Not the first time

[tbase16]

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Hey guys,

Just wanted to know if anyone had an explanation if someone were to get rejected from pharmacy school after 2 years of community college? What would someone do then? Go back to school for another year or two? Also, does anyone know of any job shadowing or first time jobs in pharmacy at any places? I am trying to get experience and would like to start soon. Please let me also know on some helpful tools regarding preqs. course work, extra circs., and PCAT please. If you know anyone that has went to any of the following schools...(Concordia University Wisconsin, Chicago State, Midwestern University-downers grove, or UIC) please message me about your application strength and your stats please.

 

[JohnFe]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to know if anyone had an explanation if someone were to get rejected from pharmacy school after 2 years of community college? What would someone do then? Go back to school for another year or two? Also, does anyone know of any job shadowing or first time jobs in pharmacy at any places? I am trying to get experience and would like to start soon. Please let me also know on some helpful tools regarding preqs. course work, extra circs., and PCAT please. If you know anyone that has went to any of the following schools...(Concordia University Wisconsin, Chicago State, Midwestern University-downers grove, or UIC) please message me about your application strength and your stats please.

50~90% of applicants hold degrees now. Unless you are an exceptional student with extraordinary talents, you will get in with bare minimum educational requirements.

 

[SnMagnifique]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to know if anyone had an explanation if someone were to get rejected from pharmacy school after 2 years of community college? What would someone do then? Go back to school for another year or two? Also, does anyone know of any job shadowing or first time jobs in pharmacy at any places? I am trying to get experience and would like to start soon. Please let me also know on some helpful tools regarding preqs. course work, extra circs., and PCAT please. If you know anyone that has went to any of the following schools...(Concordia University Wisconsin, Chicago State, Midwestern University-downers grove, or UIC) please message me about your application strength and your stats please.

I think it's best for you to go ahead and finish your Bachelor's before applying. More than 50% of all candidates hold a Bachelor's degree before applying. It'll make you more competitive. Also, take your licensure test to become a pharmacy technician (this is the easiest way to get experience in the Pharmacy) or you can volunteer at the hospital. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[tbase16]

I think it's best for you to go ahead and finish your Bachelor's before applying. More than 50% of all candidates hold a Bachelor's degree before applying. It'll make you more competitive. Also, take your licensure test to become a pharmacy technician (this is the easiest way to get experience in the Pharmacy) or you can volunteer at the hospital. Good luck and best wishes!

Thank you for your replys!!! I am trying to become a Pharm. Tech. as we speak and have applied and havent heard anything back from the places ive tried... I've called about shadowing or jobs and they do not know ... im not sure how that is possible but yeah. I would like to get a tech. job and start on the job training. How would you go about this and how do you volunteer in the hospitals? Do you call or email?

 

[syl0sim]

Have you tried through hospital volunteer services? When I volunteered I filled out a short volunteer application online (I listed Pharmacy as my top choice) and volunteer coordinator called me to set up an orientation before I could start volunteer.

 

[714]

Finish your BS in biology and you'll most likely have all the prereqs necessary to apply to broad range of schools. Do well in school and on the PCAT and get interviews. I never worked in a pharmacy. I just volunteered for a year and just got into pharmacy school. But to be honest my work experience probably gave me an advantage on my apps though.

 

[KasHfg]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to know if anyone had an explanation if someone were to get rejected from pharmacy school after 2 years of community college? What would someone do then? Go back to school for another year or two? Also, does anyone know of any job shadowing or first time jobs in pharmacy at any places? I am trying to get experience and would like to start soon. Please let me also know on some helpful tools regarding preqs. course work, extra circs., and PCAT please. If you know anyone that has went to any of the following schools...(Concordia University Wisconsin, Chicago State, Midwestern University-downers grove, or UIC) please message me about your application strength and your stats please.

In my opinion the key to success is to be original. Majority of applicants are technicians, do volunteering, and have good grades... It is important to be able to set yourself apart from other students. Of course you still need very good grades, and good PCAT scores, but I for example work in a research company which still prepares me for the pharmacy career, but is not typical. Also, a good thing is to know another language. Pharmacy schools look for well rounded people.

As for BS degree I personally think it's a waste of time (at least for me because I am a bit older then typical student- I am 27 and I want to have a family before I am 40!). I knew I wanted to be a pharmacist so getting a BS in art, history, English or other is useless in my opinion! Besides, I believe that having a BS in lets say philosophy is as good as having none (for people trying to get into pharmacy of course). As for degrees in fields closer related to pharmacy I can see much more sense in them, because they give you wider range of related skills, but I still thing that it is not necessary to be successful in pharmacy. Like I said, I want to be a pharmacist and I cannot justify a need for me to get another degree first.

 

[tbase16]

In my opinion the key to success is to be original. Majority of applicants are technicians, do volunteering, and have good grades... It is important to be able to set yourself apart from other students. Of course you still need very good grades, and good PCAT scores, but I for example work in a research company which still prepares me for the pharmacy career, but is not typical. Also, a good thing is to know another language. Pharmacy schools look for well rounded people.

As for BS degree I personally think it's a waste of time (at least for me because I am a bit older then typical student- I am 27 and I want to have a family before I am 40!). I knew I wanted to be a pharmacist so getting a BS in art, history, English or other is useless in my opinion! Besides, I believe that having a BS in lets say philosophy is as good as having none (for people trying to get into pharmacy of course). As for degrees in fields closer related to pharmacy I can see much more sense in them, because they give you wider range of related skills, but I still thing that it is not necessary to be successful in pharmacy. Like I said, I want to be a pharmacist and I cannot justify a need for me to get another degree first.

What research company do you work in and how is that just as good experience? Rather than getting a pharmacy tech. job or shadowing? How did you start this work in the research company? Any other helpful tips from anyone that might make me stand out among the rest of thte competition? Thanks in advance.

 

[JohnFe]

What research company do you work in and how is that just as good experience? Rather than getting a pharmacy tech. job or shadowing? How did you start this work in the research company? Any other helpful tips from anyone that might make me stand out among the rest of thte competition? Thanks in advance.

Pharm tech job:
Money+
Real life experience inside the pharmacy+

Shadowing:
no commitments+
will suffice in pharmacy apps+
you can shadow multiple pharmacists in different settings (retail, hospital, industry)+

Things to make you stand out:
-leadership in organizations or clubs
-activism on something you are passionate about (for example, animal rights, environment, homeless, disadvantage school kids, LGBT rights etc.)
-Health missions in third world countries

 

[Carboxide]

Not getting your degree wouldn't be such an issue if you did your prereqs at a university, but at a community college, you're going to NEED the two years at uni to get the degree. Most people have much higher grades at CC than university because it's easier - so just getting prereqs done there doesn't really show how well you will do in the Pharm.D program. You also applied to a couple really competitive schools, like UIC, where a bachelor's is a MUST. You need to do more research, get more experience, get some extracurriculars and leadership experience, and above all, someone who did prereqs at CC NEEDS to get their BS.

 

[SnMagnifique]

In my opinion the key to success is to be original. Majority of applicants are technicians, do volunteering, and have good grades... It is important to be able to set yourself apart from other students. Of course you still need very good grades, and good PCAT scores, but I for example work in a research company which still prepares me for the pharmacy career, but is not typical. Also, a good thing is to know another language. Pharmacy schools look for well rounded people.

As for BS degree I personally think it's a waste of time (at least for me because I am a bit older then typical student- I am 27 and I want to have a family before I am 40!). I knew I wanted to be a pharmacist so getting a BS in art, history, English or other is useless in my opinion! Besides, I believe that having a BS in lets say philosophy is as good as having none (for people trying to get into pharmacy of course). As for degrees in fields closer related to pharmacy I can see much more sense in them, because they give you wider range of related skills, but I still thing that it is not necessary to be successful in pharmacy. Like I said, I want to be a pharmacist and I cannot justify a need for me to get another degree first.

I did undergraduate research in the Chemistry department at my school. I don't think it is necessary for you to get a job in the industry if you want to become more competitive. You can get hands-on research and leadership opportunities if you finish off your Bachelors of Science degree in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Math, Physics, any Science discipline. (I think the person tagged above meant Bachelors of Art in Philosophy, Art, or History). The more active you are when you are in school gives you a competitive edge. Many people may say that getting your Bachelor's degree is a waste but if you really think about it, you will always have something to fall back on. You should do something that really sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. For example, I didn't work as a Pharm Tech until I graduated because I decided to take the year off to get a taste of what I would be getting into while I applied to the 2013-2014 school year. When I was in college, I worked part-time as a makeup artist and at school raising funds for the development office. I volunteered but mostly worked during college. My experiences from working really allowed me to test the waters and teach me a lot about myself. Everyone is unique. You just have to be able to show that YOU have that IT factor.

The key to getting into pharmacy school is to have GREAT letter of recommendations. So don't burn any bridges with the people you meet. You never know when you will ask for a favor. 🙂

 

[KasHfg]

What research company do you work in and how is that just as good experience? Rather than getting a pharmacy tech. job or shadowing? How did you start this work in the research company? Any other helpful tips from anyone that might make me stand out among the rest of thte competition? Thanks in advance.

I am not saying that my job is better then working as a tech, but I think is equally good because it sets me apart from other applicants. I get familiar with chemistry research environment, and work on my chemistry knowledge.
I got it through my chem teacher. He heard about an intern position and told me about it. I was a summer intern, and then they hired me part time. Tips to stand out? I believe it is a good thing to speak another language, have interesting extracurricular activities, just be a little bit different. Of course I think the closer to pharmacy/science related experience the better, but it seems that everybody is a tech and it is hard to be remembered if you do the exact thing as everybody else!