My profile is not really good, how hard is it for me to get scholarships in pharmD?

[nnnni0223]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

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[BC_89]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

To answer the scholarship question: It is very rare and never a large amount. If you were to get any scholarship do not count on it putting a dent in your overall tuition and housing costs. You still need to plan accordingly on how you will budget your education.

For the academic dishonesty:

Majority of Pharmacy programs utilize the PharmCAS application. Within this application, many programs require a secondary application. Within the application cycles, you will be asked if you have any academic misconducts in the past from any particular school. This is where you will need to mention (straight forward but briefly) of what is on your record.

As for an acceptance, if you get anywhere near the overall and science GPA you anticipate with even a decent PCAT score, you will be accepted somewhere if you cast a broad net. I encourage you to consider what the job entails and some of the struggles graduates of a PharmD are going through, but nevertheless should you apply broadly you will be bound to get at least one or two interviews.

 

[nnnni0223]

To answer the scholarship question: It is very rare and never a large amount. If you were to get any scholarship do not count on it putting a dent in your overall tuition and housing costs. You still need to plan accordingly on how you will budget your education.

For the academic dishonesty:

Majority of Pharmacy programs utilize the PharmCAS application. Within this application, many programs require a secondary application. Within the application cycles, you will be asked if you have any academic misconducts in the past from any particular school. This is where you will need to mention (straight forward but briefly) of what is on your record.

As for an acceptance, if you get anywhere near the overall and science GPA you anticipate with even a decent PCAT score, you will be accepted somewhere if you cast a broad net. I encourage you to consider what the job entails and some of the struggles graduates of a PharmD are going through, but nevertheless should you apply broadly you will be bound to get at least one or two interviews.

I have read a lot of posts saying that pharmacy industry is getting saturated. Tbh, I am quite scared now, as it would be very risky if I ended up having no job and with the restrictions of visa, the worst case is I had to return to my country after graduation. With the salary rate in my country, there is no way that I can pay back my debts. I am thinking of switching to pharmaceutical sciences, do you think it would be better?

 

[BC_89]

I have read a lot of posts saying that pharmacy industry is getting saturated. Tbh, I am quite scared now, as it would be very risky if I ended up having no job and with the restrictions of visa, the worst case is I had to return to my country after graduation. With the salary rate in my country, there is no way that I can pay back my debts. I am thinking of switching to pharmaceutical sciences, do you think it would be better?

Depends. What do you plan on doing with a pharmaceutical science degree

 

[nnnni0223]

Depends. What do you plan on doing with a pharmaceutical science degree

My school does not provide pre-pharmd, I am study biochemistry degree now. I am interested in drug development, so I was thinking maybe pharmaceutical science is more suitable for me.

 

[mentos]

Scholarships are practically nonexistent. It doesn't matter which pharmacy school you go to, you'll get the same job whether you go to a "top" pharmacy school or not. Some schools don't require PCAT anymore cause they can't fill their seats. It's very difficult to get a job in pharmacy. There are unemployed pharmDs right now, very risky.

 

[nnnni0223]

Scholarships are practically nonexistent. It doesn't matter which pharmacy school you go to, you'll get the same job whether you go to a "top" pharmacy school or not. Some schools don't require PCAT anymore cause they can't fill their seats. It's very difficult to get a job in pharmacy. There are unemployed pharmDs right now, very risky.

Is there any advice you could give if not pharmD for Biochem student? I am really lost right now and don't know which direction I should go. Is it competitive for a bachelor degree student in Biochem to find a job in US?

 

[PharmtoCS]

Is there any advice you could give if not pharmD for Biochem student? I am really lost right now and don't know which direction I should go. Is it competitive for a bachelor degree student in Biochem to find a job in US?

I would learn a skill or profession that is in demand, i.e. computer programming. There is a huge shortage of computer programmers right now. You can go that route by getting a degree in computer science or going to a coding bootcamp. These would be much cheaper than spending $200k on a PharmD.

 

[Whysoez]

Is there any advice you could give if not pharmD for Biochem student? I am really lost right now and don't know which direction I should go. Is it competitive for a bachelor degree student in Biochem to find a job in US?

I graduated with a Biochem degree and have not been able to find anything in the field.

 

[mentos]

Not sure about biochem but here are some professions that are in demand now:
RN/NP
PA
Dentist
Dental hygienist
Engineer (any kind)
IT/information systems/Cyber security
Accountant/CPA/CFA
Trades: plumber/electrician/carpenter/HVAC

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Not sure about biochem but here are some professions that are in demand now:
RN/NP
PA
Dentist
Dental hygienist
Engineer (any kind)
IT/information systems/Cyber security
Accountant/CPA/CFA
Trades: plumber/electrician/carpenter/HVAC

Grass is always greener on the other side...

 

[mentos]

Grass is always greener on the other side...

Not saying they have better quality of life just saying they are in demand and will give much higher ROI than pharmacy.

 

[deleted562805]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

Why are you pursuing pharmacy with a 3.8 GPA? If I were you, take the MCAT and apply to medical school. Also shadow some doctors and add some ECs. But seriously apply to medical school.
There will be no jobs left for you if you pursue pharmacy even if you pursue a pharmacy residency. 0% job growth till 2028. While in medicine, there is a shortage of primary care docs and even if you specialize in surgery, you will be guaranteed a job. Don’t waste 200k debt for pharmacy.

 

[ReciproGal]

Agreed- highly saturated field with little-to-no job security in the coming years. I have many pharmacist/pharm-student friends struggling to find jobs or are getting laid off. Have you considered becoming a PA or NP? Sonographers and X-Ray/CT/MRI techs also make great money.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Should pharmacy go back to being a bachelors degree, instead of doctorate??

 

[mentos]

Should pharmacy go back to being a bachelors degree, instead of doctorate??

Yes but then the schools wouldn't profit as much.

 

[Lubeckd]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

Asian theater? Are you Asian or in Asian studies?

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

Is there any advice you could give if not pharmD for Biochem student? I am really lost right now and don't know which direction I should go. Is it competitive for a bachelor degree student in Biochem to find a job in US?

A bachelor's degree in a pre-med field (biology, biochemistry, etc.) is unfortunately not going to open up a ton of doors. Options could include research assistant in pharma or academia or some bio/life sciences business consulting roles. You also could get some low-level quick certifications to be a medical assistant, but that doesn't seem like a good long-term use of your undergrad education.

If you want to work in drug development, a PhD probably makes more sense. With that, you could work as a research scientist at one of the large pharma companies. These jobs are still competitive, but they exist. If you want to be doing direct patient work, med school is probably your best option. Scholarships are still hard to come by in med school, but post-grad jobs are not. You WILL be employed with an MD, and you'd have the means to pay of the debt. This is less certain with pharmacy.

 

[LivingMyBestLife]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

You can get into many pharmacy schools (if not all) with your credentials. Not sure about scholarships. They are few and the ones out there do not pay that much unless you are a very special case (native american, military, religion ect)

 

[El-Rami]

I also considered a career in pharmacy, but after doing some research online I quickly realized the profession isn't like it used to be. I would recommend against it, personally. A lot of people in my local pharmacy school are worried about not being able to get a job, and apparently being a hard worker/being top of class/otherwise having a great, well-rounded resume doesn't count for anything. Pharmacists are just seen as disposable labor, which is quite frankly an insult to the education required to become a pharmacist.

You *might* get a scholarship that can knock off $10,000 from your total cost of education, but nothing worth writing home about. I don't think there are even really any decent scholarships for underrepresented minorities.

Also, as said before, pharmacy school is easy to get into. If your GPA is decent, many schools don't even require the PCAT. Some schools are offering in-state tuition to those who are not in-state residents (usually with a stipulation they at least live within a 200-sq-mile radius of the campus or whatever). Many states have multiple pharmacy schools, even in small and low-populated states. Anyone with a pulse can become a pharmacist nowadays. It isn't prestigious, and there's apparently zero job security. Retail chains have unethical practices and violate labor laws. No one will care if you speak out about it, because you're "rich" in the eyes of the general population.

If you do listen to some of the advice here and consider something like PA vs NP, do not become a nurse practitioner. I will piss people off saying this, but NP education and training is a joke. I've been in medical school, and I knew more than every NP I visited as a patient. A lot of NPs have a chip on their shoulder regarding the whole "nurses are just as good as doctors!" bull. This translates into NPs overestimating the quality of their training, and dangerous and questionable advice is often given to patients. You will be a danger to your patient's overall wellbeing. NPs who practice within their intended scope are fine, but many are malicious. At least with a PA training, you learn most of what a medical student learns. You practice within scope and aren't a danger to your patients. Also, PA training is only two years and then you can earn about $90,000 per year. It's a good career, although it might eventually become a saturated field. You are basically being used as a tool to make up for the shortage of physicians. There's no desire to increase the number of med school grads because if they do that, then doctors will eventually have the same problems that pharmacists have now. PAs are the solution to that problem without compromising the job security of physicians.

 

[deleted562805]

I also considered a career in pharmacy, but after doing some research online I quickly realized the profession isn't like it used to be. I would recommend against it, personally. A lot of people in my local pharmacy school are worried about not being able to get a job, and apparently being a hard worker/being top of class/otherwise having a great, well-rounded resume doesn't count for anything. Pharmacists are just seen as disposable labor, which is quite frankly an insult to the education required to become a pharmacist.

You *might* get a scholarship that can knock off $10,000 from your total cost of education, but nothing worth writing home about. I don't think there are even really any decent scholarships for underrepresented minorities.

Also, as said before, pharmacy school is easy to get into. If your GPA is decent, many schools don't even require the PCAT. Some schools are offering in-state tuition to those who are not in-state residents (usually with a stipulation they at least live within a 200-sq-mile radius of the campus or whatever). Many states have multiple pharmacy schools, even in small and low-populated states. Anyone with a pulse can become a pharmacist nowadays. It isn't prestigious, and there's apparently zero job security. Retail chains have unethical practices and violate labor laws. No one will care if you speak out about it, because you're "rich" in the eyes of the general population.

If you do listen to some of the advice here and consider something like PA vs NP, do not become a nurse practitioner. I will piss people off saying this, but NP education and training is a joke. I've been in medical school, and I knew more than every NP I visited as a patient. A lot of NPs have a chip on their shoulder regarding the whole "nurses are just as good as doctors!" bull. This translates into NPs overestimating the quality of their training, and dangerous and questionable advice is often given to patients. You will be a danger to your patient's overall wellbeing. NPs who practice within their intended scope are fine, but many are malicious. At least with a PA training, you learn most of what a medical student learns. You practice within scope and aren't a danger to your patients. Also, PA training is only two years and then you can earn about $90,000 per year. It's a good career, although it might eventually become a saturated field. You are basically being used as a tool to make up for the shortage of physicians. There's no desire to increase the number of med school grads because if they do that, then doctors will eventually have the same problems that pharmacists have now. PAs are the solution to that problem without compromising the job security of physicians.

Interesting, so physicians will continue to be in demand in the future and will never get saturated. Simultaneously, NPs and PAs will saturate themselves.
But I did hear PAs have advocated for independent licensure in CA. What are your thoughts on this legislation? Will that affect physician job security and salary?

 

[deleted562805]

Hi everyone,
I am currently pursuing PharmD, I am at my third year of college.
I am having a lot of pressure right now as I am on my way to apply into PharmD schools, but my profile is not very good.
I would be very appreciate if someone could give me some advices on whether I still have chance to get into a PharmD school.
My situation is, during the first quarter of my sophomore year, I got caught by my Asian Theater professor and he accused me of plagiarism. It was a 30 minutes online quiz, and I was so stupid that I paraphrased the same idea without knowing that I needed to cite the source. I will not defend for myself because I deeply know that what I did was very wrong and stupid. I got to meet with the dean that time, and got a warning about that, she said that it would get recorded under the disciplinary record. A few days later I got a letter from the dean saying that this would become part of my conduct record at college. I was very sad at that time, and very stressed. Because of that, my academic performance started to fall down, so I chose to withdraw one class each quarter, which made my transcript have 3 W on it.
I tried very hard during my first year and got a gpa of 3.9, and everything fell apart after my sophomore. I spent a year to get over it. I just finished first quarter of Junior and my grades were very good, I believe I could do even better during the rest of my time in college. As I calculated, if I try hard, I can end up with gpa of 3.8 when I graduate. With gpa 3.8 and a very good PCAT score (I am planning to try my best and score more than 90th), will it be okay for me to get in some top schools or am I dreaming too high knowing my circumstances?
I am an international student and the tuition fee is very expensive for my family to enroll in without scholarships. Is there any chance for me to still ask for scholarships?
Thanks.

I would do a MS in pharmacology and try for a Ph.D. Do not do a PharmD. Avoid it all costs, waste of your time and money. MS in pharmacology is only two years and you work on research projects and dissertations without meaningless PharmD curriculum consisting of clinical therapeutics courses