Pharmacy School

[pharmacyaddict]

I plan on applying to pharmacy school when the PharmCAS application opens on July 18, 2017 but I wanted to know if I had a good chance of getting in based on my resume. I feel like I am pretty well rounded candidate but I have been limited to the amount of extracurriculars I could do during the school year due to me running track for my college and having a demanding schedule. I have 3.7 overall GPA and 3.6 science GPA while majoring in biochemistry, I am in the pre-pharmacy club, I participate in NCAA division l sports for my school for which I am a scholar athlete and on the all-academic team for my conference, I have done a summer research and devolpment internship in an lab for the past 3 summers, I have volunteered/shadowed in a pharmacy during this whole summer, and I have volunteered with my track team in various areas of the community and have also volunteered at my step-mothers physical therapy practice. I want to stay in California for pharmacy school so I am not going to take the PCAT. The schools I want to apply to are USC, UCSD, California Northsate, and Western. For anyone who plans on applying to pharmacy school, has already been accepted or is a current pharmacist, do you think I will be able to get into pharmacy school? In addition do you have any advice for the application process

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[BC_89]

Getting in isn't the issue. You'd be wise taking the PCAT despite cali not requiring it but more important of a question is how much debt will you be in? Understand your applying in a saturated field so think on how you will be with debt that could easily be twice your salary or more if it takes more than fed loans.

Moving on:

Get a basic tech license ($80 for background/fingerprinting at your local police office if that) and wrk part time in retail if possible. That looks more solid than shadowing so you have a better understanding of metrics and wait times when it's on you puttin the meds on the conveyer belt (wags). If anything you can state "I have a tech license." Absolutely get at least one LOR from a pharmacist and always mention your curriculum activities.

Your honestly fine getting in. For you that's the easy part. Please find it in yourself as to how you will off set your loans .... gettin a job won't be as easy as you may think (but doable). Best of luck

 

[PharmtoCS]

I would say that with your stats you should apply to med school instead. Pharmacy is already extremely saturated in California yet will only get far worse as KGI, Chapman, West Coast, CHSU, and Ketchum all graduate their first classes in the next 1-2 years. Even if you get into a school in California (really easy due to the large number of schools), be prepared to relocate far from your home to find a job.

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming, finance, accounting, engineering, etc. that offer better job prospects, pay just as well as pharmacy does if not better, offer a better work-life balance, and do not require you to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school. These jobs are actually in high demand in California, whereas with pharmacy you will most definitely be forced to move out of state due to the lack of jobs.

 

[cakezyum]

I honestly think your GPA and extracurricular are solid. Most cali school does not require PCAT so that won't be necessary. You have a really good shot at this. Make sure your personal statement is strong and have good LOR from people that know you well such as science professors, PI, or maybe your volunteering managers. Remember to APPLY EARLY and good luck!

 

[Apples2Oranges]

Yes.

 

[Depmonce1133]

I would say that with your stats you should apply to med school instead. Pharmacy is already extremely saturated in California yet will only get far worse as KGI, Chapman, West Coast, CHSU, and Ketchum all graduate their first classes in the next 1-2 years. Even if you get into a school in California (really easy due to the large number of schools), be prepared to relocate far from your home to find a job.

There are other professions, i.e. computer programming, finance, accounting, engineering, etc. that offer better job prospects, pay just as well as pharmacy does if not better, offer a better work-life balance, and do not require you to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend another 4 years of your life in school. These jobs are actually in high demand in California, whereas with pharmacy you will most definitely be forced to move out of state due to the lack of jobs.

Definitely agree with above. You'll probably be much better than the typical pharm student at time management, a lot of them really aren't as serious as you'd expect and are continuing to bring down the profession. Seems that you'd have a greater interest in the human anatomy and physique as well, Rx will be disappointing and you'll find courses/professors to be nothing more than a nuisance. If you like chemistry and for some reason are drawn to it, then I'd say go for it, but you will find a lot of disgruntled disappointed people and it'd probably be better to go through a program with motivated people rather than those who couldn't honestly get accepted into anything better.