Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, I wish I knew about this earlier. I'm feeling pretty down because I'm going to be a junior and my plans on getting into pharmacy school are pretty much slim to none. I'm going to be a junior and as of now, I'm trying to get a BA in biology. My initial plans were to transfer to a pharmacy school after my sophomore year but my grades are drastically low. As of now my Avg GPA is 2.5, which is terribly poor seeing how my GPA in high school was 3.4. Currently, I haven't taken the PCAT yet. I'm going to be starting classes in about 2 weeks and now I'm taking requisites for my Biology degree. In all honesty, do i have any chance getting into a pharmacy school? If possible, what do I do and what pharmacy schools could I get into, I currently live in New Jersey.
Feeling Dejected, Need of Advice - Please Help
- Thread starter mdolla
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first of all, you don't just "transfer" into a pharmacy school.....
And yes, your gpa is really low. Do you have any EC or pharmacy experience?
there is always a chance...
u need to get a really good PCAT score and alots of A's in your classes to have a shot.
And yes, your gpa is really low. Do you have any EC or pharmacy experience?
there is always a chance...
u need to get a really good PCAT score and alots of A's in your classes to have a shot.
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Well from what you told us, all I know is that you have a 2.5 GPA. You didn't tell us any EC's or experience that you have. You haven't taken the PCAT. So right now I would say no you don't have a chance.
Retaking classes that you got a C or lower in and making A's in them will help. Getting experience (working as a tech or volunteering at a hospital) will help. Doing really well on the PCAT will help.
But you have a 2.5 GPA right now. There must be something wrong in the way that you study. If you can't fix that, there's no way you can bring up your GPA. You have to remember what the real goal is. You want to graduate with your PharmD. Sometimes it seems as "as long as I get into pharmacy school everything will be A OK!" You forget that pharmacy school is 20-25 credit hours a semester with information coming in at speeds you never even imagined. If you're having a hard time managing your work as an undergrad, you're going to have one hell of a time with pharm school.
The thing is, this forum is meant to help and encourage pre-pharm students get into pharmacy school. You'll get people who will tell you to not lose hope or not give up. I'm asking you to look at yourself realistically. Do you think you can get A's in classes that you got C's in? Do you think you can do well on the PCAT? Do you think you can completely retool the way you study and learn material? If you think you can then do it. But if you can't manage to pull up that 2.5 then think about another career because no school will take you.
Retaking classes that you got a C or lower in and making A's in them will help. Getting experience (working as a tech or volunteering at a hospital) will help. Doing really well on the PCAT will help.
But you have a 2.5 GPA right now. There must be something wrong in the way that you study. If you can't fix that, there's no way you can bring up your GPA. You have to remember what the real goal is. You want to graduate with your PharmD. Sometimes it seems as "as long as I get into pharmacy school everything will be A OK!" You forget that pharmacy school is 20-25 credit hours a semester with information coming in at speeds you never even imagined. If you're having a hard time managing your work as an undergrad, you're going to have one hell of a time with pharm school.
The thing is, this forum is meant to help and encourage pre-pharm students get into pharmacy school. You'll get people who will tell you to not lose hope or not give up. I'm asking you to look at yourself realistically. Do you think you can get A's in classes that you got C's in? Do you think you can do well on the PCAT? Do you think you can completely retool the way you study and learn material? If you think you can then do it. But if you can't manage to pull up that 2.5 then think about another career because no school will take you.
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Wrong - you can for certain 0-6 programs.
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2.5 is not gonna cut it, even with a perfect PCAT. You're going to need a drastic lifestyle/study habit change to bring it up to an acceptable GPA. You're probably going to have to look into post-bacc/master's programs after you graduate, and specifically look for schools with an academic forgiveness policy for retakes.
If, even after doing the above, you don't have the GPA or grades....do you have any other alternate career paths? Pharmacy and/or other healthcare paths aren't for everyone, that's just a fact of life.
If, even after doing the above, you don't have the GPA or grades....do you have any other alternate career paths? Pharmacy and/or other healthcare paths aren't for everyone, that's just a fact of life.
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Extra-curricular activity.
Extracurricular/volunteer activities
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Only very certain ones. I looked a dozen 0-6 programs and sent e-mails to them all when I was first learning about pharmacy and how to get in.
"If you have college currently in progress, we can't accept you. Our 0-6 program is designed for exiting high school students."
But it's still possible, I guess.
@OP - Get some volunteering under your belt too.
But everyone else is missing the main crux of the problem - You have an abysmally low GPA. You know that, we know that. But the question no one else is asking is why is your GPA so low? Do you have poor study habits? Too much time playing video games? Take care of 3 children and a sick grandmother? Secret night life as a ninja? Maybe you could explain to us how it was that you came about to have a 2.5 GPA. No one just happens upon that terrible of a GPA - You need to be a pretty careless student to drop that low unless there was a specific reason, or reasons.
So, what's your vice(s)? And once you recognize them, can you step it up? Because even if you get INTO a pharmacy school, that isn't home-free, time to go party/play video games/whatever it is that you do. You can still be failed right out of pharmacy school, and given that the coursework is harder, you'll be up against a wall.
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GPA of 2.5 is too low, and as a junior, that would not be easy to improve since you have about 60 credits already earned. You pretty much need to be straight-A from now on. Can you do it?
And why are you even thinking about pharmacy as a career? Do you even know anything about pharmacy other than it is a good profession that pays well?
And why are you even thinking about pharmacy as a career? Do you even know anything about pharmacy other than it is a good profession that pays well?
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I am always surprised that it is so easy to have your GPA drop but you can't increase it at that same rate. 😕
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Your GPA is the same as your money. Easy to spend or lose, but hard to get back.
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Good comparison.
Talking about that I just got paid a few days and now I am almost out . Life is a b***h
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Good comparison.
Life is a b*tch, why can't spending money be as easy as making money?
I WISH! Spending money always feels SOOO GOOD and working always feels like ****.
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Life is a b*tch, why can't spending money be as easy as making money?
I know the feeling. Its easy to blow $1000.00 in a day but ain't that easy to earn that much in a day (legally of course😀).
epic
