MCPHS Boston vs. Northeastern: chances?

[couchpeach423]

Hi guys I'm currently a junior at a top 15 university, applying to pharm school next year (Jan 2021).
I'm only applying to schools in Boston, and yes I understand it's a saturated job market, I'm from Korea so I'll be going back there after graduation (pharmD is respected especially from the U.S.)

I'm a English major with a 3.0 GPA (low grades in economics minor...), low math gpa (2.6), science pre-req gpa 3.66 (taken 3 courses so far; just decided on pharm school so catching up on my pre-reqs), gonna take the PCAT after Bio 2 next semester. Are MCPHS Boston (transfer into year2) and Northeastern pharmacy schools competitive in terms of GPA and PCAT?? These schools don't have admission stats so I'm quite nervous
I have about 1000 hours of volunteer hours in a Korean children's hospital (every summer + winter since first year of highschool), will start volunteering in my university hospital (but they only allow 2~3 hours a week), will try to work in a pharmacy but I'm international so prob gonna be hard... What are things I could do to improve my chances? or should I just give up if these two schools are not in my league?

Thank you guys so much!! I wish you the best

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[BC_89]

Hi guys I'm currently a junior at a top 15 university, applying to pharm school next year (Jan 2021).
I'm only applying to schools in Boston, and yes I understand it's a saturated job market, I'm from Korea so I'll be going back there after graduation (pharmD is respected especially from the U.S.)

I'm a English major with a 3.0 GPA (low grades in economics minor...), low math gpa (2.6), science pre-req gpa 3.66 (taken 3 courses so far; just decided on pharm school so catching up on my pre-reqs), gonna take the PCAT after Bio 2 next semester. Are MCPHS Boston (transfer into year2) and Northeastern pharmacy schools competitive in terms of GPA and PCAT?? These schools don't have admission stats so I'm quite nervous
I have about 1000 hours of volunteer hours in a Korean children's hospital (every summer + winter since first year of highschool), will start volunteering in my university hospital (but they only allow 2~3 hours a week), will try to work in a pharmacy but I'm international so prob gonna be hard... What are things I could do to improve my chances? or should I just give up if these two schools are not in my league?

Thank you guys so much!! I wish you the best

I am going to go ahead and move this into our Pharmacy School-Specific Discussions in hopes that many students could attest to some of the specific questions you have for each program.

In terms of your hours in a hospital (which is a lot more than the majority of students), I would still try to work as a tech just to get your feet-in-the-water and experience how a common retail environment works. In the meantime, get your pre-reqs as high as they can be and an important note: If a PCAT is necessary, I strongly suggest you do not take it until you have completed a year of Organic Chemistry. Although your confined in a specific region, I would encourage to at least apply just outside of the region so as to increase your chances in getting a program acceptance.

 

[couchpeach423]

Thanks so much!! Do you think I should apply after I finish all the pre-reqs (which will be in like, may 2021) or by the end of next semester (December 2020?) I heard chances are higher if you apply early.

 

[BC_89]

For most, chances are higher if you apply early. These applicants who apply early usually have the major prerequisites completed and only lack subpar prereqs such as micro/macro economics. If you still lack major pre-reqs such as Organic Chemistry or Calculus you're not considered in line with most others. To add, if the programs require a PCAT (these days most are doing away with a PCAT) you wouldn't want to take it before specific classes such as Organic Chemistry + Microbiology on the chem and bio portions (its a given of course you'll need the basic sciences such as gen chem and molecular bio). Most programs wont consider an application if specific pre-reqs have not been met at the time of application (you'll need to look up what the rule of thumb is for these programs).

In the end, if you apply early, the worst they can say is no.