GPA or Pcat, yea rite, check this out

[cubicw86]

Really people, does GPA or Pcat scores really matters?

HOW ABOUT THE UNITS.
my councelor told me that pharm schools hardly consider people who had 14 units or lower in a semester unless they have a good reason. Also the amount of science or math courses you took in a semester, now that really counts too. I mean people who took only one hard course in a semester might be in danger. 3 or up is a good number, 2 is good too depending on how hard the course is, cough ochem cough!!

so when ask about stats, not just GPA or Pcats, indicate approximately how many science or math course you took per semester.

Bachelor of science or Masters (this questions was asked alot)
Usually when people apply, they have a Bachelors degree. If a person doesnt get into pharmacy school and had applied many times, then he or she should try getting a masters degree. The reason is that, the master's degree makes you stand out more, since majority of the applicants will only have a Bachelors. If you get a 2.8-3.0 GPA in your masters, but your Bachelor competitors have 3.4 and up, they will still consider you more. People without Bachelors can still get in, but they need to get an acceptionally high GPA like 3.8 and up. Plus their course work and units have to be pretty high.


WHen they say that getting into pharmacy school is harder, they dont neccessarily mean you need a high GPA to get in. They mean that everything is more strict in the application. For example: along time ago, we dont have interviews, we have less requirements to go through, and the application wasnt that detailed. Dont get me wrong GPA does matter, but it does not determine if you get in or not. It's all about how you write your application.

That's what my councelor told me.
and Im not suppose to be applying this year, cuz its wayy too early for me, but Im still going to do it, so I can get the application experience, which is very crucial.


I hope this is alittle bit encouraging or help most people out there. If my infos are wrong, please let me know, because I'm still learning.

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[a504n]

I never took more than 13 hours a semester, and I got accepted to Pharmacy school. I did however, take at least two science lectures, between 1-2 science labs, and one math course each semester. I always had hard classes every semester, that's why I only took at the most, 13 hours a semester.

 

[patmcd]

I think the majority of people still don't have a Bs degree, athough its shifting more that way. Your right its not just your pcat and gpa, its your whole application. Having more credits doesn't really mean that the acceptible gpa range gets lower. They want to see a steady gpa or an increasing one. Taking more classes and getting a lower gpa isn't going to do you any good, at best it will be a moot point. Taking 14+ credits each semster isn't required either. My friend got in to pharmacy school w/no degree, sub 3.3 gpa, ok pcat, and never more than 14 credits each semester. Things like your personal statement and interview can/often are a huge part of your application. When I applied to school several adcom people told me that gpa/pcat often get you an interview, but your interview/essay get you into school. Just becuase you can get a 3.9 gpa while taking 18 credits doesnt mean that you will be successful in pharmacy school or as a pharmacist.

I wouldn't agree with spending time on application when even you think your not ready. Sounds like a waste of time and money. Your time could be better spent on doing well in your prereq classes and finding some good EC's to set your application apart.

 

[collinisem]

I agree with most of what patmd said. I understand that there are certain qualities that greatly increase an applicants chances of getting into a pharmacy school, but there is really no "magic formula." I've heard people with stellar GPAs get rejected and people with low PCAT scores have been accepted. I do agree that it's a plus to take a heavy courseload to prove oneself, but again there are several people that have been admitted to pharm school without doing so.

I also do not think that you should spend time applying for the "experience." It's expensive to apply to pharmacy school not to mention having to balance the application process with your other classes. Other than the interview I don't really know what valuable "experience" (if any) you would be gaining from the entire process. If you're nervous about interviewing, your school probably has resources like mock interviews that could help you. Like patmd said, you'd be better off exerting that energy into something else, like volunteer work which will strengthen your application.

Anyway, I hope this helps. And please don't take anything that I said in a negative way. I know that it's difficult to discern one's tone over the internet, so I just wanted to clarify. I'm just trying to help.

 

[TennisBoy78]

It is also important to note that some schools are much more difficult than others to get into than others. For instance, state schools in such states as New York or California are more difficult to get into because a gazillion people live in those states, so the applicant pool is so high, whereas a state school in Montana is remarkably less competitive (gee, I wonder why!)

I definately agree with the statement that PCAT scores and GPA get you into the interview but that having a good interview and personal statement gets you into school. There are pharmaceutical research positions, but mainly what schools are looking for is the typical pharmacist type of job. They want their applicants to be approachable and friendly, not reclusive or head strong.

The Masters story is a waste of someone's money and time. Sure, it puts someone in a better position, but there are consequences to that decision as well. The biggest is the increased debt and waste of precious years of their life to be pursuing something else (to which a person might have no interest in). No one in their rational mind would be pursuing a pharmacy degree by first getting a masters. Applicants to pharmacy school who have their masters are pursuing Pharmacy as their second (or third, fourth, etc) option because their interests have changed. Bottom line, pharmacy was NOT their original plan.

 

[doublehh03]

taking a heavy courseload (16 or more units in a quarter system for me) + working BUT maintaining a relatively good GPA will show your work ethic and ability to handle the rigorous curriculum of pharm school. i think EVERY professional school loves that.

it won't be helpful if you get a low GPA, but if you're one of those who work 40+ hours full time, it could be explainable.

 

[misstofu]

WELL, I dont know about those stuff, but I have a question, i mean many..and hoping that there will be alot of good answers for my questions.
well for my case, i have no pcat, my gpa is 3.5, no bs degree, then is it possible to get into any pharmacy school? or is it not competitive enough...well, i have volunteered for the hospital, i used to be a secretary for this one university club that i'm not attending, joined into this one club for 2 years, and i will do more volunteer...BUT ANYWAYS, i really want to apply for year 07, but do u guys think my chances are high or pretty low?? like the author of this thread have metioned....
please let me know....( AND I DONT KNOW WHY I COUDLN'T POST A NEW THREAD)

 

[shaq786]

I guess I'm at odds here, I never took more than 12 hours. And out of those 12 hours 1 credit hour was from a tutorial chem class lol. There was even one semester where I took 10 hours(yeoowhh). I dont entirely believe it is impossible to get into pharm school with those a lack of coarse load. My friend had a 3.7 GPA, 92 PCAT, with a little bit of pharm experience and got put on a waiting list for UGA(Only place he applied to). And he was only taking 12 hours.

I think if you have any moderate explanation for your lack of coarse load, it will suffice provided that you have excellent stats to counterbalance what your lacking. Hopefully, I can write it off by saying I worked 25 hours a week, and I will not work when I get into pharm school.

 

[doublehh03]

WELL, I dont know about those stuff, but I have a question, i mean many..and hoping that there will be alot of good answers for my questions.
well for my case, i have no pcat, my gpa is 3.5, no bs degree, then is it possible to get into any pharmacy school? or is it not competitive enough...well, i have volunteered for the hospital, i used to be a secretary for this one university club that i'm not attending, joined into this one club for 2 years, and i will do more volunteer...BUT ANYWAYS, i really want to apply for year 07, but do u guys think my chances are high or pretty low?? like the author of this thread have metioned....
please let me know....( AND I DONT KNOW WHY I COUDLN'T POST A NEW THREAD)

you're fine. just try to get the BS b4 you matriculate into pharm school most of us are applyin no having the BS right now.

the BS will make you more competitive at the better schools b/c nearly 100% of them have BS degrees.

but your stats and ECs are fine.

 

[patmcd]

you're fine. just try to get the BS b4 you matriculate into pharm school most of us are applyin no having the BS right now.

the BS will make you more competitive at the better schools b/c nearly 100% of them have BS degrees.

but your stats and ECs are fine.

I doubt many of the "top ranked" schools even reach 75% of their students having a bs degree. There are only a few schools who say outright that they prefer students to have a bs degree.

 

[doublehh03]

I doubt many of the "top ranked" schools even reach 75% of their students having a bs degree. There are only a few schools who say outright that they prefer students to have a bs degree.

i think most of cali schools, when i look at their stats, have 100% of their students w/ BS, like UCSF, USC, UCSD.

but as of right now, primarily all the good schools are moving towards that direction.

 

[cubicw86]

WOwo, after reading all that post, I guess there's really no formula for how we get in. TRY YOUR BEST PPL

I'm sorry if some of my infos are wrong, I just got them out of my councelor.
Im very inexperience in the field of applying, but i really want to know more about it so im only applying to couple of schools.
My councelor advice me to go for it, she said i have a total of 96 units in a short amount of time, finish almost all pre-req, volunteer, ok GPA, and everything. I will be gettin my bachlor of science real soon, but still my parents think Im not "mature" enough to go to grad school, they just want me to apply to get to know the stress and stuff like that. I do agree that its a waste of time and money, and Im lazy waaaaaa. Oh well!!

I'm probably gonna wait another year or two to really go to grad school. After all I'm still a sophomore. I felt like its a big step and for those of you who are really going, "u guys are brave"

 

[tdkneo]

Really people, does GPA or Pcat scores really matters?

HOW ABOUT THE UNITS.
my councelor told me that pharm schools hardly consider people who had 14 units or lower in a semester unless they have a good reason. Also the amount of science or math courses you took in a semester, now that really counts too. I mean people who took only one hard course in a semester might be in danger. 3 or up is a good number, 2 is good too depending on how hard the course is, cough ochem cough!!

so when ask about stats, not just GPA or Pcats, indicate approximately how many science or math course you took per semester.

Bachelor of science or Masters (this questions was asked alot)
Usually when people apply, they have a Bachelors degree. If a person doesnt get into pharmacy school and had applied many times, then he or she should try getting a masters degree. The reason is that, the master's degree makes you stand out more, since majority of the applicants will only have a Bachelors. If you get a 2.8-3.0 GPA in your masters, but your Bachelor competitors have 3.4 and up, they will still consider you more. People without Bachelors can still get in, but they need to get an acceptionally high GPA like 3.8 and up. Plus their course work and units have to be pretty high.


WHen they say that getting into pharmacy school is harder, they dont neccessarily mean you need a high GPA to get in. They mean that everything is more strict in the application. For example: along time ago, we dont have interviews, we have less requirements to go through, and the application wasnt that detailed. Dont get me wrong GPA does matter, but it does not determine if you get in or not. It's all about how you write your application.

That's what my councelor told me.
and Im not suppose to be applying this year, cuz its wayy too early for me, but Im still going to do it, so I can get the application experience, which is very crucial.


I hope this is alittle bit encouraging or help most people out there. If my infos are wrong, please let me know, because I'm still learning.

i agree, it's much better to take at least one or two science courses a semester than because that actually shows how serious the applicant really is about pursuing pharmacy.........

 

[genesis09]

at UIC, for my class, 60% already had a bachelors degree.