I have no volunteering experience...

[rs37982]

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I'm really worried that I won't get into pharmacy school because of this.

I am working this semester, I have a part-time job. And I'm a part of 2 school organizations. My GPA is pretty good right now (3.867), and I'm taking the PCAT next week so we'll see how that goes.

However, I'm scared the fact that I didn't volunteer at a hospital or do research or work as a pharmacy tech/retail, etc. will hurt me. (I plan on applying to University of Texas COP by the way). Part of the reason I didn't volunteer is that I plan on taking only 2 years of undergrad before going to pharm school, so it's a big time crunch and it's hard squeezing everything into those two years before applying. So basically, I've only been in college for a year now and am already applying to pharm school. If I apply to volunteer at a hospital for Spring of 2013, would that be too late anyway, since applications will already be due?

I'm just nervous because don't interviewees look for people who have knowledge about pharmacy and are really dedicated to it? As of right now, my knowledge of the pharmacy career is not much, I only have a broad sense of what that entails... so would that hurt me in an interview?

Any thoughts on this? Thanks so much!

 

[riggylou]

Unfortunately, I don't have any volunteer experience either..but I was able to shadow a few clinical pharmacists (this was low commitment...4 hours/day on a few different days) and pass the pharmacy technician exam before submitting my application. Those are two things you might want to consider doing if you plan to submit next month. If you can't, I would just read up on the different areas of pharmacy so you can convey your interest in your personal statement and interview. Your academic record sounds solid, so I am sure you would get invited to interviews. When you're there, just be enthusiastic and demonstrate that you're not there "just because" and I think you would be in. Just my 2 cents as a fellow applicant. Good luck..!

 

[Twentytwelve2]

Our professor wanted a survey of us p1's backgrounds because he wanted to see if we have knowledge of the profession. When he asked if any of us worked as a pharm tech, nearly 80% of the class raised their hands. Then he asked for those who were not pharm techs if they volunteered/shadowed before and pretty much the remainder of the class raised their hands.

He told us this was one of the things my school was looking for because its hard to understand pharmacy law without knowing how a pharmacy works...

With this aside, if your PCAT is smoking high then I am sure they will accept you. But if ur PCAT score does not correlate then I think ur chances are not as great as someone with more experience. Experience is key.... I am sure u can find one weekend to shadow or spend 1 hour a week volunteering.