Okay, I'm going to ask

[kirang]

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So, I wasn't going to ask but I need HELP and any suggestions would be great.


I'm working on my personal statement and I'm stuck. I don't know what to write about I have a draft of what I've written but need help with proof-reading and suggestions.


I'm super nervous about applying this June and if anyone would be willing to help I'll be more than happy to pay whatever works. Please let me know. I'm struggling!🙁

 

[UES Girl]

So, I wasn't going to ask but I need HELP and any suggestions would be great.


I'm working on my personal statement and I'm stuck. I don't know what to write about I have a draft of what I've written but need help with proof-reading and suggestions.


I'm super nervous about applying this June and if anyone would be willing to help I'll be more than happy to pay whatever works. Please let me know. I'm struggling!🙁

You can start by going to Borders and picking up a book on how to write personal statements that has good examples of sucessfull statements in it.

 

[alenadoma]

I also wouldn't recommend just taking anyone's help. You want someone that has a reputable reputation on this site, preferably someone who is already a pharmacy school student.
You don't want anyone to steal your statement!

There is an entire thread dedicated to personal statement proofreading, try looking there 🙂

But good job on getting a head start!

 

[kirang]

Thanks, I've looked at Barnes and Nobles but I really want to talk to someone that is in pharmacy school that can help me.


I'm not sure how to find that thread. Are there pharmacy school students that are willing to help the needy?!

 

[Badgerton]

Wow, I started my personal statement a couple days before the due date but I normally procrastinate anyway. No way could I get myself to start it more than a couple months ahead of time.

I used some humor in mine and my interviewers seemed to like it but that might not be the best course for everyone. I had very laid back interviewers with whom I was able to talk about things other than pharmacy so I might have just gotten lucky. It's hard to tell you what to write about without knowing you personally but try to find a theme, such as why you want to go to pharmacy school, and then tie in different aspects of your life that support it.

 

[cdhoward]

I'm not sure how to find that thread. Are there pharmacy school students that are willing to help the needy?!

It is a sticky on the pre-pharmacy forum.

 

[kirang]

HA! I’m on spring break and I need to start on this so I’m not scrambling a week before. Plus, I’m starting Organic Chemistry in the summer so I won’t have any time to devote then. I think my biggest problem is (and I'm sure the rest of us) WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT?! I honestly can't answer that. I have nothing special that they haven't seen, heard, or read... and thats so frustrating. Besides academics, extra circular activities, leadership I have nothing else to give and that scares me.

Any pharmacy school students who have time (HA! I kid.) please PM I would love to pick your brain about your experiences. I'll buy you lunch,breakfast,dinner...

 

[alenadoma]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=534303

Use that.

And as for being different ---
Not everyone is the same silly!! What kind of experiences do you have?

Any volunteering experiences/EC/research experiences that helped make you decide on pharmacy?

Why do you want to go into pharmacy and what made you decide on pharmacy?

You can use anything! Childhood stories, anecdotes, books, stories in general..anything! Just make it interesting and make it a good representation of you.

And please don't think you are just like everyone else, your personal statement will reflect it and that's just shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[girmaxdomino189]

HA! I’m on spring break and I need to start on this so I’m not scrambling a week before. Plus, I’m starting Organic Chemistry in the summer so I won’t have any time to devote then. I think my biggest problem is (and I'm sure the rest of us) WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT?! I honestly can't answer that. I have nothing special that they haven't seen, heard, or read... and thats so frustrating. Besides academics, extra circular activities, leadership I have nothing else to give and that scares me.

Any pharmacy school students who have time (HA! I kid.) please PM I would love to pick your brain about your experiences. I'll buy you lunch,breakfast,dinner...

What makes you different doesn't have to be something they've never seen, hear or read. It's just what YOU think makes you unique and how you think that uniqueness can make you a better pharmacist!

 

[FarscapeGirl]

For ideas on what to say, try having a conversation with a trusted friend or a family member. Tell them why you want to be a pharmacist, what made you want to be a pharmacist, and why you think you'll be a good one. You could also write a real or pretend letter to a friend, family member, or even a favorite teacher/counselor, etc.

Now take those ideas and turn them into your personal statement. Make sure that it's written for your audience of the admissions committee.

You may have some of the same reasons for being a pharmacist, and even some of the same experiences as other potential students. But it's the whole package of you that makes you unique. The fact that you're slightly worried about this is a good sign, in some ways. It means you care enough that you want to make your reasoning behind becoming a pharmacist really good.

Good luck!

 

[kirang]

I guess my biggest problem is I don't know why I choose pharmacy besides the fact that I love medicine and helping people. I love the human body and I'm intrigued at how medicine works within it. But, to me that’s not a good enough reason for picking this field. I have my masters already in Public Health and as soon as I started taking prereqs for pharmacy I fell in love. Thats it my whole story. I have tons of other things that have happened along the way... but when someone asks me why pharmacy I have a hard time answering that question. Is it just me?!

Thank you all the tips...

 

[stkyrice]

I guess my biggest problem is I don't know why I choose pharmacy besides the fact that I love medicine and helping people. I love the human body and I'm intrigued at how medicine works within it. But, to me that’s not a good enough reason for picking this field. I have my masters already in Public Health and as soon as I started taking prereqs for pharmacy I fell in love. Thats it my whole story. I have tons of other things that have happened along the way... but when someone asks me why pharmacy I have a hard time answering that question. Is it just me?!

Thank you all the tips...

What was the ah-ha moment about pharmacy for you? Was it a certain class, a professor, an interaction with a pharmacist? Were you witness to something that made you realize that you wanted to do pharm, and not med, RN, etc.?

One of the things that I would do is list all the things that you've done that led you to this path. You may THINK you're not unique, but once you have your list of things that you've done, it should become very clear that you are. Not too many people have an MPH before they enter pharm--that's a story right there. You will probably also be asked why you want to do pharm since you already have an MPH--do you have an answer for that?

If you haven't done so already, start talking to pharmacists, and make friends with them. Make sure to ask them as many questions as possible--about the good and bad of being a pharmacist. Volunteer at a pharmacy also to see if the day-to-day process of being a pharmacist is something you really want to do.

You're running into the basic trap that a lot of people have--that they're not good enough, or smart enough, or unique enough. If you start selling yourself short now, why should a pharmacy school accept you if you have that attitude?

Obviously, you have something going for you that makes you want to do pharm. You need to really sit yourself down, get away from SDN , and start thinking hard about why you want to do pharmacy--once you get that going, the application process will be a lot easier.

 

[UES Girl]

I guess my biggest problem is I don't know why I choose pharmacy besides the fact that I love medicine and helping people. I love the human body and I'm intrigued at how medicine works within it. But, to me that's not a good enough reason for picking this field. I have my masters already in Public Health and as soon as I started taking prereqs for pharmacy I fell in love. Thats it my whole story. I have tons of other things that have happened along the way... but when someone asks me why pharmacy I have a hard time answering that question. Is it just me?!

Thank you all the tips...

Perhaps you need to do some soul searching before you attempt to write it ? I'm not joking by the way - no one can help you answer why YOU should pursue pharmacy better than yourself. I've thought about why I wanted to attend pharmacy school for months last year before I started writing my statement and when I have, it took me several months to finish it, but it came out very powerful and inspiring.

I hope by the way that you take my answer in a right way, I re-read it and it seems it may be taken the wrong way. I'm merely suggesting that before you attempt to write it, you need to organize your thoughts and really develop a clear idea, a mental illustration even, of why you want to pursue pharmacy and what you would like the admissions comittee to know about you.

I personally feel like the personal statement is one of the most important aspects of application - it tells a story about your path to pharmacy, why you are going into this field and even somewhat hints why you are selecting particular schools you have chosen. That's why I think, you may need to think about it a bit, talk to your family and friends, before you decide to write your PS.

 

[kirang]

Yup, I know exactly what I switched from MPH'er to Pharmacy... I have a passion for this way more than what I was doing with my other degree. I've sat down and shadowed pharmacists and I loved it. My Ah-Ha moment was watching a patent passed out at a pharmacy because the pharmacist wouldn't refill her prescriptions because she had a copay of $900 bucks that she couldn't pay... to me that was absolutely the most powerful and shocking experience I've yet faced. Because of her and the terrible pharmacist I choose this career. I understand the laws and regulations behind the pharmacists decision but I personally would throw all that out the door and do whatever I needed to take care of that patient. I ended up paying for her meds and now she's my adopted grandma...=)

Thanks for all everyones help!! I'm on SDN all day cause I'm at work.. bored and use this time to research before I go home to write write write...Hopefully, I'll have something magical soon...

 

[alenadoma]

Yup, I know exactly what I switched from MPH'er to Pharmacy... I have a passion for this way more than what I was doing with my other degree. I've sat down and shadowed pharmacists and I loved it. My Ah-Ha moment was watching a patent passed out at a pharmacy because the pharmacist wouldn't refill her prescriptions because she had a copay of $900 bucks that she couldn't pay... to me that was absolutely the most powerful and shocking experience I've yet faced. Because of her and the terrible pharmacist I choose this career. I understand the laws and regulations behind the pharmacists decision but I personally would throw all that out the door and do whatever I needed to take care of that patient. I ended up paying for her meds and now she's my adopted grandma...=)

Thanks for all everyones help!! I'm on SDN all day cause I'm at work.. bored and use this time to research before I go home to write write write...Hopefully, I'll have something magical soon...

are you kidding?? And you think you're like everyone else?! I think you just figured out how to start your personal statement 🙂

That's an amazing story, and sooo nice of you! I wish there were more people in the world like that, we need more pharmacists that genuinely want to help people!!!

 

[255942]

I have read a lot of personal statements. I would suggest not adding levity or humor in most cases as it comes off as unprofessional. Remember there is someone reading your statement who is going to make a determination of the kind of student you will be in their pharmacy school. My experience is that the admissions committee members are rarely comedians.

I would explain why you want to be a pharmacist. Maybe offer an example of a family member who was being treated for an illness. If you have work experience you can detail a time where a pharmacist provided assistance to a patient in need and how that reinforced your desire. If you have nothing such as these, state plainly why pharmacy interests you. You can't go wrong saying things like , "I am a people person", "compassionate", "help others" etc.

I strongly discourage you from stating that job security and financial well being are the reasons you want to be a pharmacist. And don't tell me that you were rejected from medical school and this is your fall back option.

I will help as many people as I can if you want me to look something over that you have prepared.

Best of luck.

 

[kirang]

Thanks! I remember that!!

 

[gll8889]

Yup, I know exactly what I switched from MPH'er to Pharmacy... I have a passion for this way more than what I was doing with my other degree. I've sat down and shadowed pharmacists and I loved it. My Ah-Ha moment was watching a patent passed out at a pharmacy because the pharmacist wouldn't refill her prescriptions because she had a copay of $900 bucks that she couldn't pay... to me that was absolutely the most powerful and shocking experience I've yet faced. Because of her and the terrible pharmacist I choose this career. I understand the laws and regulations behind the pharmacists decision but I personally would throw all that out the door and do whatever I needed to take care of that patient. I ended up paying for her meds and now she's my adopted grandma...=)

Thanks for all everyones help!! I'm on SDN all day cause I'm at work.. bored and use this time to research before I go home to write write write...Hopefully, I'll have something magical soon...

I'm just curious what you think the "terrible pharmacist" should have done. $900 is a lot of money to a business owner too and I can't think of any pharmacists that would let a patient have the medicine without paying. A tough economy affects pharmacists too as we see Walmart sell $4 scripts thereby giving away pharmacist services as a loss leader to get people in the door to buy their other crap.

 

[kirang]

I understand that its a business transaction but if I see someone passed out because they weren't given their high blood pressure medication I'll sure as hell would give them what they needed so they wouldn't die on my watch. I understand that we as healthcare professionals are not always told to be humanitarian however, there if things are brought up by a case-to-case bases I'd have no problem losing a couple hundred to save a life.


To me the problem wasn't that the pharmacist said no-thats understandable but if they are clearly in need thats when you do what needs to be done all business aside. At least I would, and I'd hope others would as well.

 

[gll8889]

I understand that its a business transaction but if I see someone passed out because they weren't given their high blood pressure medication I'll sure as hell would give them what they needed so they wouldn't die on my watch. I understand that we as healthcare professionals are not always told to be humanitarian however, there if things are brought up by a case-to-case bases I'd have no problem losing a couple hundred to save a life.


To me the problem wasn't that the pharmacist said no-thats understandable but if they are clearly in need thats when you do what needs to be done all business aside. At least I would, and I'd hope others would as well.

How do you know he/she passed out from not having BP medications - are you an MD, RP, APRN? I would actually suspect that maybe she was overmedicated and might have done better by leaving the pharmacy without any of her meds. Maybe she was orthostatic because she was on too many BP meds and you actually made the situation worse. I can't think of many occasions where giving someone $900 of meds in the pharmacy would save a life. Life saving drugs in a pharmacy for an acute situation: Valium for a seizure.. maybe Albuterol or an Epi-Pen. I suppose a Nitro or ASA for chest pain/MI. I'm sure there are other but you get the drift.

Maybe he/she passed out because the bill was $900. Maybe because she was hypoglycemic. Or maybe she had a seizure.

Bottom line, if I were reading your application I would laugh and think what a load of bull this applicant is trying to feed me. While it may be true and you had $900 to give away to a complete stranger, I wouldn't bet my application on it.

 

[RutgersEMSOP10]

one mistake often made by ALL students when writing a "personal" statement is that they make it just that - personal. the admissions committees don't want to hear about your dog, or a vacation, etc. Thye want to hear about why YOU are good for pharmacy. That is the "personal" in personal statement.

A personal statement is almost like a CV but in essay form. It is your chance to talk up your strengths and explain away your weaknesses. For example, due to unforseen circumstances I had to withdrawal from a class in my undergrad career and therefore had a W on my transcript. My personal statement was a perfect time to explain why this why there.

Have a bad semester mixed in with all of your 4.0s?? Explain it in the personal statement.

Did you partake in any activities not related to pharmacy but that you think incorporated important aspects that would be helpful as a pharmacy student/pharmacist? Talk about it here.

The importnant thing here is to make all of these things flow - which is why most recommend explaining the path that brought you to pharmacy. That is a great recommendation - just make sure that the path isn't "I loved chemistry and want to help people. The end." You have to include all of the pit stops - the good (talk them up) and the bad (explain them).

And don't be too informal or, conversly, too precocious. Professionalism starts here.

Good luck...



EDIT: apparently this forum advocates NOT discussing weakness in your personal statement. I'm not sure why. My undergrad advisor told me this was the most importnant part. I ma not familiar with PharmCAS (as a transfer into Rutgers, I filled out their online application) so maybe it is a preference that is stated on the application. Either way, I stand by this advice (in general) but add the disclaimer: follow the directions listed on the application.

 

[stlouis79]

How do you know he/she passed out from not having BP medications - are you an MD, RP, APRN? I would actually suspect that maybe she was overmedicated and might have done better by leaving the pharmacy without any of her meds. Maybe she was orthostatic because she was on too many BP meds and you actually made the situation worse. I can't think of many occasions where giving someone $900 of meds in the pharmacy would save a life. Life saving drugs in a pharmacy for an acute situation: Valium for a seizure.. maybe Albuterol or an Epi-Pen. I suppose a Nitro or ASA for chest pain/MI. I'm sure there are other but you get the drift.

Maybe he/she passed out because the bill was $900. Maybe because she was hypoglycemic. Or maybe she had a seizure.

Bottom line, if I were reading your application I would laugh and think what a load of bull this applicant is trying to feed me. While it may be true and you had $900 to give away to a complete stranger, I wouldn't bet my application on it.

no ****....i guess i would be a terrible pharmacist because I wouldn't give her any meds. If it seemed life threatening do the right thing and call and ambulance. You are not a doctor!!

 

[kirang]

Yeah, I'm not a doctor and I wasn't the one that gave her the meds but I was the one that went up to her and asked her what was going on since she was so freaked out and was having a hard time breathing. She had been on an ace inhibitor for about a month and it wasn't working for her BP was 210/90 and when she tryed to explain that to the pharmacist but they insisted that she contact her insurance company thats when she started having a hard time breathing. I watched the whole episode of them calling the insurance company and basically saying there’s nothing that they can do since she caped out and was in the donut hole for that year. I didn't have $900 bucks to give her but I was able to purchase the medication that she needed to control her BP. She kept repeating over and over that she needed to have the medication and that her BP was not out of wack and if need be to contact the doctor’s office. The pharmacist refused saying that’s not store policy and the lady having no other option panicked started walking away. And, I couldn’t just stand there and watch a elderly women go through that.

I'm sorry, not everyone needs to come up with fake stories to impress people. This was a sincere event that actually occurred and I’m thankful I was there because of her I am where I am today. I'd be more than happy to provide you with proof. I'm not going to be writing about this so thats why I felt it was okay for me to share it on a public form. Who knew I'd get chewed out for sharing.

 

[dumbguy]

i'm a 4 year reject. I've gone through 4 years of revisions of my personal statement. If you need help revising your personal statement, let me know. I know what not to put in there. Don't put alot of BS stories of how wonderful 1 event changed your life and guided you to pharmacy, and from then on your life was dedicated to helping people....blah...blah...blah....it's not believable. Cut out the BS about your diabetic uncle who lost his leg, motivating you to become a pharmacist. Why not become a doctor? What is believable is your pharmacy work experience, and/or volunteering. Have you worked in a pharmacy, done some volunteering? Include it as one of the reasonS that guided you into pharmacy.

 

[kirang]

Thanks for the advise. That’s a big reason why I'm not talking about that experience its sounds like a plot to a movie. I have worked in a pharmacy and will use my experiences as my stories along with some others.
I will def. take you up on your offer and hopefully you can help... are you applying again this year?

 

[trailrider400]

Hey I was curious what the $900 med was? I'm trying to think of a bp med that would cost that much and I'm coming up short. I'm not throwing the bull **** flag I'm just curious...

 

[kirang]

She was on a Medicare Advantage program and most of these programs offer great things on paper but in reality are a big hassle. She was told that her prescriptions would fully be covered but she would only have a small copay. It wasn't a single script it was for numerous medications she's on. It wasn't for the one pick up it was for the fact that she had gone into the donut hole before the end of the year before her insurance would pick up 90% of the cost. Seniors are put on Medicare advantage plans that when sold state that they will pay for 99.9% of the costs but what they fail to mention is the majority of them cap out at a yearly cost of $2900 and once that max is hit the rest of the cost is then solely the responsibility of the patient. So, in her case it was August and normally Medicare Advantage plans and other plans switch in November so she had to nearly pay for 4 months worth of medications out of pocket. The $900 was an accumulation of costs that she was forced to pay. No BS needed...true story.

 

[alenadoma]

From my understanding it was more than one medicine..prob just included her bp med

 

[kirang]

Yup. Her BP was the one that she needed otherwise it'd be game over...

 

[trailrider400]

yeah that donut hole has caused some shock where I work too. I still don't know of any pharmacy who could/would have handled it differently though especially since most pharmacists working in chains really aren't in the position where they are allowed to give out free meds. I know there is some discretion but not a ton. What we prolly would have done is see if she could go on a cheeper generic or try to get a prior auth (which really wouldn't apply here). Other than that its just another example of a screwed up and sometimes unfortunate "healthcare system."