Need some Advice...

[Rayc29]

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Hi all, I am currently on my last year of being an undergrad at UCR. I will be graduating with a BS degree in biochemistry and I wanted to ask for some advice on what should be the next step that I should take.
The problem that I am facing is having a very low GPA overall around a 2.46 atm. I never fully realized how important doing well in college can have such a big impact on my future plans, and now I am at the end of the rope. I greatly regret not doing better in the last 3 years that have gone by and now that I'm starting my Senior year of college I am more focused and determined to do the best that I can for the remainder of my degree (by getting A's), but the fact is that I screwed up the previous 3 years. 🙁

I am working hard in this last year, but I believe that by the time I graduate my GPA would barely reach past 2.5 or close to 2.6. I still want to be a pharmacist and go to pharmacy school, but I'm not sure how I can accomplish that anymore which is why I need some advice.

I'm starting to plan for my future by trying to find ways that can get me into a pharmacy school, but with my low GPA its going to be a hard process.
I am planning on taking more classes after I graduate especially doing the prereqs over again since I didn't do so well the first time. Also, this year, I am going to retake some of the prereqs that I barely passed the first time even though it won't affect my GPA or get any UC credit for. From my understanding some schools would still factor in the repeated courses into their GPA calculations since the grade will appear on the transcript.

The questions that I need help with:
1. What are paths that I should take?
2. After I graduate I want to take more classes (especially repeat the prereqs) would this help?
3. Where should I take classes at? Community College? CSU? UC extension?
4. Would the classes I take after i get my BS degree even help my GPA or is that set in stone?
5. Is it possible to get my BS degree in Biochemistry then apply for a 6 year PharmD program, would that be easier to get in? (I don't mind if I have to spend 2 years on taking undergraduate classes again since I was already planning on using 1 to 2 years to improve my grades.)

My plans as of now is this: Take a year or two off to improve / repeat classes that I messed up in and at the same time volunteer at my community hospital's pharmacy department (I did this for a year already). Also, get my Pharmacy Technician License and work at a retail pharmacy setting (this way I can observe the difference between retail and clinical). The last thing that I wanted to do was to take the PCAT and hopefully get a high enough score to offset the low GPA.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks a lot guys!

 

[Rayc29]

Can anyone give me any advice? 🙁

 

[UNMorBUST]

The questions that I need help with:
1. What are paths that I should take?
2. After I graduate I want to take more classes (especially repeat the prereqs) would this help?
3. Where should I take classes at? Community College? CSU? UC extension?
4. Would the classes I take after i get my BS degree even help my GPA or is that set in stone?
5. Is it possible to get my BS degree in Biochemistry then apply for a 6 year PharmD program, would that be easier to get in? (I don't mind if I have to spend 2 years on taking undergraduate classes again since I was already planning on using 1 to 2 years to improve my grades.)

My plans as of now is this: Take a year or two off to improve / repeat classes that I messed up in and at the same time volunteer at my community hospital's pharmacy department (I did this for a year already). Also, get my Pharmacy Technician License and work at a retail pharmacy setting (this way I can observe the difference between retail and clinical). The last thing that I wanted to do was to take the PCAT and hopefully get a high enough score to offset the low GPA.

2. Yes retaking pre-reqs you did poorly in will help. Also take upper level science classes to show that you can handle toe rigors of Pharmacy school.
3. This is up to debate. If you did poorly at a UC and great at a CC that may raise flags. However, if it is your only option then by all means take them at a CC. You may want to contact the admissions office at the schools you plan to attend to get a "straight from the horses mouth" answer.
4. Is it out of the question to extend your graduation? This will be cheaper then post-bacc classes if I am not mistaken.
5. There are no 6 year pharmacy schools. There are a 0+6 programs which are only for highschool students. For undergrad students there are 3 or 4 year programs.

Your plan at the end seems like the path you need to take.👍

 

[Rayc29]

Thanks for the reply! 🙂 I would extend my graduation to raise my overall GPA and retake the pre-reqs but UCR has a maximum amount of units that we can have (216). If we go over the max units, we have to get deans approval or else we won't be allowed to graduate. By the end of this year when I graduate I would be close to the 216 mark (I'm trying to take as many upper division classes to use up my remainder credit and raise my overall GPA). I guess my plan would be to take a year off to improve my GPA and retaking pre-reqs (even though it might cost more, maybe I can look into CSU instead of UC for this) and do some other pharmacy related stuff so that I have something to show for when I do apply next year. Also, to work really hard on the PCAT because thats the only thing that can offset my low GPA and show that I'm serious and committed to being a pharmacist.

 

[Rayc29]

Hi, ok I'm back here again and I'm once again looking for some advice. So after working had for the remaining quarters I have gotten my GPA up to 2.6 and will be graduating next month. I'm trying to decided on the steps that I need to take next. As of now I'm going to continue volunteering at a local hospital in the pharmacy department and also I would be taking the PTCB exam this summer to become a certified pharmacy technician and work part time. I'm looking at retaking my prereqs that I didn't do so well in at a community college (because it is pretty expensive even at CSU without any financial aid), but the question I wanted to ask is if it would ultimately look really bad if I ended up doing this even if I end up getting all A's at the CC? Also, besides just doing the prereqs I'm also looking into taking more advanced science classes to improve my GPA as well as show that I am able to handle higher level classes. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[30Percent]

Each school has different views on CC credits, its best to contact them directly.

A CC wouldn't offer that many "advanced" science classes that a biochem major hasn't taken before. Some classes you might not have taken would be A&P and Quantitative Analysis Chem. My CC offers a intro MCB class, but you've taken that already.

 

[rxlea]

It is always best to contact your schools of interest on these topics. You have a lot of credits already and it is going to take a great deal of time to get your GPA up beyond the 3.0 mark (which is a common GPA "cutoff" for many schools). Some schools don't care if the post-bac credits are taken at uni or CC and some do. If you are planning to work now- remember that this is going to greatly cut into your study time so time management is going to be essential. You will need to retake the science courses you got C's/D's/E's in as well and this is going to add on a couple years to your plan.

Many people have done it (myself included) but it takes a lot of time and effort. It took me 3 years post bac to take my remaining pre-reqs and retake courses that I got C's in (gen chem, A&P, Ochem). You must be diligent and completely committed to maintaining high grades. This is not always easy but is possible... I speak from experience. Good luck and remember, contacting your schools of interest is always the better way to go... get it straight from the horse's mouth, eh? 😎

 

[Rayc29]

Thanks for the advice! I will check with the Pharmacy school that I am currently looking at concerning taking prereqs at a cc. I might also take the more advanced science classes at the 4 yr universities. So my plan as of now is:

-Work part time as pharmacy technician
-retake prereqs at cc
-last of all, take some upper level sciences courses at a 4yr univ. (to show that I can handle the rigors of Pharmacy school and also to show that the reasons for retaking the prereqs at a cc is mainly due to $...)

Once again, thanks for your help! 🙂

 

[Ayuka001]

I'm also going to UCR right now and I just wanted to say goodluck 🙂 haha
you should look into schools that will replace the old grade and not just average the two.