I Can't Get References

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kurtis88

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In December I graduated from a large university obtaining a BA in chemistry with approximately a 3.5 GPA. Instead of applying to PharmD programs for fall 2015, I decided to take the year and a half off to take an online class, volunteer/intern in a pharmacy, and retake the PCAT (I did pretty mediocre my first time).

My major concern about my application is my severe lack of references. As I said I went to a big school and did not really get to know any professors well enough to write me a reference letter. In fact, the one professor I thought I knew well thought otherwise and refused to write me a letter.

I have contacted numerous hospitals around my home to find an internship or volunteer position over the past 5 months, and I continue to get the same response of: "We're sorry but you cannot volunteer in pharmacy without being in pharmacy school already". I have also looked at pharmacies such as CVS, Target, etc for interns however there are also no internship positions around me.

I know my GPA and degree aren't exactly world class and can carry me to an acceptance without any references. If I even get an internship/volunteer position by the end of June is the 5 months until the next application cycle even enough to get me a solid reference? Even then is 1 reference good enough?

I know I should have worked harder at earning personal relationships with professors throughout my college career. However, that is in the past and I can't exactly change that now, so please do not tear me apart in that regard. (I am also aware my degree and GPA are a joke, so you don't have to torch me on that either)

I know one suggestion will be trying to obtain a pharmacy technician job, however I only have until January for applications to be in, and I really cannot afford to take another year off before returning to graduate school. I simply cannot defer my loans from undergrad for 2.5 years, and I will also be pretty old by then.

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No need to beat yourself over your GPA, 3.5 is about on par/better than the average for most schools. Most schools will require 2-3 letters of recommendation (some schools requires letters from pharmacists) which could be difficult to obtain if you have absolutely no one at the moment. Do you have past employers (even if the job wasn't pharmacy related) that can vouch for your character/aptitude? You won't be able to find a pharmacy intern position because those would require a pharmacy intern liscence that's issued first/second year of pharm school depending on state. You could also look into research opportunities over the summer since you are from a large university. Besides becoming a tech (which I would definitely recommend because I don't think anyone should go into pharmacy without experience) you can try to work a pharmacy clerk/cashier in an independent pharmacy (some independents will let you volunteer without being in pharmacy school as well). However most of these pharmacies are not actively seeking people online so you might just need to go door to door. If you absolutely cannot find anything in pharmacy, then find something in the healthcare field broadly. If even that isn't possible then you need to find any job you can and network with your boss.
 
I also went to a large public school for undergrad and never built relationships with professors. It was probably my biggest worry about my application. I ended up looking at which upper-division classes I did well in, and then e-mailing those professors about a potential rec letter. I managed to get a meeting with one of them to discuss my goals, etc., and he wrote me one. If you ever took a community college class with a smaller class size where a professor might have a better chance of remembering you, that's also an option.

I agree with the post above me -- if you can't find anything specifically pharmacy, expand to looking at other healthcare areas. Could you work at your local hospital as a general volunteer?
 
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In December I graduated from a large university obtaining a BA in chemistry with approximately a 3.5 GPA. Instead of applying to PharmD programs for fall 2015, I decided to take the year and a half off to take an online class, volunteer/intern in a pharmacy, and retake the PCAT (I did pretty mediocre my first time).

My major concern about my application is my severe lack of references. As I said I went to a big school and did not really get to know any professors well enough to write me a reference letter. In fact, the one professor I thought I knew well thought otherwise and refused to write me a letter.

I have contacted numerous hospitals around my home to find an internship or volunteer position over the past 5 months, and I continue to get the same response of: "We're sorry but you cannot volunteer in pharmacy without being in pharmacy school already". I have also looked at pharmacies such as CVS, Target, etc for interns however there are also no internship positions around me.

I know my GPA and degree aren't exactly world class and can carry me to an acceptance without any references. If I even get an internship/volunteer position by the end of June is the 5 months until the next application cycle even enough to get me a solid reference? Even then is 1 reference good enough?

I know I should have worked harder at earning personal relationships with professors throughout my college career. However, that is in the past and I can't exactly change that now, so please do not tear me apart in that regard. (I am also aware my degree and GPA are a joke, so you don't have to torch me on that either)

I know one suggestion will be trying to obtain a pharmacy technician job, however I only have until January for applications to be in, and I really cannot afford to take another year off before returning to graduate school. I simply cannot defer my loans from undergrad for 2.5 years, and I will also be pretty old by then.

Its only May. If I were you, I would buy the textbooks for the PTCB exam, study for a couple of weeks, then take the test by the end of June. You'll be able to be hired as a pharm tech with that license and your degree in a month, Im sure. I studied for about 3 weeks, and almost aced it. If you want to go to pharmacy school, taking the pharm tech test should be like high school work. I worked for a pharmacy for 5 months, and the pharmacists loved my hard work ethic so much, one came to me and offered a recommendation when I said I was applying to pharmacy school...without me even asking. If you're around people 10 hours a day for 4 to 5 days a week, you get pretty close to people and fast. I also worked a summer(3 months) at a hospital, while I was on summer break and the director gave me an LOR as well. I'd only known her for 3 months, but being there all the time, and working overtime, they come to know you quickly.

If youre not interested in taking the test, then with your Chem background, you should try working in a Lab. Check out your local university's website job section b/c professors/researchers are constantly looking for students. Just be a hard worker wherever you are, stand out, and do more than just the basic things at your job, and anyone would be willing to reference you after only knowing you a short time.
 
Internships are only for pharmacy students and volunteering is probably not worth your time. What you should do is get a job as a pharmacy technician.

It looks GREAT on your pharmacy school application and I personally got 2 of my LORs out of it. Plus you will gain valuable experience that will help you significantly down the road.
 
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