Help Needed

[jazee81]

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Hi all,

I have some questions and would greatly appreciate your helpful inputs. First let me present my stats:

Overall GPA 3.47
Science/Math GPA 3.35
Pharmacy Experience 3 years and 7 months
Volunteer and other Ec... none

I am currently working on finsihing my degree in Biology. I only got 2 more classes (7cr) left to take to complete my BS. My GPA is not stellar. I have C's in general chem I and Physics 2. My first question is should I take the remaining 2 classes in the summer and get it over with or should I take those 2 classes and retake the chem and physics to improve my GPA?

I plan on taking the PCAT and volunteer at a local hospital during the summer. My other question is should I take the PCAT in June or in August? I just started preparing for it. If I take it on June, it means I only have about a month to prepare. But, if I take it on August, I would have about 3 months that will give me more time to prepare better.

Please share your advice on how I should go about these situations.

Thanks in advance!

 

[tommyVoltage]

retaking physics would be dumb. that class is a lot of work and you will never see physics again. a C is fine. you don't need 3 months to prepare for the pcat unless you have a 2.5 gpa, and you have a 3.5. i'm taking it in june and plan on studying 2 weeks before the test.

 

[avuong]

Hi OP,
your gpa's are fine, actually pretty good. One or two Cs will not hurt you.
take the pcat in June. Your mind will be most fresh. Just skim the kaplan book for an hour a day from now on.

Apply early, submit by october and you'll be fine.
Best of Luck

 

[thephoenician88]

it's too late to apply to be a pharm for fall 09, i say take summer off and prepare for pcat. Take pcat in august, redo chem, finish the 2 classes during fall semester. Apply for fall 2010 in october.

 

[jazee81]

Thank you all for your responses. English is my second language, so I need to prepare more for the verbal/reading sections. I know I can do well on math/chem and Bio sections, but the English sections worry me.

 

[charfdorn]

Hi all,

I have some questions and would greatly appreciate your helpful inputs. First let me present my stats:

Overall GPA 3.47
Science/Math GPA 3.35
Pharmacy Experience 3 years and 7 months
Volunteer and other Ec... none

I am currently working on finsihing my degree in Biology. I only got 2 more classes (7cr) left to take to complete my BS. My GPA is not stellar. I have C's in general chem I and Physics 2. My first question is should I take the remaining 2 classes in the summer and get it over with or should I take those 2 classes and retake the chem and physics to improve my GPA?

I plan on taking the PCAT and volunteer at a local hospital during the summer. My other question is should I take the PCAT in June or in August? I just started preparing for it. If I take it on June, it means I only have about a month to prepare. But, if I take it on August, I would have about 3 months that will give me more time to prepare better.

Please share your advice on how I should go about these situations.

Thanks in advance!

For comparison:
GPA 3.61
Science 3.55
Pharm experience: none
PCAT 99 composite

The PCAT saved me. I think without that my lack of experience would have kept me out. I don't know what schools you were looking at, but your GPA should be plenty good. The pharm experience will carry you to the interview, and you should be able to take it from there. Finish your degree now. Take the PCAT in June and take it again in August if you don't like the way it goes the first time. Write a good essay. Wow them at the interview. I like your chances.

And you might as well start re-taking classes in the fall. If you can re-take Physics and Chem while you're applying, it will improve your GPA in the event that you don't get in on the first try. Then your app will be improved for the second go around.

 

[trailrider400]

As far as when you should take the pcat I think you really need to decide how much time you need to prepare. I needed to really review when I was preparing for it the second time because I hadn't looked at any chem or general bio in a couple years. I basically had to start from scratch (although it did come back to me pretty quickly when looking at it) I decided for me that I was gonna do it right and prepare the whole summer and take it in August. It worked pretty good for me but like I said if you think you only need a couple weeks to glance over it then June would be a better option because the schools will recieve your scores sooner. If you are going to take it in June you'd better sign up for it soon.

 

[aboveliquidice]

Hi all,

I have some questions and would greatly appreciate your helpful inputs. First let me present my stats:

Overall GPA 3.47
Science/Math GPA 3.35
Pharmacy Experience 3 years and 7 months
Volunteer and other Ec... none

I am currently working on finsihing my degree in Biology. I only got 2 more classes (7cr) left to take to complete my BS. My GPA is not stellar. I have C's in general chem I and Physics 2. My first question is should I take the remaining 2 classes in the summer and get it over with or should I take those 2 classes and retake the chem and physics to improve my GPA?

I plan on taking the PCAT and volunteer at a local hospital during the summer. My other question is should I take the PCAT in June or in August? I just started preparing for it. If I take it on June, it means I only have about a month to prepare. But, if I take it on August, I would have about 3 months that will give me more time to prepare better.

Please share your advice on how I should go about these situations.

Thanks in advance!

The june PCAT will not get you anywhere special. Take the August PCAT - Get your pre-reqs done this summer, making sure you do well (two A's would be nice).

Get your applications done early - apply to at least one rolling-admission school.

Your GPA is fine - make sure you do well on the PCAT.