Having second thoughts

[lovebyscience]

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Hey guys I am currently a senior who is pre-med but now I'm having serious second thoughts. If I was to apply to pharmacy school what sort of ECs would I need? I'm assuming I would need some sort of shadowing experience. Currently I have about 250 hours of volunteer work but I'm sure that wont really count toward pharmacy school. Any feedback would be helpful

 

[honeybee763]

Hey guys I am currently a senior who is pre-med but now I'm having serious second thoughts. If I was to apply to pharmacy school what sort of ECs would I need? I'm assuming I would need some sort of shadowing experience. Currently I have about 250 hours of volunteer work but I'm sure that wont really count toward pharmacy school. Any feedback would be helpful

Hi,

I am currently in pharmacy school and I did not have any pharmacy related EC's on my application. I had been a pharmacy tech for 5 years when I got in, so that may have helped. However, there are many people in my class who have never worked in a pharmacy and had limited volunteer/shadowing related to pharmacy. At my school (University of Minnesota) they really look for a well-rounded applicant. This includes GPA (course load considered), leadership abilities, and a variety of EC/volunteer experience. I think that your 250 hours of volunteer work would certainly look great on your application.

If you have any questions about anything, let me know!

 

[lovebyscience]

Thanks for your quick response! I have a 3.2 GPA with a strong upward trend and I know that I can take the PCAT as late as october or january, am I correct? I am currently undecided on what to do and am preparing to take my MCAT exam in august but Ive heard that the PCAT and MCAT are very similar and so I would be able to take the exam with a month or two of additional studying time

 

[honeybee763]

I think your GPA is pretty good. If you look at many schools, about 3.5 is average. I got in with a 3.4 so you're right on target.

Taking the PCAT in October or January depends on the school you are applying to. Are you applying during the next cycle (this fall)? Different schools have different application structures. For example, my school has rolling admissions, so the earlier you get an interview, the more spots are open. Some schools don't have that so you'd have to check with the schools you are applying to. If you are applying this fall, I would suggest getting started with your PharmCAS (most schools need it).

 

[delano2000]

Thanks for your quick response! I have a 3.2 GPA with a strong upward trend and I know that I can take the PCAT as late as october or january, am I correct? I am currently undecided on what to do and am preparing to take my MCAT exam in august but Ive heard that the PCAT and MCAT are very similar and so I would be able to take the exam with a month or two of additional studying time

If you can master the MCAT, then more than likely you will do well on the PCAT.

 

[kaydee]

i was also pre-med and took the mcat but then decided that i wanted to do pharmacy instead! i took the pcat soon after the mcat and i definately didnt have to study much more after studying for the mcat! and your stats sound great...i also had a lot of volunteer experience but no pharmacy experience and i just got into pharmacy school! good luck!

 

[lovebyscience]

Thank You for your responses! The more I think about being a pharmacist the more I am persuaded that it is the right career for me...if only I had thought of this sooner! I am going to try and find some pharmacists to shadow this week! The only issue I think I am going to have is obtaining new letters of recommendation since all of LOR I have right now are for med school but I think Ill manage 🙂

 

[Lagunatic]

Hey guys I am currently a senior who is pre-med but now I'm having serious second thoughts. If I was to apply to pharmacy school what sort of ECs would I need? I'm assuming I would need some sort of shadowing experience. Currently I have about 250 hours of volunteer work but I'm sure that wont really count toward pharmacy school. Any feedback would be helpful

Curious, why the switch? And forgive me if I'm wrong in this assumption, but rushing into things is never a good idea. We have our whole lives to re-invent ourselves but make sure you're getting your feet wet in something you enjoy. Do pharmacy not because it's a great field to get into, but because pharmacy is a great field for you.