Looking for a bit of advice on application...

[tendram]

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Just joined a few days ago after looking around and seeing all of the good advice and just had a few questions of my own. I am starting my third year of pre-pharm and I'm looking for some advice on what I may need to start doing to get prepared for the application process. I have read about having volunteering and such done before applying so I can have a pretty good looking application for pharmacy school. I already work at a pharmacy as a tech and I'm currently in the process of getting certified, but I don't want to look like just another guy looking to get into pharmacy school. What would you guys suggest as far as things to do that may help me out in the long run? As far as school, I still have both Organic Chems, both biologies, and some other small classes to get out of the way and to boost my GPA from the 2.7 it is now. Any advice is appreciated.

And if I have posted this in the wrong section or if there is a place I can find this info that I havent looked if a mod could move this and/or point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it. No need to beat a dead horse if you dont have to

 

[Passion4Sci]

Well, to a large extent, most of the new stuff that gets posted is dead horse material, and we just answer it anyway because we're totally bored.

A 2.7 going INTO your 3rd year still leaves you some upward mobility, but it's going to be hard, especially since Orgo isn't exactly the easiest of classes. You need to figure out why you have a 2.7 and change something, or you WILL be just another sub-3.0 student who wants to get into pharmacy but doesn't deserve the slot, which I'm sure you're not.

You can volunteer - Volunteerism looks great, as everyone thinks favorably of people who give the most precious commodity -time- away for free. If you can do so in a pharmacy setting (like to get some new experience that isn't retail) then all the better, but even 3-4 hrs. a week in TCU or something in a hospital would be awesome. If hospitals aren't taking volunteers in your area (I can't imagine that, but it's possible) then look into Salvation Army or Goodwill. Both accept volunteers on a fairly regular basis... Also consider soup kitchens/homeless shelters. If you want to make yourself stand out in a crowd in a good way, you've got to have unique experiences... Or at least more rareified than the guy that's next on the list.

 

[tendram]

Well I may be in school for another year after 4 in pre-pharm if my GPA doesn't get where I want it to by then. Most of my grades in college so far have been B's and C's mostly because I didn't study like I should and I got a D in psychology for an unknown reason (made higher on most every test than the girl next to me and she got a B). In short thats why my GPA is low. Luckily I have mostly science classes left and some help from teachers if I need it and I anticipate making an A in Orgo and Bio as well. Assuming I make all A's thru my next couple of science classes I should be in fairly good shape, or so I hope.

And I have been toying around with the idea of volunteering at the hospital if I can and maybe if I can find a dentist office I can volunteer at. There's a local health center down the road that has pharmacy and I never thought of volunteering at another pharmacy. Might be worth asking them about. Thanks for the idea 👍 I hope I can get to the application process with a little more than my GPA to show them.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Even in California, consider taking the PCAT too. If you kill the PCAT (Composite 80 or higher), you can make up for a lower GPA. Then add onto your CV stuff like strong LoRs (Another byproduct of volunteering, most people understand the quid pro quo nature of it) and such, you'll be A-OK.

 

[tendram]

Unfortunately (I guess), its required by most schools around here in the south east to take the PCAT. I have the Kaplan PCAT 2008-2009 edition as well that I have been studying on and off the past few months to help my chances at doing pretty good.

 

[Passion4Sci]

That's just as well, as it's a good indicator of how much you really learned in your pre-requisite coursework, and like I said before, can make up for a lackluster GPA. Obviously a 2.2 cGPA and a 99 PCAT won't jive, but I mean, if you're sporting a ~2.99 and an 80 to 90 PCAT score, you will look pretty good (In the bigger of scope of things).

 

[Transformer]

You need to focus on your GPA. At a 2.7 GPA, Pharmacy schools would be very concern with your ability to handle pharmacy school workload. Work on acing every class and scoring high on the pcat. Good luck.

 

[koercive]

like everyone else said, raise your GPA

it's make or break time. two straight years of great grades with a pretty heavy courseload (16++ units) along with EC/work experience would be a good way to go.

This is a complete guess, but assuming you have completed 100 units with your 2.7 and have 100 units left. by maintaining a 4.0 in your remaining 100 units, you can bring up your GPA to a 3.35

 

[tendram]

Yeah, GPA is my main concern right now. I just rechecked and I actually have a 2.79 (all I remembered is the 2.7). I'm not sure if they round but your estimate should still be pretty accurate koercive. And just curious, do units=hours? Never heard anyone use the term units. Unfortunately I'm having to take 2 classes at a time right now because I'm having to pay out of pocket for just about everything.

 

[AKN16]

you have a great leg up on most ppl- you work at a pharmacy. That's really good and when you apply to pharm schools it will show the ad coms that this is an industry that you want to go into. I hate to say this but your gpa is a bit low, not low enough to not get you into a school, but low enough to not make you as competitive as you could be.. You still have a good number of pre-reqs left, so try to do well on those and kick a** on the PCATs and your set..