Masters program?

[wandernkind]

This is a long question so bare with me.

I have a BS, TONS of non-pharmacy volunteer experience, leadership experience, very strong letters of recommendation and a 3.6 cumulative GPA. However I have no pharmacy experience and a VERY low science GPA. (I received an F due some personal issues and a strange situation with the committee that approves incompletes becoming withdrawals or F. I have a letter from the professor stating he did not support the committees decision to not grant a withdrawal and also stated I received an A in his first term. This F SMASHED my science GPA). I am only applying to pacific in Oregon because I do not have everything I would need for OSU, it would mean taking physics, A and P, micro and genetics at a university. I am applying this term and still think I have a shot at it but my questions are what next?

1. Should I take a year off, work and try and get pharmacy experience and residency in the state I am living in so if it comes to that I can take additional classes to apply to other pharmacy schools. (3 years before I would be able to apply to the second pharmacy school)

2. Should I start to take the classes I would need to take to apply to the other pharmacy school I am interested in? However this would keep me out of state which I don't want. (2 years before I can apply to the other pharmacy school)

3.Should I do a masters program? Would that make me more competitive?


I know with either option I need to get pharmacy experience, but I am wondering which option is the best in addition to that.

Any ideas help!

Thanks!

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[mandydp6]

This is a long question so bare with me.

I have a BS, TONS of non-pharmacy volunteer experience, leadership experience, very strong letters of recommendation and a 3.6 cumulative GPA. However I have no pharmacy experience and a VERY low science GPA. (I received an F due some personal issues and a strange situation with the committee that approves incompletes becoming withdrawals or F. I have a letter from the professor stating he did not support the committees decision to not grant a withdrawal and also stated I received an A in his first term. This F SMASHED my science GPA). I am only applying to pacific in Oregon because I do not have everything I would need for OSU, it would mean taking physics, A and P, micro and genetics at a university. I am applying this term and still think I have a shot at it but my questions are what next?

1. Should I take a year off, work and try and get pharmacy experience and residency in the state I am living in so if it comes to that I can take additional classes to apply to other pharmacy schools. (3 years before I would be able to apply to the second pharmacy school)

2. Should I start to take the classes I would need to take to apply to the other pharmacy school I am interested in? However this would keep me out of state which I don't want. (2 years before I can apply to the other pharmacy school)

3.Should I do a masters program? Would that make me more competitive?


I know with either option I need to get pharmacy experience, but I am wondering which option is the best in addition to that.

Any ideas help!

Thanks!

I don't get why it would take 2 or 3 more years for you to finish the additional coursework. I know the coursework that Pacific required is pretty representative of most pharmacy schools, with only minor exceptions - no where near two or three years worth of exceptions though.
I think you should enroll in classes for the spring that you would need for other schools. I can't see it being more than one semester's worth of courses.
This is only of course if you don't hear from Pacific, which it is still too early to tell if that will be the case.

 

[pharmddreams]

Get pharmacy experience and retake the classes you did poorly in. I would not take a break from school but I would take prereqs for schools that are out of state after retaking the prereqs you did poorly in. This should take 1 year if you already have completed most prerequisites.

 

[wandernkind]

I don't get why it would take 2 or 3 more years for you to finish the additional coursework. I know the coursework that Pacific required is pretty representative of most pharmacy schools, with only minor exceptions - no where near two or three years worth of exceptions though.
I think you should enroll in classes for the spring that you would need for other schools. I can't see it being more than one semester's worth of courses.
This is only of course if you don't hear from Pacific, which it is still too early to tell if that will be the case.

OSU requires micro, genetics and A&P to be taken at a 4 year university, that's a year since I took them at community college. OSU requires a YEAR of ochem while pacific only requires 12 credits (which is labs plus two quarter terms) so I would have to retake the whole year and OSU requires a whole year of physics while I only have the first term. So yes, two years.