importance of grades in pharmacy school

[rleung3]

Hi,

I am wondering whether or not grades are that important in pharmacy school (if you are planning to go into retail). I know that grades may be important when applying to residencies. At this point, I am learning towards retail pharmacy, but that could change.

I hopefully will be going to pharmacy school next year, and I am trying to decide whether or not to commute or live closer to my school. I commute 1 hour each way. I do study a lot, but I tend to overstudy, I believe.

Also, what about working while in pharmacy school?

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[sdn1977]

Hi,

I am wondering whether or not grades are that important in pharmacy school (if you are planning to go into retail). I know that grades may be important when applying to residencies. At this point, I am learning towards retail pharmacy, but that could change.

I hopefully will be going to pharmacy school next year, and I am trying to decide whether or not to commute or live closer to my school. I commute 1 hour each way. I do study a lot, but I tend to overstudy, I believe.

Also, what about working while in pharmacy school?

Grades are your own's school's measurement of your knowledge base at that time...so it is a marker for you only.

Even for residencies, grades are taken in perspective since they can't necessarily be translated to other institutions. However, schools will look at trends - if you are going up or down...they'll want to know why.

Why do you overstudy? What makes you say that?

Your commute situation is multifactoral & only you can decide that. Living expenses can be an issue, but so can gas, the wear & tear on your car, the time involved & hours you'll be driving and the living situation once you get home again.

Working can & is done in pharmacy school & especially during the later years, can be productive in putting academic learning in perspective.

However, I would caution you that your goal at this point is to learn the material so you can & will be a productive & significant member of our profession. There are many paths to this goal - no one is the right one for everybody. What worked for me may not work for the next guy.

So...you use the best judgement you have at the time, by examaining your resources, yourself & your needs & making the best of all of them.

Good luck!

 

[PharmD2MD]

Your grades can open or shut a few doors down the road. I've sat on residency committees- grades get looked at a little, but in the context of the whole person. Grades are key for some scholarships, and if you decide later to go back to school in some sort of competitive program. Just put in an honest effort, don't drive yourself crazy about grades. They aren't everything.

Live closer to school if you can. 2 extra hours a day can make a huge impact on your quality of life.

 

[cdpiano27]

I think the most important question is that some pharmacy schools seem to grade quite easier than others. For example, SUNY-Buffalo seems to have a very tough grading system compared to most other schools. But it seems like at other schools that send more people to retail, there are a ton of people posting on one of the threads about how they did in pharmacy school with 3.9 and above (this seems very unusual for professional school where you take 18 credits a semester!) So I think that they are also looked at in context of the particular pharmacy schools that they were taken at.

I am not putting down some schools. I just think that schools that are more research based are going to be tougher on the students, since they will think that those students are more likely to look at options besides retail.

When my aunt went to MCPHS - Boston, it was hard just to get above a 3.0, and over half of the class or maybe even more never finished. And she graduated either in 1984 or 1985.

 

[Farmercyst]

Most of the schools I've looked into have pretty strict GPA requirements for their students. Mandatory GPAs of 2.5-2.8+ (I know it varies). So if you want to stay in school you may have to do fairly well anyway. I'd say a 3.0 in a professional program would look pretty good, but it's not that much higher than minimum requirements at some schools.

 

[ZpackSux]

C = PharmD

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

I think most schools want you to stay above a C average. But as posted above C=PharmD! I have seen a C=Pharmd tshirt on campus, I bet the teachers love it.

 

[pharmboy30]

Grades are irrelevant. Keep yours above the minimum required obviously.
Study and do your best. Don't compare yourself to others.
Graduate and pass your boards.

 

[ForcedEntry]

Bah! For me grades are a personal matter. I would strive for an A and settle for a B. Anything less would tell me that either I am in the wrong field, or I am being lazy. Since I already know I am invincible, laziness would be the only plausible answer. 180K in debt to be lazy is a death sentence.

 

[ZpackSux]

Bah! For me grades are a personal matter. I would strive for an A and settle for a B. Anything less would tell me that either I am in the wrong field, or I am being lazy. Since I already know I am invincible, laziness would be the only plausible answer. 180K in debt to be lazy is a death sentence.

Invincible??

 

[genesis09]

My school actually only requires a 2.0 GPA, and so, literally you can get straight Cs and graduate.

 

[starsweet]

40 Cs = 90 Gs, from what I've heard.

 

[J ROD]

40Cs = 90Gs, from what I've heard.

Nice summary!!

Basically, all you have to do is keep your school's minimum GPA and make sure to pass the boards if you want retail. For residency, I would try to keep a 3.5 or so. I think good interviewing skills are more important in both.

In conclusion, just get through the program the best you can and still have a life. Some of the best pharmacists I work with had horrible GPAs in Pharm school and are doing great professionally. A high GPA does not mean anything in the work world. I rather be able to apply my knowledge than spit back irrelevant facts that get that A instead of B. However, some students have to have that 3.8 to feel good about themselves. If you need it, go get it. If not, sit back and relax. You did the work to get in. Now just maintain!!Good Luck!!

 

[ForcedEntry]

Invincible??

Ok...women are kryptonite.

 

[cdpiano27]

Well, I know the following is a true story.

I went to an information session at UNC's pharm school about Glaxo Smithkline and some previous graduates from UNC who now work there.

OK, some this guy in marketing, graduated from UNC a while back. And said that he always sat in the back. And you know what that means? Well he joked that he was "Back Rho Chi" because at that time, it was hard NOT to make Rho Chi, or so he claims. Well I think that was a funny joke anyhow! He graduated with just under 3.0 from UNC Pharm school, and worked in retail for a while.

After getting board, he applied to the UNC MBA program in the business school. He did not expect to get in, since his work experience was in retail pharmacy AND his pharm school GPA was not that grade. Well, he got in, and now his working as some head of a marketing division at GSK.

Also, in my PhD program, I had a speaker talk from 1991. He is now head of a clinial trials division at Sanofi-Aventis. But he also claimed that he sat in the back, and "had too much fun." Well, he gave a talk and may not be the best theoretical statistician, but he is one of the best applied statsitician that I have met. He also knows a lot about pharmacology and how that is applied to the statistics world. Unlike other people in my field who just sometimes sit behind a computer and do not tall to other people, he took the time to learn about the other fields of his coworkers. And I was very impressed with his talk given in my department.

So, I agree, for residency, a 3.5+ is respectable. But I think at this stage of the game you have proven that you can do the work to become a competent pharmacist.

For retail, just pass your classes.

 

[shybabygurl]

My school actually only requires a 2.0 GPA, and so, literally you can get straight Cs and graduate.

the minimum for all school to grad is 2.0 for all majors....n based on your words....c's n grad in what degree?

 

[ZpackSux]

I may have joked C = PharmD.

But you never know in life. You may want to go to Law School...Dental School, get an MBA..MHA or PhD.. or Medical School.. later in life.

Why not keep your grades up so in the future you'll have options.

 

[KARM12]

I may have joked C = PharmD.

But you never know in life. You may want to go to Law School...Dental School, get an MBA..MHA or PhD.. or Medical School.. later in life.

Why not keep your grades up so in the future you'll have options.

I totally agree. You never know what the future holds. I don't want to cheat myself out of an opportunity later because I goofed around in school (I did enough of that in undergrad!). Once you start working somewhere, however, a lot will be based on how well you do your job to move up in the company.

Put in the effort and do the best you can. You may get A's, you may get C's, but at least you know you tried your hardest. Yes you will still get a job with straight C's.

 

[ZpackSux]

Actually, in my book, C is not acceptable. If you're smart enough to get into pharmacy school, then you're smart enough to not get Cs.

 

[ZpackSux]

Then again, many times in my life, I have displayed unacceptable behavior, results, and performance...

 

[eddie269]

When I start p-school, I will try and aim for A's. I had the "I don't give a fack" attitude in undergrad and only aimed for B's. Problem was, when I missed my goal, I'd get a C. I had NO plans for grad school and was hoping to work right after.

Half way through, I realized I wanted to do pharmacy and judging by my sub 3.0 gpa, I knew I eff-ed up the 1st two years by not giving it my best. Because of that, I've spent two extra years AFTER undergrad trying to boost my gpa.

Moral of the story is, try your best because you never know.

 

[twester]

Then again, many times in my life, I have displayed unacceptable behavior, results, and performance...

Me too! I was the ultimate screw-off when I was in my 20s. I was fired from three jobs, couldn't stay enrolled in school and came into regular (non-consequential) contact with law enforcement, the IRS, and bill collectors. It just took me a long time to grow up.

I pulled things together in my 30s and had a pretty successful career in telecom. I agree that C's are unacceptable. For me, there is no excuse for just sliding by - that's what I tried to do 15 or 20 years ago and it didn't work. There's too much margin for error. I'm much happier trying my very hardest and exceeding my wildest expectations. So my grades serve me as a benchmark for my performance. I don't think they matter much for anything else (now that I'm in pharmacy school).