Is it too late for me to start from scratch?

[radi4fun]

Hi guys,

I had a question regarding the pharmacy schools. First of all, I know it is never too late to go back to school, or start pursuing your dreams again.

So here is my story,

I'm 26, I have not been back to school in like almost 4 years. And while I was in college, I did not do well. For some reason I feel like I had no drive/motivation back in the days and now I am paying the price.

I finally got the motivation that I needed from my girlfriend. I want to marry her and want to support her and the new family in the future and my current job won't get me there. I work for MedImpact in San Diego CA in their Customer Service field. I am at the highest level i can be at Lv3 and it is still not enough to support a whole family or buy a house here in San Diego. I know this company is great. It is huge and there are a lot of advancement opportunities but i don't know if i can wait that long and i probably still won't make as much as a RPh no matter how high I get in the company.

Most of my family members are all RPh or MD's. Some of them have their own Pharmacy... After high school, i wanted to become RPh but stuff happened and it did not work out the way i wanted in college.

Now though, I want to go back to school and start from scratch and work really hard on this goal/ career path. I don't even think I had a 3.0 GPA in college. I was hoping to start all over again and get all A's and B's. I'm ready to quit my work or work part time there and go back to school full time. Is it possible to delete/ erase your past school history and start from scratch? If not, since I took all of my classes at one single community college, is it possible to go to a different community college and start from scratch there? ( San Diego has lots of community colleges) And after 2 to 2 1/2 years of classes and getting enough credits, apply to a pharmacy school and just send the transcript from the new community college where I have all A's or B's only?

I know it is never too late to get an education or go back to school, but I don't know of anyone messing up in college and then going back to college after some years and actually accomplished what they set out to do.

Are there any 2nd chances at this profession? I really want to do this, but i'm afraid I might be wasting my time if no school will accept me.

If you guys have any sort of advice for me I would really appreciate it.

My biggest goal right now is to become RPh and go back to MedImpact and work as a clinical pharmacist for them.

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[smercer]

Nope, you will have to send transcripts that will show every course you have taken (pass/fail/withdrawn). Thus all the courses you did terrible in will be there, but you can always retake them and get better grades. You will have opportunities to explain your situation and the events the lead to bad grades, etc. in your PS of your application.

 

[mbpuffer]

I was in the same position as you. I graduated from UC Irvine back in 2006 with a not so great GPA. I didn't ever want to study again and tried to avoid it by going into corporate America. Fast forward 5 years and I have moved back home to attend a community college. I am retaking all the pre-pharmacy classes over again (I did them the first time as a Bio major back in undergrad) because I want to become a pharmacist and have a better life for myself and my future family. I had to swallow my pride and just do it. If you know WHY you're doing this, then the HOW will be easy and you will be able to accomplish it. Just stay focused and keep reminding yourself. It will all pay off in the end.

I am currently working at Costco as a pharm tech and acing my classes at the community college. I'm striving for a 4.0 GPA here at the community college!

 

[AlPacino]

Hi guys,

I had a question regarding the pharmacy schools. First of all, I know it is never too late to go back to school, or start pursuing your dreams again.

So here is my story,

I'm 26, I have not been back to school in like almost 4 years. And while I was in college, I did not do well. For some reason I feel like I had no drive/motivation back in the days and now I am paying the price.

I finally got the motivation that I needed from my girlfriend. I want to marry her and want to support her and the new family in the future and my current job won't get me there. I work for MedImpact in San Diego CA in their Customer Service field. I am at the highest level i can be at Lv3 and it is still not enough to support a whole family or buy a house here in San Diego. I know this company is great. It is huge and there are a lot of advancement opportunities but i don't know if i can wait that long and i probably still won't make as much as a RPh no matter how high I get in the company.

Most of my family members are all RPh or MD's. Some of them have their own Pharmacy... After high school, i wanted to become RPh but stuff happened and it did not work out the way i wanted in college.

Now though, I want to go back to school and start from scratch and work really hard on this goal/ career path. I don't even think I had a 3.0 GPA in college. I was hoping to start all over again and get all A's and B's. I'm ready to quit my work or work part time there and go back to school full time. Is it possible to delete/ erase your past school history and start from scratch? If not, since I took all of my classes at one single community college, is it possible to go to a different community college and start from scratch there? ( San Diego has lots of community colleges) And after 2 to 2 1/2 years of classes and getting enough credits, apply to a pharmacy school and just send the transcript from the new community college where I have all A's or B's only?

I know it is never too late to get an education or go back to school, but I don't know of anyone messing up in college and then going back to college after some years and actually accomplished what they set out to do.

Are there any 2nd chances at this profession? I really want to do this, but i'm afraid I might be wasting my time if no school will accept me.

If you guys have any sort of advice for me I would really appreciate it.

My biggest goal right now is to become RPh and go back to MedImpact and work as a clinical pharmacist for them.

I was in the same position as you. I graduated from UC Irvine back in 2006 with a not so great GPA. I didn't ever want to study again and tried to avoid it by going into corporate America. Fast forward 5 years and I have moved back home to attend a community college. I am retaking all the pre-pharmacy classes over again (I did them the first time as a Bio major back in undergrad) because I want to become a pharmacist and have a better life for myself and my future family. I had to swallow my pride and just do it. If you know WHY you're doing this, then the HOW will be easy and you will be able to accomplish it. Just stay focused and keep reminding yourself. It will all pay off in the end.

I am currently working at Costco as a pharm tech and acing my classes at the community college. I'm striving for a 4.0 GPA here at the community college!

Put both your stories together, and its like reading my short autobiogrophy

No radi4fun, it is never too late to go back to school and start learning. I am in my mid 20s as well in a similar situation. Being that this is something you are already familiar with and were studying before, it will not be as difficult.
First I would recommend looking into the pharmacy schools in your area and get familiar with them. Visit their websites, call the pre-advising office, go to an an open house, etc. Find out the classes you need and start taking them in s CC or University. It doesnt matter where, I had the same concern how colleges would view high level science courses in a community college as opposed to a University. I had a 30 minute phone conference with one of the pre-advisors at the #1 school I want to be accepted to, and was told that "It doesnt matter where you take them, as long as you maintain a high GPA in your science courses." I can confirm this, because I have met and talked to countless Pharmacy students who were in the same situation and are pharmacy right now.

Is it possible to delete/ erase your past school history and start from scratch?

Well you cant do that. When you submit your transcript to Pharmacas it send them all grades that you have previously acquired. However, Pharmcas and pharmacy schools have a way of seeing an upward trend in your GPA. This is how it appears in Pharmcas

So just make sure you do your best in these classes in the next 2 years and state in your personal statement, the reason(motivation/goals/family) for this upward trend in GPA.

You already have the pharmacy experience(something that schools highly notice and prefer their applicants to have). Do well in classes, get good score on your PCAT, have strong LORs, and an affirmative personal statement. Many people who have been in your situation have accomplished this. If they can do it, you can too

 

[AlPacino]

Only advice is to make sure you make up your mind 100% about what you are going to do and follow it through no matter what anybody else tells you. If you are one of those who are easily discouraged by what others say, and let them change your mind, then your gonna have a hard time accomplishing anything. Reason I say this is because SDN can have alot of great references and help for your chosen medical field, but it also has alot of trolls and people constantly trying to get you to abandon your goals. Thats why I dont really pay attention to any of these pessimist threads on how the filed is doomed etc. If I want advice on pharmacy, then I talk to my friends(pharmacy students), the pharmacists I work for, or the two pharmacists in my family. Any negative comment I see here about pharmacy, I dont even bother with. You never know who is in the other side of that computer screen. Thats why when I seek advice on something this critical and crucial in my life, I speak face-to-face with somebody. I find it mind boggling how some users here can take what some random posts here says about pharmacy, and apply it as their own without consulting another source. Somebody you trust and have a good relationship with. I dont know, maybe thats just me.

 

[432921]

"Are there any 2nd chances at this profession? I really want to do this, but i'm afraid I might be wasting my time if no school will accept me."

You can do it, it'd be a waste not to.

 

[AlPacino]

^^^ Exactly!

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

-Franklin D Roosevelt

 

[ValeRx]

I hate to burst your bubble but pharmacy is not going to save your life. It's hardly worth the investment of time and money. There are no more sign-on bonuses and in some places, salaries are going down. Pharmacist pay is not that great in California where the cost of living is so high. Markets are saturated and more schools are opening all the time. Stay away.

 

[msnpharmposble]

I hate to burst your bubble but pharmacy is not going to save your life. It's hardly worth the investment of time and money. There are no more sign-on bonuses and in some places, salaries are going down. Pharmacist pay is not that great in California where the cost of living is so high. Markets are saturated and more schools are opening all the time. Stay away.

But his/her family are pharmacists and docs, surely there will be a place for him/her.

 

[kcwang]

Just want to add that you dont have to quit your full time just to go to school. I was able to handle anatomy physiology and speech at local cc while working from 8 to 6. I live in SD too, and most people I met in the class are also working at the same time.

 

[mbpuffer]

Just want to add that you dont have to quit your full time just to go to school. I was able to handle anatomy physiology and speech at local cc while working from 8 to 6. I live in SD too, and most people I met in the class are also working at the same time.

That's what it seems like everyone is doing now. Welcome to 2012.

 

[AlPacino]

Look I work part-time and go to school full time. It can be done. People do it every day. You just need to set your priorities and make some sacrifices. Yeah, its not easy, but I know its going to be worth it. Nobody ever reached their goal(s) by only doing whats easy in life.