Getting into a pharmacy school

[vcok821030]

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Hi guys,

I've just finished my sophomore year in college. I was talking to my cousin today. He was an occupational therapist who graduated from USC. I almost cried because he told me I wouldn't be a strong candidate. My parents are old and we are still in debt. I spent 2 to 2 and half hours on commenting back and forth each day. I can't move out because I can't afford the cost. I don't want to take loans because I have no idea how I will pay it off if I don't get into a pharmacy school. I can't work because I'll will ruin my grades. I hardly participate school events because I'm always busy with driving and studying. My cousin told me I should join a freternaity and get a leadership position. But it's really not my thing to join a freternaity. And I have a younger sister who will be going to a college as well, which means extra expense over all.

I currently have 3.3 GPA
Volunteering at a hospital for almost a year now.
I will be shadowing a pharmacist or even work at his pharmacy store this summer.
I will be taking the pharmacy technician exam this summer.
I actually joined a club called Global Medical Training. I went to Nicaragua this winter and volunteered to help rural communities. I took out my life saving and spent $2,000 on this trip because I wanted to expand my horizon and see how much the doctors and pharmacist mean to the communities. It was really sad to see the importance of medicine. But I am no longer part of the club because I can't afford a trip like this every year.

I am usually an optimistic person. But at this point, I'm really depressed and hopeless.

 

[mocheeka]

If you're truly doing the best you can, then don't let someone's opinion of you take you down so easily. Life can be a struggle for long periods of time. It's good that you value your family, education, and service. Those are important, and I think if you can express yourself humbly and confidently during the interviews, you'll be respected and accepted.

Just don't make it sound like you are a victim of your circumstances. Become a champion over strife.

If you don't feel comfortable joining a fraternity, don't. Do what you think is right and acceptable to you. If you feel that you can take on the extra challenge of leadership, take that step. Leadership is also important. And if you can manage, getting even slightly involved in extracurriculars would be beneficial in maintaining your interpersonal abilities.

I've met some candidates who ceaselessly trap themselves in a cloud of their struggles/worries. There's more to life than that. More to them than just their struggles. Get out there if you can. Keep your chin up.

Also, think of your debt as more of an investment into your brighter future. You'll be making enough to pay your debts and take care of your parents/family.

 

[Kelp103]

I'm a little confused what exactly you are worried about.
Your GPA seems fine. Your experience seems pretty decent to me (and being able to be a tech will add to that).
Are you saying you can only really apply to like 1 or 2 schools because you can't move? That would hurt your chances, but you may just have to apply more than 1 cycle.
Are you worried about finishing your prerequisites while remaining debt-free? If you can finish debt-free that's awesome! I graduated with the average (read: a lot) amount of debt, but I agree with mocheeka that (in this case) the debt is an investment (it's better to get good grades than stress about paying for school, especially because you can be subsidized loans in undergrad). Are you worried about taking debt in pharmacy school? That's kind of a given :-/ You can limit the debt by the school you pick and such, but very few people graduate without any debt.

And no offense, but just because your cousin is an occupational therapist doesn't mean he necessarily knows about your chances of getting into pharmacy school.
Lots of new pharmacy schools have opened up, this means more pharmacists are flooding the market (possibly making it hard for us new grads to find a job when we graduate, especially if we won't move), but this also means more people are getting accepted to school. Lots of people get accepted with a much lower GPA than you (me for example 😛) and with less leadership (I have pretty much no leadership experience in clubs, I worked throughout my undergrad). I think real pharmacy/real life experience would definitely supplement leadership experience (I would much rather you work as a tech than be in a frat as an admissions officer, but I'm not an admissions officer).
Keep up with your schooling. Keep your GPA up. Don't let stuff get you down (especially people who are not pharmacy admissions people and have no experience applying to pharmacy school). Besides, you haven't even taken the PCAT yet! You can't say you're doomed for pharmacy school (unless your GPA is literally in the dumps) without taking the PCAT.

 

[vcok821030]

If you're truly doing the best you can, then don't let someone's opinion of you take you down so easily. Life can be a struggle for long periods of time. It's good that you value your family, education, and service. Those are important, and I think if you can express yourself humbly and confidently during the interviews, you'll be respected and accepted.

Just don't make it sound like you are a victim of your circumstances. Become a champion over strife.

If you don't feel comfortable joining a fraternity, don't. Do what you think is right and acceptable to you. If you feel that you can take on the extra challenge of leadership, take that step. Leadership is also important. And if you can manage, getting even slightly involved in extracurriculars would be beneficial in maintaining your interpersonal abilities.

I've met some candidates who ceaselessly trap themselves in a cloud of their struggles/worries. There's more to life than that. More to them than just their struggles. Get out there if you can. Keep your chin up.

Also, think of your debt as more of an investment into your brighter future. You'll be making enough to pay your debts and take care of your parents/family.

Thank you so much for replying. You have definitely brighten my day. If I get into a pharm school, taking a loan would be a must. I am just trying to do whatever I can to make it one step closer to my goal. I am just worrying about what if they think "oh this applicant does not show a strong leadership." But after reading your response I guess I was worrying too much. I just don't want to lead myself astray. I will keep your words in mind all the time. I will keep what I am doing. And hopefully, I am doing the right thing.

 

[vcok821030]

I'm a little confused what exactly you are worried about.
Your GPA seems fine. Your experience seems pretty decent to me (and being able to be a tech will add to that).
Are you saying you can only really apply to like 1 or 2 schools because you can't move? That would hurt your chances, but you may just have to apply more than 1 cycle.
Are you worried about finishing your prerequisites while remaining debt-free? If you can finish debt-free that's awesome! I graduated with the average (read: a lot) amount of debt, but I agree with mocheeka that (in this case) the debt is an investment (it's better to get good grades than stress about paying for school, especially because you can be subsidized loans in undergrad). Are you worried about taking debt in pharmacy school? That's kind of a given :-/ You can limit the debt by the school you pick and such, but very few people graduate without any debt.

And no offense, but just because your cousin is an occupational therapist doesn't mean he necessarily knows about your chances of getting into pharmacy school.
Lots of new pharmacy schools have opened up, this means more pharmacists are flooding the market (possibly making it hard for us new grads to find a job when we graduate, especially if we won't move), but this also means more people are getting accepted to school. Lots of people get accepted with a much lower GPA than you (me for example 😛) and with less leadership (I have pretty much no leadership experience in clubs, I worked throughout my undergrad). I think real pharmacy/real life experience would definitely supplement leadership experience (I would much rather you work as a tech than be in a frat as an admissions officer, but I'm not an admissions officer).
Keep up with your schooling. Keep your GPA up. Don't let stuff get you down (especially people who are not pharmacy admissions people and have no experience applying to pharmacy school). Besides, you haven't even taken the PCAT yet! You can't say you're doomed for pharmacy school (unless your GPA is literally in the dumps) without taking the PCAT.

I can definitely become mobile once it comes to getting into a pharmacy school. And I am accepting the truth that pharmacy school tuition will be a huge chunk of debt. I am not worrying about that because pharmacist is a promising job to pay it off relatively quickly. I just hope the pharmacy admission will understand my situation. I am not trying to gain any sympathy or act like a victim. I see those factors and let them motivate me to pre sue my dream. "I would much rather you work as a tech than be in a frat as an admissions officer, but I'm not an admissions officer" totally put a smile on my face. Thank you so much.

(I totally forgot about PCAT. That's one of the ways to show I am a competitive one.)
I admire you much! You sound like a great person/pharm student/ or even a pharmacist already.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Hi guys,

I've just finished my sophomore year in college. I was talking to my cousin today. He was an occupational therapist who graduated from USC. I almost cried because he told me I wouldn't be a strong candidate. My parents are old and we are still in debt. I spent 2 to 2 and half hours on commenting back and forth each day. I can't move out because I can't afford the cost. I don't want to take loans because I have no idea how I will pay it off if I don't get into a pharmacy school. I can't work because I'll will ruin my grades. I hardly participate school events because I'm always busy with driving and studying. My cousin told me I should join a freternaity and get a leadership position. But it's really not my thing to join a freternaity. And I have a younger sister who will be going to a college as well, which means extra expense over all.

I currently have 3.3 GPA
Volunteering at a hospital for almost a year now.
I will be shadowing a pharmacist or even work at his pharmacy store this summer.
I will be taking the pharmacy technician exam this summer.
I actually joined a club called Global Medical Training. I went to Nicaragua this winter and volunteered to help rural communities. I took out my life saving and spent $2,000 on this trip because I wanted to expand my horizon and see how much the doctors and pharmacist mean to the communities. It was really sad to see the importance of medicine. But I am no longer part of the club because I can't afford a trip like this every year.

I am usually an optimistic person. But at this point, I'm really depressed and hopeless.

Your cousin is wrong, take the PCAT then report back to us.

 

[Kelp103]

I can definitely become mobile once it comes to getting into a pharmacy school. And I am accepting the truth that pharmacy school tuition will be a huge chunk of debt. I am not worrying about that because pharmacist is a promising job to pay it off relatively quickly. I just hope the pharmacy admission will understand my situation. I am not trying to gain any sympathy or act like a victim. I see those factors and let them motivate me to pre sue my dream. "I would much rather you work as a tech than be in a frat as an admissions officer, but I'm not an admissions officer" totally put a smile on my face. Thank you so much.

(I totally forgot about PCAT. That's one of the ways to show I am a competitive one.)
I admire you much! You sound like a great person/pharm student/ or even a pharmacist already.

Aw, shucks! Well thank you 😛 I will be a student in the fall.
I wish you luck!

 

[SoulWind]

I wouldn't take your cousins discouraging words to heart. Your GPA is solid and it looks like you have a great amount of exposure and plans as a sophomore in college. It is clear to me at least that you are serious about your education and despite your circumstances you are truly passionate about getting into a program. Keep on going! 😀

 

[vcok821030]

Your cousin is wrong, take the PCAT then report back to us.

I will definitely keep you updated. Thank you!

 

[vcok821030]

T

I wouldn't take your cousins discouraging words to heart. Your GPA is solid and it looks like you have a great amount of exposure and plans as a sophomore in college. It is clear to me at least that you are serious about your education and despite your circumstances you are truly passionate about getting into a program. Keep on going! 😀

Thank you for the kind words! I've talked to my uncle and aunt (who are pharmacists) and hopefully I will be shadowing them both (they each owns a store separately) after my summer classes end. 🙂

 

[oldstock]

T

Thank you for the kind words! I've talked to my uncle and aunt (who are pharmacists) and hopefully I will be shadowing them both (they each owns a store separately) after my summer classes end. 🙂

it is better if you are shadowing a pharmacist who is not family-related in case you plan to get a LOR. GL 🙂

 

[vcok821030]

it is better if you are shadowing a pharmacist who is not family-related in case you plan to get a LOR. GL 🙂

We are not blood related though. They just happen be my mother's friends from her church (it's kind of weird that I still call them uncle and aunt). The thing is that the male have the same last name as mine and his wife carries it as well...(it's common in asian community I suppose). But I can assure you we are not blood related. How should I explain this to the pharmacy school? :|

 

[oldstock]

We are not blood related though. They just happen be my mother's friends from her church (it's kind of weird that I still call them uncle and aunt). The thing is that the male have the same last name as mine and his wife carries it as well...(it's common in asian community I suppose). But I can assure you we are not blood related. How should I explain this to the pharmacy school? :|

I would remove all doubts by going to a pharmacist who does not have the same last name lol 🙂

But you know what I mean. Again, it is better if you do NOT have to explain at all.

 

[MLH]

If I listened to everyone who told me I would never get through school ..I would not be where I am now. You need to get over the debt thing...it is what it is an investment. Do what you have to do. And once your 160k invested into your pharmd that 20k college loan to take the edge off and get you to where you need to go looks like nothing and is nothing in comparison.do what you have to do... Good luck!!