Need Advice!

[Debster]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I need some major help. I have a BS in Biological Sciences(premed) from FAU, but decided to to go into pharmacy. This is my dilemma, my GPA is a about a 2.5. I know, it's terrible! I really screwed up big time! Some of it is because of a medical issue I was going through, but the majority of it was me stupidly assuming that I could study like I did in High School and still pull of A's. Not to mention, I have not taken speech or economics, since it wasn't required for my degree. Obviously I need to raise my GPA. So my question is, what type of classes, how many classes, and where should I take these classes to quickly raise my GPA? I'm 25 years old and don't want to spend years trying to get into pharmacy School. I'm not worried about the PCAT because I have been studying for it(October 2008 exam) and feel confident about it. The school of my choice is NSU since I reside in South Florida. I'm shooting for their Fall 2009 admission, is that unrealistic? As you can see, I need all the help I can get. Please Help! How fast can I do this?

 

[Farcus]

I need some major help. I have a BS in Biological Sciences(premed) from FAU, but decided to to go into pharmacy. This is my dilemma, my GPA is a about a 2.5. I know, it's terrible! I really screwed up big time! Some of it is because of a medical issue I was going through, but the majority of it was me stupidly assuming that I could study like I did in High School and still pull of A's. Not to mention, I have not taken speech or economics, since it wasn't required for my degree. Obviously I need to raise my GPA. So my question is, what type of classes, how many classes, and where should I take these classes to quickly raise my GPA? I'm 25 years old and don't want to spend years trying to get into pharmacy School. I'm not worried about the PCAT because I have been studying for it(October 2008 exam) and feel confident about it. The school of my choice is NSU since I reside in South Florida. I'm shooting for their Fall 2009 admission, is that unrealistic? As you can see, I need all the help I can get. Please Help! How fast can I do this?

with that GPA no i don't think its realistic, you need to retake quite a few classes to try at least a 3.0

 

[baykillawhale]

I'm in the same exact boat as you. The only pre-req I need is either Anatomy or Anatomy/Physiology depending on if schools accept mammalian physiology.

I'm turning 25 this year,
-BS Biology, 2.6gpa overall, but I have an upward trend in science GPA (not sure what it is)
-1.5 year of working experience in a biotech lab, 3 yrs in family property management and miscellaneous jobs that show I have a direction.
-diverse past work experience unrelated to healthcare
- Latino (may help because i'm an uncommon minority in the field)

My strategy to getting into Pharm is much like everybody elses.
-Strong personal statement which will definitely say a lot about me and how I'm different than other folks.
-Volunteer experience: so I can get a LOR from a pharmacist and something related to mentoring kids from bad backrgounds.
- Applying to schools that favor spanish speakers (seems like Texas only) and new schools opening.



I KNOW I can absorb the coursework
I have the interpersonal skills to deal with people
I want this just as bad as anybody here, but even more so becuase I had a lot of time and experience in deciding what I want in life career wise.


BUT, I realize that I may have to give up on this if i don't get in within 2-3 application cycles because it's not realistic for me to keep applying. I have other back up plans to moving into a profession that I can enjoy, but we just have to give it a shot.

 

[Debster]

I am so glad that someone understands what I am going through. Your plan looks really good. I think I'm going to use some of those ideas. I'm prepared to take more courses but like you said, I don't plan on applying more than 3 times to get into pharmacy school. I'm not getting any younger. Now that I've been out of school for about 3 years myself, I know what I want and wish that I didn't waste so much time trying to figure that out. I guess I can't make fall 2009 but that's ok. I was wondering, does anyone know if there are pharmacy schools where you can start in spring or summer? Or do you I have to wait until Fall 2010?

 

[UES Girl]

I think in the tough position that you are in, it's probably would be better if you went beyond asking this board for advise - it's better if you see somebody very experienced - like a great pharmacy adviser and devise a very concrete plan that will allow you not only to finish all the remaining pre-requisites that you have but also will provide you with an opportunity to raise your GPA significantly - by 0.5 - 0.7 at least.

As of now your GPA is either right at or even below the minimum GPA requirement set by the schools. If you are going to be applying to out of State schools, often schools have a minimum requirement of 3.0 for an out of State students. Given the fact that you already have a BS degree and probably a significant amount of college credits, it will be harder for you to raise your GPA than for somebody who only has a year or two of bad grades. At the same time, you really need to raise your GPA not only to be competitive but also because if you apply to schools and your GPA is below the minimum your application will be automatically rejected. That is why I think you need to meet with a pre-pharmacy or health profession adviser who is very experienced and who can help you figure out which classes and how many classes you need to take to bring up your GPA as much as possible ( so you are as competitive as possible ) and at the same time to satisfy enough pre-reqs so you can apply to a significant amount of schools - 12-15.

Good luck to you and I think you should try to search for some of the older threads, last year I remember at least several awesome threads, with great inspirational stories !

 

[Debster]

You're right I should. I actually did meet with an advisor and they basically told me what I already knew. That I should take more courses to boost my gpa. The person I met with didn't seem like he had been in the position for very long. I already knew that I needed to take classes. I just need some more info than that. I tried to make an appointment to meet at Nova but they never returned my phone call or email. After a couple of weeks with no responses to voice messages and emails, I tried one more time with one more email and she finally wrote me back in one sentence stating that I should take more classes! I asked questions in my emails and asked to come in and see her and she wrote me one sentence that didn't really help me much. It took almost 3 weeks for just that. That's why I decided to come to this board and get some advice from people I know are in pharmacy school or are applying. I figured you guys would know best. I'm so stuck right now. Sorry I sound so discouraged, but that's how I feel. Thanks for your help and I will take your advice and search through some other threads too.

BTW, are there any schools that begin in the fall or summer?

 

[baykillawhale]

I'm so stuck right now. Sorry I sound so discouraged, but that's how I feel. Thanks for your help and I will take your advice and search through some other threads too.

BTW, are there any schools that begin in the fall or summer?

As far as I know, all schools begin only in Fall.
I've been really discouraged about career decisions that I've made, but I learned to look on the bright side. You have an education and you have OPTIONS, so thats what really matters. The best thing you can do is give it a shot and thats why you're here.


Apply to schools with a 2.5 minimum GPA, take 1 or 2 courses just to get you back into school mode + ace them, volunteer somewhere and make sure you shyne brighter than everybody in your supplemental questionnaire. I've read that some people ended up taking 15 classes over just to raise their GPA's and im surprised every time I hear of a story like that, but for me its just not an option.

In the mean time, look at other options that you have. It's definitely in your best interest and people at all ages in all points in their careers look for new beginnings. I've done it and will continue to do it because its just what you gotta do 😉

 

[Debster]

Thanks! I'm going to do just that. I will definitely be taking courses this spring since I've already missed registration deadlines for this fall(I'm assuming). I'll just study hard to make sure I ace the PCAT. My plan I guess is take over the classes I didn't do so hot in and complete economics and speech. Thanks guys.

 

[UES Girl]

Thanks! I'm going to do just that. I will definitely be taking courses this spring since I've already missed registration deadlines for this fall(I'm assuming). I'll just study hard to make sure I ace the PCAT. My plan I guess is take over the classes I didn't do so hot in and complete economics and speech. Thanks guys.

That sounds like a good plan, I am glad to hear you sound more optimistic, you sounded a bit discouraged yesterday. Also, try to sit into your desired classes, maybe you could get in this semester if the professor is nice.

 

[Pharmpills]

You're right I should. I actually did meet with an advisor and they basically told me what I already knew. That I should take more courses to boost my gpa. The person I met with didn't seem like he had been in the position for very long. I already knew that I needed to take classes. I just need some more info than that. I tried to make an appointment to meet at Nova but they never returned my phone call or email. After a couple of weeks with no responses to voice messages and emails, I tried one more time with one more email and she finally wrote me back in one sentence stating that I should take more classes! I asked questions in my emails and asked to come in and see her and she wrote me one sentence that didn't really help me much. It took almost 3 weeks for just that. That's why I decided to come to this board and get some advice from people I know are in pharmacy school or are applying. I figured you guys would know best. I'm so stuck right now. Sorry I sound so discouraged, but that's how I feel. Thanks for your help and I will take your advice and search through some other threads too.

BTW, are there any schools that begin in the fall or summer?

From an honest perspective I think the chance for NSU is low even with a 99 PCAT b/c I had a PCAT in the 90's and around 3.0 GPA but didn't get in. The problem with that school is that you have to be close to average ~3.4 and ~75 PCat to get an interview. It might also be difficult to take classes since you graduated so you might have to do a masters. I would recommend doing well on the PCAT, raising your gpa and applying to other schools. I am sorry to say that the boat to NSU has probably left realistically but there are other schools. Don't spend your whole life trying to get into pharm school if it's far from reach but look into other career paths as well and not stick to one, like i applied to two separate programs but fortunately got into pharmacy. goodluck

 

[pharmgrl5]

Just wanted to post a link that might be helpful for you. It not only has a GPA calculator but also other ones on the same page that can tell you how many credits you'll need in order to raise your GPA to a certain point. If you have any difficulty with it let me know, the page can look a little odd.

http://www.back2college.com/raisegpa.htm

 

[Debster]

Thanks for the link. I'm a bit discouraged again but I'm not going to give up. I took me 3 years to figure out that this is what I want to do with my life. I can't start thinking about a different career right now. I just have to try. Thanks guys for your advice.

 

[Debster]

From an honest perspective I think the chance for NSU is low even with a 99 PCAT b/c I had a PCAT in the 90's and around 3.0 GPA but didn't get in. The problem with that school is that you have to be close to average ~3.4 and ~75 PCat to get an interview. It might also be difficult to take classes since you graduated so you might have to do a masters. I would recommend doing well on the PCAT, raising your gpa and applying to other schools. I am sorry to say that the boat to NSU has probably left realistically but there are other schools. Don't spend your whole life trying to get into pharm school if it's far from reach but look into other career paths as well and not stick to one, like i applied to two separate programs but fortunately got into pharmacy. goodluck

I have one more question for you guys. Besides LECOM, are there any other formal post bacc programs for pharmacy? Everything seems to be for aspiring medical students.

 

[Debster]

So no one knows? I guess that means there aren't any.

 

[mrblah]

So no one knows? I guess that means there aren't any.

....

 

[Pharmpills]

I have one more question for you guys. Besides LECOM, are there any other formal post bacc programs for pharmacy? Everything seems to be for aspiring medical students.

What exactly is post bac and do they take alot of students? Does it mean you do pre-reqs for a set year then start pharm school or med school?

 

[Debster]

I believe it's two things. One is for when you have a career change and need to complete your prereqs. The other is when you need to improve your gpa. There are few post baccs I've heard that guarantee admission given that you perform well in the program but they are very few. And I only know of those to be for pre-med students. Post baccs are not very common for pharmacy as it appears.

 

[UES Girl]

What exactly is post bac and do they take alot of students? Does it mean you do pre-reqs for a set year then start pharm school or med school?

Post bac is when somebody has a BA or BS degree and then takes additional classes for some type of program or their own leisure, but they are not considered a graduate student because they are not pursuing a graduate degree. In majority of cases, post bac does not give you any advantage, in fact you are at disadvantage compared to undergraduate, because you are at the bottom of the enrollment registration for the classes, so if you are trying to add a class, you'll have much harder some than an undergraduate student. Usually, post bac students that pursue professional schools have a degree in something non-science related, hence they became post bacs to take their pre-reqs.


Now, there are formal postbac programs, for some dental and medical, I have never heard of the pharmacy ones. What they are, is esentially you enroll and you take a set amount of classes each semester, your schedule is already laid out for you and once you finish - 2-3 years, you'll be done with your pre-reqs or at least pre-reqs for majority of schools. Also, depending on your program you may get additional benefits like an LOR from a program director, tours to potential schools, or even interviews at some schools. However, these programs ( at least not at my school ) do not guarantee you a spot at a school, so they are not like 0-6 programs in any way. They just offer you a chance to take your pre-reqs fast and in a small group of people ( class size is usually very small ).

In my opinion these programs are complete rip offs, simply because, you pay a giant lump of money for practically the same thing you would get for a fraction of the price. At my school, this program costs about 20000 k per year, tuition per semester is about 2000 k , or 4000 k per year. If you act smart and get into all your classes, you are esentially saving over 15,000k per year. It's also not that hard to get an LOR from a professor, so to me, the benefits are heavily outweighed by the financial costs.

 

[Debster]

Post bac is when somebody has a BA or BS degree and then takes additional classes for some type of program or their own leisure, but they are not considered a graduate student because they are not pursuing a graduate degree. In majority of cases, post bac does not give you any advantage, in fact you are at disadvantage compared to undergraduate, because you are at the bottom of the enrollment registration for the classes, so if you are trying to add a class, you'll have much harder some than an undergraduate student. Usually, post bac students that pursue professional schools have a degree in something non-science related, hence they became post bacs to take their pre-reqs.


Now, there are formal postbac programs, for some dental and medical, I have never heard of the pharmacy ones. What they are, is esentially you enroll and you take a set amount of classes each semester, your schedule is already laid out for you and once you finish - 2-3 years, you'll be done with your pre-reqs or at least pre-reqs for majority of schools. Also, depending on your program you may get additional benefits like an LOR from a program director, tours to potential schools, or even interviews at some schools. However, these programs ( at least not at my school ) do not guarantee you a spot at a school, so they are not like 0-6 programs in any way. They just offer you a chance to take your pre-reqs fast and in a small group of people ( class size is usually very small ).

In my opinion these programs are complete rip offs, simply because, you pay a giant lump of money for practically the same thing you would get for a fraction of the price. At my school, this program costs about 20000 k per year, tuition per semester is about 2000 k , or 4000 k per year. If you act smart and get into all your classes, you are esentially saving over 15,000k per year. It's also not that hard to get an LOR from a professor, so to me, the benefits are heavily outweighed by the financial costs.

Great explanation! I would go with this explanation