Non-traditional 3rd year UC Berkeley student desperately needs your help..

[natenate1020]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi, I am a 3rd year student, bio major, at uc berkeley. I've withdrawn from
school since the year of 2007 because I wanted to take a break for a while since I was doing extremely poor in academic work.

I've completed most of pre-req courses at Berkeley during my 1st and 2nd
year such as general chem, general bio, physics, and ochem. But the problem I have with these is that I did so poorly in these courses. Most of them I got average of C's and some I retook after failing once or twice. My overall GPA is 2.6. Probably science GPA isn't any better if not much lower.

Since 2007, I am just working part-time at a job that is not related to any of the medical or pharmacy related field. And then recently it crossed my mind that I shouldn't just give up even before I just try just because I ****ed up in the past. I just don't want to let the past get the most of me and trap me.

So I was thinking about retaking all these courses at a community college and hopefully do a lot better than I did. I don't think I can use the prereq I did at berkeley anyways, since its been about 4 or 5 years.

So my question is ... should I retake all those courses at a community college? I mean does pharm school put much weight in the application process on where the prereq courses were taken? If so, what should
I do next? I mean should I apply to Pharmacy school directly after retaking those courses without ever going back to Berkeley? or... should I retake courses and then go back to berkeley and graduate and then apply to Pharm? Or... is there any other option that is completely different from
the ways I've come up with myself, which can be possibly better?

I don't know. What should I be looking towards and doing, in order to recoup myself up as a competitive applicant, and possibly increase my chances of admittance, after I've done so poorly in prereq courses at berkeley?

Also, what kind of activities should I be doing? Should I volunteer in a hospital or is there any activity that is more efficient to make me a
competitive applicant?

Lastly, would it be okay to get recommendation letters from community college professors instead of university professors?

I am in desperate need of help from all of you, so please advise me as much as you know !! thank you guys!

 

[DrExperimento]

Although it may feel like an uphill battle, be encouraged to know that it CAN be done, but you really will need to work your butt off.

First, retaking pharm school pre-reqs from UC berkeley at a community college will not look good. That I think will be a pretty big "wart" on your app. Is it possible for you to retake those classes AT berkeley? That in my opinion would be your best bet. It should show that your academics are different now and that are capable of getting good grades at a well-known vigorous school.

Second, you will need to ace your PCAT. 80+. And since you have no experience in pharmacy or a healthcare field, I would start looking for volunteering or paid positions to expose you to the profession and show that you're serious.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I'm with Experimento. The only caveat I'd add is that, if you just can't get back into a UC or CSU (Admissions is tight right now, he'd probably need Dean/Chair approval at the very, very least) and you MUST take them at a CC, it is imperative you get only As (as CCs here in CA do not have +/-, a B will hurt you dramatically) and you have a very good explanation for it when it comes time to write your PS/Supps and possibly @ interview.

It can be done, but yes, it will be a struggle. You're up against overachievers who never did anything wrong, and who made all the right decisions the first time.YOu really don't have any dramatic experience to separate "then" from "now" besides working at a "job", so that will be an obstacle to overcome. If you'd joined the military, the peace corps, had some actual life-changing experience such as that... then I could see it. But as it stands now, it just looks like you couldn't hack UCB (a tough school, no doubt), took a couple years off, then realized you weren't making much money and wanted to make six figures.

I strongly suggest talking to a counselor at a CSU... It's a slightly less competitive environment (understatement) than Cal but not as "omg, slacker" as CC *seems*.

yes, I did some pre-requisites at CC, so no, I am not bad-mouthing CC just because I look down on it.

 

[rxlea]

I'm with Experimento. The only caveat I'd add is that, if you just can't get back into a UC or CSU (Admissions is tight right now, he'd probably need Dean/Chair approval at the very, very least) and you MUST take them at a CC, it is imperative you get only As (as CCs here in CA do not have +/-, a B will hurt you dramatically) and you have a very good explanation for it when it comes time to write your PS/Supps and possibly @ interview.

It can be done, but yes, it will be a struggle. You're up against overachievers who never did anything wrong, and who made all the right decisions the first time.YOu really don't have any dramatic experience to separate "then" from "now" besides working at a "job", so that will be an obstacle to overcome. If you'd joined the military, the peace corps, had some actual life-changing experience such as that... then I could see it. But as it stands now, it just looks like you couldn't hack UCB (a tough school, no doubt), took a couple years off, then realized you weren't making much money and wanted to make six figures.

I strongly suggest talking to a counselor at a CSU... It's a slightly less competitive environment (understatement) than Cal but not as "omg, slacker" as CC *seems*.

yes, I did some pre-requisites at CC, so no, I am not bad-mouthing CC just because I look down on it.

Be like George Bush and tell them you found God 🙂

 

[Passion4Sci]

Be like George Bush and tell them you found God 🙂

Yea, that'd probably go over well with hard science people.

 

[rxlea]

Yea, that'd probably go over well with hard science people.

LOLOLOL You know I am kidding, right?

...not to offend anyone that did find God, or whatever.

 

[Passion4Sci]

LOLOLOL You know I am kidding, right?

...not to offend anyone that did find God, or whatever.

I know you're kidding.

And I don't suppose there are too many "God" people here as hard science usually takes care of that non-sense early on. I'm even more anti-God after all the atrocity I saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. Laying aside the fact that extremists use Allah's name in vain for the attacks, but the fact that any "God" who is omnibenevolent would allow such things to occur makes my stomach turn. If people believed in a God that just laid out the Earth as a blueprint and pressed a big, green "GO" button and then peaced out, I'd be down with that. But all this "he's watching over us" rhetoric drives me batty. Particularly when they come into the pharmacy spouting off about how if the RPh doesn't fill their C-II early they'll damn her to hell. Ugh.

Sorry, /rant.

 

[rxlea]

I <3 your rant 🙂