How does where you get your undergrad factor in?

[smithek]

I go to a highly respected and difficult liberal arts college. Do admissions committees take into account that my GPA would be higher had I chosen a state school or a community college? I currently have a 3.4 and am a junior.

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[mccarthyaw]

I go to a highly respected and difficult liberal arts college. Do admissions committees take into account that my GPA would be higher had I chosen a state school or a community college? I currently have a 3.4 and am a junior.

What school do you go to, and what is your major?

 

[1ive2die]

No they do not. GPA and PCAT scores are king. The higher the better, how you obtain them is of little relevance.

 

[smithek]

I got to St. Olaf and am a chemistry major.

 

[smithek]

No they do not. GPA and PCAT scores are king. The higher the better, how you obtain them is of little relevance.

It just seems weird to be punished for taking a more challenging route.

 

[crazybob]

It just seems weird to be punished for taking a more challenging route.

I'm sure they'll take the school's reputation into consideration. Even when I talked to pharmacists I shadowed, once I told them where I went to undergrad, they didn't think my GPA was crappy anymore.

 

[hillwilliam]

I think that is part of the reason for the PCAT. It is difficult for the admissions team to "compare" GPAs from different schools.

 

[xsc614]

No they do not. GPA and PCAT scores are king. The higher the better, how you obtain them is of little relevance.

So you are saying a 3.6 at community college is better than a 3.5 at an ivy league school?

 

[hillwilliam]

So you are saying a 3.6 at community college is better than a 3.5 at an ivy league school?

Could be. No way to compare. Assuming the community college is easier or a lesser education is nothing more than bias.

 

[mccarthyaw]

Where is St. Olaf? I have never heard of that school.

 

[UNMorBUST]

Where is St. Olaf? I have never heard of that school.

Thats what I was thinking. Highly respected? Could be, but I doubt anyone near me has ever heard of it.

 

[PharmyDude]

I didn't want to say anything, but I've never heard of St. Olaf either. I would have just assumed it was one of those over priced proivate schools that pad everyones grades.

 

[UNMorBUST]

Well I did a little research into the college. It is a lutheran college. That could attribute to why so many of us have never heard of it.

However, in various rankings they did perform well in some of them. It looks like they rank high in there chemistry department. That does not always equate to a harder grading scale. Also, we don't know how their grading compares to other schools.

And to the comments about CC's. The talking down of CC's always come from people who have never attened one. Yes, I admit there could be schools that are quite easy. During my time at a CC I have had my share of easy classes. I also had my share of difficult classes(I am talking 4 passing a class out of 32+). Also 75%+ of my teachers have held doctoral degrees and the rest have many years in a related field(such as engineering). Also about 30% teach at other local 4-years. Talking with fellow students at local 4-years, also students taking classes at both CC and 4-year, the spread is equal there as well. Some easy classes, some hard. I know several CC's, including mine, are seen locally at the standard. So much so that you start your first 2 years of your degree at the CC and finish your last 2 at the uni(same curriculum). All classes transfer.

So before this becomes a bashing CC thread, I just want to point out that we are all pursuing higher education to furthur and better ourselves. If you find cheated that you went to so-and-so college and it was so difficult. I'm sorry, that is life. You have to live with your decisions. Just play-up other aspects of your application if your GPA is less then desirable.

 

[PharmyDude]

People don't want to be told spending an extra 100K on their choice of undergrad makes no considerable difference so please someone tell him admission comittees add .5 onto your gpa if you come from the prestigious St. Aloof University. All that Lutheran education, O MY, PRAISE him!

 

[UNMorBUST]

 

[xsc614]

So before this becomes a bashing CC thread, I just want to point out that we are all pursuing higher education to furthur and better ourselves. If you find cheated that you went to so-and-so college and it was so difficult. I'm sorry, that is life. You have to live with your decisions. Just play-up other aspects of your application if your GPA is less then desirable.

Agreed. I didn't intend for my comment to be taken as an insult to those who took their pre-reqs at a CC. In fact, I did a year of coursework at CC before transferring to a top 70 ranked national university. The reason for my comment was to point out that the majority of adcom's would probably take the student with a 3.5 coming from a highly respected school over the student with a 3.6 coming from a CC, all else being equal. That being said, I think there are only a handful of schools that would command that distinction (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.). I'm not sure St. Olaf College will make a huge impression on the adcoms, but you never know.

 

[PharmyDude]

In fact, I did a year of coursework at CC before transferring to a top 70 ranked national university.

Ugh, get over yourself... ranked by whom? I bet noone anyone cares about. People need to get over themselves, your school is no better than any NY state SUNY school.

 

[deleted329060]

My school has one of the hardest chemistry departments and organic chem is extremly hard, i seen other orgo finals and they were multiple choice or like givent the spectrum and stuff, but ours is like a completly different language. Do pharmacy schools know the difficulty of the schools science dept?

no they don't. there's no way for them to verify how hard/easy any school is. there are lists out there but their objectivity is questionable:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...raduate-schools/top-pharmacy-schools/rankings

assigning a difficulty level to a school is very difficult. where i'm from, UIUC is considered a fairly high ranked public school but I am sure people on the east/west coast never heard of the school before. i went to UIUC's sister school in Chicago for my undergrad which is considered a tier 3 school (avg) and I'm sure people outside illinois have never heard of it before . then all of a sudden, UIC COP is considered a top 10 pharmacy school. strange but w/e

perhaps pharmacy schools will know a little more info regarding their in-state undergrad schools but that's about it! there's no unbiased master list that exists showing which school is #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. there's no list that shows school 'x' has a great chemistry department or school 'y' has an amazing ___ department

x

 

[smithek]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound snobby and I realize that going to community college can be a good choice for some. I loved the school and it was the right choice for me. I was just trying to figure out if where you got your undergrad mattered, as to see if I should pay a little less attention to the AVG GPA of an incoming pharmacy class. It seems like the general consensus is no. I would have maybe chosen to go to a different school had I originally planned to go into pharmacy, so again, I had no intention of putting down other schools. Thanks for the input.

 

[smithek]

Also, I realize its reputation is not a national one for the most part. My dream pharmacy school is the U of MN -- and they for sure know about us there. I wouldn't expect it to make up for a low GPA, just put an explanation behind an average one. Is that a reasonable assumption?

 

[R2pharmD2]

Some pharmacy schools do specifically recommend taking classes at a four year university. I personally think that's silly but apparently at least some schools have a preference.

 

[hillwilliam]

And to the comments about CC's. The talking down of CC's always come from people who have never attened one. Yes, I admit there could be schools that are quite easy. During my time at a CC I have had my share of easy classes. I also had my share of difficult classes(I am talking 4 passing a class out of 32+). Also 75%+ of my teachers have held doctoral degrees and the rest have many years in a related field(such as engineering). Also about 30% teach at other local 4-years. Talking with fellow students at local 4-years, also students taking classes at both CC and 4-year, the spread is equal there as well. Some easy classes, some hard. I know several CC's, including mine, are seen locally at the standard. So much so that you start your first 2 years of your degree at the CC and finish your last 2 at the uni(same curriculum). All classes transfer.

So before this becomes a bashing CC thread, I just want to point out that we are all pursuing higher education to furthur and better ourselves. If you find cheated that you went to so-and-so college and it was so difficult. I'm sorry, that is life. You have to live with your decisions. Just play-up other aspects of your application if your GPA is less then desirable.

Eloquently stated. I agree 100%.

 

[hillwilliam]

Also, I realize its reputation is not a national one for the most part. My dream pharmacy school is the U of MN -- and they for sure know about us there. I wouldn't expect it to make up for a low GPA, just put an explanation behind an average one. Is that a reasonable assumption?

Yes, your assumption is generally reasonable. I think they generally will look at your GPA, courseload, courses taken/program and factor all of that in.

I believe MN may weigh the PCAT heavily. I did not apply there but they sent me some of their propaganda about why I should apply there after I got a 98 on the PCAT. They obtained my contact info from Pearson.

Also, I don't think you specifically offended anyone with your comment about the cc. But, some comments that followed could have turned the thread into another CC bashing one.