General Questions

[freefalling125]

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Hi everyone. I just joined this site today and this is my first post. I wanted to ask a few general questions about pharmacy school admissions, and a few other things.

To give you some background, I graduated from UCSD in spring 2009 with a degree in chemistry. I was working for a short time at a pharmaceutical research company, but after 6 months I was let go due to budget shortfalls. Since then I have been looking for work as a chemist w/ no luck, so I've decided it's time to continue my education. During my time as a research scientist I realized that I am not particularly fond of research; previously I had wanted to enter a PhD program, but now I know better.

Right now I am taking classes at a community college. My intention is to take one year of bio and physiology, w/ a few required classes and science electives thrown in for good measure. I know I want to get into healthcare, but I'm not sure which field to enter. I love chemistry, especially organic, so I'm leaning toward pharmacy school. My questions are these:

1. Does taking classes at a community college make my application weaker? I will get as many A's as I can, and I usually get good grades anyway.

2. Currently, is it difficult for recently graduated PharmD students to get a job? Any predications for the next five years? This is important to me, as I want my investment in my education to pay off, both in an intellectually satisfying way and as a means of providing a good living.

3. How do you go about getting work experience in a pharmacy? My current plan is to cold call some places and see if they are hiring pharmacy clerks, and work part time if possible. Another option is to be a part time student for 2 years, work as many hours as I can handle, and just have some uncompleted coursework when I finally do apply to schools. Any thoughts?

4. I am also thinking about volunteering at a free clinic, without pay, on the weekends. Is this experience comparable to working at a pharmacy where admissions are concerned?

5. Up to this point I have no volunteer service to speak of. While at UCSD I was very focused on my grades and undergraduate research. My GPA is a respectable (i think?) 3.4. Will lack of volunteer service during undergrad be looked down upon? Can I make it up in the coming year?

If you have made it this far, thank you. I have been looking for a place where my questions will be answered and I hope you guys can help me out. I am sure you've seen a lot of these questions before, and I apologize for being repetitive. Looking forward to hearing from you.

- freefalling125

 

[pearljam5a1]

1. Does taking classes at a community college make my application weaker? I will get as many A's as I can, and I usually get good grades anyway.

If you've already got a BS then I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't settle for anything less than an "A".

2. Currently, is it difficult for recently graduated PharmD students to get a job? Any predications for the next five years? This is important to me, as I want my investment in my education to pay off, both in an intellectually satisfying way and as a means of providing a good living.

The future of pharmacy jobs is really up in the air. I would say the outlook is "meh". You'll get a job eventually but it most likely won't be in your first choice location, especially if you are in Cali.

3. How do you go about getting work experience in a pharmacy? My current plan is to cold call some places and see if they are hiring pharmacy clerks, and work part time if possible. Another option is to be a part time student for 2 years, work as many hours as I can handle, and just have some uncompleted coursework when I finally do apply to schools. Any thoughts?

Bite the bullet and get your CPhT certification. If you are a chem major then you probably would only need to study some brand/generics and maybe some law. Jobs are hard to come by right now in any field so volunteering might be your best bet. Remember that pharmacies aren't only in retail; there's also hospitals, the VA, Nuclear, etc.

4. I am also thinking about volunteering at a free clinic, without pay, on the weekends. Is this experience comparable to working at a pharmacy where admissions are concerned?

Some volunteering looks better than none. Anything healthcare related is a + and anything pharmacy related is a ++.

5. Up to this point I have no volunteer service to speak of. While at UCSD I was very focused on my grades and undergraduate research. My GPA is a respectable (i think?) 3.4. Will lack of volunteer service during undergrad be looked down upon? Can I make it up in the coming year?

Your undergrad days have come and gone so don't dwell upon what you've already done. You've got a degree so that is an advantage right there. Just work on getting any kind of pharmacy experience you can. If you're thinking out of state then sign up for the PCAT.

 

[charfdorn]

Hi everyone. I just joined this site today and this is my first post. I wanted to ask a few general questions about pharmacy school admissions, and a few other things.

To give you some background, I graduated from UCSD in spring 2009 with a degree in chemistry. I was working for a short time at a pharmaceutical research company, but after 6 months I was let go due to budget shortfalls. Since then I have been looking for work as a chemist w/ no luck, so I've decided it's time to continue my education. During my time as a research scientist I realized that I am not particularly fond of research; previously I had wanted to enter a PhD program, but now I know better.

Right now I am taking classes at a community college. My intention is to take one year of bio and physiology, w/ a few required classes and science electives thrown in for good measure. I know I want to get into healthcare, but I'm not sure which field to enter. I love chemistry, especially organic, so I'm leaning toward pharmacy school. My questions are these:

1. Does taking classes at a community college make my application weaker? I will get as many A's as I can, and I usually get good grades anyway.

2. Currently, is it difficult for recently graduated PharmD students to get a job? Any predications for the next five years? This is important to me, as I want my investment in my education to pay off, both in an intellectually satisfying way and as a means of providing a good living.

3. How do you go about getting work experience in a pharmacy? My current plan is to cold call some places and see if they are hiring pharmacy clerks, and work part time if possible. Another option is to be a part time student for 2 years, work as many hours as I can handle, and just have some uncompleted coursework when I finally do apply to schools. Any thoughts?

4. I am also thinking about volunteering at a free clinic, without pay, on the weekends. Is this experience comparable to working at a pharmacy where admissions are concerned?

5. Up to this point I have no volunteer service to speak of. While at UCSD I was very focused on my grades and undergraduate research. My GPA is a respectable (i think?) 3.4. Will lack of volunteer service during undergrad be looked down upon? Can I make it up in the coming year?

If you have made it this far, thank you. I have been looking for a place where my questions will be answered and I hope you guys can help me out. I am sure you've seen a lot of these questions before, and I apologize for being repetitive. Looking forward to hearing from you.

- freefalling125

I'm pretty sure every one of these points has been beaten to death somewhere on this forum before, as has my advice to you:

Use the search function.

 

[Project2015]

Forget the electives.

I'm afraid that pharmacy school will likely be the only phase where you get to work with chemistry extensively.

1. Nope. Decision will be essentially based on UCSD. CC stuff is just checking off requirements if you do just as well.

2. General consensus is that the trend is getting more difficult and that it will likely end up just like any other professional career (saturation) assuming that it's even predictable.

3. Forget working as a technician unless you need a job. Volunteer/shadow in a pharmacy instead, join pre-pharm clubs, and investigate the profession (literature or conversations with pharmacists).

4. Extracurriculars are always good.

5. Get involved now. A 3.4 is moderate and definitely will need strong EC and essays to back it up. Hopefully you did get involved deeply with at least one thing at all times during undergraduate. Research in a related science area is great if you plan on continuing it. Since you're not, you'll definitely need an activity to link up to your non-research pharmacy goals.

Overall, you didn't "mess up" so that's going in your favor but you will need something to make you special. It's not too late so make use of the time between now and when you apply next year.

 

[Passion4Sci]

1. Does taking classes at a community college make my application weaker? I will get as many A's as I can, and I usually get good grades anyway.

If you're planning on getting a BA/BS, it won't matter at all. If you're not planning on doing so, it might make it overall weaker (Since the general consensus for all people is that university > CC). Quantifying it beyond that is nigh-impossible. Best advice here: Ask each school you're interested in.

2. Currently, is it difficult for recently graduated PharmD students to get a job? Any predications for the next five years? This is important to me, as I want my investment in my education to pay off, both in an intellectually satisfying way and as a means of providing a good living.

Yes... and no. It depends entirely on region, ability to move, personal skill, etc. It's not what you know but who. Are you getting at networking? You'll almost assuredly have a job. I'm not worried about having a job when I graduate in 2013. You will have work as a Pharm.D. I have yet to meet a Pharm.D at any Barnes and Noble store I've visited, but met plenty of Master's of the Arts. Just saying!

3. How do you go about getting work experience in a pharmacy? My current plan is to cold call some places and see if they are hiring pharmacy clerks, and work part time if possible. Another option is to be a part time student for 2 years, work as many hours as I can handle, and just have some uncompleted coursework when I finally do apply to schools. Any thoughts?

Best way, pound for pound, is volunteering @ Red Cross, hospital, etc. Good luck cold-calling for clerk positions ITE.

4. I am also thinking about volunteering at a free clinic, without pay, on the weekends. Is this experience comparable to working at a pharmacy where admissions are concerned?

Yea. They don't care that you know how to be a technician. They care that you're going to put the time out to do what you need to do, and that you can sit in your interview and say that you know what a pharmacist does and that because you've volunteered/whatever, you know you want to be a pharmacist.

5. Up to this point I have no volunteer service to speak of. While at UCSD I was very focused on my grades and undergraduate research. My GPA is a respectable (i think?) 3.4. Will lack of volunteer service during undergrad be looked down upon? Can I make it up in the coming year?

3.4 is fine, esp. if it's got science stuff. Lack of EC/Volunteer isn't looked down upon. The majority of posters here who have gotten into p.school never did ANYTHING beyond the normal class stuff. Yes, you can make it up, definitely, if you want to.



HTH