule goes like this:

Year 1
BIO 1 & BIO 2
Gen CHem 1 & 2
ENGLISH LIT
CALC
+ electives (stats, humanities, micro, social science, speech 101, etc.)

Year 2
O-Chem
Anatomy + Physiology
+ electives (Physics, humanities, microbiology, Econ, etc.)

You should take your PCAT exam after you take at least 1 semester of Organic Chemistry and of anatomy and physiology. You do not need a bachelors degree or even an associates degree for admittance. You only need to fulfill the pre-req requirements and then apply at www.pharmcas.org.

Getting into pharmacy wont be a cake-walk. You will need to bust your buns and get:

• a high GPA (at least 2.5, ideally >3.5),
• a high pcat (at least 80, but of course many people get in with lower than that),
• at least 6 months of volunteering or pharmacy technician experience
• at least 2 letters of recommendation from your professors/ work supervisor
• a good personal statement explaining why you chose pharmacy as a career (dont say for the money/job security/ your parents told you to, instead say you like chemistry and you like helping people, but not in a cliche manner)

If you fulfill the above requirements, you'll make it into pharmacy school in no time!
Best of luck

I am currently finishing up my pre reqs at a cc and was wondering how pharm schools look upon class retakes. I got a C in chem 2 but im retaking it for an A (hopefully) but earlier, like freshmen year I took eng 1 and calc 1 got F's retook it and got an A in eng and am retaking calc now. I know pharmcas will average out the two grades but will they hold that against me? I had my reasons, as i will state in my personal statement. My GPA is 2.8, but my pharmcas gpa will probably a little lower b/c my cc takes the better grade and not avg the 2 grades. But hopefully my gpa will be up by the end of fall as I finish up my pre-reqs. I'm also takin the PCAT exam this aug, so what would i need to average out my gpa?
and ive been working as a pharm tech for the past 4 years.

 

[charfdorn]

I am currently finishing up my pre reqs at a cc and was wondering how pharm schools look upon class retakes. I got a C in chem 2 but im retaking it for an A (hopefully) but earlier, like freshmen year I took eng 1 and calc 1 got F's retook it and got an A in eng and am retaking calc now. I know pharmcas will average out the two grades but will they hold that against me? I had my reasons, as i will state in my personal statement. My GPA is 2.8, but my pharmcas gpa will probably a little lower b/c my cc takes the better grade and not avg the 2 grades. But hopefully my gpa will be up by the end of fall as I finish up my pre-reqs. I'm also takin the PCAT exam this aug, so what would i need to average out my gpa?
and ive been working as a pharm tech for the past 4 years.

If you take a class at a 4-year institution for an F, and then retake it at CC for an A, this will look like you can't handle the work. It looks like you're going to CC because it's easier, not because it's cheaper, and brings up questions about how you'll do in the pharmacy curriculum. Getting into pharmacy school, believe it or not, is not the hard part. If it feels like it is, you might be in trouble down the road.

Your overall GPA is very low; what is your science GPA? I'm worried that even a 99 PCAT won't be enough to overcome a sub-3 GPA.

 

[SirRichardPryor]

Yeah, it really depends on the college and how they accept your community college classes.

For example, I took my English Composition I and II at a junior college in East Texas. The University of Texas does not recognize those classes I took as English Comp but OU and other pharmacy schools do.