I need some advise..... desperately!!

[aidep5]

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SIGHZ, okay, Im finishing up with my fourth year in college (this spring09) and recently decided to change my major from chemistry to biochemistry. well because I plan to apply to all the pharmacy schools in CA.. which they pretty much want me to take most of courses that are required for biochem major, so i thought why not change it as well.

The problem is I'll need extra two years to finish them up, and by then I'll be able to actually apply to pharm schools. That means after graduating and after applying to pharm school I'll be waiting a year to get in.... so I pretty much need total of three years to be able to get into ph school.

I just feel so hopeless just knowing that ANOTHER three years is needed on top of the fact that I had gone to college for four years...

Why did I slack off during my first four years you may ask? Well, I did fail two of my courses which made me waste a semester, and I went to study abroad- where I only took GE courses.

I know time flies and as long as I have the desire HEART to be a pharmacist (which I DO!) then everything should not be a problem.... but I guess I'm just really really discouraged. It seems everyone has good skills in time management and doing so well preparing/working hard while playing hard...while I'm struggling to even finish all the pre-reqs!

Will I be able to make it? Will I be able to be competitive enough to make the final CUT???? AHH I'm getting so stressed out..!!
As of now, I have no pharmacy experience (am on waitinglist to vounteer in hospital), no volunteer work(would I need another volunteer experience other than pharm vol work?), and have 3.4 GPA (not good enough, right?). I recently joined in a research project though (at school), which I will be working for full time for this summer.

What do you guys think of my situation????
How much EC would I need???
Am I going to be okay???? AHH!!! SO MUCH TO DO!!
Please help me advise me I desperately need help!

Thank you for reading guys

 

[Passion4Sci]

SIGHZ, okay, Im finishing up with my fourth year in college (this spring09) and recently decided to change my major from chemistry to biochemistry. well because I plan to apply to all the pharmacy schools in CA.. which they pretty much want me to take most of courses that are required for biochem major, so i thought why not change it as well.

The problem is I'll need extra two years to finish them up, and by then I'll be able to actually apply to pharm schools. That means after graduating and after applying to pharm school I'll be waiting a year to get in.... so I pretty much need total of three years to be able to get into ph school.

I just feel so hopeless just knowing that ANOTHER three years is needed on top of the fact that I had gone to college for four years...

Why did I slack off during my first four years you may ask? Well, I did fail two of my courses which made me waste a semester, and I went to study abroad- where I only took GE courses.

I know time flies and as long as I have the desire HEART to be a pharmacist (which I DO!) then everything should not be a problem.... but I guess I'm just really really discouraged. It seems everyone has good skills in time management and doing so well preparing/working hard while playing hard...while I'm struggling to even finish all the pre-reqs!

Will I be able to make it? Will I be able to be competitive enough to make the final CUT???? AHH I'm getting so stressed out..!!
As of now, I have no pharmacy experience (am on waitinglist to vounteer in hospital), no volunteer work(would I need another volunteer experience other than pharm vol work?), and have 3.4 GPA (not good enough, right?). I recently joined in a research project though (at school), which I will be working for full time for this summer.

What do you guys think of my situation????
How much EC would I need???
Am I going to be okay???? AHH!!! SO MUCH TO DO!!
Please help me advise me I desperately need help!

Thank you for reading guys

Hey there.

I'd like to preface this post by saying that, while it might seem like you'll be back-tracking and wasting time, you are not going to be "old" when you finish your pre-requisites nor will you be out of the running. This is a common thing to hear around here and I like to dispel that really fast.

I am 26, 27 this year, and I am going through the ultimate career change - Soldier to Pharmacist, and not only that, but I was accepted and prepped to begin my first year as a Psychology Psy.D student. I fell in love with pharmacology, and long story short, I'm here now.

Next, take a deep breath. There is NO sense in stressing yourself out. If you truly want to do this, commit to it, and relax. Students who get worked up are only focusing negative energy toward the cause, something you do not need.

Then, realize your 3.4 GPA is not bad, and will not at all immediately make you unattractive. However, your science GPA will truly determine how quickly your app will be sorted in the stacks. GPA, PCAT and ECs are all very important, but every school weighs things differently. Regardless, you want to blow up those science classes.

One thing a Pharmacy school wants to see is that you've worked in a Pharmacy and you know what you're getting into. TO this end, they will require letters of rec (LoR) from Pharmacists with whom you've worked. So, I see you're on a WL for a hospital to volunteer but branch out and check hospitals even out of your comfort zone (Drive a little further, stay up a little later) if you must. Remember, it doesn't need to be 30 hours a week of volunteerism.

Finally, while it might seem like "everyone" is a God at time-management and that we're all getting things done in a timely manner, truth be told a lot of us who consider ourselves very well organized are actually NOT! But what we are, is focused, calm and determined. These are three qualities you will need not only in your trek through pre-reqs but also as a Pharmacist. I am working almost 30 hours a week in a high volume Pharmacy right now and the level of stress is pretty close to what I experienced in the Army in every situation but the most intense of combat, no exaggeration. It is stressful. But I LOVE it!!!

And welcome to SDN!

 

[rycetrix]

SIGHZ, okay, Im finishing up with my fourth year in college (this spring09) and recently decided to change my major from chemistry to biochemistry. well because I plan to apply to all the pharmacy schools in CA.. which they pretty much want me to take most of courses that are required for biochem major, so i thought why not change it as well.

The problem is I'll need extra two years to finish them up, and by then I'll be able to actually apply to pharm schools. That means after graduating and after applying to pharm school I'll be waiting a year to get in.... so I pretty much need total of three years to be able to get into ph school.

I just feel so hopeless just knowing that ANOTHER three years is needed on top of the fact that I had gone to college for four years...

Why did I slack off during my first four years you may ask? Well, I did fail two of my courses which made me waste a semester, and I went to study abroad- where I only took GE courses.

I know time flies and as long as I have the desire HEART to be a pharmacist (which I DO!) then everything should not be a problem.... but I guess I'm just really really discouraged. It seems everyone has good skills in time management and doing so well preparing/working hard while playing hard...while I'm struggling to even finish all the pre-reqs!

Will I be able to make it? Will I be able to be competitive enough to make the final CUT???? AHH I'm getting so stressed out..!!
As of now, I have no pharmacy experience (am on waitinglist to vounteer in hospital), no volunteer work(would I need another volunteer experience other than pharm vol work?), and have 3.4 GPA (not good enough, right?). I recently joined in a research project though (at school), which I will be working for full time for this summer.

What do you guys think of my situation????
How much EC would I need???
Am I going to be okay???? AHH!!! SO MUCH TO DO!!
Please help me advise me I desperately need help!

Thank you for reading guys

Sounds like a WAMC.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Sounds like a WAMC.

Kinda is, although it's also looking for general support/talking... So I don't think it's really a WAMC how we normally think of them.

 

[WhiteSnows]

Why don't you apply to out of state schools. They are easier to get in. BY the way, CHemistry and Biochemistry majors are slightly different, but almost the same. Except in Biochem, you need to take 1 more class Advanced Biochemistry. Your best option is to look for out of state school, and Apply in the middle of the second year.

 

[aidep5]

Thanks, I really needed it!

 

[trailrider400]

So you'll be graduating but it will take you another 2 years to get the biochem degree? Like someone else said isn't it only one more class you'll need since those majors are so similar? Either way you can always take classes over the summer too. You mentioned that it would take 2 years of school and 1 year of waiting. You can apply after the first year and list the second year as planned and still apply before you're done with everything.

If I were you I'd take the pcat and start applying to out of state schools while you are working on the biochem. The 3.4 GPA is just fine for most schools but you really need to get some pharmacy experience. I don't know much about California schools but its my understanding that since they don't use the pcat they really look hard at GPA. So with that said you're probably better off at looking at out of state schools anyways.

 

[sprinkle0420]

What classes are you missing exactly? I bet if you took 15-17 units a semester and summer session, you could finish your requirements within a year. Those majors are pretty similiar so I'm sure you have already finished general chem, organic chem, physics, and calculus requirements on top of GE classes....that's probbably 3/4 of requirements for most pharmacy schools right there.

 

[Pharmacyy]

If I understand correctly you have gone to school for 4 years, will take another 3 years to apply to pharmacy school, once you get in, it is another 4 years. So that is 4+3+4= 11 years for a PharmD.... I know people do not want to admit it but pharmacy truly is not what it was before. The field has become very very very saturated. Salaries have hit the max and finding a job has become hard. 11 years of schooling for a PharmD and a lot of student debt (I would say about 200K...just an estimate based on years of schooling) would not be worth it to me. I know people are going to say its not always about the money, which is true, but the job market is not what it once was, and taking 11 years to achieve a degree that might not pay what you expect is not a wise idea.

 

[Farmercyst]

In addition to they why 2 years for a similar major, why are you waiting a year to apply. Why not apply in the Fall of your final year so that you matriculate the fall after graduation?

 

[aidep5]

In addition to they why 2 years for a similar major, why are you waiting a year to apply. Why not apply in the Fall of your final year so that you matriculate the fall after graduation?

don't I have to finish all the pre-reqs by the time I actually apply to pharmacy schools though?


but because I have no ECs, I'm scared I won't be competitive enough.

 

[aidep5]

Im left with microbio, anatomy, physiology, biochem, pchem, molecular bio, electives- psy, stat, eng. and two of my school capstone GEs.

I can't take any courses this summer because I'm committed to do research full time


So my new plan is to graduate in year and a half, with taking classes next summer and get pharmacy experience fast, and study&take PCAT.

I'm still confused if I'll be able to apply next summer because my understanding was that I would have to be already met the pre-reqs by the time I apply. And I don't know if I'll have enough pharmacy experience hours (my advisor told me I should do at least minimum of 6months)

Am I in good shape? lol

 

[atticus27]

Sounds like a WAMC.

Ain't dat a bit racialist?