Help! is a 3.0 GPA and 90's pcat bad?

[Pharmpills]

Has any1 been in the same situation and just keep waiting for interviews and they dont seem to come in. i mean ive been to a few but none instate. im also doing a degree and as time goes on it seems unlikely i will get into my top choice i thought my 90's pcat and aton of work experience would make up for my mistake but it seems not.

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[cystapharm]

i think 90 pcat is really good and anything over 3.0 is good.

 

[reacher]

Has any1 been in the same situation and just keep waiting for interviews and they dont seem to come in. i mean ive been to a few but none instate. im also doing a degree and as time goes on it seems unlikely i will get into my top choice i thought my 90's pcat and aton of work experience would make up for my mistake but it seems not.

so you haven't got any acceptance from any school yet?????
your pcat score's really good.. and what mistakes are you talking about??

 

[Pharmpills]

so you haven't got any acceptance from any school yet?????
your pcat score's really good.. and what mistakes are you talking about??

i havnt gotten any interviews from my home state florida and mistakes like a few C's in biology classes and repeating orgo 2. i know i couldve done so much better and get a gpa at 3.8 as i originally did but i guess when u come to the realization of ur mistakes the classes get tougher and harder bc you have to take upper level classes but i did manage to do fairly well in upper classes last semester.

 

[bwsalvas]

I got in with similar numbers. Worry not!

Get some pharmacy experience, that helps a lot.

 

[Pharmpills]

I got in with similar numbers. Worry not!

Get some pharmacy experience, that helps a lot.

i have over 3 years experience!!

 

[andrewattheU]

i have gotten into multiple schools with a 3.2 and 89 pcat so don't fret especially if you have pharm experience

 

[AbsoluteEthanol]

chill out, i have a 2.75 and 99 pcat. you're better off than i am

 

[LoKoTe]

chill out, i have a 2.75 and 99 pcat. you're better off than i am

99 PCAT ... wow !!

 

[Alby]

I got in with a 3.1 and 99%, and no retail experience.

I think you will be fine. Concentrate on your interviewing skills.

 

[labrat024]

I had 3.1 overall gpa, 91 PCAT, BS in biochem, no pharmacy experience, very little ECs except my 10 yrs work experience in a health care related field. SO if I can do it with similar stats so can you. You also have 3 yrs of pharmacy experience....that's great.

 

[Pharmpills]

chill out, i have a 2.75 and 99 pcat. you're better off than i am

god lee wow did u get any interviews? im sure adcoms are puzzled by ur grades but i mean when i was doing my first 2 years i had a 3.5 MINIMUM but when the hard classes rolled in, i didnt expect it and it caught me offgard and i pulled a fair amount of C's uhh but we will see. thanks i mean its just hard to see ppl wiht 3.5 and 75 pcat get interview to the schools i want to go and with no experience or degree but hopefully things change.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

wait, didn't you already get accepted somewhere?

 

[k1451372]

Did you apply to all Florida schools, if not which ones? They( Florida schools) just take longer depending on when you turned in your supplemental. I know UF told me that a 3.3 is what they consider competitive and about an 85 pcat. Being that you have a pcat score in the 90s I am sure you are under review. Not to mention they concentrate on different things then NOVA, Lecom-bradenton, and PBA. Like they said they dont really weigh having a BS differently and they dont really look at your individual pcat scores unless it is a determining factor. Until you get a rejection letter its not over

 

[hello18]

No worries... you'll get ur interview soon... I've been accepted to 2 pharmacy schools and received over 8 interviews but canceled mostly all of them after bein' accepted... 2nd time reapplying... PCAT 82, GPA 2.97...

 

[Pharmpills]

No worries... you'll get ur interview soon... I've been accepted to 2 pharmacy schools and received over 8 interviews but canceled mostly all of them after bein' accepted... 2nd time reapplying... PCAT 82, GPA 2.97...

ur my new hero lol

 

[AbsoluteEthanol]

god lee wow did u get any interviews? im sure adcoms are puzzled by ur grades but i mean when i was doing my first 2 years i had a 3.5 MINIMUM but when the hard classes rolled in, i didnt expect it and it caught me offgard and i pulled a fair amount of C's uhh but we will see. thanks i mean its just hard to see ppl wiht 3.5 and 75 pcat get interview to the schools i want to go and with no experience or degree but hopefully things change.

well I'm one of those weird people that never gave a crap about school, i was never challenged by it, nor did i find what i was studying (biochemistry) particularly interesting. My first 2 years of college i got 5 F's and 2 W's and a ton of C's. My GPA was seriously like... 0.4, i kid you not. I then decided that i wanted to do something with my life, particularly pharmacy. So i put more effort into school and turned my 0.4 into a 2.75. I have 6 years of research experience, 1 year retail, 1 year hospital, tons of volunteer work (I'm 24). Soooo anyways, I'm telling you my story in hopes of making you feel better about yourself! don't stress, you're actually a good applicant

 

[labrat024]

well I'm one of those weird people that never gave a crap about school, i was never challenged by it, nor did i find what i was studying (biochemistry) particularly interesting. My first 2 years of college i got 5 F's and 2 W's and a ton of C's. My GPA was seriously like... 0.4, i kid you not. I then decided that i wanted to do something with my life, particularly pharmacy. So i put more effort into school and turned my 0.4 into a 2.75. I have 6 years of research experience, 1 year retail, 1 year hospital, tons of volunteer work (I'm 24). Soooo anyways, I'm telling you my story in hopes of making you feel better about yourself! don't stress, you're actually a good applicant

You should feel lucky that you realized that you wanted to do something with your life earlier than I did. I started thinking like that when I was 24-25ish. Now I am 28 and will be 29 when school starts. It was crazy to see people at my ten year HS reunion that have been doctors for a few years already! It made me think about where I could be now if I would of just gave a crap a little sooner. Oh well, if I didn't follow the path that I did, I probably would not have met my wife. So all things happen for a reason I suppose.

 

[mmafan]

Now I am 28 and will be 29 when school starts. It was crazy to see people at my ten year HS reunion that have been doctors for a few years already! It made me think about where I could be now if I would of just gave a crap a little sooner.

labrat024, congratulations on your acceptance! how was the HS reunion?

 

[pharmdiva]

I had 3.1 overall gpa, 91 PCAT, BS in biochem, no pharmacy experience, very little ECs except my 10 yrs work experience in a health care related field. SO if I can do it with similar stats so can you. You also have 3 yrs of pharmacy experience....that's great.

I'm in a similar boat. I have a 93 PCAT and a gpa around 3.0, BA in Classics (Greek/Latin), no pharm exp. but 7 years healthcare exp. So far, no interview (I only applied to one school ). But...I'm still waiting. I figure if I don't get in this year, I will sit for the Cpht exam and get some pharm exp, then reapply Either way, I'm just happy that I know what I want to do with my life. University of Houston is the only school I want to go to so I'm willing to do whatever it takes!! Good luck guys!

 

[Alby]

Now I am 28 and will be 29 when school starts.

No worries- I'll be 31 when I start...seasoned? luckily I look younger.

 

[confettiflyer]

Check my stats below, they just about match the thread title.

 

[UMBorVCU]

don't worry, I only have 76% PCAT and little above 3.0 but I still get the interview in 3 out of 4 school I applied

 

[UMBorVCU]

oh I also get in 2 of them ( one, I deny the interview since I tired of answer the same questions over and over again)

 

[labrat024]

No worries- I'll be 31 when I start...seasoned? luckily I look younger.

ditto that....I still look like I am 21.....okay maybe a little older

 

[labrat024]

labrat024, congratulations on your acceptance! how was the HS reunion?

The reunion was okay.....nothing too crazy. Saw some people I haven't seen for a long time and some people that I forgot existed. I also got a few job leads if the pharmacy thing didn't go through.

 

[UES Girl]

Hey, Pharpills ! Just wanted to say - good luck !!!! Don't worry everything will work out for you. Keep being optimistic and do not let this waiting get you down, I'm sure you'll get in.

 

[pharmgrl5]

Another "older one" here! LOL. If I get in after doing my prereq's I'll be 26 years old and 30 when I graduate pharm school. I wish I'd started earlier but did things a bit backwards, got married and had kids before starting school. I'm hoping actually that that will benefit me somehow though, one of my schools I'd like to get into is University of Washington and their site says their typical out of state accepted student is 27 or older.

 

[AbsoluteEthanol]

dang... well that makes me wonder if i should wait another year, reapply on day ONE and try to get into my #1 choice.

what's your opinion on this guy? accept to come somewhere i dont really wanna go, or wait another year and HOPE for #1 choice?

 

[labrat024]

Another "older one" here! LOL. If I get in after doing my prereq's I'll be 26 years old and 30 when I graduate pharm school. I wish I'd started earlier but did things a bit backwards, got married and had kids before starting school. I'm hoping actually that that will benefit me somehow though, one of my schools I'd like to get into is University of Washington and their site says their typical out of state accepted student is 27 or older.

You will be able to retire earlier because the kids will be out of the house earlier! Ahhh....early retirement and traveling the world.

 

[labrat024]

dang... well that makes me wonder if i should wait another year, reapply on day ONE and try to get into my #1 choice.

what's your opinion on this guy? accept to come somewhere i dont really wanna go, or wait another year and HOPE for #1 choice?

It would suck to wait for next year and not get accepted to your #1 choice! I would stick with where you have been accepted and get out of school a year earlier. BTW, what is your numero uno?

 

[UES Girl]

dang... well that makes me wonder if i should wait another year, reapply on day ONE and try to get into my #1 choice.

what's your opinion on this guy? accept to come somewhere i dont really wanna go, or wait another year and HOPE for #1 choice?

Which school did you get accepted to and what's your number 1 choice ?

 

[pharmit]

pharmpills- my stats are almost exactly the same as yours, and i got interviews at every school that has responded so far, although I dont think I'm gonna get one at CO unfortunately . But I think you have a very good chance. Don't worry

absolute- Depends on what you want out of pharmacy school. If you are looking only for a paycheck from a retail store, then waiting a year is a loss of money. However, if you are looking at research or specialty pharmacy, it may be best to try and get into a school that can guide you towards exactly where you want to be.

 

[confettiflyer]

dang... well that makes me wonder if i should wait another year, reapply on day ONE and try to get into my #1 choice.

what's your opinion on this guy? accept to come somewhere i dont really wanna go, or wait another year and HOPE for #1 choice?

One year waiting = one year of lost wages, possibly totaling in the $100k.

Is your top choice worth an opportunity cost of $100k?

 

[Pharmpills]

One year waiting = one year of lost wages, possibly totaling in the $100k.

Is your top choice worth an opportunity cost of $100k?

no i wont wait on my top choice at all if i didnt get in bc i run the chance of not getting in to my top choice the next year and even the same school i got in. I wont suggest any1 doing that unless ur like 18 or 19 then sure why not bc then a year would actually be fun but not when ur tad older which most of us are. If i get into my top choice i will tell u all and its either UF, nova, Mercer or palm beach as my numero uno lol if i get in i will tell u. thanks

 

[k1451372]

no i wont wait on my top choice at all if i didnt get in bc i run the chance of not getting in to my top choice the next year and even the same school i got in. I wont suggest any1 doing that unless ur like 18 or 19 then sure why not bc then a year would actually be fun but not when ur tad older which most of us are. If i get into my top choice i will tell u all and its either UF, nova, Mercer or palm beach as my numero uno lol if i get in i will tell u. thanks

you said earlier that you have interviewed out of state... was Mercer one of the out-of-state ones and you are just waiting on Florida schools. Do you want to stay in Florida because of in-state tuition? I guess you didn't like Lecom-Bradenton? Good idea on not waiting to get into your top choice a whole other year

 

[AbsoluteEthanol]

well, I'm from san diego CA (being close to family/friends/girlfriend is really important to me) and my #1 choice is midwestern glendale (3 years and close to home). I'm accepted to Univ of Maryland

 

[AbsoluteEthanol]

sorry for double post, but i really wanted to add this:


i know I can't really be choosy with my academic credentials, believe me, I feel lucky enough to get into 1 school with a 2.75; however, this is still quite the dilemma for me and any constructive critisism is greatly welcomed!

 

[stkyrice]

I (now) have a 3.0 science GPA and a 99 PCAT, which I took for Hawaii-Hilo. UCSF doesn't require the PCAT.

If you're going to become competitive, you'll have to show leadership qualities in other areas, and to retake any courses that you did really poorly in to show that you're really serious about pharm. Before I did postbac a couple years ago, my science GPA was a 2.6, and my non-science GPA was 3.3 (I had a double major in ethnic studies and chem, and ended up doing grad work in sociology, getting an MA). My postbac GPA for science was 3.7 and for the last two nonscience prereqs (psych and public speaking) was a 4.0, and doing volunteer/activist/leadership for the past 10+ years has also boosted my credentials significantly.

You're going to have to show your maturity and readiness in other ways, but improving your GPA by doing well in your repeats will help a lot as well.

Good luck.

 

[labrat024]

One year waiting = one year of lost wages, possibly totaling in the $100k.

Is your top choice worth an opportunity cost of $100k?

And I thought economics was pointless in the pre-pharm curriculum.....There was a least one good take away message......opportunity costs.

 

[rosiered]

pharmpills, when did you apply? The timing of when you turned in your application is important too.

 

[Pharmpills]

pharmpills, when did you apply? The timing of when you turned in your application is important too.

application was sent early sept. and supplimental soon after it seems alot of schools just look at the computer stats bc they have so many applications. i mean just bc someone have a 4.0 dosnt mean they are smarter bc they couldve taken easy classes with the pre-reqs which i regret not doing. i went and took biochem, microbio, and a few nonsense at upper level although grades in those classes wernt bad just the fact that pharmcas calculates repeats with ur grade. i wouldve not had a problem im sure if they didnt do that stunt.

 

[Shprot]

Pharmpills, I agree. In general people who get their prereq's done in community colleges seem to have higher grades, compared to ppl at the major universities. So on paper, cc's look better and it is NOT fair... but major issue is number of applicants and competition. In addition, high GPA does not show how really good of a candidate you are, but thats the way the system is setup right now...

In my opinion your pcat is good, gpa is borderline competitive. I think applying early and to multiple schools are the key in your situation. Although it took me 4 years... but I finally got in with 2.85 undergrad gpa and 90 pcat. Lets hope it all works out!

 

[Antimony]

Pharmpills, I agree. In general people who get their prereq's done in community colleges seem to have higher grades, compared to ppl at the major universities. So on paper, cc's look better and it is NOT fair... but major issue is number of applicants and competition. In addition, high GPA does not show how really good of a candidate you are, but thats the way the system is setup right now...

In my opinion your pcat is good, gpa is borderline competitive. I think applying early and to multiple schools are the key in your situation. Although it took me 4 years... but I finally got in with 2.85 undergrad gpa and 90 pcat. Lets hope it all works out!

Did you go to UCF? Where did you end up getting in?

 

[Shprot]

Did you go to UCF? Where did you end up getting in?

I did my undergrad at UF and masters at UCF. I got in at Shenandoah. I am still at UCF TAing and taking some classes till summer though..

 

[Mini6280]

well I'm one of those weird people that never gave a crap about school, i was never challenged by it, nor did i find what i was studying (biochemistry) particularly interesting. My first 2 years of college i got 5 F's and 2 W's and a ton of C's. My GPA was seriously like... 0.4, i kid you not. I then decided that i wanted to do something with my life, particularly pharmacy. So i put more effort into school and turned my 0.4 into a 2.75. I have 6 years of research experience, 1 year retail, 1 year hospital, tons of volunteer work (I'm 24). Soooo anyways, I'm telling you my story in hopes of making you feel better about yourself! don't stress, you're actually a good applicant

How was your interview? I have mine tomorrow at Maryland. Worried and really tense about it. Any tips? Thanks!

 

[rjblja]

don't worry, I only have 76% PCAT and little above 3.0 but I still get the interview in 3 out of 4 school I applied

wow,, I have almost same stat. as yours..
can you please tell me what schools you applied?

thanks a lot!!

 

[ladynjune]

hi pharmpills..

I didn't apply till late october and I didn't turn in the supplemental until December/January.

My GPA wasn't that great, 3.16, and my PCAT comp score was a 75%. I think what helped me the most was getting my masters. It's a Masters in Biomedical Science, a non-thesis one (this program helps you get into professional school-->Medical/dental/pharm/optometry). Nova and Barry University has this program. So if you don't get into pharm school this year look into these programs, its better than sitting around another year. It's good to keep your resume active, either by school/volunteer/work. I have no volunteer experience in pharmacy, but I have volunteered in healthcare settings. I'm going to be 25 when I start pharm school... So no worries.. it's never too late to start =)

I've been accepted to PBA, just got back from Lecom's interview.. and still waiting to hear from Nova. I don't think I'll get into UF.. they're pretty picky. But I hope to hear from Nova.

But your chance of getting into pharm school is pretty good.. I don't know why you haven't heard from them. I hope my post helped. Good luck to you.