Need a realistic/serious advice

[aurevoir0711]

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Hi, I am 25 yrs old (turning 26 soon), working as an IT consultant.
Last year, I have had a major surgery in my life (ACL reconstruction) and became interested in health science. Thus, I would like to pursue a pharmacy degree ASAP.
To give you more about my background, I have graduated from Georgia Tech with Bachelor's and Master's degree in mechanical engineering with decent GPA's (3.93 undergrad, 3.54 grad). I have been working as an IT consultant for a year now.

I was never on a pre-med, pre-health, or pre-pharm path, so I have not taken any biology class since high school. I did take general chemistry during my undergrad, but no further than that. I have taken some physics class and countless engineering classes if they count at all. Of course, I have not taken PCAT, but I did take GRE in the past (decent score).

Currently, I am in Chicago, but I am willing to move back to Atlanta. Schools I am currently interested are UIC, UGA, and maybe Mercer university. I am willing to commit myself to study for PCAT and fulfill prereqs before applying. Is there anything else I can do to enhance my admission chance? I can get decent letter of recommendations from professors I knew at Georgia Tech or the company I am currently working for, but I do not have any acquaintance with people in pharmacy/medical industry.

What will be the earliest year I could get into Pharmacy school? I was thinking around age 28 (~1.5 years for prereq+PCAT preparation), but this is only my assumption. Also, what would be the best way to fulfill prereq courses since I am out of school already? Can I take them over at a community college?

I realize the post is getting lengthy so I have summarized my questions below.

1. Which schools would you recommend based on my profile out of UIC, UGA, and Mercer? Is there any other affordable schools (no private school please) you would like to recommend? I would like to stay in Chicago, Atlanta, or Seattle if possible.
2. Does the school you get into largely affect where you will be landing your job afterward? For instance, if you go to a pharmacy school in NY, would you most likely stay in NY?
3. What will be the earliest time I should start Pharm school? (currently 25, turning 26 soon)
4. What are the ways I can satisfy prereq courses given that I am out of school? Can I take classes from a community college and transfer?
5. Will recommendation letters from former engineering professors or current manager be fine for application?
6. What voluntary activities, paid opportunities are out there to increase my admission chance?

I would sincerely appreciate your input. Thank you so much in advance.

 

[chemkitten]

Go to a school where you can be considered an in-state resident and save yourself some money. If you go to school in a saturated city (I'm looking at you northeast states), then you might have an issue with getting a job according to anecdotal evidence. Each of the cities you listed have great schools--the only way to find out if it is for you is to interview there, look at their tuition and courses, and talk to students who are already attending (look for posts on SDN too). Also, check their prerequisites. Most, if not all the prereqs, can be taken at community college. Some schools make an exception for certain classes like biochemistry to be taken at a university, but again do you research. I took Human A&P I and II with labs, Microbiology with lab, and microeconomics in one semester while working. Since you have several degrees with excellent GPAs, your dean may give you an override to take those series classes together like chemistry and biology. But then again, I had a chemistry degree with a biology minor, so she knew I could handle the coursework.

Most schools want 1) anatomy and physiology (separate or combined courses and one or two semesters) with labs, 2) microbiology, 3) gen chemistry 1 and II with labs, 4) Biology I and II with labs, 5) microeconomics, 6) organic chem I and II with labs, 7) public speaking, 8) physics, 9) calculus. Some schools only want certain math and science classes if you already have a degree, so it may not be as long a wait as you think. Don't bother with private schools if you want to get in ASAP--more expensive and more prereqs. They wanted me to take philosophy, religious studies, and sociology on top of all the other prereqs..

As long as you get recommendation letters that are positive about how youre a hard worker, smart, etc, you should be fine. But I do want to give you one piece of advice--try shadowing a pharmacist to see if is what you really really want to do. You said you liked health science, but that is a broad field. I was formerly a chemist, and chose to pursue pharmacy because of the work flexibility, different career paths, and opportunities for growth. I think after a few years of working as a consulting pharmacist, I'd like to be a pharmacy faculty member and teach. It is also interesting. I dont like blood or the stresses of being a physician, so it was an ideal job for me. Ask yourself why it is ideal for you. Do you like physical therapy? Physician assistant? Nurse practitioner? Chiropractor? You can be a PA in only two years and have more authority over patients and make the same amount of money as a pharmacist. Explore other career health pathways before settling only on pharmacy. Why not biomedical engineering? I know Georgia Tech has a great program for that! You have to think about these things because your background will be questioned at interviews--how did you make the choice to go from IT to pharmacy? How did you overcome your deficiencies in pharm experience? Explain how having multiple degrees is an advantage, your older age is an advantage...they want to be convinced that you know what you are getting yourself into and are excited about it anyway😛 Your personal statement should reflect your thought processes with each step of your application and that you have been preparing yourself for pharmacy all along

I went back and forth for a few months before knowing 100% that pharmacy was exactly what I wanted and needed as a profession. I shadowed a few pharmacists in hospital, home infusion, and a local retail pharmacy (chain stores probably wont let you behind the counter). I called a compounding pharmacy asking to shadow, and was hired for a job the same day. So I sort of fell into being a compounding pharm tech, and I am really grateful for the experience I am getting and what I have learned. My boss was very supportive of my school schedule and pharmacy school interview dates. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to try and get your foot in the door before you spend four years studying and take on a mountain of debt only to realize that its not really what you had in mind. Pharm experience will also increase your chances of admission, along with research and leadership experience. But having a master's with good gpas already demonstrates you can handle hard coursework, and having 2 degrees will put you ahead of alot of candidates already. Good luck! PM me if you want to talk more about your pharmacy journey.

 

[blueheron]

Great advice up there^^

Do the prereqs and you will be fine getting in where you want to go. Go to school where you want to end up so you can network to help find a job. You can start as early as you do prereqs/ apply. I would finish them at a CC for affordability.

 

[sanovin]

Hi, I am 25 yrs old (turning 26 soon), working as an IT consultant.
Last year, I have had a major surgery in my life (ACL reconstruction) and became interested in health science. Thus, I would like to pursue a pharmacy degree ASAP.
To give you more about my background, I have graduated from Georgia Tech with Bachelor's and Master's degree in mechanical engineering with decent GPA's (3.93 undergrad, 3.54 grad). I have been working as an IT consultant for a year now.

I was never on a pre-med, pre-health, or pre-pharm path, so I have not taken any biology class since high school. I did take general chemistry during my undergrad, but no further than that. I have taken some physics class and countless engineering classes if they count at all. Of course, I have not taken PCAT, but I did take GRE in the past (decent score).

Currently, I am in Chicago, but I am willing to move back to Atlanta. Schools I am currently interested are UIC, UGA, and maybe Mercer university. I am willing to commit myself to study for PCAT and fulfill prereqs before applying. Is there anything else I can do to enhance my admission chance? I can get decent letter of recommendations from professors I knew at Georgia Tech or the company I am currently working for, but I do not have any acquaintance with people in pharmacy/medical industry.

What will be the earliest year I could get into Pharmacy school? I was thinking around age 28 (~1.5 years for prereq+PCAT preparation), but this is only my assumption. Also, what would be the best way to fulfill prereq courses since I am out of school already? Can I take them over at a community college?

I realize the post is getting lengthy so I have summarized my questions below.

1. Which schools would you recommend based on my profile out of UIC, UGA, and Mercer? Is there any other affordable schools (no private school please) you would like to recommend? I would like to stay in Chicago, Atlanta, or Seattle if possible.
2. Does the school you get into largely affect where you will be landing your job afterward? For instance, if you go to a pharmacy school in NY, would you most likely stay in NY?
3. What will be the earliest time I should start Pharm school? (currently 25, turning 26 soon)
4. What are the ways I can satisfy prereq courses given that I am out of school? Can I take classes from a community college and transfer?
5. Will recommendation letters from former engineering professors or current manager be fine for application?
6. What voluntary activities, paid opportunities are out there to increase my admission chance?

I would sincerely appreciate your input. Thank you so much in advance.

1. UIC is a fine school, with many hospital connections and therefore opportunities. Conveniently you would pay their instate tuition of $22,610, but there are many factors that go into your decision besides cost. I would do some independent research on your choices and from there you should naturally acquire a better sense of what you're exactly looking for.

2. It certainly makes it easier to acquire a job closer to the area that you've studied in. I live in Wisconsin and all of the pharmacists I've shadowed or interviewed came from Madison. From what I've gathered, the amount of networking you'll do during pharmacy school pretty much pushes you to practice around the area.

3. Start as soon as possible. It will likely take you about two years to complete your prerequisites, and then another four years to finish the PharmD program. With this in mind, you would ideally begin practicing around the age of 32.

4. This I am not so sure of. I believe you can enroll at an institution and complete the prereqs without the need for an additional degree (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Just make sure this institution carries all of the necessary prerequisites. A great place for you to start would be www.pharmcas.org. You'll most likely have to go through this site to apply, but they offer information on a majority of schools, including tuition, necessary prereq courses, and other requirements.

5. From what I've seen and learned, an ideal triplet of recommendation letters would be similar to:

One from a Pharmacist
One from a Supervisor or Manager of your workplace or volunteering area
One from a Science Professor

Such a combination is not strictly necessary, of course. My letters came from my manager, a biochemistry professor, and an organic chemistry research professor. PharmCAS will also provide information on what types of recommendation letters are preferred by each institution.

6. Working as a Pharmacy Technician is a great way to boost your experience and knowledge of the profession, otherwise there are always shadowing opportunities or individual volunteering opportunities which you may have to scout out around your area of residence. Try your best to get some sort of activities in, whether pharmacy-related or not, as "active candidates" are ALWAYS preferred.

Honestly, with your GPA's and degrees you seem like you would do well in the application process. Study hard for the PCAT after AT LEAST completing Chem I & II, Biology I, Organic I and II, and Calc I (if you haven't taken it already). If you're trying to minimize the time required to get in to pharmacy school, I would try to complete those classes as soon as possible.