Non-Traditional Student Application...Advice Please?!

[style4591]

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Hey Everyone,
I need advice on how to successfully apply to Pharmacy School as a non-traditional student. My background / experience follows:

I received a Bachelor's degree in 2007 from Univ. of Illinois in City Planning. After college I worked in Real Estate Development for 1 year until July 2008, then commenced my MBA at Univ. of Illinois in August 2008. I should finish the MBA by May 2010. Assuming I can take all the pre-req's, and PCAT, and apply in Fall 2010 for August 2011 matriculation, what are my chances?

PCAT (estimated) at least top 20% on all sections. (based on my GRE/GMAT)

GPA_B.A._3.2 GPA_MBA_3.7

City Planning heavily concerns the situation of the urban poor and providing social services to the underserved.

Is there any way I can highlight this? I am concerned because a) my experience to date is in a non-related field; b) acceptance rates to most schools hovers around 15-25%

Any advice on schools that would look at me favorably? Anybody here successfully make the switch? I really appreciate your help !

 

[diastole]

Do well in your pre-reqs and you should be fine. I would try to get pharmacy experience if you can. Experience in other non-related fields isn't a problem and perhaps helpful if you can describe how it helped you acquire qualities that will make you a good pharmacist. Plus you have the advantage of maturity. Make sure you have a good answer on why pharmacy.

 

[delano2000]

Do well in your pre-reqs and you should be fine. I would try to get pharmacy experience if you can. Experience in other non-related fields isn't a problem and perhaps helpful if you can describe how it helped you acquire qualities that will make you a good pharmacist. Plus you have the advantage of maturity. Make sure you have a good answer on why pharmacy.

I agree. Ensure that you do well in your pre-reqs and PCAT.

 

[PharmLuck168]

I think you seem like a very competitive candidate to me. Your background definitely makes you stand out. As diastole said, make sure to excel in your science courses. Do you think you can start taking your science this fall while completing your MBA? Also, how many more pre-req's do you need in order for you to satisfy the pharmacy requirements?

 

[Hels2007]

Yep, do well on your prerequisites, and on PCAT, and you should be a good candidate.

But be prepared to say WHY you want to be a pharmacist. This is quite a bit of jumping around - real estate, MBA, then pharmacy. Is pharmacy something you really want to do, or is that a decision made due to real estate market being a mess that it is? I would suggest exploring pharmacy further before you committ to it, so you don't go through four years of school and endless loans on top of MBA loans only to decide you really want to do something else instead.

 

[pharmerinthedel]

I think you have a good shot at making it. However, I would take a second look at the pre-reqs and your tiime-line. Since your undergrad degree is in city planning, the science classes you took 1st year were probably survey classes and not those required by majors - if that is the case you will need to take bio I/II and chem I/II (both w/ labs) plus orgo I/II and A&P. These are sequential courses and will take at least 2 years to complete. You will also need one or two semesters of physics and calculus - and possibly microbiology. I would assume that you have met the English/Speech/Humanities requirements already.

My understanding is that to do well on the PCAT, one should have finished Chem I & II, Bio I & II, Calculus, and one semester each of Orgo and P&A. If you are going to finish your MBA it is probably not wise to try and do your pre-reqs at the same time. Your graduate school GPA will be counted towards admission and your grades for one or the other programs will likely suffer. A more realistic timeline, in my opinion, would be - apply in 2012 for matriculation in 2013. Good luck to you.