M.S. in chemistry?

[tjv1972]

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I majored in Chemistry as an undergraduate, then went on to get an M.S. in Analytical Chemistry and an MBA. After working a while in the pharmaceutical industry, I've decided to go to pharmacy school. My overall GPA is a little less than a 3.0 (2.986 to be exact), yet it has greatly increased as time has went by.

I had "C"s in Organic Chemistry as an undergraduate, yet I understand Organic now after being through grad school and in industry. Should I retake Organic? I'll probably get an "A" this time.

Currently I have to take my Biology prereqs and I'm planning on "A"s in these classes to help me get into Pharmacy School. I took an online PCAT assessment and scored 95%. I'm also studying for the Pharm Tech Cert to get a job at a pharmacy and am planning on some shadowing at the local VA.


Should I retake my Chem classes? Will my graduate degrees help in get in? Will my high PCAT score (I'm expecting) and my pharm tech cert and experience overshadow my "lower" GPA? My GPA as an undergrad was 2.8, in my M.S. program was a 3.0 and in my MBA program was a 3.7.

Any help and comments are welcome! Thanks!

 

[wes011]

I majored in Chemistry as an undergraduate, then went on to get an M.S. in Analytical Chemistry and an MBA. After working a while in the pharmaceutical industry, I've decided to go to pharmacy school. My overall GPA is a little less than a 3.0 (2.986 to be exact), yet it has greatly increased as time has went by.

I had "C"s in Organic Chemistry as an undergraduate, yet I understand Organic now after being through grad school and in industry. Should I retake Organic? I'll probably get an "A" this time.

Currently I have to take my Biology prereqs and I'm planning on "A"s in these classes to help me get into Pharmacy School. I took an online PCAT assessment and scored 95%. I'm also studying for the Pharm Tech Cert to get a job at a pharmacy and am planning on some shadowing at the local VA.


Should I retake my Chem classes? Will my graduate degrees help in get in? Will my high PCAT score (I'm expecting) and my pharm tech cert and experience overshadow my "lower" GPA? My GPA as an undergrad was 2.8, in my M.S. program was a 3.0 and in my MBA program was a 3.7.

Any help and comments are welcome! Thanks!

I think you should go talk to the admissions officer of some programs you are interested in and seek their guidance.

Your history mirrors mine so much it's not even funny. I graduated with a degree in chemistry in 2001, went to graduate school for a semester before landing a job in the pharma industry. I worked in the pharma industry for about 8 years and then went back to finish up 4 pre-reqs I was missing, A&P, micro, stats, and public speaking. I took those 4 classes and got A's in all of them. My overall GPA is a little higher than yours, mine is about a 3.5 overall. The biggest thing you have in your favor is your maturity and knowing this is what you want to do after living life. Also, this is a natural progression for you being the pharma industry to pharmacist.

I applied to one program and was accepted into that program.

 

[rxlynn]

I majored in Chemistry as an undergraduate, then went on to get an M.S. in Analytical Chemistry and an MBA. After working a while in the pharmaceutical industry, I've decided to go to pharmacy school. My overall GPA is a little less than a 3.0 (2.986 to be exact), yet it has greatly increased as time has went by.

I had "C"s in Organic Chemistry as an undergraduate, yet I understand Organic now after being through grad school and in industry. Should I retake Organic? I'll probably get an "A" this time.

Currently I have to take my Biology prereqs and I'm planning on "A"s in these classes to help me get into Pharmacy School. I took an online PCAT assessment and scored 95%. I'm also studying for the Pharm Tech Cert to get a job at a pharmacy and am planning on some shadowing at the local VA.


Should I retake my Chem classes? Will my graduate degrees help in get in? Will my high PCAT score (I'm expecting) and my pharm tech cert and experience overshadow my "lower" GPA? My GPA as an undergrad was 2.8, in my M.S. program was a 3.0 and in my MBA program was a 3.7.

Any help and comments are welcome! Thanks!

I had a similar background (M.S. in chemistry, then some years of work, then some grad school in environmental stuff (no degree), then pharmacy school), although I did not have the grade issues. I think you should carefully consider whether you want to apply to schools that only look at the GPA of their required prereq classes, or whether they look at your overall GPA of all your college work. I can tell you from my experience that you will be required to submit transcripts and all grades from everything post high school including your MBA to PharmCAS if you are applying to schools that use it. This may or may not drastically change your GPA situation, depending on how each individual school handles it.

 

[PonderingChoice]

As ever, are you doing this for the money? 'cuz if you are, with your M.S., and given the cost of pharmacy school, taxes, and the time involved to get your Pharm.D., and depending on your age, I doubt you will be increasing your life-time earnings.

Of course, if you love pharmacy, go for it, but as ever, I advise people to see how much they'd gain financially. People pursuing stupid/inefficient career decisions is a pet peeve of mine. One of my girlfriend's friends wants to pursue her master's in journalism. Her lifetime earnings will probably not increase, and she'll make herself harder to hire. Yeah, yeah, education is good and job satisfaction is important, but is pharmacy gonna make you happier? That's what I'd ask myself if I were you, because I doubt you're gonna make any additional money, and pharmacy school isn't a walk in the park.

Oh, and given your description, you sound somewhat "old." I'm 24, with a B.S. in microbio, if I started pharmacy school after age 32, I'd be losing money. There, compare yourself to me, and possibly re-assess your decision.

 

[TSG]

As ever, are you doing this for the money? 'cuz if you are, with your M.S., and given the cost of pharmacy school, taxes, and the time involved to get your Pharm.D., and depending on your age, I doubt you will be increasing your life-time earnings.

Of course, if you love pharmacy, go for it, but as ever, I advise people to see how much they'd gain financially. People pursuing stupid/inefficient career decisions is a pet peeve of mine. One of my girlfriend's friends wants to pursue her master's in journalism. Her lifetime earnings will probably not increase, and she'll make herself harder to hire. Yeah, yeah, education is good and job satisfaction is important, but is pharmacy gonna make you happier? That's what I'd ask myself if I were you, because I doubt you're gonna make any additional money, and pharmacy school isn't a walk in the park.

Oh, and given your description, you sound somewhat "old." I'm 24, with a B.S. in microbio, if I started pharmacy school after age 32, I'd be losing money. There, compare yourself to me, and possibly re-assess your decision.

Don't forget that pharmacists have got more job security.

 

[PonderingChoice]

Don't forget that pharmacists have got more job security.

Perhaps, but there is a lot of doom and gloom about the pharmacy profession. Not that I buy all of it, but I would factor some of it into my calculations. Additionally, if your calculations say that you're going to take a 15% decrease to your lifetime earnings, an unknown increase in job security ain't worth it, unless you think you'll be unemployed damn often.