My chance of getting accepted into Pharmacy School

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I am an 18-year-old who is currently applying for a few pharmacy schools in Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M, UHouston, and Texas Tech). I'm so nervous about admissions and was wondering if I should apply for more schools in case I got denied. Here are my stats:
- I'm graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Biology next summer
- My Science GPA is 3.800, Math GPA is 4.0, Overall GPA is 3.8971
- My PCAT score is 52nd percentile in Biology, 92nd in Chemistry, 30th in Reading, 96th in Math, and 78th Composite (it's my first PCAT attempt, English is not my native language so my reading score is super low)
- I work two part-time jobs while going to college (one is as a tutor, the other one as a waiter)
- I join a few clubs and organizations in college (but only a few of them is science-related)
- I also did a few extracurricular activities, community services, and receive dozens of scholarships
- I also plan to take PTCB (Pharmacy Tech License Exam) soon too but I don't think it'll be on time.

Do you think I have a shot in getting into one of the schools I listed above because I think I lack a lot of pharmacy experiences and my PCAT reading score is low too? Do you think I should apply to more schools? Should I retake my PCAT? All answers are appreciated!

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a little unrelated to your post but how are you 18 and about to graduate with a bachelors?
 
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Do a little research in this forum and the pharmacy forum and you'll find that the pharmacy profession is saturated. It's no longer a career worth going to school for. Pursue a career in another healthcare field, i.e. RN, PA, NP, MD, DO etc.
 
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a little unrelated to your post but how are you 18 and about to graduate with a bachelors?
There are more and more high school students who take community college classes in high school and have enough pre recs by the time they graduate. Seems strange that by the time someone is 21, they will have likely never worked in any capacity (much less a pharmacy) and be allowed to make clinical decisions on a patient.
 
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You'll be fine. It's not difficult to get into pharmacy schools these days.
 
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There are more and more high school students who take community college classes in high school and have enough pre recs by the time they graduate. Seems strange that by the time someone is 21, they will have likely never worked in any capacity (much less a pharmacy) and be allowed to make clinical decisions on a patient.
i can understand finishing pre recs but there is no way a high school student is studying for core courses and doing a exit course or senior seminar course before high school graduation
 
i can understand finishing pre recs but there is no way a high school student is studying for core courses and doing a exit course or senior seminar course before high school graduation
They don't need a degree. They only need pre-reqs to get into pharm school. Most schools don't even have level 300 pre-reqs anymore. My Alma mater removed that requirement last year.
 
They don't need a degree. They only need pre-reqs to get into pharm school. Most schools don't even have level 300 pre-reqs anymore. My Alma mater removed that requirement last year.
It's true that most pharmacy schools don't require a bachelor degree to get into but I was fortunate enough to finish high school at 16 and as you mentioned, I did take 3 college courses in high school. That's how I managed to finish a bachelor degree by 18.
 
a little unrelated to your post but how are you 18 and about to graduate with a bachelors?
I was fortunate enough to finish high school at 16 and I did take 3 college courses in high school. That's how I managed to finish a bachelor degree by 18.
 
I am an 18-year-old who is currently applying for a few pharmacy schools in Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M, UHouston, and Texas Tech). I'm so nervous about admissions and was wondering if I should apply for more schools in case I got denied. Here are my stats:
- I'm graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Biology next summer
- My Science GPA is 3.800, Math GPA is 4.0, Overall GPA is 3.8971
- My PCAT score is 52nd percentile in Biology, 92nd in Chemistry, 30th in Reading, 96th in Math, and 78th Composite (it's my first PCAT attempt, English is not my native language so my reading score is super low)
- I work two part-time jobs while going to college (one is as a tutor, the other one as a waiter)
- I join a few clubs and organizations in college (but only a few of them is science-related)
- I also did a few extracurricular activities, community services, and receive dozens of scholarships
- I also plan to take PTCB (Pharmacy Tech License Exam) soon too but I don't think it'll be on time.

Do you think I have a shot in getting into one of the schools I listed above because I think I lack a lot of pharmacy experiences and my PCAT reading score is low too? Do you think I should apply to more schools? Should I retake my PCAT? All answers are appreciated!

1) Unless you lack the basic communication skills necessary to have a decent interview, you'll be fine landing a spot for pharmacy (you'll get in somewhere).

2) Safe to assume you have not worked as a technician (seeing your just 18) or even that familiar with research on the profession: I strongly urge you to look at the following forum and sub-forum:

Job Saturation: Is Pharmacy Worth It? Here's What You Need to Know

Job Market

3) After going through the links I gave, if you wish to pursue other healthcare fields, I suggest making a checklist of things to do to correlate with a strong GPA: Shadowing, service to your community, extra-curriculars outside the scope of healthcare. Look into PA, MD/DO, BSN - MSN / NP / CRNA, PhD research programs to see what boxes you'll want to check off. If pharmacy is still on your agenda, follow the prompts on your PharmCAS and sit back and wait for your interviews / acceptances.
 
To answer your question: it's very easy to get into pharmacy school. The catch is that you'll graduate with six figures of debt and have a hard time finding a job due to the saturated job market.

So the question is: why pharmacy?

There are much better professions out there, i.e. computer programming, finance, accounting, engineering, the trades, etc. that pay as well as pharmacy if not better, offer far better job prospects and work conditions, and do not require you to take out $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years of your life in school.
 
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To answer your question: it's very easy to get into pharmacy school. The catch is that you'll graduate with six figures of debt and have a hard time finding a job due to the saturated job market.

So the question is: why pharmacy?

There are much better professions out there, i.e. computer programming, finance, accounting, engineering, the trades, etc. that pay as well as pharmacy if not better, offer far better job prospects and work conditions, and do not require you to take out $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years of your life in school.
I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?
 
1) Unless you lack the basic communication skills necessary to have a decent interview, you'll be fine landing a spot for pharmacy (you'll get in somewhere).

2) Safe to assume you have not worked as a technician (seeing your just 18) or even that familiar with research on the profession: I strongly urge you to look at the following forum and sub-forum:

Job Saturation: Is Pharmacy Worth It? Here's What You Need to Know

Job Market

3) After going through the links I gave, if you wish to pursue other healthcare fields, I suggest making a checklist of things to do to correlate with a strong GPA: Shadowing, service to your community, extra-curriculars outside the scope of healthcare. Look into PA, MD/DO, BSN - MSN / NP / CRNA, PhD research programs to see what boxes you'll want to check off. If pharmacy is still on your agenda, follow the prompts on your PharmCAS and sit back and wait for your interviews / acceptances.
I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?
 
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I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?

Having no student loans is definitely a plus when going into this profession. However, that being said, you still need to look at the links I sent you. Many young traditional students who proceed this route without any experience or network abilities find themselves working prn hours or needing to move thousands of miles away to land a starting job. Wages are not keeping up with inflation. If this still doesn't seem to phase you, then I'd strongly encourage you to take a year working in an outpatient community pharmacy to see how it is as a technician. Pay attention to what the pharmacist does and ask yourself if this is something you see yourself doing.

Applying now means you have a solid year before starting school. Work as a tech and see what you think. I also advise in the meantime to shadow other professions. Being 18 years old you have nothing but time to find a career that meets your interest and "attitude" with the public. Shadow a PA, an MD, Respiratory Therapist, Physical Therapist, Dentist, every healthcare profession you can. Just because something seems to be an "ok" fit doesn't mean you stop searching. With your GPA, I'd shadow before running to pharmacy. The job oversight is not looking good in your favor.
 
I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?

If you don't care about wasting your parent's money then sure it's worth it but it will be very hard to find a job. Expect to move out of state in an undesirable area.
 
I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?

I would strongly suggest that you do your research before you choose pharmacy. A realistic scenario is that you graduate pharmacy school and realize that you cannot find any jobs and you decide to pick a different program afterwards... Now you graduating early and having a bachelors degree won't mean much because you'll be in the same position as most people your age at that point.
 
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There is one school in Texas that threw out the PCAT requirement in order to fill seats at $40k a year or whatever they charge. The situation is really bad and I would recommend you look into something else. What do you like doing? What do you have experience with?
 
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I have about $40-50k in savings, and the school tuition is projected to cost about over $70k, so with the help of my family, I won't need to take any student loans. Do you think pharmacy still worth a shot or will it just be a complete waste?
With your grades and savings why not go for med school? You have stellar grades.
 
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They don't need a degree. They only need pre-reqs to get into pharm school. Most schools don't even have level 300 pre-reqs anymore. My Alma mater removed that requirement last year.

Yes, but the OP specifically said he is graduating with his BS next year. My assumption would be the OP skipped a few years of school along the way, and that is why they are getting a BS at age 18/19.
 
I am an 18-year-old who is currently applying for a few pharmacy schools in Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M, UHouston, and Texas Tech). I'm so nervous about admissions and was wondering if I should apply for more schools in case I got denied. Here are my stats:
- I'm graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Biology next summer
- My Science GPA is 3.800, Math GPA is 4.0, Overall GPA is 3.8971
- My PCAT score is 52nd percentile in Biology, 92nd in Chemistry, 30th in Reading, 96th in Math, and 78th Composite (it's my first PCAT attempt, English is not my native language so my reading score is super low)
- I work two part-time jobs while going to college (one is as a tutor, the other one as a waiter)
- I join a few clubs and organizations in college (but only a few of them is science-related)
- I also did a few extracurricular activities, community services, and receive dozens of scholarships
- I also plan to take PTCB (Pharmacy Tech License Exam) soon too but I don't think it'll be on time.

Do you think I have a shot in getting into one of the schools I listed above because I think I lack a lot of pharmacy experiences and my PCAT reading score is low too? Do you think I should apply to more schools? Should I retake my PCAT? All answers are appreciated!

You will get accepted if you apply for pharmacy school with these stats for sure. To get the pharmacy experience, you can definitely apply for a pharmacy technician job without having the Tech License because you can work with only the trainee license for up to 2 years without taking the PTCB. Although, I'm not sure what are the requirements in your state.
 
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I saw an *ad* from Wingate today saying that they are dropping the PCAT requirement. That makes at least two expensive private schools. Think about it. If schools are dropping that requirement and are advertising like that, what is probably going on with the profession?
 
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Nowadays it's not that hard to get into pharmacy school. Why? Because they keep coming up with news and older schools are lowering requirements in order to try and maintain a decent class size. The school I just graduated from this year, the classes that is 1 and 2 years below , because they lowered the requirements so much, currently had the highest P1 class fail rates by far. Even the PT professors were complaining that they are concerned with how bad they are doing on exams, esp. the supposedly easiest but most important topics of htn, dyslipidemia and heart conditions.
 
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I am an 18-year-old who is currently applying for a few pharmacy schools in Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M, UHouston, and Texas Tech). I'm so nervous about admissions and was wondering if I should apply for more schools in case I got denied. Here are my stats:
- I'm graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Biology next summer
- My Science GPA is 3.800, Math GPA is 4.0, Overall GPA is 3.8971
- My PCAT score is 52nd percentile in Biology, 92nd in Chemistry, 30th in Reading, 96th in Math, and 78th Composite (it's my first PCAT attempt, English is not my native language so my reading score is super low)
- I work two part-time jobs while going to college (one is as a tutor, the other one as a waiter)
- I join a few clubs and organizations in college (but only a few of them is science-related)
- I also did a few extracurricular activities, community services, and receive dozens of scholarships
- I also plan to take PTCB (Pharmacy Tech License Exam) soon too but I don't think it'll be on time.

Do you think I have a shot in getting into one of the schools I listed above because I think I lack a lot of pharmacy experiences and my PCAT reading score is low too? Do you think I should apply to more schools? Should I retake my PCAT? All answers are appreciated!

Yo, nowadays, people with sub 3.0 GPA get into a pharm school. Pharm schools are joke now. The entire field is a joke.
Don't waste your excellent GPA. Go to medical or dental school (granted, I've seen some people with excellent GPA get rejected from med and dental school because they are too young and the adcoms don't think you know what you're getting into). Go volunteer and shadow and get lots of extracurricular activity and go to anywhere BUT pharm school.
 
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You'll be fine. It's not difficult to get into pharmacy schools these days.


Saying its not too difficult to get into pharmacy school these days is like saying its not too difficult to get into college these days, while there is a grain of truth to it, im pretty sure getting into harvard or yale is pretty damn difficult unless you are loaded. The same goes for UT Austin, its the 3rd best pharmacy school in the nation. If you think repuation doesnt matter think again
 
Yo, nowadays, people with sub 3.0 GPA get into a pharm school. Pharm schools are joke now. The entire field is a joke.
Don't waste your excellent GPA. Go to medical or dental school (granted, I've seen some people with excellent GPA get rejected from med and dental school because they are too young and the adcoms don't think you know what you're getting into). Go volunteer and shadow and get lots of extracurricular activity and go to anywhere BUT pharm school.

Ive seen people with 4.0 GPAs get rejected many times by medical schools with an average marticulant GPA of 3.5, not saying GPA is everything but there is an arbitrary nature of medical school admissions that seems almost criminal
 
Ive seen people with 4.0 GPAs get rejected many times by medical schools with an average marticulant GPA of 3.5, not saying GPA is everything but there is an arbitrary nature of medical school admissions that seems almost criminal

I'm not sure why you are comparing medical school to pharmacy school. Med school is possibly the hardest professional school to get acceptance into... Which is why we still have US IMG from these for-profit Caribbean schools. Some pharmacy schools are literally waiving off the requirement to take the PCAT and letting them come in with barely a 3.0 GPA. But hey, you can have your own opinions...
 
Saying its not too difficult to get into pharmacy school these days is like saying its not too difficult to get into college these days, while there is a grain of truth to it, im pretty sure getting into harvard or yale is pretty damn difficult unless you are loaded. The same goes for UT Austin, its the 3rd best pharmacy school in the nation. If you think repuation doesnt matter think again

In general, it's not hard to get into college. Harvard and Yale are outliers, not the majority.

In general, it's not hard to get into pharmacy school and most employers don't care where your pharmD came from. That's why pharmacists recommend going to the cheapest school possible.
 
Saying its not too difficult to get into pharmacy school these days is like saying its not too difficult to get into college these days, while there is a grain of truth to it, im pretty sure getting into harvard or yale is pretty damn difficult unless you are loaded. The same goes for UT Austin, its the 3rd best pharmacy school in the nation. If you think repuation doesnt matter think again
Reputation only matters if your major is relevant and the consumer thinks it matters.

Getting into Harvard or Yale law school can be seen as a huge accomplishment because consumers will pay top dollar to see a good lawyer, and employers know this so they will directly recruit from those top schools. However, if you got into Harvard to study underwater basket-weaving (I’m sure they have some sort of fluffy major like this), then “having gone to Harvard” is largely irrelevant to your job prospects.

In the same way, the average consumer has no idea what a pharmacist does, let alone what the name of the pharmacist working in the CVS right across the street is. So do you think they care what pharmacy school you went to? And if the consumer doesn’t care, then why should an employer care? It doesn’t matter if you went to UCSF SOP or Creighton Online SOP if your value is tied to standing behind a counter counting pills and doing GED-level work.
 
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In general, it's not hard to get into college. Harvard and Yale are outliers, not the majority.

In general, it's not hard to get into pharmacy school and most employers don't care where your pharmD came from. That's why pharmacists recommend going to the cheapest school possible.


Ill agree to that: Walgreens and CVS could care less about education background they view pharmacists as a labor force, not as professionals.
 
I'm not sure why you are comparing medical school to pharmacy school. Med school is possibly the hardest professional school to get acceptance into... Which is why we still have US IMG from these for-profit Caribbean schools. Some pharmacy schools are literally waiving off the requirement to take the PCAT and letting them come in with barely a 3.0 GPA. But hey, you can have your own opinions...


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