Personal Statement

[pharmnut]

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I'm going to be reapplying to pharm school this year, I applied last fall with a 3.7 gpa, a lot of pharmacy experience and volunteer work, but I think a really bad PCAT score was the main reason for the rejection. Is it necessary to write a whole new personal statement or would it be ok to use the same one?

 

[Glycerin]

I'm going to be reapplying to pharm school this year, I applied last fall with a 3.7 gpa, a lot of pharmacy experience and volunteer work, but I think a really bad PCAT score was the main reason for the rejection. Is it necessary to write a whole new personal statement or would it be ok to use the same one?

I'd have more people critique the one you have, and if necessary, I'd just spruce it up a bit.

 

[gustavo32]

I'm going to be reapplying to pharm school this year, I applied last fall with a 3.7 gpa, a lot of pharmacy experience and volunteer work, but I think a really bad PCAT score was the main reason for the rejection. Is it necessary to write a whole new personal statement or would it be ok to use the same one?

What school did you applied?

 

[pharmnut]

I only applied to Midwestern Glendale. This time around I plan on a few more.

 

[pharmd-08]

Make sure you write something to tell your audience(adcom) about what have you done during the year in between, and what have you learned. And remember, don't put any negativity or bitter tone in your personal statement. Good luck! I know it's hard to squeeze an interesting story to fit the ### characters limitation in Pharmcas space.

 

[vafcarrot]

If you don't mind sharing, what would you consider a really bad PCAT score?

 

[28657]

If you don't mind sharing, what would you consider a really bad PCAT score?

A really bad PCAT score would be in the 60th percentile or lower. However, I would definitely retake the test if you scored in the 70's. It's not that hard of a test and if someone has a 4.0 but a 70th percentile, that says something about their undergrad preparation.

 

[pharmnut]

Yes, a really bad PCAT score is about 60th and below. I definitely plan on retaking the test in October!

 

[vafcarrot]

The average score for incoming pharmacy students at the school I'm applying to is 85 composite. I wonder if schools do take students in the lower 70's and that balances out the upper 90's? What do you think?

 

[bananaface]

50th percentile, by definition, is an average score. If you score in the 50s you can still get into a school that uses the PCAT as long as you excel in ther areas of the application.

 

[jdpharmd?]

50th percentile, by definition, is an average score. If you score in the 50s you can still get into a school that uses the PCAT as long as you excel in ther areas of the application.

50th percentile is an average score of those who took the exam, but certainly not an average score for those who were accepted to pharmacy school. I'm sure it's possible to get accepted with a 50, but I would not say that it's a favorable or competitive score by any means. I had a 96, and I was only accepted at half the schools that I applied to.

 

[gustavo32]

I am waitlisted with 92.I think is better for you to retake the exam.

 

[bananaface]

One factor we are not considering is the interview. I would presume that pharmnut got to the interview level because of the good stuff on the application. If you only had a decent interview, you will be under the pile relative to people who had stellar interviews. That blew it for me the first time around. I also applied to just one school the first time. I learned a whole lot in the meantime too. So, I'm glad I got put off for a year, in retrospect.

I just revised my personal statement slightly, to reflect myself at the moment, since the prompt question was the same. Once I had a better interview, I was in to my school of choice. I did not mention in my personal statement that I had gotten rejected the year before. I thought it would sound like whining and keep me from being percieved as having a positive attitude.

 

[pharmnut]

That was actually another question I had about the personal statement?.whether or not to bring up the fact that I did get rejected. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll just update it slightly to include what I've done in the past year...without the whining. And actually, no I didn't even get the interview. I heard that MW-Glendale was really relying heavily on the PCAT scores due to the overwhelming number of applicants. I could be wrong though.