Need help staying competitive

[dhowardfan]

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Hi guys long time lurker here, finally decided to make an account! Anyway, I'm currently doing my pre-pharmacy requirements at Rutgers and I am happy to say that I am doing really well in terms of grades. However, I do not have much else to put on my application and I really want to find other things to do.... I don't think there is a pre pharmacy club at Rutgers and I am currently looking to become a pharmacy tech at CVS or Walgreens but I haven't heard back from them yet....I was just wondering if there is anything else I can do to become more competitive? I have also looked into internships at various companies but many of them want students who are in their professional years... I will be applying next year and I plan on becoming part of the class of 2017 so I really need to get up and get active! Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Halewafa]

If you don't mind not making money, a lot of places will take volunteers. I volunteered at a compounding pharmacy for a while, just did 5 hours every Saturday. You can't do a whole lot as a volunteer, but you still get to see what its all about. I never worked in a pharmacy before going to pharmacy school, just did a lot of volunteering and job shadowing. During my interview I was able to talk about all the different areas of pharmacy I had seen (compounding, infusion, retail, hospital). I was never in the pharmacy club at my school or did any research.

 

[dhowardfan]

If you don't mind not making money, a lot of places will take volunteers. I volunteered at a compounding pharmacy for a while, just did 5 hours every Saturday. You can't do a whole lot as a volunteer, but you still get to see what its all about. I never worked in a pharmacy before going to pharmacy school, just did a lot of volunteering and job shadowing. During my interview I was able to talk about all the different areas of pharmacy I had seen (compounding, infusion, retail, hospital). I was never in the pharmacy club at my school or did any research.

I definetly don't mind not making money. I just want to be able to stand out as an applicant. Should I look to volunteer at various different areas or should I commit to just one place?

 

[bw6]

I definetly don't mind not making money. I just want to be able to stand out as an applicant. Should I look to volunteer at various different areas or should I commit to just one place?

I got into some good pharmacy schools without any pharmacy experience or pharmacy related volunteer hours. My GPA was 3.35 - not great. My PCAT was 89th composite - much better. So my experience has been that the standardized test is really important in judging an applicant.
I wouldn't worry too much... just kill the PCATs and it won't matter if you don't have other great credentials.

 

[xtsukiyox]

I definetly don't mind not making money. I just want to be able to stand out as an applicant. Should I look to volunteer at various different areas or should I commit to just one place?

From a perspective of getting the best idea as to whether pharmacy is for you & what path you want to take after school, I'd say get exposure to as many places as you can.

In terms of resume building, it's a good idea to stick with one place. It shows commitment and reliability.

I guess the best of both worlds would be volunteer about once a week at one place, then see if you can shadow at other places (or volunteer intermittently) just to get exposure.

Food for thought: I work a 9-5 & was going to school several nights a week & all day Saturdays. I couldn't find a "traditional" place to get pharmacy experience (pharm tech jobs, hospitals) outside those hours. I kept looking and found a charity clinic that had evening shifts in their medication room. So I guess the "moral of the story" is to keep looking, even if you've exhausted traditional routes. I've heard of people asking to volunteer at a hospital and being required to do a stint in the gift shop first.

 

[owlegrad]

I've heard of people asking to volunteer at a hospital and being required to do a stint in the gift shop first.

It's funny, there was a time in my life I would have been willing to do that or think that is reasonable. Now I wonder...

I wouldn't be willing to work in a gift shop anymore. As my favorite woman in comedy might say, "That's a deal breaker".

Of course I am in a very different place now than I was when I was prepharmacy, so that colors my opinion I am sure. 😉

EDIT: I agreed with everything else strongly, so I didn't bother quoting it.

 

[dhowardfan]

I got into some good pharmacy schools without any pharmacy experience or pharmacy related volunteer hours. My GPA was 3.35 - not great. My PCAT was 89th composite - much better. So my experience has been that the standardized test is really important in judging an applicant.
I wouldn't worry too much... just kill the PCATs and it won't matter if you don't have other great credentials.

Awesome! Yeah, I understand that your academic record is definitely the most important thing but I feel like competition to get into pharmacy schools is getting tougher and tougher and many students have high GPAs and PCAT scores so I'm extremely worried about getting in after just 2 years of pre-pharmacy. I have been reading this forum and a lot of people here seem to have degrees before getting in or even before applying! To make matters worse most of the Rutgers pharmacy seats are reserved for 0-6 students apparently so to get a seat I would have to compete for the few that open up. (The reason I am so fixed on getting into Rutgers is because from what I have been reading, rankings don't matter too much and if I get into Rutgers pharmacy I'm looking at paying only 5k a year for tuition!)

From a perspective of getting the best idea as to whether pharmacy is for you & what path you want to take after school, I'd say get exposure to as many places as you can.

In terms of resume building, it's a good idea to stick with one place. It shows commitment and reliability.

I guess the best of both worlds would be volunteer about once a week at one place, then see if you can shadow at other places (or volunteer intermittently) just to get exposure.

Food for thought: I work a 9-5 & was going to school several nights a week & all day Saturdays. I couldn't find a "traditional" place to get pharmacy experience (pharm tech jobs, hospitals) outside those hours. I kept looking and found a charity clinic that had evening shifts in their medication room. So I guess the "moral of the story" is to keep looking, even if you've exhausted traditional routes. I've heard of people asking to volunteer at a hospital and being required to do a stint in the gift shop first.

Alright, I will stick to one place for now thank you! I made up my mind about going to pharmacy a long time ago but I agree that the exposure will be what will convince me to continue pursuing it or change paths. And wow working 9-5 and then going to school after is insane! How did you find time to study? Yeah, I will definitely look at non-traditional places as well. The reason I looked at retail first is because I live 5 minutes away from a CVS. Lol @ the gift shop thing... I hope thats just an isolated incident.

It's funny, there was a time in my life I would have been willing to do that or think that is reasonable. Now I wonder...

I wouldn't be willing to work in a gift shop anymore. As my favorite woman in comedy might say, "That's a deal breaker".

Of course I am in a very different place now than I was when I was prepharmacy, so that colors my opinion I am sure. 😉

EDIT: I agreed with everything else strongly, so I didn't bother quoting it.

Haha, if it came down to it I would probably be willing to do that.

 

[bw6]

Awesome! Yeah, I understand that your academic record is definitely the most important thing but I feel like competition to get into pharmacy schools is getting tougher and tougher and many students have high GPAs and PCAT scores so I'm extremely worried about getting in after just 2 years of pre-pharmacy. I have been reading this forum and a lot of people here seem to have degrees before getting in or even before applying! To make matters worse most of the Rutgers pharmacy seats are reserved for 0-6 students apparently so to get a seat I would have to compete for the few that open up. (The reason I am so fixed on getting into Rutgers is because from what I have been reading, rankings don't matter too much and if I get into Rutgers pharmacy I'm looking at paying only 5k a year for tuition!)

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I got my bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology before applying. That certainly helped me.
I have to agree with you about getting a degree... when I went to my interview at SUNY UB it seemed like almost everyone had a BS or would have one before starting pharmacy school in August. I think out of the ~15 people interviewing, only 1 was a sophomore and maybe 2-3 were juniors. LECOM seemed to have some younger people (sophomore age) interviewing but LECOM is an easier school to get into.
Other than those two experiences, I interviewed at Ohio State which requires a BS before applying so obviously everyone was a senior or older. It seems to me that schools give significant priority to those with degrees (understandably) and the better schools are really only looking at applicants with degrees or those without degrees that are highly qualified. It is probably only a matter of time before more schools follow OSU and require a degree before applying.
After saying all this, I feel as though I should add a qualifier. I am not saying you will not get into the school you want without a BS. I am just saying that my degree probably had a lot to do with my acceptances.
Just do your best and I'm sure you will be fine.

 

[dhowardfan]

Awesome! Yeah, I understand that your academic record is definitely the most important thing but I feel like competition to get into pharmacy schools is getting tougher and tougher and many students have high GPAs and PCAT scores so I'm extremely worried about getting in after just 2 years of pre-pharmacy. I have been reading this forum and a lot of people here seem to have degrees before getting in or even before applying! To make matters worse most of the Rutgers pharmacy seats are reserved for 0-6 students apparently so to get a seat I would have to compete for the few that open up. (The reason I am so fixed on getting into Rutgers is because from what I have been reading, rankings don't matter too much and if I get into Rutgers pharmacy I'm looking at paying only 5k a year for tuition!)

Yeah, I should have mentioned that I got my bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology before applying. That certainly helped me.
I have to agree with you about getting a degree... when I went to my interview at SUNY UB it seemed like almost everyone had a BS or would have one before starting pharmacy school in August. I think out of the ~15 people interviewing, only 1 was a sophomore and maybe 2-3 were juniors. LECOM seemed to have some younger people (sophomore age) interviewing but LECOM is an easier school to get into.
Other than those two experiences, I interviewed at Ohio State which requires a BS before applying so obviously everyone was a senior or older. It seems to me that schools give significant priority to those with degrees (understandably) and the better schools are really only looking at applicants with degrees or those without degrees that are highly qualified. It is probably only a matter of time before more schools follow OSU and require a degree before applying.
After saying all this, I feel as though I should add a qualifier. I am not saying you will not get into the school you want without a BS. I am just saying that my degree probably had a lot to do with my acceptances.
Just do your best and I'm sure you will be fine.

I see. Yeah, I will definitely do my best to get in. Thanks for all your help I appreciate it! 😀

 

[truerx]

If you are interested in building your writing skills and adding publications to your resume, and becoming more visible you should also join websites that allow you to blog. I wrote articles for journals when I was in pharmacy school, made a little money, and the experience has helped me till this day. It will be important if you decide on a fellowship or residency post pharmacy school. It does not hurt to start thinking that way as the profession will even be more competitive in 2017.

 

[delfang]

Just wanted to add my two cents!

I think the pharmacy applicant is more than just the numbers. I don't know if you're only aiming for Rutgers, but for all the California schools (UCSF included), and a few others like Purdue, the PCAT isn't required and isn't looked at. As a result, I feel that everything else matters a lot more. Pharmacy experience isn't necessary, but I agree with above posters on finding volunteering opportunities if you can. Also, I didn't do any internships and I don't think it hurt my application.

And in terms of the gift shop requirement, that's a policy found mainly in hospitals. They have their volunteers dedicate 50-100 hours in the gift shop to ensure accountability and dedication to their volunteering. The hospital I volunteered at had that policy hahaha xD

 

[AlPacino]

Hi guys long time lurker here, finally decided to make an account! Anyway, I'm currently doing my pre-pharmacy requirements at Rutgers and I am happy to say that I am doing really well in terms of grades. However, I do not have much else to put on my application and I really want to find other things to do.... I don't think there is a pre pharmacy club at Rutgers and I am currently looking to become a pharmacy tech at CVS or Walgreens but I haven't heard back from them yet....I was just wondering if there is anything else I can do to become more competitive? I have also looked into internships at various companies but many of them want students who are in their professional years... I will be applying next year and I plan on becoming part of the class of 2017 so I really need to get up and get active! Thanks in advance guys.

You could shadow a Pharmacist or do some volunteer work at a hospital.