Out of State Chances with mediocre GPA?

[Asphyxiatia]

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Looking to go OOS with a mediocre GPA (3.17 overall + science). I managed to scrape a 95% comp on the pcat. I volunteered in a hospital pharmacy my sophomore summer and I've been involved for 3.5 years with a pre-health honor society where i've had several leadership roles including leading our Relay for Life team (twice) and on one occaision breaking several fundraising records for our school.

I applied in state at a reasonable time (12/1) and got an interview at a major college; however I don't really wantt o stay in my current state andwould like to relocate. I've applied to several schools in philly (Temple,Jeff), University of MN, University of Ark. med sci, and UKent; but at the end of the application cycle (2/2). What do you think my chances of getting an interview/ being accepted are into these schools? I'm hoping my other areas (EC+PCAT+leadership+pharm vol) will balance out my mediocre GPA. Thoughts?

Also not sure how much it matters/how it affects my chances but I'm a minority that was also an orphan (both parent's died due to HIV) and my personal statement/essays reflected upon how these things along with cancer specific volunteering fueled my passion for pharmacy.

 

[PharmaJunkie]

GPA isn't everything - remember that. Had you scored an average or below average PCAT composite score in addition to minimal extra curricular activities, then you should be more worried about your GPA. In your case, your PCAT score balances your GPA and being involved in a wide array of extracurricular activities definitely helps as well. Pharmacy schools don't only look at your GPA as a determining factor in accepting applicants. Most admissions committees use a holistic approach when reviewing applicants and will take your entire application into consideration.

I know this because I too have a low GPA but made up for it with a high PCAT score in addition to a lot of experience and have been accepted to 2 schools already!

The only detrimental factor is that you applied late in the cycle. Most schools admit applicants on a rolling basis so your chances are lower applying now as opposed to if you had applied a couple months prior.

I hope I was helpful and good luck!

 

[88888888]

95 pcat will get you anywhere, unless ur gpa is <2.5

 

[Jeanine B]

As mentioned above, GPA isn't everything. Plus you got a great score on the PCAT. If you go to the PharmCAS website, they show the statistics on every school and how likely they are to accept in-state vs out-of-state. That's where I looked when applying and it helped me decide which schools were even worth my time to apply to.