my dilemma

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zolojan

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  1. Pre-Pharmacy
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I have a dilemma i first attended a CC school then transferred to a 4 yr school i didnt do so well in my classes i ended getting F in chemistry 1 and biology 1 I then took a drastic measure and transferred again to another 4 yr school due to a family crisis i didn't do so well and was placed on academic probation and kicked out of the school. I am currently at another CC school starting all over again taking all the pharmacy pre-reqs. I have been a Pharmacy tech for the past 6 yrs and I love the field I want to pursue a career in pharmacy but since my track record for academic has been bad it had discouraged me alot. I want an honest answer should i continue and take my pre-reqs at the school I am in now. I want to go to LIU, LECOM, ALBANY, ST.JOSPEH FISHER. I am motivated to do good currently I am taking General Biology 1 and General Chemistry 1. I took Anatomy 1 at the school I am attending and got a C+. I don't want to stop I am currently 25 yrs old no BA/BS degree at all. :scared:

these the courses I still have left to take :scared:

General Biology 2
General Chemistry 2
Organic Chemistry 1&2
Anatomy 2
Biochemistry
Physics 1
Microbiology

I WANT HONEST ANSWERS.
 
I have a dilemma i first attended a CC school then transferred to a 4 yr school i didnt do so well in my classes i ended getting F in chemistry 1 and biology 1 I then took a drastic measure and transferred again to another 4 yr school due to a family crisis i didn't do so well and was placed on academic probation and kicked out of the school. I am currently at another CC school starting all over again taking all the pharmacy pre-reqs. I have been a Pharmacy tech for the past 6 yrs and I love the field I want to pursue a career in pharmacy but since my track record for academic has been bad it had discouraged me alot. I want an honest answer should i continue and take my pre-reqs at the school I am in now. I want to go to LIU, LECOM, ALBANY, ST.JOSPEH FISHER. I am motivated to do good currently I am taking General Biology 1 and General Chemistry 1. I took Anatomy 1 at the school I am attending and got a C+. I don't want to stop I am currently 25 yrs old no BA/BS degree at all. :scared:

these the courses I still have left to take :scared:

General Biology 2
General Chemistry 2
Organic Chemistry 1&2
Anatomy 2
Biochemistry
Physics 1
Microbiology

I WANT HONEST ANSWERS.


I wouldnt give up at all. I would continue on at the CC you are at. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to go to a big university. I did all of my pre-reqs at CC and then also transferred to a 4 yr where I learned nothing and paid a lot. Some people learn better in a smaller community for different reasons. Anyway I have an interview next week at Midwestern in Chicago and like I said I did all my pre-reqs at CC. May I ask what state you are in?
 
I think the first question you'll need to ask yourself is how much time and money are you realistically willing to spend to attain your goals? You're 25 now with a minimum of 1.5 years of undergraduate, with another 4 years after that, assuming you immediately get accepted. That means you will likely be ~31 years old by the time you leave school to enter the job market. The debt that you'll accrue during this time will be staggering, and that doesn't account for the money you've already spent at the other institutions you've attended. Plus, you will need to pay for the PCAT, studying materials, PharmCAS fees and secondary fees, all of which are costly in both time and money.

Next, you'll have to ask yourself why you were performing so badly in your courses. Was it a lack of interest in the subject, not enough time committed to studying, difficulty in the material? You need to be honest with yourself and identify why you weren't successful in the past so you can correct those issues moving forward. In all honesty, those F's in Gen Bio 1 and Gen Chem 1 are going to raise a red flag during the admissions process; a C+ in Anatomy 1 isn't very promising either. You will definitely have to retake Bio and Chem, and if I were in your situation I would not settle for anything less than an A. With that said, even if you retake these classes with an A, you will still need to explain to the admissions committee why you failed during your first attempt. You will have to be transparent about this, as there is a section in the PharmCAS application where you must disclose any situation where you were subject to academic probation, academic dismissal, etc.

I hate to sound discouraging, but the harsh reality is that there is an academic standard that schools abide by. Generally speaking, if you succeed in retaking those classes and bring your cumulative GPA above a 3.0, you have a chance at admissions. You will also need to do exceptionally well on the PCAT, get solid letters of recommendation from your professors/pharmacists, get some experience in the field (which you already have) and write a killer personal statement to be a competitive candidate. However, if you continue your current academic trend, you will not have shot, no matter how committed you are. Things are going to become much more difficult than the material presented in Bio 1 and Chem 1. If you are finding these classes too overwhelming, then I would strongly suggest you reevaluate pursuing pharmacy because the volume of information you will be responsible for will be much greater than it is now.

It is not the end of the world if you don't get into a PharmD program. If you sincerely love pharmacy, there is no shame in staying in your current position as a tech. However, if you want more, you will need to work an uphill battle for the next few years to prove you have what it takes to be successful in pharmacy school. It is a very serious commitment and should not be taken lightly. Your situation may seem bleak right now, but if you want it bad enough, you will need to do whatever it takes to succeed in your future coursework. Right now, I'd say you should concentrate your efforts on your classes and focus on completing a degree. That way, you will have something to show for your time in undergrad besides an enormous mound of debt.

Again, you have dug yourself a nice hole, but there is still the potential for you to redeem yourself. When you finish the next two years, you will be in a much better position to reevaluate whether you want to take things further. Best of luck, I hope this was helpful to you.
 
To OP: The Asklepian gave you some solid advices. If you really want to do pharmacy or any health care related fields, you will need to turn your grades around to pretty much all A's. To be honest, my grades were really bad as well with several D's and F's. I had a really rough undergrad, and I spent nearly two years taking 60+ units with all A's. I also retook all failed classes and have gotten A's on them, and I'm honestly not even sure I have a shot at getting any acceptances. I will be applying broadly to see where it gets me. Anyway, really figure out what you want to do and if pharmacy is really something you set your mind to, then I'm sure you have what it takes to get all A's and score competitively on the PCAT. It will also help if you finish strong with a bachelor's degree as well. Good luck! 🙂
 
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It's great to hear that you've really enjoyed your job as a technician. My best advice to you right now, is to sit down and seriously evaluate why you want pursue a career as a pharmacist. Do you want to do it solely for the money? Do you want to do it because you are interested in health care? Do you want to do it simply because it's what you're used to?

The reason that I say this is, the job market in pharmacy isn't looking so hot right now. It's not that there aren't any jobs, but it does seem like they are fewer and further in between. Plus, we're hearing about a fair number of job cuts over on the main pharmacy board. I would talk to the pharmacists you work with and ask some of the pharmacists over on the main pharmacy board what their take is on the job market.

If you get honest answers about job prospects post-graduation (which sounds like a minimum of 6 years for you), and you still think it's worth the time and money you'd have to invest, then make your academics a high priority. I'm not on a pharmacy admissions committee, but my guess is, if you can show a huge turn around in your academic performance, you can still have a good shot at getting in. But you probably need to shoot for As and Bs, with a majority of As. And that can be tough, especially if you're in a position where you have to work full or even part-time.

So is it impossible? No, probably not. But it will likely be very difficult. That's why I think you should evaluate what you want to get out of it at the end. There are better paying jobs than pharmacy-technician that require a lot less work to get into than becoming a pharmacist. In fact, some healthcare-related jobs that only require an associates degree still make pretty good money. Dental hygienist comes to mind (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Dental-hygienists.htm).

You just need to be realistic about the work you're going to have to put in and the student loan debt that you'll come out with. If you are honest with yourself about that and you still want to do it, go for it!
 
Thank You everyone for your honest answer I am not gonna give up my goal i know my age does play a factor so far form underage i got financial aid and I am in no debt from undergrad that is why I am currently attending a CC college its cheaper and I can finish a bit early.
 
I wouldnt give up at all. I would continue on at the CC you are at. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to go to a big university. I did all of my pre-reqs at CC and then also transferred to a 4 yr where I learned nothing and paid a lot. Some people learn better in a smaller community for different reasons. Anyway I have an interview next week at Midwestern in Chicago and like I said I did all my pre-reqs at CC. May I ask what state you are in?
In NYC
 
To OP: The Asklepian gave you some solid advices. If you really want to do pharmacy or any health care related fields, you will need to turn your grades around to pretty much all A's. To be honest, my grades were really bad as well with several D's and F's. I had a really rough undergrad, and I spent nearly two years taking 60+ units with all A's. I also retook all failed classes and have gotten A's on them, and I'm honestly not even sure I have a shot at getting any acceptances. I will be applying broadly to see where it gets me. Anyway, really figure out what you want to do and if pharmacy is really something you set your mind to, then I'm sure you have what it takes to get all A's and score competitively on the PCAT. It will also help if you finish strong with a bachelor's degree as well. Good luck! 🙂
 
Hey did you get accepted to the schools that you applied to?
 
General Biology and General Chemistry are some of the "easier" classes you will need for your pre-reqs. Organic chemistry is usually known as the "weed out" or "screen door" class, meaning that MOST pre-med, pre-health students will change their major after taking this difficult class (because so many people struggle and fail in it).
Therefore you must understand that if you got an F in Bio and Chem, and only a C+ in Human Anatomy, you really need to ask yourself, "did I try my best?? Or was I just lazy/didn't have enough time to study?" If you authentically tried your best in these classes and could only get these types of grades, then you really need to re-evaluate your goals. Some people are just not strong in science classes, and its at that moment you might need to go into another field in general (business, economics, law, etc.)
However, if you did not try your best (too much partying, laziness, bad time management) and you believe you can get better grades, then I suggest you continue and pursue your dreams.
A very close friend of mine had a situation similar to yours. He attended a 4 year university his first 2 years and did very bad (joined a frat, partied a lot, etc.) and got kicked out. He came back to his home state and attended a very mediocre 4 year university, sucked up his pride, and started undergrad all over again at the age of 24. He did incredibly very well at this school (got As in almost all his pre-req classes except Org Chem where he got a B) and applied to pharmacy schools. He got accepted.
If pharmacy is your dream, then go for it. However, you have to be realistic and understand the enormous time, energy, and dedication it will take to get there. PM me if you need any help. Good luck.
 
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Hey did you get accepted to the schools that you applied to?

Yes, I did. 🙂 I was accepted to my top choice and I declined other interview offers, as I don't see a need to continue interviewing... All is not lost if you're willing to work for it. Good luck to you! 🙂
 
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