My journey. Motivation for applicants with low GPAs

[The Recoverer]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

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[SincerelyMe]

Congratulations. That's pretty admirable that you saved up the money from working to take all your failed courses again. And you did the research to find out which schools would overlook those upper division courses! That's really smart. Not too many people do the research to focus on their strengths. My research was primarily based on some snarky remarks my college advisor made about me not getting into my top school. He said I didn't have the experience nor extracurricular experience to get in because I was a music student as well as a pre-pharmacy student. Whatever the motivation I think it's awesome you did a focused study of all the schools you applied to. And brave you posted your story. I hope you get alot if positive feedback on this and take the time to say thanks to whatever it is you believe in. Whether it be in religion or just self persevere, doesn't matter, just say thank you and always remain humble. You've got a very good story here. Thanks for posting


Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Class of 2017!

 

[Amicable Angora]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

I believe you said in another thread that you were going to post your personal statement and (more importantly) what schools accepted you and which school you were finally going to which is definitely an important part of this story.

 

[y0ssarian87]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won't be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor's degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn't able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I've now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn't just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don't mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn't messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn't just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn't my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I've so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

Your story sounds quite a bit like mine! I graduated from undergrad with a GPA of about 2.3 and about 190 units. After gaining some direction in life, I began volunteering in a hospital pharmacy and taking classes for pharmacy while working full-time in a research lab. My post-bacc GPA is a 4.0, but my cumulative PharmCAS GPA is a 2.70 and my science GPA is a 2.55. I scored 96th %ile on the PCAT, and that has helped me quite a bit. I applied to UGA and TTU as well, and my interviews are coming up. It's never too late to make a change and pursue a passion. Best of luck!

 

[The Recoverer]

I believe you said in another thread that you were going to post your personal statement and (more importantly) what schools accepted you and which school you were finally going to which is definitely an important part of this story.

Yep! I will post as soon as this application cycle is over.

Your story sounds quite a bit like mine! I graduated from undergrad with a GPA of about 2.3 and about 190 units. After gaining some direction in life, I began volunteering in a hospital pharmacy and taking classes for pharmacy while working full-time in a research lab. My post-bacc GPA is a 4.0, but my cumulative PharmCAS GPA is a 2.70 and my science GPA is a 2.55. I scored 96th %ile on the PCAT, and that has helped me quite a bit. I applied to UGA and TTU as well, and my interviews are coming up. It's never too late to make a change and pursue a passion. Best of luck!

Wow! what a journey! It DOES sound like mine! I'm so happy for you, haha I got an interview at TTU (texas tech right?) but I haven't heard from UGA yet. heck Im just thankful I got in somewhere! Good luck to you too!

 

[snickersrx]

Your journey has definitely inspired and motivated me! Congratulations on your acceptances!

 

[y0ssarian87]

Yep! I will post as soon as this application cycle is over.



Wow! what a journey! It DOES sound like mine! I'm so happy for you, haha I got an interview at TTU (texas tech right?) but I haven't heard from UGA yet. heck Im just thankful I got in somewhere! Good luck to you too!

Thank you for your kind words! Who knows, maybe we'll be in the same class.

Congrats on your successful journey -- you've worked hard for it!

 

[sgthuan]

Now I am feeling relieved knowing that many people had the same situation like mine. I used to be so disappointed about myself for cum. Gpa of 2.55 but I tried so hard and never gave up. I got accepted to 2 programs now - one is my top choice. Your thread is definitely motivating many students out there. Thanks.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using SDN Mobile

 

[Pharmacy704]

Congratulations to The Recover, you deserve it, i could understand your story. Well around Sophomore year my gpa was around 2.9, and my science gpa was a 2.7. Even though I had a direction and a goal I just did not work hard to achieve that goal. When pursuing pharmD, you have to have absolute determination, and must be an assiduous student. However I was lacking the motivation, to achieve my dreams of having being a pharmacist. Now I am a senior and worked very hard to increase my overall gpa to a 3.44 and my science gpa to a 3.5. Now all i have to work on is the PCAT, wish me luck on that guys.

 

[frabu04]

I saw a few posts like these when I was beginning my application process and it definitely gave me a lot of confidence in myself and I actually got into one of my top choices. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[AlPacino]

Congratulations! That is an amazing story and once again shows that there isnt anything faith + burning desire cant overcome.

 

[The Recoverer]

Now I am feeling relieved knowing that many people had the same situation like mine. I used to be so disappointed about myself for cum. Gpa of 2.55 but I tried so hard and never gave up. I got accepted to 2 programs now - one is my top choice. Your thread is definitely motivating many students out there. Thanks.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using SDN Mobile

Thanks! Congrats on getting into your top choice

Congratulations to The Recover, you deserve it, i could understand your story. Well around Sophomore year my gpa was around 2.9, and my science gpa was a 2.7. Even though I had a direction and a goal I just did not work hard to achieve that goal. When pursuing pharmD, you have to have absolute determination, and must be an assiduous student. However I was lacking the motivation, to achieve my dreams of having being a pharmacist. Now I am a senior and worked very hard to increase my overall gpa to a 3.44 and my science gpa to a 3.5. Now all i have to work on is the PCAT, wish me luck on that guys.

Thank you! Good luck on the PCAT, youll do fine! and with a GPA like that, im sure you can score lower on the PCAT and still get into some awesome programs.

I saw a few posts like these when I was beginning my application process and it definitely gave me a lot of confidence in myself and I actually got into one of my top choices. Thanks for sharing your story.

Np. Good luck and congrats!

Congratulations! That is an amazing story and once again shows that there isnt anything faith + burning desire cant overcome.

Thanks FelixRx, ive been seeing you around a lot lately, i hope you got into your desired program!

 

[AlPacino]

Thanks! Congrats on getting into your top choice



Thank you! Good luck on the PCAT, youll do fine! and with a GPA like that, im sure you can score lower on the PCAT and still get into some awesome programs.



Np. Good luck and congrats!



Thanks FelixRx, ive been seeing you around a lot lately, i hope you got into your desired program!

I dont doubt that since Im on SDN daily to get up-to-date info on pharmacy. But yeah Im applying this year for the 2018 class. If all goes according to plan, expect my thread to be twice this size lol

 

[Sydneyfe]

Congratulations! Your story inspired me.

 

[The Recoverer]

I dont doubt that since Im on SDN daily to get up-to-date info on pharmacy. But yeah Im applying this year for the 2018 class. If all goes according to plan, expect my thread to be twice this size lol

you're so dedicated about this whole process I know you'll get in. Hahah sometimes I feel like schools should have "time spent on SDN" as a factor on your app haha. Good luck. If you have any questions I will be more than willing to share my experiences,(Not saying that you need any I think your good but jus tin case
) Good luck!

Congratulations! Your story inspired me.

Thanks! I hope you got into a program you like

 

[Elizabey]

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear that your dedication and hard work paid off.

 

[bahmed816]

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University

So theres only a few? My Science GPA is going to get demolished from PharmCAS since I have 2 f's in a lower level math class that didnt count towards my GPA at the community college I was at before transferring...and I kinda blew it off..twice..

 

[beargirl200308]

Congratulations! I knew that u could do it you just needed a lil faith in yourself!

Sent from my Galaxy S 3 using SDN Mobile

 

[The Recoverer]

bump

 

[davincimed]

I read your story after my biology finals today. I was feeling very depressed and tired. I work 12 hours a night as a polysomnogram (sleep) technician and then drag myself to class. I am in school from 8:30am 4:30pm mwf. Sleep for a few hours and get to work by 8pm. I listened to Eric Thomas’s motivational speech and was inspired. I have been out of school for over 10 years and in CC to take my prerequisites for Pharmacy School. I took 12 hours this semester and will take 12/16 for summer school. I registered for the July Pcat which gives me time to retake in October if needed. I took chemistry and physics before but they are over 10 years old and the schools require that I retake them.
Thanks for your words of wisdom. I never knew that are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, or schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirement. The statistics on Pharmcas leads one to believe that everyone needs at least a 3.0-3.5 to even be considered for an interview. I am so grateful I found this website.


Thanks

 

[Viccij01]

Recoverer this is an awesome story. I was so indecisive as to whether or not I was going to apply to pharmacy school or do something else (nursing), but pharmacy is my passion I have been doing it for over 9yrs. It's just time to elevate and doing something more within the field. I am super excited to be applying for the c/o "17" (3yr school) or c/o of "18". Congratulations to everyone who applied and has been accepted, hopefully I will be joining some of you next year!!

 

[Guitarmacy]

bump

Did you end up posting your PS yet? Didn't see it pop up anywhere.

 

[lavenderhearts]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

Recoverer where do you find what pharmacy schools look at when considering students for admissions? where on AACP.org?

 

[Kroc86]

THanks so much for posting this story!!! its nice to see someone take the time to encourage and give others a sense of hope during their pharmacy journey! I got my lowest grade thus far this semester.. a C+ in chem. i was bummed out but after seeing this post I feel encouraged and I know I will do better going forward in my last 2 semesters to come.. I wish you the best of luck during your journey!!!!!! God Bless!!!!

 

[dk00]

-

 

[bumpntrunk]

No offense to anyone but lots of people have their own challenges they had to overcome. I guess if you get inspired by the stories and it helps you turn you life around then great and good for you. I am no different in having spent 5 years going back to school and taking pre reqs and other science courses to resurrect a horrific gpa to be high enough to even be able to meet the minimum requirements. Doing this while working full time and raising a child didn't make it any easier but I did what I had to for my kid. No one else's story or life altering experience gave me the motivation, just wanting to do better for my kid. That's it. As for getting into pharmacy, one school, one application and done deal.

 

[The Recoverer]

Did you end up posting your PS yet? Didn't see it pop up anywhere.

SORRY GUYS! ive been away! here is my Personal statement as promised! Remember! Pharmcas uses Turnit In services to detect plagiarism. Do yourself a favor and do NOT copy any part of this. Thanks!

I was first exposed to pharmacy at a campus health fair, where a pharmacist shared her experiences as a student health counselor. Her role as a mentor that students relied on for health and drug concerns, appealed to me as an opportunity to pursue my passion for working closely with members of the community. Temporarily placing school on hold to serve in various pharmacy settings, I have discovered my strengths and interests in this profession, and developed skills and qualities crucial to being a distinguished pharmacist and student, such as dependability and time management. My potential to build strong patient trust and play an integral role in providing patients with a medication regimen that is right for them, motivates me to develop personally and professionally as a trusted final link between a patient and the treatment. The immense responsibilities of pharmacy represent a privileged opportunity for me to make a positive impact on both a patient's health and treatment experience.


My priority is to stay knowledgeable on current topics such as drug therapy and policy, in order to incorporate them into my practice aimed at improving the safety and efficacy of therapeutic regimens. As a teaching assistant, the skills I have acquired in my studies have aided me in helping students develop better methods of analyzing and solving problems, as well as using demonstrations to spark their interests. I will use this same approach to improve how patients manage their drug regimens, and encourage them to become more active in learning more about their treatment process and illness. By sharing relevant information I have learned from pharmacy topics with the community, such as new generic medications or research results, families can make informed health decisions on a daily basis and contribute to a healthier community.


Addressing issues I have faced as a technician, particularly low drug adherence, is an immediate goal I plan to achieve by focusing on counseling patients about the benefits and importance of properly following their drug regimen. Having witnessed a patient suffer complications after abruptly stopping a blood thinner without prior approval, the dangers of low adherence such as failed treatments and other health risks, are very real to me. Through my leadership roles in professional clubs and employment experiences, such as organizing fundraisers and meetings, I have developed strong communication and teamwork skills that I will utilize as a pharmacist, to collaborate with other health professionals and patients themselves to improve adherence. Detecting irregular refill patterns, reviewing prescription instructions with patients, and alleviating patient concerns and misconceptions, are steps I will take to ensure patients adhere to their drug regimen outside of a healthcare setting. my experiences in helping patients who cannot afford to or correctly follow a regiment as required by working with physicians to provide alternative cost effective medications with easier instructions, demonstrate the importance of teamwork in pharmacy.


To establish a patient-friendly practice, I will develop in a community pharmacy setting. Admiring the strong rapport my pharmacists shared with community members, I am committed to develop this same level of closeness with my patients to provide them with a personalized treatment experience, and an open atmosphere to encourage patients to ask questions. Trust and initiative are personal values that will allow me to actively reach out and demonstrate health advocacy in communities. I plan to organize local projects aimed at promoting health measures such as flu shots, and work directly with families to introduce ways of maintaining good health, even without the necessary use of medications. I want patients to view me as a supportive friend who can address health issues beyond just their medications.


To transform a patient's treatment process from a painful experience into a positive improvement in life is an opportunity that commits me to this career. The smiles from even the sickest of patients are a powerful testament to a patient's need for a compassionate friend who can both provide them with a cure, and guide them along the road to recovery. The great responsibilities I will uphold as a pharmacist means my actions and decisions are making a difference, and will ultimately contribute to a greater cause aimed at continuously improving public and community health.

 

[The Recoverer]

Recoverer this is an awesome story. I was so indecisive as to whether or not I was going to apply to pharmacy school or do something else (nursing), but pharmacy is my passion I have been doing it for over 9yrs. It's just time to elevate and doing something more within the field. I am super excited to be applying for the c/o "17" (3yr school) or c/o of "18". Congratulations to everyone who applied and has been accepted, hopefully I will be joining some of you next year!!

gOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!

 

[Viccij01]

gOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!

Thanks.... good luck in school !!!!

 

[fish024]

Thanks!

 

[LdotBlake]

Thanks for sharing your journey man, but I still just don't know if I'm cut out for pharmacy school... My story is similar, except my overall Gpa sucks, but my pre-req gpa is even worse.. I have retaken a handful of classes, so my Pharmcas gpa is much worse than my Gpa on my school transcript.

I calculated my overall and pre-req gpa including every attempt like PharmCas does and I currently have a overall GPA of 2.35 and a pre-req gpa of 2.18. The lowest GPA cutoff for applicants at most schools is a 2.5, so I know that this won't cut it at all. I have Pharmacy tech certification, however a misdemeanor pot possession from 2011 has prevented me from landing a job yet..

The only pre-req I have left is calculus.. I also have to retake ochem 1 and 2 since I got a C and D in those classes. Along with genetics where I got a D too. I'm scheduled to graduate with a BS in Biology in 2015. I have done some research where a school will replace the lowest grade, with the highest grade attempted in their gpa calculations. The only school I've found so far who has this policy is Texas Tech. Does any body know of any other schools with similar policies? Should I take a break from school to focus on getting pharmacy tech experience? Or should I just get my degree, find a tech job, then retake some classes post-bacc?

I have miserably failed myself, and my loved ones since I have not lived up to expectations.. I question my intelligence and competence to work in anything related to science or health care.. I'm studying for the PCAT now, but not even sure if it's worth taking since my gpa is so abysmal. Any advice positive or negative will be appreciated...

 

[oldstock]

Thanks for sharing your journey man, but I still just don't know if I'm cut out for pharmacy school... My story is similar, except my overall Gpa sucks, but my pre-req gpa is even worse.. I have retaken a handful of classes, so my Pharmcas gpa is much worse than my Gpa on my school transcript.

I calculated my overall and pre-req gpa including every attempt like PharmCas does and I currently have a overall GPA of 2.35 and a pre-req gpa of 2.18. The lowest GPA cutoff for applicants at most schools is a 2.5, so I know that this won't cut it at all. I have Pharmacy tech certification, however a misdemeanor pot possession from 2011 has prevented me from landing a job yet..

The only pre-req I have left is calculus.. I also have to retake ochem 1 and 2 since I got a C and D in those classes. Along with genetics where I got a D too. I'm scheduled to graduate with a BS in Biology in 2015. I have done some research where a school will replace the lowest grade, with the highest grade attempted in their gpa calculations. The only school I've found so far who has this policy is Texas Tech. Does any body know of any other schools with similar policies? Should I take a break from school to focus on getting pharmacy tech experience? Or should I just get my degree, find a tech job, then retake some classes post-bacc?

I have miserably failed myself, and my loved ones since I have not lived up to expectations.. I question my intelligence and competence to work in anything related to science or health care.. I'm studying for the PCAT now, but not even sure if it's worth taking since my gpa is so abysmal. Any advice positive or negative will be appreciated...

I think you should take the PCAT anyway. It is a test almost everyone who is applying to pharmacy schools has to take. You've been doubting your intelligence and competence and maybe your aptitude for science/healthcare/pharmacy . Study for the test religiously and take it. Your score (percentile) on the PCAT would give you a fairly accurate a picture where you are standing against other pre-pharmacy students who are taking the test.

I think you should finish your BS as scheduled. What was done was already done. Nothing you can do about it now. The biggest red flag is academic. Pharmacy tech experience would not be important as your grades in school, so I think you should address your weakness in academic performance and improve your grades first. After graduation with a BS, you could try to retake the classes you got D (or even C in). You might also want to go for a master and do well to strengthen your pharmacy application later (not that you have to. But, if I were you, I would do a master though.)

Before you reapply, you want to know if that misdemeanor will or will not affect your application and prevent you from being accepted to pharmacy schools, and what to do to improve the situation. Pharmacy schools will do criminal background check after you accept their admission offers.

Do some research and apply to all the schools that you think you have a chance. Apply to a lot of schools.

GL

 

[LdotBlake]

I think you should take the PCAT anyway. It is a test almost everyone who is applying to pharmacy schools has to take. You've been doubting your intelligence and competence and maybe your aptitude for science/healthcare/pharmacy . Study for the test religiously and take it. Your score (percentile) on the PCAT would give you a fairly accurate a picture where you are standing against other pre-pharmacy students who are taking the test.

I think you should finish your BS as scheduled. What was done was already done. Nothing you can do about it now. The biggest red flag is academic. Pharmacy tech experience would not be important as your grades in school, so I think you should address your weakness in academic performance and improve your grades first. After graduation with a BS, you could try to retake the classes you got D (or even C in). You might also want to go for a master and do well to strengthen your pharmacy application later (not that you have to. But, if I were you, I would do a master though.)

Before you reapply, you want to know if that misdemeanor will or will not affect your application and prevent you from being accepted to pharmacy schools, and what to do to improve the situation. Pharmacy schools will do criminal background check after you accept their admission offers.

Do some research and apply to all the schools that you think you have a chance. Apply to a lot of schools.

GL

Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely gonna continue to study for the PCAT and earn my degree first. I don't know if it'll be worth my time to get a master's, but I'm definitely gonna go retake some pre-reqs post bacc. If I don't get into any schools my first try, then I'll consider completing a master's. I also have this pdf link that I have found very useful for those looking for schools. It has pretty much every pharmacy school in the country listed along with their prerequisites and admission statistics. Good luck to everybody.

http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/admissionrequirements/Documents/School Admission Requirements.pdf

 

[oldstock]

Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely gonna continue to study for the PCAT and earn my degree first. I don't know if it'll be worth my time to get a master's, but I'm definitely gonna go retake some pre-reqs post bacc. If I don't get into any schools my first try, then I'll consider completing a master's. I also have this pdf link that I have found very useful for those looking for schools. It has pretty much every pharmacy school in the country listed along with their prerequisites and admission statistics. Good luck to everybody.

http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/admissionrequirements/Documents/School Admission Requirements.pdf

I think that is very smart. If you are determined, you will get in.

thanks for sharing the link !

 

[oldstock]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

bump

 

[3186]

Thanks for sharing your journey man, but I still just don't know if I'm cut out for pharmacy school... My story is similar, except my overall Gpa sucks, but my pre-req gpa is even worse.. I have retaken a handful of classes, so my Pharmcas gpa is much worse than my Gpa on my school transcript.

I calculated my overall and pre-req gpa including every attempt like PharmCas does and I currently have a overall GPA of 2.35 and a pre-req gpa of 2.18. The lowest GPA cutoff for applicants at most schools is a 2.5, so I know that this won't cut it at all. I have Pharmacy tech certification, however a misdemeanor pot possession from 2011 has prevented me from landing a job yet..

The only pre-req I have left is calculus.. I also have to retake ochem 1 and 2 since I got a C and D in those classes. Along with genetics where I got a D too. I'm scheduled to graduate with a BS in Biology in 2015. I have done some research where a school will replace the lowest grade, with the highest grade attempted in their gpa calculations. The only school I've found so far who has this policy is Texas Tech. Does any body know of any other schools with similar policies? Should I take a break from school to focus on getting pharmacy tech experience? Or should I just get my degree, find a tech job, then retake some classes post-bacc?

I have miserably failed myself, and my loved ones since I have not lived up to expectations.. I question my intelligence and competence to work in anything related to science or health care.. I'm studying for the PCAT now, but not even sure if it's worth taking since my gpa is so abysmal. Any advice positive or negative will be appreciated...

How did you calculate your GPA? Manually or did you use an online calculator?

 

[68quebec]

How did you calculate your GPA? Manually or did you use an online calculator?

I'm not him, but I calculated manually, and it matched AMCAS, PHARMCAS gpa.

 

[SClENCE]

Along with working in a pharmacy the PCAT is your BEST opportunity to make up for a low GPA!!! Take advantage!!! STUDY and get that 90+!!!

Doesn't matter if your school requires it or not the PCAT is there to help you. If you have a 2.5 GPA and don't take the PCAT how are you going to convince anybody that you can handle pharmacy school?!

 

[JrPharm88]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

You have TOTALLY inspired me. I was planning on applying this year but by the time I get everything ready, it will be very close to the deadline. I have a degree but my GPA also is lackluster but not as low as yours happened to be. I have over 10 years experience in retail pharmacy and 7 years as a tech. But my GPA barely is cutting it. I decided to wait until next year to apply. I want to apply earlier and I will be retaking some pre-req's. I plan to make all A's because I don't find the material difficult. I just wasn't focused or going to class. That was years ago and I have grown since then. Retaking these will bring my pre-req GPA to about 3.5 if I receive all As. I have a 70 pcat. Any other helpful tips you can give? Thanks!

 

[sooyoungmia]

Your story has been very inspiring! Thanks for sharing it.

 

[PharXm2018]

Hi forums, in this testimony, I won’t be revealing any school or name specifics due to confidentially. I will try my best to simplify everything. This thread is not to boast, or ask for pity, but a story that will hopefully help people out there. I hope my journey will motivate fellow applicants to rise up and remove any doubts about getting into a pharmacy program. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too.

I was a lost soul my senior year. I had one more semester to go before the next step in my life, pharmacy school, or so I thought. Senioritis kills, literally. I majored in biology at my university and I felt like my entire 4 years of college was backwards. I was very motivated my freshmen year. I started skipping class my sophomore year, began over socializing my junior year, in my senior year, I barely remember what classes I was enrolled in. I became involved in 3 different campus organizations yet my academic record was dying.

I had 14 credits left before getting my bachelor’s degree. At this point, I already had 13 Ds and 6 Fs on my transcript. I failed and retook a lot of classes. I went to my advisor one day and he told me I should switch my major to something easier. I was very discouraged at the time and those I used to call friends stopped talking to me. My parents, friends, advisors, faculty, even my pastor, began to doubt me. The problem? I did well on most of my pharmacy pre requisite classes (gen chem, organic chem, calculus), but I ended up taking a lot of upper level science classes that I had no interest in just biomechanics and geneology. I messed those classes up bad. I was was sitting at a 2.28 cumulative GPA at this point. Remember, this was already my senior year, I already had 122 credits under my belt and I was at a 2.28!

Ready for the corny part? One day I was on youtube and I came across a video of a motivational speech given by a speaker names Eric Thomas. I am not here to advertise for him, all I am saying is the video really got to me.

I went on academic leave and began to really hit the road running. I took initiative, went to my university career center for the FIRST time in my life haha. I set up an appointment and with the help of the nice people there, they were able to offer me tips on improving my resume.

I began to apply to every retail, independent, and hospital pharmacy in my area. I still remember one day, Janurary 3rd, 2011, I met with the pharmacists of over 15 different pharmacies, giving them my resume and introducing myself. I got my tech certification in 2008 but I wasn’t able to find a job. I got serious this time though. After a lot of pleading and bugging, I got my first offer for a job as a pharm tech in a retail pharmacy. The pay was terrible, but what did I care? I went after it HARD. I was very grateful for this opportunity. The pharmacist there was very nice and spent time to teach me the basics. She let me stay after hours to learn the individual drugs and there generics. I worked there for about 9 months.

During these 9 months, I learned more about pharmacy than I ever could reading a book including insurance policies, HIPPA, drug names, and effects, everything. After this job, I found it much easier to get other pharmacy jobs due to my experiences. I ended up transferring to an independent pharmacy, CVS, then Walgreen, and finally I now work as a technician in a large hospital. I’ve now got about 2 years of pharmacy technician experience. But listen, during these years, I wasn’t just working, I began NETWORKING, really getting to know my pharmacists. And by this I don’t mean kissing butt, I was asking a ton of questions everyday, asking them bout their application process. I have been very blessed to have such a great opportunity to work with pharmacists who actually put up with me. I talked a lot and asked a lot of questions! Took me two year, I had strong relationships with 4 different pharmacists and pharmacy managers. I saved up a lot of money working at these pharmacies. During this time, I went back to school part time to finish my classes. I wasn’t messin around. I commuted everyday to school, a good hour and a half commute. I used some of the money I earned to retake some classes at both my university and also a local CC. Made all As. However, my GPA did not go up much and ended up at a 2.33. Finally, last year 2012, I applied. I had enough money to apply to 28 programs, so you know what I did? I applied to 28 programs. But I wasn’t just randomly applying. The important thing is, You gotta do your research!
Also I spent 8 months writing and revise and rewriting my pharmcas PS. I had 4 professors and 3 pharmacists look it over. I had BADGERPHARM look over my PS too on sdn. Big thanks and shout out to him! He really helped me out and gave me some great advice that I ended up using. His advice really made my PS a great one. At this point, I had already taken the PCAT 4 times. My first time was in 2009. But since most schools do not take this score anymore, I had to retake the test. Since I was working and going to school part time, I really had no time study. So I drank a lot of energy drinks haha and studied during the night. I ended up getting a massive nosebleed during the exam but I managed to pull off a decent score.

I found out about programs that ONLY looked at your pre req GPA, This really helped me. Remember ealier, it wasn’t my pre req classes that were lowering my GPA but rather my upper level classes that were not even pre reqs. My pre req GPA to my surprise ended up to be a 2.77, my math and science was a 2.65. I most of my pre reqs early on during my freshmen and freshmen year summer sessions when I was still motivated. I had mostly As and Bs in ochem, gen che, physics, the whole shebang. But my 4 credit upper level classes I took my senior year completely killed my cum GPA. Of course many schools have a GPA min on 2.5 so my 2.33 was not gonna cut it.

What did I do? Well for one, I definitely did not lose hope, I went to the AACP website, did a ton of searching. I made a list of schools that DID NOT have a minimum CUM GPA req and schools that only looked at pre req. I still have the list:

The bolded schools are schools that ONLY look at pre req GPA, the italisized schools are schools that have NO minimum overall GPA requirements.

Midwestern University- Glendale
Nova Southeastern University
University of Georgia
Midwestern University-Chicago
MCPHS
Western New England University University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
New England, University of
Wingate University
Albany College of Pharmacy
Touro College (NY)
Presbyterian College
South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Texas Tech Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Marshall University


At the beginning, I started getting rejection letters. 1 at a time. One day I got 3 rejections on the same day haha I just laughed about it. A small part of me was dying and I was crying on the inside. But I kept pushing on. Praying and hoping that some school out there would at least look at my application before tossing it.

My day came on a Wednesday morning when I got a voicemail from a top choice school that I was only applying for fun. I thought I absolutely had no chance so when I saw the call, I jumped about 5 feet. WAS THIS AN INTERVIEW? Why would a school call to reject me. It took me 3 tries to finally reach someone when I called back….INTERVIEW INVITE! My hopes went up. After this one, I ended up getting FIVE, YES 5 more interview invites. And remember, My Cum GPA was a 2.33, science 2.65, Pre req 2.77. Long story short, I’ve so far received 4 acceptances. After this cycle I will post my Pharmcas personal statement, which has helped me out tremendously.

So to all my friends out there who are still doubting themselves, STOP. Do an self evaluation, figure out the weaknesses on your app, and really take steps to correct them. I understand that a pharmacy tech job is hard to come by. But with a little bit of luck and bugging, I know anyone can find one with hard work. I am terrible at story telling and I left out a lot of other details. I felt like I needed to share this story because I am really surprised and grateful that I was given these opportunities.

Thank you everyone

What a great story! Congrats! I'm in the same boat... can you post your personal statement? Or send it to me so I can read what u wrote? I'm at a halt bc I am finding it hard to put my statement into words concisely and stand out..

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

What a great story! Congrats! I'm in the same boat... can you post your personal statement? Or send it to me so I can read what u wrote? I'm at a halt bc I am finding it hard to put my statement into words concisely and stand out..

The OP posted it in this very thread already.....

 

[Amicable Angora]

Someone please find his followup thread about how he was failing out of pharmacy school!

 

[LoveWillSaveTheDay]

Someone please find his followup thread about how he was failing out of pharmacy school!

Oh my.....

 

[Mao263]

Someone please find his followup thread about how he was failing out of pharmacy school!

He failed?

 

[Amicable Angora]

He failed?

Most likely, he posted a few years later about how he was about to fail out of school and had received multiple F's.

 

[radio frequency]

Someone please find his followup thread about how he was failing out of pharmacy school!

Somehow he deleted it, but I remember his post about it also. His posts always concerned me -- not academically qualified and not worried enough about his patients' well-being to care to fix the matter. Dismissed from Pharmacy School...advice?

 

[y0ssarian87]

Someone please find his followup thread about how he was failing out of pharmacy school!

He and I both applied to pharmacy programs the same year, and I, too, had godawful stats. In fact, I also posted in this thread prior to my acceptance into pharmacy school. But my story is one of success so far.

In pharmacy school, I was an overachiever. I excelled academically, worked all four years, and led a large student organization. My hard work paid off. I just graduated in May and am doing a two-year industry fellowship in exactly the business function and therapeutic area I wanted. Took the NAPLEX last week, didn't study once (though I did take a Pre-NAPLEX to see what it's like), and passed handily.

I'm not saying that all students with crappy GPA's will have good outcomes, but again, it's just a number that only tells one thing -- academic success at that particular institution in the past. In fact, I firmly believe people with low GPAs will have an uphill battle in succeeding throughout and after pharmacy school.

If I were to emphasize something to applicants today with low GPAs, I would say, unless you have some other objective data to suggest you are capable of succeeding in pharmacy school and have good critical thinking skills, don't go for it. It's EASY to get into A pharmacy school. I think we established in earlier threads that around 80% of all pharmacy school applicants matriculate into some pharmacy school. So the question isn't "will you get in?" The question is "will you come out of the entire experience better off?" I'd venture to guess that for most people with low GPAs the answer is no. Things aren't pretty for many individuals.

I have classmates with loans >$200k. I have classmates that are underemployed (limited hours and intern salary) because they didn't pass the NAPLEX or MPJE. And I have classmates who are only a month into a retail job and are miserable. They come home in tears. And they owe thousands of dollars a month in loans for many years.

Again, I urge applicants today to think about whether they will get through pharmacy school and be better off for it. Your "passion for pharmacy" isn't enough and won't carry you through. It'll get you a nice application essay and admission to some school, but it truly won't be enough to allow you to succeed and be happy with your career.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[PharmtoCS]

He was on the verge of failing out of school but made some kind of appeal to the school to let him stay - and was successful.

We are talking about Texas Tech University and not some diploma mill.

 

[Amicable Angora]

He was on the verge of failing out of school but made some kind of appeal to the school to let him stay - and was successful.

We are talking about Texas Tech University and not some diploma mill.

How do you know all these details? Did he graduate and pass the NAPLEX/MPJE?