hello i just need some input on this...( like always i turn to the great SDN for help!) if i take anatomy and physiology in the summer my science gpa will go up to 3.5...now it is 3.46 the other thing is i have to study for my pcat which i wanna take in august.. i really need to study ALOT.. i got a very bad score this January.. my overall gpa is actually like 3.5 so far and if i take this class it wouldn't really make a big difference it would only go up to like 3.57 ssoooooooooo should i take the class or devote all the time to my pcat study? i also wanna do some pharm related work and try to finish my p.statement and my application.... the class is going to be 7 hours a day for 2 days a week and it has another course with it that is only for 4 weeks.. and that is 4 hours a day and 2 days a week ...i know this class will take up alot alot of my time and i may or may not get to study as much for pcat as i want soo i really need some input ..what would u guys do? what should i do? thnakyou in advance!!
I say study for the pcat. You wont be able to bring your GPA up much and it would look better if you really nailed the pcat. Plus if you dont take the class you may be able to get more pharmacy/volunteer experience. Good luck!
Having never taken the PCAT, personally, how much study time do you think you'll need? If I recall the next one is in June, though I did read they're changing format (don't know for better or worse) Given you'll have 1-2 months between now and then (depending on early vs late June) If you devoted even 1 hour/day to PCAT that would be 30-60 hours of study. You could cram in the week between Spring/Summer semester/quarter. Not sure if skipping the summer class is all that necessary. If you feel it is, worst case scenario it's just one more class for the fall, right.
how about taking just one class during the summer? Don't take neither class if you don't need it. You don't have to have all your classes done before you submit your application (it doesn't look that much better if you do anyways). Like you said, it won't change your GPA much.
thanx for the advice guys i need to study ALOt for the pcat because when i took it in january i didnt know anything ..i mean all the stuff on pcat i could recognize but i hadnt reviwed so i felt like i knew all the answers and they slipped out on my mind ..i dont wanna cram for the pcat i wanna give my self as much time i need( like the whole summer) and i also need a little break in the summer as well...like go on some vacation...just some time for my self...with the class i am gona take and study for pcat and trying to get pharm experience and doing my applications..PS....i doubt i would have even a min for myself.... it would be no problem if i have to take the class in the fall i was just thinking of doing it in the summer was cause when i will apply at the ens of summer my gpa would have been a lil higher... do u guys think a sciene gpa of 3.5 looks way way better than a science gpa or3.46? the first thing schools look at is the overall gpa.. right?? and does "cummulitive gpa" mean all the classes i have taken of just the pre-reqs for pharmacy?
Cumulative is EVERYTHING. Science GPA will more closely reflect the major prereq's, though it won't include your Calc or English/Speech. In terms of GPA it depends on how they score your application. If points are assigned according to a GPA range 3.3-3.4 = x points, 3.41-3.5 = x+1 points, then it's unlikely you'll be affected given that you're only talking .04 grade points (The exception being if the range ends at 3.49 and 3.5 starts the next range.) If points are tied directly to GPA 3.46 = 3.46 points, 3.5 = 3.5 points then you'll see a difference, and though, while small, it may be significant depending on the overall score for your application.
kool ..thanx for clearing that up..i heard maryland has a point system u know what other school have this system? does pharmcas use point system?
PharmCAS is just a middle-man so they don't assign points to anything, they just collect your information and forward it to the schools you designate. I would think that to remove personal bias that all schools should have some designated system to weight the parts of your application that are more important to them. I know Western uses a point system, and I'm pretty sure USC does as well. What parts of the application get weighted I'm not 100% sure. I know Western gives points for GPA, Bachelor's degree, and interview, but I don't know what else (How would you weight volunteer work? x points/hr, does location matter in ranking, etc.) Of course if the info were public knowledge it would be less necessary to ask such questions on SDN, we'd already know what parts of our application needed the most effort.
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