Here is my situation

[Doh1]

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So this is my situation.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Biology about 4 years ago (2010-2014)
since then I had been looking for what career I wanted to get to and decided I would make a decision by the time I was 25. Needless to say I chose pharmacy. I have been working in healthcare for about 4 years now as well as other jobs.

My undergraduate GPA was low (2.5)
but since graduating I had retaken anything I had gotten below a C- as well as other pre-requisites

this totaled about 8 or 9 classes and every class I took I received an A or B grade. With that being said the only hiccups left on my transcript is a C- in Orgo II as well as a C- in general chemistry I. I understand the material 100% but I refuse to retake Orgo II over because it was a very stressful course.

my question is what are my chances of getting into pharmacy schools with these 2 C- grades?

Do I still have a realistic shot getting into schools who specify on their front page that only grades of C or better will be accepted or will they ask me to retake it?

would admissions committee look at my post graduation transcript and see that I earned a 3.4 gpa in those courses and overlook the fact that I received those grades in my undergrad?

 

[capri1722]

Do I still have a realistic shot getting into schools who specify on their front page that only grades of C or better will be accepted or will they ask me to retake it?

If they specify only C or better, they probably will not take a C-. Some schools even say specifically that a C- is not acceptable. You can always call the school(s) you're interested in and ask.

 

[Doh1]

I noticed some schools have taken the "C- is not acceptable" off their respective websites. This makes me think it is possible although unlikely.

edit:
I also sent my verified pharmcas application out early-mid September so hopefully that helps me out in the decision process

 

[deleted950169]

Grades below a C will not transfer anywhere, regardless of if it says so explicitly on the site or not.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

So this is my situation.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Biology about 4 years ago (2010-2014)
since then I had been looking for what career I wanted to get to and decided I would make a decision by the time I was 25. Needless to say I chose pharmacy. I have been working in healthcare for about 4 years now as well as other jobs.

My undergraduate GPA was low (2.5)
but since graduating I had retaken anything I had gotten below a C- as well as other pre-requisites

this totaled about 8 or 9 classes and every class I took I received an A or B grade. With that being said the only hiccups left on my transcript is a C- in Orgo II as well as a C- in general chemistry I. I understand the material 100% but I refuse to retake Orgo II over because it was a very stressful course.

my question is what are my chances of getting into pharmacy schools with these 2 C- grades?

Do I still have a realistic shot getting into schools who specify on their front page that only grades of C or better will be accepted or will they ask me to retake it?

would admissions committee look at my post graduation transcript and see that I earned a 3.4 gpa in those courses and overlook the fact that I received those grades in my undergrad?

What schools post on their websites about admissions criteria, admissions statistics, etc is all a formality.

All you need to get into pharmacy school nowadays is a pulse and eligibility to take out $200k+ in loans.

 

[Doh1]

What schools post on their websites about admissions criteria, admissions statistics, etc is all a formality.

All you need to get into pharmacy school nowadays is a pulse and eligibility to take out $200k+ in loans.

Given Pharmacy isn’t as Lucrative as Medical school or other professions is fine but to say all you need is a pulse and good credit is dumb. The pre reqs seem more difficult than other professional schools.

Ex: calculus, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Given Pharmacy isn’t as Lucrative as Medical school or other professions is fine but to say all you need is a pulse and good credit is dumb. The pre reqs seem more difficult than other professional schools.

Ex: calculus, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry

It’s narrow-minded to think that the number of prereqs determine “difficulty” of a program.

To get into elite medical schools you’d need at least a minimum GPA of a 3.9 and an MCAT score of 40+, while pharmacy schools are consistently lowering their standards to nowadays letting students in with 2.0’s and no PCAT requirement (not to mention that MCAT vs PCAT isn’t even on the same universe in terms of technical rigor).

Does pharmacy have more course requirements than medicine? Probably. But you can get straight C/C-‘s in all your prereqs and pharmacy programs will still take you while you’ve got zero chance of getting into med school with those kinds of grades.

If pharmacy was still a noble and respected profession, then the barrier to entry should be high, but the number of threads there are on this forum with the theme of “My grades are ____, what are my chances????” already shows how quickly deteriorating the quality of students trying to get into pharmacy is.

 

[BC_89]

Keeping in mind what others have said about the profession, here it comes :

Very few schools (over 100+ schools so perhaps what you can count on one hand) will consider a C- since it’s considered below average. Of the ones that don’t explicitly state that requirement, it is still implied. The only way around it is a cold call to the schools with a pre-filled course worksheet with your transcript attached validating upper rigorous courses (ie grad school with organic analytical chemistry course or upper inorganic chemistry)...

You’ll have to do some hunting because albeit they accept that minimum doesn’t mean they bring in those minimum students. Some schools are having a hard time filling seats so IF they consider that minimal grade, it should tell you something of the profession.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

You’ll have to do some hunting because albeit they accept that minimum doesn’t mean they bring in those minimum students. Some schools are having a hard time filling seats so IF they consider that minimal grade, it should tell you something of the profession.

C-, C, C+. It’s all semantics... the fact that we’re trying to make distinctions around bare minimums is already indicative of how far this profession has fallen.

This isn’t like law school where A+’s are treated differently than A’s... this is something else altogether.

 

[BC_89]

C-, C, C+. It’s all semantics... the fact that we’re trying to make distinctions around bare minimums is already indicative of how far this profession has fallen.

This isn’t like law school where A+’s are treated differently than A’s... this is something else altogether.

I notice the difference even over a 10-15 year span when people with 3.5’s along with undergraduate research publications and degrees with teaching certifications would be nervous for an acceptance...

I think I’ll make a post with my credentials just to see the responses. Or a good comparison against other threads on how to handle debt as a prn pharmacist..

The possibilities

 

[Doh1]

I notice the difference even over a 10-15 year span when people with 3.5’s along with undergraduate research publications and degrees with teaching certifications would be nervous for an acceptance...

I think I’ll make a post with my credentials just to see the responses. Or a good comparison against other threads on how to handle debt as a prn pharmacist..

The possibilities

A lot of pharmacy schools are combatting the low standard stigma by having minimum GPA’s.

For example one pharmacy school that invited me for an interview said that my gpa was slightly below the minimum (when averaging the retakes) when their minimum GPA is a 3.0 which in my opinion isn’t all too bad.

We are talking about 2 classes not my entire transcript.
You can’t expect pharmacy school to go by the same requirements as some Medical schools. That’s why med school is the top profession. Leaving those of us that couldn’t get in to go alternative routes. Comparing pharmacy to medical school just isn’t fair. They aren’t the same

 

[BC_89]

A lot of pharmacy schools are combatting the low standard stigma by having minimum GPA’s.

For example one pharmacy school that invited me for an interview said that my gpa was slightly below the minimum (when averaging the retakes) when their minimum GPA is a 3.0 which in my opinion isn’t all too bad.

We are talking about 2 classes not my entire transcript.
You can’t expect pharmacy school to go by the same requirements as some Medical schools. That’s why med school is the top profession. Leaving those of us that couldn’t get in to go alternative routes. Comparing pharmacy to medical school just isn’t fair. They aren’t the same

Your issue is two-fold:

1) The two courses you need to raise are the “bread-n-butter” of the profession you chose. I’m not talking about your whole transcript, just the “8 or 9 classes” plus your below average gen Chem - Organic Chem. No such thing as retakes in graduate school. I’m for remediation for non-trads and commend you on your effort, but you don’t skip organic II simply because it’s “a very stressful course.”

2) There was no comparison (nor did I ever mention the words) Pharmacy vs Med School. The comparison I made was the turning correlation of GPA + salary demand 10-15 years ago to the present dealing with Pharmacy. Nothing more nothing less.

your interview in pharmacy coupled with 2 BELOW AVERAGE science courses implies the statement of my comparison.

I’m all for anyone choosing a career. If you can’t handle our statements of your below average science courses you need to re-evaluate your study habits or burn out in pharmacy school. Come up with a contingency plan to offset your debt in a clearly saturated career IFF you can handle upper science courses.

 

[Doh1]

Feel free to be as honest as you’d like.

I was told to retake one of the C- courses in the interview invite.
The grade I recieved during my undergrad was due a lack of motivation stemming from my immaturity at the time. It didn’t portray an accurate depiction of my capabilities. My point being that I could’ve done the work at the time had I focused.
But I’m not 20 years old anymore, I wouldn’t need any retakes because my discipline level now and then are like night and day. Among those retakes I specified earlier were in fact Organic chemistry as well as general chemistry in which I recieved A grades. I felt this (on top of the other courses I had taken) would’ve been enough to at least prove I understand the material and show my readiness to take on the new level of curriculum.

 

[deleted950169]

I failed two classes in undergrad (as in below a C because that's what failing is). It's not about what you could have done, it's about what you did do. That's a massive amount of retakes.
Pharmacy school was not easy. The below 3.0 students coming in had a severe disadvantage. Most of them ended up on five year plans in pharmacy school which is extremely cost prohibitive. I took a huge gamble that I would be ok given my personal life situation prior to pharmacy school. I had a much higher gpa in pharmacy school than prior to but that is incredibly rare. You also have to take a look at what your prospects career wise might look like in four years. It would suck for you to put all this work in and not have it benefit you.

 

[Doh1]

I failed two classes in undergrad (as in below a C because that's what failing is). It's not about what you could have done, it's about what you did do. That's a massive amount of retakes.
Pharmacy school was not easy. The below 3.0 students coming in had a severe disadvantage. Most of them ended up on five year plans in pharmacy school which is extremely cost prohibitive. I took a huge gamble that I would be ok given my personal life situation prior to pharmacy school. I had a much higher gpa in pharmacy school than prior to but that is incredibly rare. You also have to take a look at what your prospects career wise might look like in four years. It would suck for you to put all this work in and not have it benefit you.

Yeah I took that into account but I’m not worried about the workload because I know I can handle it. There were 4 retakes and the rest were pre requisites I had never taken before.

 

[Timbo]

Just curious, why did you choose pharmacy despite it having the slowest job growth, highest risk of unemployment, and low job stability in the near future?