I'll be honest- I dont have pharmacy experience. I want to get into pharm. school but I dont know anyway of getting pharmacy experience besides getting a CPhT license. I do, however, have research experience with drug delivery systems with my school's college of pharmacy pharmaceutics department. How much will this help me in admissions process?
Pharmacy Experience?
- Thread starter ChEStud
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If you have good GPA and PCAT scores, you can literally forget about any other activity such as research and pharmacy experience and get accepted to pharmacy school. If any one think I'm wrong, you better think again.
Plus, many people fake the pharmacy experience any ways because they know some pharmacists that sign them the amount of hours required.
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You don't need to have pharmacy experience to apply and being accepted into pharm school. Keep in mind that it's preferable to have pharmacy experience to have a head start in pharm. school, but it's not necessary needed for you to have it. I know a lot of people can get into pharm. school without any pharmacy experience (solely on their GPAs and extracurricular activities). If you want to get some pharmacy experience prior to applying, then volunteer at your local pharmacy/hospital, shadow a pharmacist, or take the PTCB exam to become a cpht.
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I don't think that's very helpful. To the OP, your research will look good, because it is pharmacy based. Try shadowing a few different types of pharmacies.(ex. hospital or retail) Your experience does not have to be WORK. The purpose of pharmacy experience is not only to show that you are serious to the adcom, but also so that you can be sure you will like being a pharmacist. Sure there are students who get in to school without any experience, but shadowing or volunteering can only help strengthen your application.
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Some schools actually do REQUIRE that you have some pharmacy experience. Many don't, but make sure you check before applying to those that do (if you can't find experience), otherwise it will mean automatic rejection.
Also, I think it's very rude to assume that many people "fake" their pharmacy experience. Not everyone has those connections, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people actually do commit time in a pharmacy. Maybe only the people you do fake their way, but then again...those are the people you chose to associate with.
Well first of all, if you know you didn't fake it up then don't get mad but I'm pretty sure a lot do. I also never said that I personally know these people. So just don't judge before knowing anything. I, myself, didn't fake it up even though I could have easily done that. Some pharmacists told me about the faking thing, that's all.
And I know some schools require it and I also think it is important not to the school but to figure if you would really like pharmacy as a job or not.
I was being realistic to the OP. Most important things are GPA and then PCAT. My point is that the OP should just do pharmacy volunteering or shadowing to see if they like the job or not. But it is not required nor will it affect the application much if the OP lacks it.
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Fake experience?! No one has ever done that. 😛
Well, as someone with a 2.9 GPA and 92 PCAT, I got waitlisted at #28 at SIUE pharmacy school. I don't know if my interview was crappy or what, but I also have zero pharmacy/volunteering/health care experience. My GPA isn't good at all, but it's been very close to 4.0 in the last year and a half. I can't help but think that I probably would have been accepted if I had pharmacy/leadership experience. Heck, I might still get in, but I really don't think I should be holding my breath at #28.
If you can get at least a part-time job at a pharmacy, go for it. Certainly wouldn't hurt your chances of getting in. You'll also get a feel for the environment in which you might be working in for the rest of your life.
If you can get at least a part-time job at a pharmacy, go for it. Certainly wouldn't hurt your chances of getting in. You'll also get a feel for the environment in which you might be working in for the rest of your life.
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Experience is definitely not needed to get in. A lot of pharmacists I've met never worked as a tech. But it is definitely helpful. It not only shows your interest in the field, it also lets YOU know if you really want to be in this line of work. I've met more than one ex-pharmacist who realized soon after graduating that they hated it. Also, I'd like to think techs have more respect working for a pharmacist who knows what they do.
And as for faking experience - I highly doubt adcoms are fooled. I had remarked to myself how much better I performed in my interview because I was able to give in depth answers to the questions based heavily on my work experience. Nobody could have such insight without experience. That simply cannot be faked.
It's also not hard to get experience! I started out by volunteering at a free clinic in Austin. I applied several times online to the chains but never heard back, but as soon as I physically walked into a store and applied I got a job. Granted you really need to be licensed now, but those tech courses are unnecessary. Read a book and take the PTCB. It's easy. There are pharmacies everywhere, and all it really takes to get a job in one is to go in and talk to the pharmacist. Be professional. Even just ask if you can observe one day or volunteer. There's plenty of work as a tech as far as I have seen.
And as for faking experience - I highly doubt adcoms are fooled. I had remarked to myself how much better I performed in my interview because I was able to give in depth answers to the questions based heavily on my work experience. Nobody could have such insight without experience. That simply cannot be faked.
It's also not hard to get experience! I started out by volunteering at a free clinic in Austin. I applied several times online to the chains but never heard back, but as soon as I physically walked into a store and applied I got a job. Granted you really need to be licensed now, but those tech courses are unnecessary. Read a book and take the PTCB. It's easy. There are pharmacies everywhere, and all it really takes to get a job in one is to go in and talk to the pharmacist. Be professional. Even just ask if you can observe one day or volunteer. There's plenty of work as a tech as far as I have seen.
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3.9 GPA (+Degree in Chemistry), 97% PCAT, 1+Year working as a tech in a compounding pharmacy, 500+ Volunteering hours and 2 study abroad trips > 4.0 GPA 2 yrs undergrad.
It's competitive out there. Why not make yourself the best candidate possible?
It's competitive out there. Why not make yourself the best candidate possible?
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I was accepted to every school I interviewed at and I have no pharmacy experience. My GPA was only a 3.35 but my PCAT score helped me to stand out.
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How do you know you want to be a pharmacist without any experience? Research and design are completely different from this.
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Also, this, but mostly because it was narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart in my head. Sorry, still novel.
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You don't need to do something to be sure it is right for you, though it obviously is the easiest way to find out. I, for example, love learning the pharmacy material and want to work with people. Pretty easy decision after realizing that.
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Yeah, pharmacy experience isn't necessary but it's good to have. Make sure you WANT to work in a pharmacy, because when you are interviewed and asks you questions that you cannot answer, it's no good 
Find your passion!!!
Find your passion!!!
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To the original poster. I would absolutely mention any Pharmacy or Pharmaceutical science experiences. At the least it shows your interest in the field. Also, I think getting your CPhT isn't a bad thing. And as others mentioned, yes, job shadowing and volunteer work is a great way to gain experience. I just finished up my round of interviews a couple months ago and I got accepted to 5 of the 7 schools that I actually went to interview at. My stats were competitive but by no means perfect, and I too had zero Pharmacy experience and actually... my Bachelors was in the Arts not Science. I think if you make it to an interview, your stats at that point, though important, will be on the back-burner. What is really important at that point is nailing the interview so that those stats finally match up with a person rather than them just trying to find an honest individual in a sea of 4.0 GPAs and perfect PCAT scores.
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I haven't found a place to shadow or volunteer yet...I called the hospital and was told that due to compliance reasons, volunteers are not placed in the pharmacy there and CVS and Walgreens are not looking for any volunteers. It seems like the only way to get experience is to get the pharmacy technician certification and apply to work at retail pharmacies. I actually have been thinking about the certification. The only thing I am not sure about is working as a technician. I plan on applying this summer so I have a year before starting pharmacy school (if I get accepted, of course) to work. My problem is: I finished my masters last year and have student loans to pay off, so I plan on starting a job that is related to my masters that pays well and since the starting pay for pharmacy technician is not that much, I wouldn't be able to work as a technician. So, my question is- is it worthwhile to just get the pharmacy technician certification, but not work as pharmacy technician?
I think it's definitely worthwhile to get ur tech cert/license to strengthen ur application even if u don't work as a tech. It's fairly easy to do so. It shows u have more commitment to the field, a better understanding of pharmacy, and experience in license registration and whatnot. This should give u extra points in certain part of ur application. Supp apps may ask u if you have cert,license, or exp. U want to list ur license on pharmcas as well and not leave that blank. So go for it.
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