Marginal Candidates-I did it my way!

[thelonius]

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At 28, I sold my house, quit my job, and moved back in with my parents (a fiasco) so I could go back to school and become a Veterinarian. At the last minute and on a whim, I enrolled in an upper level Pharmacology course and became fascinated with drugs and how they do what they do. It was a hard decision to make, but I knew that Pharmacy was the right choice for me. I was afraid that my poor academic record from my music degree would prevent me from getting in. Everyone around me was advising me-parents, friends, etc. Teachers were telling me to get some research experience; one of my friends (an M.D.) told me my essay was awful; others told me to take a PCAT prep course, and so on. In the end, I didn't have any research experience (I had no interest in it), I didn't change my essay (it was interesting), and I didn't take a PCAT prep course ($$$$). So when I was invited for an interview, my heart skipped a beat. I was so excited about the profession in my interview, that I later found out they "just had to take me." In the end, it wasn't good grades, pharmacy experience, or PCAT scores that got me accepted-it was the interview. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to undermine the importance of a strong academic background, because it is clearly the single most important factor. I just want to emphasize the importance of the interview. So if there are any marginal (at best) candidates out there like I was, knock 'em dead in the interview. After all, your transcript can't look much worse than mine...

 

[grincheola]

Your post makes me feel good about my interview I had a few days ago. I have pretty good grades, but a couple of ugly semesters at a community college five years ago brings me gpa down from a 3.9 to a 3.3. I was really afraid that this would hurt my chances. I think I nailed the interview. I tried to convey to them my passion for pharmacy and health care in general. I was really outgoing, and almost too comfortable (whenever I get nervous I revert to extreme relaxation mode, it usually works to my advantage, but I don't know if it did here.)

Theres two things I'm worried about still. I don't think I dressed well enough. I had on khaki's and a gray long sleeve sweater. Everyone else was buisness casual. Also, I haven't taken the PCAT's yet, will that greatly affect my chances? If you could give me some insight here, that would be awesome. 🙂

 

[SauvignonBlanc]

1. If you had an interview but have not yet taken the PCAT, then PCAT is not a criteria for admission.

2. If you have any negative issue with your stats but still gets an invitation for interview, then they must think whatever it is isn't that bad.

3. you're sure you did well at the interview keep hope up

 

[grincheola]

1. If you had an interview but have not yet taken the PCAT, then PCAT is not a criteria for admission.

2. If you have any negative issue with your stats but still gets an invitation for interview, then they must think whatever it is isn't that bad.

3. you're sure you did well at the interview keep hope up

Thanx

 

[thelonius]

Your post makes me feel good about my interview I had a few days ago. I have pretty good grades, but a couple of ugly semesters at a community college five years ago brings me gpa down from a 3.9 to a 3.3. I was really afraid that this would hurt my chances. I think I nailed the interview. I tried to convey to them my passion for pharmacy and health care in general. I was really outgoing, and almost too comfortable (whenever I get nervous I revert to extreme relaxation mode, it usually works to my advantage, but I don't know if it did here.)

Theres two things I'm worried about still. I don't think I dressed well enough. I had on khaki's and a gray long sleeve sweater. Everyone else was buisness casual. Also, I haven't taken the PCAT's yet, will that greatly affect my chances? If you could give me some insight here, that would be awesome. 🙂

I had 2 semesters of terrible grades from a community college. Really, people, if you get a bad grade in some whimpy classes and then get A's and B's in classes like Organic or Biochem, that is clearly what really counts-or should count. I couldn't even get an interview for Vet school (thank god!) because they threw classes like "intro to Geography" and "Geometry" into my math & science GPA which really killed my chances. I thought that was pretty silly. I'm sooooo glad the Dean of my Pharm school has a different and more sensible philosophy.

 

[feist80]

Hey thelonius,

Which pharmacy school did you get into?

 

[thelonius]

Hey thelonius,

Which pharmacy school did you get into?

UT Memphis. Their average GPA is 3.5/PCAT 80th. I got lucky.

 

[UVaWahoo]

they really do look at more than gpa. even science gpa. I got C+, C in orgo, B- and C in orgo lab, B- in multivar calc, B- & B+ in gen chem lab, ..you see the general trend here. i didnt take microbio, i didnt take biochem, i had AP credity for bio and chem....although i have plenty of upper level bio-ish classes (grades ranging from C to B+). Notice the lack of A's. I only had 1 semester out of 8 with a GPA over 3.1.
Sooo me and my 3.0 GPA got accepted to 2/5 schools i applied to and alt listed at 1. didnt get into 1 b/c i was missing 4 prereqs (whoops, crazy auburn), 1 i havent heard back from so i count that as a rejection. got into my first choice. obviously not because of my grades. so yeah, you dont have to be a gpa superstar to get in places.

 

[pharmD131]

they really do look at more than gpa. even science gpa. I got C+, C in orgo, B- and C in orgo lab, B- in multivar calc, B- & B+ in gen chem lab, ..you see the general trend here. i didnt take microbio, i didnt take biochem, i had AP credity for bio and chem....although i have plenty of upper level bio-ish classes (grades ranging from C to B+). Notice the lack of A's. I only had 1 semester out of 8 with a GPA over 3.1.
Sooo me and my 3.0 GPA got accepted to 2/5 schools i applied to and alt listed at 1. didnt get into 1 b/c i was missing 4 prereqs (whoops, crazy auburn), 1 i havent heard back from so i count that as a rejection. got into my first choice. obviously not because of my grades. so yeah, you dont have to be a gpa superstar to get in places.

which two schools did you get into?

 

[UVaWahoo]

which two schools did you get into?

VCU and South, alt list @ Mercer

 

[pharmD131]

VCU and South, alt list @ Mercer

wow thats wonderful! Congratulations!

 

[evilolive]

The fact that you went to UVA probably helped - it's prestigious. You had to work really hard for those Bs so I'm sure they took that into account.