Need some advice...

[PharmacyMedical]

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Hey everyone,

I've posted on this forum before but I doubt any of you remember me. I am currently in a doctorate of pharmacy program at a prestigeous school but over the years, my interest in medicine has been growing substantially. The last time I came here everyone told me to build up my resume and to make sure that this is what I really want in life.

After yesterday night; I can say with full confidence that it is. Having volunteered for over two years at the ER in the local state hospital, I met an ENT Resident who let me observe my first surgery yesterday night. I got to see the human brain, pulsing from the pressure infront of my eyes. I got to see a skull reconstruction, using drilling and mesh plates. I got to see the formation of new orbitals, the sawing through the human skull, the human eyeball (covered with fat) from inside the human head. I have never felt such excitement in my life, anyone that I've ever talked to said it was gross; I just see it as the perfection of the human body. The surgery started at 2 pm, and ended at midnight. The whole duration of the surgery I did not move from my position, in between two surgeons who were positioned on either side of the patients open skull. If I was given the opportunity to experience that again, every day of my life, I would do so with no hesitation.

I am now on a schedule to observe a surgery every wednesday night until I choose to resign from such opportunity.

I really think this was the life-changing event that's pushing me to write this on a public forum. I experienced the In-patient pharmacy, retail pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, ER room, and none of those ever gave me the thrill and thirst for knowledge that I experienced that day.

I need help in building my application; I have purchased the Medical school admissions guide from the SDN, as well as the book which has every medical school listed.

I need your opinions on what I should do to further my application; here's what I have so far:

- Plenty of involvement in school organizations, one of which a high executive leadership position.
- Publishing and editing a children's magazine distributed across the america's for the past 5 years.
- Volunteering hours in clinics, pharmacies, ER room, and personal doctors.
- One paper in the process of being published (primary author)
- Strong recommendation letters from numerous professors.
- Church involvement.
- CPR Certified (I took a course, don't know how much help that is)

My GPA isn't as grand as you other B.Sc. students here, I'm averaging about a 3.5 and I know thats not very competitive. I should also mention that I am not an american citizen, so that should have a role in my application as well; and that I am in a professional pharmacy school, meaning that I will probably not have a degree when I apply.

If any of you could please point me to my next step; perhaps which schools favor cases like mine, if you've ever seen one like mine, etc.

Thank you so much!

 

[Morsetlis]

Make sure you have current letters from Science professors. Um... CPR certification isn't worth mentioning since it takes about 6 hours to get such a thing. You seem to have all your EC's set except research (which isn't REQUIRED for admission in the case of an excellent and well-rounded individual such as yourself). You also have the foundation for an excellent essay and interview topics.

Continue the shadowing. I wish I could do that. Actually, maybe I will. *starts pulling connections*

GPA: 3.5 is below average for most schools and mediocre for some schools. Will you finish your PharmD by the time of matriculation? If so, that's worth mentioning. You might need to do a post-bacc/SMP to raise the undegrad GPA, but this won't be necessary if you have a high-above-average MCAT. Which you should, given the PharmD biochem training you should've had. Review physics, ochem, and verbal.

Take the MCAT, do well on it, then apply.

 

[PharmacyMedical]

Morsetlis,

Thank you so much for your response. I will make sure to keep my recommendation letters up to date. Should I focus on science professors? I have some Humanities professors who would also be very willing to write a letter for me.

When applying; is it the more letters the better? Or are you limited to a set number of letters.

I know my GPA is low and that is what's making me upset; It's just... the Pharm.D. curriculum is almost identical to the M.D. curriculum for the first few years, I still take pathophysiology, biochem, molec... with the additional loads of pharmacology, pharmaceutics, etc. A 3.5 GPA in my school is very good, and I've been on Dean's list since entering.. doesn't that count for anything?

And yes, the opportunity to shadow these surgeries is simply amazing; I am so grateful to this Resident; he really did help me out immensely.

I should be writing the MCATs this summer and I'll see how I do there... I dont think I will have a Pharm.D. when applying. That will be a problem. I will have nothing, not even a B.S. degree!


Thank you!

 

[MiniMoo]

How close are you to finishing up the Pharm.D.? If it's only a year or two, I would finish prior to applying to medical school. That's what I did and it served as an advantage in many respects.

And a 3.5 is fine as long as you apply broadly and your MCAT and the rest of your application are in top shape. I have the same GPA and have a lot of MD acceptances so far with still more interviews coming up (a surprise to me, I assure you, but I think completing my degree really helped).

 

[Morsetlis]

You do not have a Bachelor's undergrad GPA? Are you in a 6-year PharmD program? That 3.5 looks better then, but if there's an undergrad GPA from a Bachelor's, that's the one the adcoms will weigh most heavily (they have to, since most applicants don't have a graduate degree).

The undergraduate GPA is the most important. The SMP (special master's program) GPA is the next most important. The PharmD GPA, if it's separate from your undergraduate GPA, is not very important.

For letters, you will want 2 science, 1 non-science, and 2 people with degrees (MD PhD PharmD etc) that know you well (mentor, PI, instructor for many classes, employer, that resident, etc.) Letter requirement varies by school. Some requires 3 minimum. Some have a max of 5, or 6, or 7. I'd use Interfolio or a pre-med committee (if any exists on campus... probably not) to send my letters. Interfolio takes a while to figure out, so make sure you know how to use it.

 

[MiniMoo]

Okay I'm getting confused now. Is the 3.5 from uGrad classes? Or your graduate degree thus far? And I didn't notice you don't have your bachelor's. Although many schools don't require one to apply, I really think that when applications are being compared side by side that the possession of an undergrad degree can make a difference.

 

[PharmacyMedical]

Thank you so much for your replies.

I guess I was unclear.

I am currently in my 3rd year of a 6 year program for Pharm.D. We have two GPAs - undergrad GPA (3.56) which consists of years 1-2, and Professional GPA (3.7+) which consists of years 3-6 that are considered the professional years. We also have the cumulative GPA which combines both GPAs and is considered your career GPA, that is the 3.5.

If I write my MCATs this summer then I will not apply with a degree. If I wait till next summer to apply, then I will still not apply with a degree... BUT... I could defer my admission for a year to graduate. The thing is, I have to get accepted first... so in both cases, I'm not going to have a degree when I apply.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

When you're in a graduate level program, you'll be required to submit a letter of recommendation from your (PharmD) advisor, so you'll need to be sure he/she is up to date on your career shift and will support you. Two science professors and one nonscience is the norm, other than that, it is expected that you'll also have a letter from your research advisor.

Not having any degree will be a problem. Few US schools don't require that you'd have one or the other by the time you matriculate. It would be best to complete your current program. Adcomms have an expectation that you will complete the commitment you made. (Else, why trust you not to change your mind again?) If you can't afford to complete the program, or can't stand the thought of doing so, then best to transfer ASAP to an undergrad school and plan to get a degree. And get that GPA up higher. The median for US citizens and permanent residents is 3.65, and you need better than that.

To add another layer of difficulty, you'll be competing with other highly-competitive international applicants for the few seats given to internationals, by the few schools that accept internationals at all. (If you're Canadian, there are some schools that consider you on-par with an in-state applicant, so you'd want to figure out which they are if you don't have a green card.)

 

[PharmacyMedical]

I know that it will be extremely difficult. Thankfully, we have an advisor at my school who is very helpful and will form the composite letter and send it out on my behalf. The recommendation letters shouldn't be the problem.

Could you please guide me as to which schools do not require a degree and which schools favor canadians? Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

Could you please guide me as to which schools do not require a degree and which schools favor canadians? Thank you!

Send a PM to MB333999. She is working on a list of schools that treat Canadians like OOS citizens. Ask her if she'll share it when she's done.

Also see: US Schools policies on taking Internationals: Click on Advisor Resources, then click Medical School Admission Policies towards non-US Citizens. http://www.naahp.org

An MSAR and school websites will shed light on which schools don't require a degree, once you generate a target list. (The one in my home state that doesn't, takes no OOSers or internationals.)

 

[PharmacyMedical]

Thank you so much for your advice. I PMed MB and we'll see where we head from there. I have the MSAR books so from her list I will narrow down the schools that do not require a degree and those will be my top shots.

I will be following the 3 month study guide posted on SDN to study for the MCATS. Should I be doing something else? My curriculum is very heavily science based.

Thank you.

 

[PharmacyMedical]

Has my thread been lost in the ocean of other ones? 🙂

 

[Catalystik]

Have you seen the Canadian version of SDN? http://www.premed101.com/forums