Low GPA..my story

[hopeandfaith123]

Hello everyone I wanted to share my story and hopes it motivates you to not give up! I've spent a lot of time on SDN reading other people's story and reading their stats and etc.

Long story short ... My cGPA was 2.6 math and science was GPA was 2.3
PCAT 1st try was 37
PCAT 2nd try was 58

Applied to 7 schools Interviewed at 3 schools and accepted to all 3! Still have 2 more interviews to attend

If anyone's interested I can share my personal tips on what I did to get in...there is hope! Don't give up ..keep working hard have faith it will work and believe in yourself

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[ChiAz]

What schools

 

[Greenwalls]

It's a little late, but I'd like to know your tips. Thanks

 

[683529]

I definitely would like to hear your tips!

 

[high ambition;low gpa]

Which schools did you apply to?

 

[NejixRockS]

that is kind of sad... ._.

 

[hopeandfaith123]

How is it sad ... Everyone has their own personal battles ... Just bc I have a lower GPA doesn't mean I'm dumb ... ive been working the pharmacy.. Hospital retail and mail order for about 10 years now ... It's not sad ... It gives me some faith on the admission process and them looking at my application holistically and not just based on numbers

 

[hopeandfaith123]

Tips: apply early ... Have really strong recommendation letters .. Have some kind of expierence in pharmacy either working or volunteering in the pharmacy .. Have something that shows leadership skills and strong communication skills ... Like being a TA or something

I've talked to a lot of admission board members and they have all said show us something that will make you a good fit for the program so do research on the schools and their culture

Keep networking and keep talkin to admission counslers ...be very proactive about your application

 

[NejixRockS]

How is it sad ... Everyone has their own personal battles ... Just bc I have a lower GPA doesn't mean I'm dumb ... ive been working the pharmacy.. Hospital retail and mail order for about 10 years now ... It's not sad ... It gives me some faith on the admission process and them looking at my application holistically and not just based on numbers

I never said anything about anyone being dumb. I myself had a 2.9 GPA during my sophomore year. I took a semester off, got myself back together and have never gotten anything lower than an A- since then. Raised my GPA from 2.9 to 3.5. No matter what your "personal battles" are, unless you constantly did something wrong during your 4 years, your GPA shouldn't be lower than 2.75-3.00. I have more than a few friends that work full time, support themselves and still have a 3.5+ GPA. Another thing is, if you had a kind of low GPA, but still managed to get a 90+ in your PCAT, then it somehow balances out your application, but having both low GPA and PCAT... thats what makes it sad!!!

 

[PositiveVibes1]

Hello everyone I wanted to share my story and hopes it motivates you to not give up! I've spent a lot of time on SDN reading other people's story and reading their stats and etc.

Long story short ... My cGPA was 2.6 math and science was GPA was 2.3
PCAT 1st try was 37
PCAT 2nd try was 58

Applied to 7 schools Interviewed at 3 schools and accepted to all 3! Still have 2 more interviews to attend

If anyone's interested I can share my personal tips on what I did to get in...there is hope! Don't give up ..keep working hard have faith it will work and believe in yourself

What did you do/use to improve your score?

 

[Pharm413]

I never said anything about anyone being dumb. I myself had a 2.9 GPA during my sophomore year. I took a semester off, got myself back together and have never gotten anything lower than an A- since then. Raised my GPA from 2.9 to 3.5. No matter what your "personal battles" are, unless you constantly did something wrong during your 4 years, your GPA shouldn't be lower than 2.75-3.00. I have more than a few friends that work full time, support themselves and still have a 3.5+ GPA. Another thing is, if you had a kind of low GPA, but still managed to get a 90+ in your PCAT, then it somehow balances out your application, but having both low GPA and PCAT... thats what makes it sad!!!

I'm sorry but I read this and I can't just ignore it. Everyone's lives are different to say that it is sad that someone got into school with such low scores is sad is not a judgement for you to make it does not affect you at all. This person clearly had something different about them that was interesting and those schools liked. This is a place for encouragement and advice not for someone to try to put someone else down or pass judgement on them. I don't mean to sound rude but this should be a positive forum.

 

[NejixRockS]

I'm sorry but I read this and I can't just ignore it. Everyone's lives are different to say that it is sad that someone got into school with such low scores is sad is not a judgement for you to make it does not affect you at all. This person clearly had something different about them that was interesting and those schools liked. This is a place for encouragement and advice not for someone to try to put someone else down or pass judgement on them. I don't mean to sound rude but this should be a positive forum.

If anyone can get into pharmacy school, and there are no jobs available once I graduate, then yes, it DOES affect me. No matter how special you think you might be, there has to be standards, just like in any other medical profession. And this is clearly not a positive forum, if you read half of the stuff in here you will find out why.
And like I said before, I'm not saying anyone with a low GPA should not get into pharmacy school. If you get a 80+ in the PCAT but had a low GPA, it at least balances out your application and shows that you have improved and should be given a chance. My concern is when someone has both really low GPA (2.75-) and bellow 50 PCAT and are still able to get into pharmacy school.

 

[rasdent1234]

I'm sorry but I read this and I can't just ignore it. Everyone's lives are different to say that it is sad that someone got into school with such low scores is sad is not a judgement for you to make it does not affect you at all. This person clearly had something different about them that was interesting and those schools liked. This is a place for encouragement and advice not for someone to try to put someone else down or pass judgement on them. I don't mean to sound rude but this should be a positive forum.

There should be a strict standard that must be set to attend pharmacy school. Everyone should have their fair shot to fight (even with strenuous circumstances) for a spot but simply working shouldn't be the sole reason. The whole story hasn't been told but how did OP prove to admission officers that they can handle the difficulties of taking on the course load in pharmacy school? If OP couldn't handle undergrad, ace the PCAT, nor took additional courses post-bacc to prove otherwise yet was accepted (3 schools) to take on courses twice as hard, does that not sound fishy to you? Put it this way, the "nay-sayer" is challenging OP that they can do better, in a crude tone.

 

[PharmtoCS]

The problem isn't so much just GPA and PCAT alone but the overall declining admission standards. It used to be that those who were truly passionate about pharmacy but a low GPA would retake classes, make up for it with an excellent PCAT score, gain work experience, etc. to make themselves more competitive, even if it took 2 or 3 additional years to get in. Nowadays anyone can breeze through community college with a 2.5 GPA, 30 PCAT, and no work experience or extracurriculars and still get into pharmacy school as long as they're willing to sign away $150k+ in tuition.

 

[Pharm413]

There should be a strict standard that must be set to attend pharmacy school. Everyone should have their fair shot to fight (even with strenuous circumstances) for a spot but simply working shouldn't be the sole reason. The whole story hasn't been told but how did OP prove to admission officers that they can handle the difficulties of taking on the course load in pharmacy school? If OP couldn't handle undergrad, ace the PCAT, nor took additional courses post-bacc to prove otherwise yet was accepted (3 schools) to take on courses twice as hard, does that not sound fishy to you? Put it this way, the "nay-sayer" is challenging OP that they can do better, in a crude tone.

I can definitely understand this point of view I just don't feel that it was conveyed the right way. This forum is not to our other's down. Even though we may not always agree with what is written on here and feel some things are unfair and I do agree pharmacy school is not as challenging as it used to be, this does not mean we should say things to each other that are negative that's all I wanted to say.

 

[rasdent1234]

I can definitely understand this point of view I just don't feel that it was conveyed the right way. This forum is not to our other's down. Even though we may not always agree with what is written on here and feel some things are unfair and I do agree pharmacy school is not as challenging as it used to be, this does not mean we should say things to each other that are negative that's all I wanted to say.

While the attitude towards OP was crude (as mentioned), OP needs to realize that the way they got in shouldn't be normal. Sharing tips about getting into pharmacy school with a terrible GPA and weak PCAT score without efforts to vastly improve is alarming. I understand classes can be tough and impact the GPA, but OP needs to demonstrate their capability and desire to succeed as a foundation with bigger implications (NAPLEX, board exams, etc). If you make a mistake or have a weakness, you should want to fix it, not move on. Recommending otherwise sets more people up for trouble down the line.

 

[Pharm413]

While the attitude towards OP was crude (as mentioned), OP needs to realize that the way they got in shouldn't be normal. Sharing tips about getting into pharmacy school with a terrible GPA and weak PCAT score without efforts to vastly improve is alarming. I understand classes can be tough and impact the GPA, but OP needs to demonstrate their capability and desire to succeed as a foundation with bigger implications (NAPLEX, board exams, etc). If you make a mistake or have a weakness, you should want to fix it, not move on. Recommending otherwise sets more people up for trouble down the line.

I definitely agree with all you have stated hard work and determination to do well and showing this, should definitely happen. Ultimately it was just the way in which they worded their comment that just did not sit well with me. What they wanted to say could have been said in a manner that was less rude for lack of a better word at the moment.

 

[rederza]

The problem isn't so much just GPA and PCAT alone but the overall declining admission standards. It used to be that those who were truly passionate about pharmacy but a low GPA would retake classes, make up for it with an excellent PCAT score, gain work experience, etc. to make themselves more competitive, even if it took 2 or 3 additional years to get in. Nowadays anyone can breeze through community college with a 2.5 GPA, 30 PCAT, and no work experience or extracurriculars and still get into pharmacy school as long as they're willing to sign away $150k+ in tuition.

I keep getting emails from people why I chose to drop pharmacy. Maybe I should just link them to this forum...

 

[Hot Pharmacist]

Patients are the people who SUFFER in the end because of you. Standards exists. Standardized tests exist so standards could be met to weed out unfits for the profession and ultimately for THE PEOPLE. Unfits? Unfits=1-69% PCAT. You can't critically think and retain info to make important decisions and education for patients. If you can't do math quickly on the PCAT. Hoe can you make a quick decision calculating what dosage of medicine is right for the patient when the doctor on the phone is about to leave when he just asked you the right dosage amount, what type of med is best and why so he can make an educated guess. Its easy being a follower but hard to be a leader.

Don't think you doing yourself a favor going to low caliber schools.

 

[jinhk93]

Patients are the people who SUFFER in the end because of you. Standards exists. Standardized tests exist so standards could be met to weed out unfits for the profession and ultimately for THE PEOPLE. Unfits? Unfits=1-69% PCAT. You can't critically think and retain info to make important decisions and education for patients. If you can't do math quickly on the PCAT. Hoe can you make a quick decision calculating what dosage of medicine is right for the patient when the doctor on the phone is about to leave when he just asked you the right dosage amount, what type of med is best and why so he can make an educated guess. Its easy being a follower but hard to be a leader.

Don't think you doing yourself a favor going to low caliber schools.

Couldn't agree with you more. What bothers me the most is that people like the OP are actually bragging about how they got into schools with a low GPA and low PCAT score. Honestly, how is that something to brag about? If anything, it just reveals the horribly low standards that all of these "diploma-mill" schools have and the overall decline in the quality of the profession. And to top it off, the OP is trying to encourage others in the same boat to essentially become victims/scapegoats of these low standard schools that are only after these people's money. The OP and others may think they "succeeded" by being accepted, but the only winners in this equation are the money greedy low tier schools frolicking in green.