Need some advice....

[Brandie28]

I am currently applying to 16 schools for 2008 admission...here are my stats:
GPA: 3.17
Extracurricular: church for 2 years, shadowed a nurse, deans list omly for 2 semesters , and a food drive I did a couple of years ago.
Experience: 4 months at Eckerd and now I work at CVS full time as a lead pharmacy tech for 2.5 years, tech certified for 1 year.
PCAT: got a 76 composite score and taking again in August

Should I be appling to more schools?? Anything else I could do to improve?

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[StringTheorist]

wow, 16 is a lot. is that GPA your cum or your pre-pharm GPA?

 

[eelo]

I am currently applying to 16 schools for 2008 admission...

Sixteen schools????? Geez....... do you realize that each of those schools will probably have an additional fee/form for you, not to mention the Pharmcas fees?

Of course, since you've done your homework and looked at each of these schools and fully read the PharmCas instructions, you knew that, right?

 

[ForcedEntry]

Hypthetical situation:

You're at a pharmacy school admissions interview and the adcom asks, "How many other schools did you apply to and why?"


Now think how absurd your response will be.

 

[nerv12345]

learn EVERYTHING about the schools you are applying to...average GPA, % out of state accepted, stuff like that.

there's no point in applying to a ton of schools if most of them prefer in state applicants only and you aren't aware of that if you've researched them well...16 should be more than enough

 

[Brandie28]

It is my cumulative GPA...I know how much it will be but I don't want to limit myself. Most of them are private so they do accept a decent number of out of state students and I have done lots of research on the schools. I just don't want to only apply to 5 or 7 schools and not get in and then wonder if anyone else would have taken me...you know what I mean?

 

[omnione]

Hypthetical situation:

You're at a pharmacy school admissions interview and the adcom asks, "How many other schools did you apply to and why?"


Now think how absurd your response will be.

Given the OPs stats, I think its likely that she won't be getting sixteen interviews. Of the interviews she may get, not every school will ask that question. Case in point, I interviewed at three schools and there wasn't one question that was even related to the issue of applying to multiple schools. So, she might get burned at a school or two, but perhaps not another. A pre-pharm student only needs one acceptance to move on, and in Brandie's case, going 1/16 isn't that bad in the long run since that 1 is all that matters.

However, going 0/16 will suck. So Brandie, turn in your applications as soon as possible, center your PS around the lessons you've learned while being a pharm tech. Make sure you fulfill the requirements at each school before applying as you don't want to get burned by wasting money on a school you weren't eligible in the first place.

 

[Brandie28]

Given the OPs stats, I think its likely that she won't be getting sixteen interviews. Of the interviews she may get, not every school will ask that question. Case in point, I interviewed at three schools and there wasn't one question that was even related to the issue of applying to multiple schools. So, she might get burned at a school or two, but perhaps not another. A pre-pharm student only needs one acceptance to move on, and in Brandie's case, going 1/16 isn't that bad in the long run since that 1 is all that matters.

However, going 0/16 will suck. So Brandie, turn in your applications as soon as possible, center your PS around the lessons you've learned while being a pharm tech. Make sure you fulfill the requirements at each school before applying as you don't want to get burned by wasting money on a school you weren't eligible in the first place.

Thanks for your input!

 

[oldguardisdead]

i think you're experience in the field is great..more than i ever had and i got accepted to my #1 choice. but i would highly recommend raising your GPA a little bit more (assuming you're going to be a senior in the fall...?) to at least a 3.30 and do more extracurricular activites at your school. join clubs (sororities, acadmemic greek, newspaper, whatever). your PCAT is also decent, IMO, better than i did also. i would focus on those two aspects first and foremost and as the # of schools applying goes, i agree you are going to pay very much for the application fees, maybe cut down to 5-8? but, that again is your choice. good luck to you.

 

[ForcedEntry]

Given the OPs stats, I think its likely that she won't be getting sixteen interviews. Of the interviews she may get, not every school will ask that question. Case in point, I interviewed at three schools and there wasn't one question that was even related to the issue of applying to multiple schools. So, she might get burned at a school or two, but perhaps not another. A pre-pharm student only needs one acceptance to move on, and in Brandie's case, going 1/16 isn't that bad in the long run since that 1 is all that matters.

However, going 0/16 will suck. So Brandie, turn in your applications as soon as possible, center your PS around the lessons you've learned while being a pharm tech. Make sure you fulfill the requirements at each school before applying as you don't want to get burned by wasting money on a school you weren't eligible in the first place.

I was trying to put it nicely. Sure, I wasn't asked anything remotely close to my hypothetical, but I think the OP needs to realize that by applying to 16 schools, she is focusing on the wrong thing.

She feels she is a weak applicant and therefore is hedging her bets. In Vegas you are a sure loser. You don't wheel every horse, or play the "PASS" and "NO PASS" line on every roll.

My point is do a little background research and find a subset of schools that will likely accept you, and save yourself some money.

Thanks for your input!

Naturally, only the advice you want to hear, not what you need to hear.

 

[omnione]

I was trying to put it nicely. Sure, I wasn't asked anything remotely close to my hypothetical, but I think the OP needs to realize that by applying to 16 schools, she is focusing on the wrong thing.

She feels she is a weak applicant and therefore is hedging her bets. In Vegas you are a sure loser. You don't wheel every horse, or play the "PASS" and "NO PASS" line on every roll.

My point is do a little background research and find a subset of schools that will likely accept you, and save yourself some money.

Using your casino analogy, she doesn't need to win her entire bet back and the idea is just to have a win somewhere so that she doesn't need to play the game again. She's not trying to win more than she lost as a casino player would want. It's not like she's going to keep playing over and over again until the house edge wipes her out as you stated. I agree that if she goes 0/16 that she shouldn't go that far the next year and that I wouldn't apply to sixteen schools myself.

She did mention that she did a lot of research about her chosen schools, so hopefully she wasn't BSing herself meaning she knows the financial ramifications of applying to a bunch of schools while picking those schools that are more likely to accept her (she mentioned targeting private schools for example).

 

[Brandie28]

Sorry guys for asking this question...basically like omnione stated I want to make the most of this year applying because I want to move on with my life and soon start a family. I was thinking that applying to quite a few schools would obviously give me the best chance.

 

[StringTheorist]

what is your prepharm GPA, then, if you dont mind me asking....

Either way, you should treat this as if you are applying to undergrad school... you know how they had that rule with 6 schools... 2 ideal, 2 reach, 2 safe.
See the GPA you have and see what schools you have a better chance of being accepted to (state colleges and 2+4 schools) and apply to a few of those. Apply to a few "maybe i can get in" schools, and maybe a few "oh, id **** my pants if i got in" schools. So that way, you have all your bases covered. 16 is a heck of a lot, but if you can afford it, go for it.

 

[omnione]

It is my cumulative GPA...I know how much it will be but I don't want to limit myself. Most of them are private so they do accept a decent number of out of state students and I have done lots of research on the schools. I just don't want to only apply to 5 or 7 schools and not get in and then wonder if anyone else would have taken me...you know what I mean?

Even though it looked like I was trying to refute ForcedEntry's post, that was the case as the point in that post was definitely valid. Using his casino analogy (I like playing at casinos...but I digress...), he/she is suggesting that you take smart bets instead of wild bets. Applying to a bunch of public schools that mostly take in-state students and/or high stat students will be a bad bet because the true loss will be another year of agonizing and waiting.