feedback wanted on applying

[hopefulpharmd]

I was in a direct pre-pharmacy program out of high school that had a guarantee that I would get an interview for pharmacy school provided that I meet a certain pre-req GPA. Unfortunately, I was not able to maintain that GPA, and was not offered an interview. Still wanting to go to pharmacy, I re-took some of the pre-reqs that I struggled with at a CC this year, and my pre-req GPA has gone back up to about 3.69. I am transfering to a state school this fall, and hopefully will get my bachelors degree. I do, however, have about 135 units total, although I don't know how much that will compensate for my lack of a degree. I am also working as a pharm tech right now, and am volunteering with some organizations. Do any of you have any feedback on anything else that I can do to strengthen my application? Also, I wanted to re-take o-chem, but my CC does not offer the whole year in the summer; they only offer one semester of it during the summer, and I would have to take the second semester during the fall semester. Do you think ti will be better to take the whole year during the summer at another university so that I can submit all of o-chem grades by August, or should I take it a CC and finish in Dec? I am looking at California schools, so I have not taken my PCATs, but I am thinking of taking them this summer so that I can apply to non-Cali schools also. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you!

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[binghamkid]

I was in a direct pre-pharmacy program out of high school that had a guarantee that I would get an interview for pharmacy school provided that I meet a certain pre-req GPA. Unfortunately, I was not able to maintain that GPA, and was not offered an interview. Still wanting to go to pharmacy, I re-took some of the pre-reqs that I struggled with at a CC this year, and my pre-req GPA has gone back up to about 3.69. I am transfering to a state school this fall, and hopefully will get my bachelors degree. I do, however, have about 135 units total, although I don't know how much that will compensate for my lack of a degree. I am also working as a pharm tech right now, and am volunteering with some organizations. Do any of you have any feedback on anything else that I can do to strengthen my application? Also, I wanted to re-take o-chem, but my CC does not offer the whole year in the summer; they only offer one semester of it during the summer, and I would have to take the second semester during the fall semester. Do you think ti will be better to take the whole year during the summer at another university so that I can submit all of o-chem grades by August, or should I take it a CC and finish in Dec? I am looking at California schools, so I have not taken my PCATs, but I am thinking of taking them this summer so that I can apply to non-Cali schools also. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you!

It looks like you're definitely taking big steps in the right direction. Your GPA will be fine as long as you've satisfied most of the pre-requisite requirements (It's ok to leave that last o-chem requirement for fall semester). You will definitely want to submit your application as early as possible, so focus on writing a top notch personal statement, get your LORs organized and ready to be sent. Also, if you are planning to take the PCAT this summer, aim for scoring in the 80th percentile or higher and you should be totally fine. Your prereq GPA sounds fine. If your cumulative GPA is anywhere near that, you'll be fine as well. Turn in that application early though; that's key.

 

[hopefulpharmd]

thank you so much for the input...I will definitely be trying to get my application in as early as possible. =)

 

[binghamkid]

Not a problem =) Best of luck to ya =) And make use of the resources you have available here. If you check the stickied thread, there are people willing to proof your personal statements on a volunteer basis =) There's also an interview feedback forum (for when you get that far) where you can check for previous questions asked at every institution you could imagine.

 

[Farmercyst]

The only problem I see is that most California schools are really pushing the 4 year degree. Not so much in their prereqs or on their websites per se but if you look at the percentage of the accepted students with BA/BS it is usually very high (80%+) Your GPA is very good, experience and volunteering as well. You may be in the small percentage that is good enough to get in without a degree, but the odds are against you without it. (Odds are however better than lottery, by far)

 

[binghamkid]

(Odds are however better than lottery, by far)

Hehe totally agree on that one. As long as you don't shoot yourself in the foot at the interview, you'll have a shot. Your scores should be good enough to get you to the interview.

 

[hopefulpharmd]

thanks so much guys for all of your input, i really do hope that the odds are in my favor too. are you guys aware of any schools that don't really push for a bs degree outside of california?

 

[binghamkid]

thanks so much guys for all of your input, i really do hope that the odds are in my favor too. are you guys aware of any schools that don't really push for a bs degree outside of california?

There are many schools that don't have a preference for a BS degree. As far as I know, i don't know any that require you to have one.

 

[OrganicPharmer1]

USN is one school that doesn't require a bachelors and is relatively close to SoCal. I would still apply to California schools because ~10-20% of those admitted to Cali schools did get in w/o a bachelors.