Possibilities for pharmacy?

[SteveChaoRen]

Hey guys and gals!

So I would like to share my story with you all. I wanted to find out my chances with your knowledge and expertise. I don't mind harsh language (Maybe it'll even help me) I attend Long Island University as a Pre Pharm student. Many grades are abysmal!

My freshman year 1st semester (GPA 2.7)

Chemistry B
English Composition 3.00 A
History of Civilizatns to 1500 A
Pre-Calculus Mathematics F
BIO 3 4.00 4.00 T
BIO 4 4.00 4.00 T
(AP BIO CREDITS)

2nd Semester (GPA 3.37)
Math Retake B+
Speech A-
Chemistry 2 C+
History A
English A-

Sophomore year 1st semester (GPA 1.9)
Organic Chem D
Eco C
English A
Math 2 C
Physics D

2nd Semester (GPA 3.04)
Anatomy B+
Medical Conditions A
Organic Chem 2 D
English A-
Psychology B+

So these are my grades so far and my current gpa is 2.9 CUMULATIVE
Science 1.82
Math 1.77

PCAT 399 COMP

Going to start FALL 2014
Physiology
RETAKE ORGANIC CHEM 1
Microbio
Stats
Philosophy

I work at CVS Pharmacy as a Pharm Tech, I have good connections with head pharmacists as a good worker and knowledgeable tech.
I also work study within my university for the sixth year compounding professor/pharmacist.

Any other information, I will be glad to provide!

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[sanovin]

Your science and math grades are very low, and it seems like your GPA is being mostly carried by English and History classes. If you are having trouble doing well in those classes at the undergraduate level, you'll have a difficult time through pharmacy school if you got in. GPA is only one part of the battle though. It seems that you are in a situation in that you'll really need to get a good score on the PCAT as well as a well-rounded batch of extracurriculars.

Is it possible to get in? Yes, but you'll need to work hard. An uphill trend in your GPA could certainly help your application, so you'll need to put in some more work or adjust your study habits. Make sure you start doing better ESPECIALLY in your science and math classes, as those tend to be weighed the most and are most representative of your ability to do well in pharm school.

Is it possible to get into a good program? Possible, but not very likely with your current stats. You'll need to work even harder and push your GPA >3.0 to even be looked at by most quality schools, as well as smashing the PCAT and having a stellar set of experience and extracurriculars.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Hey guys and gals!

So I would like to share my story with you all. I wanted to find out my chances with your knowledge and expertise. I don't mind harsh language (Maybe it'll even help me) I attend Long Island University as a Pre Pharm student. Many grades are abysmal!

My freshman year 1st semester (GPA 2.7)

Chemistry B
English Composition 3.00 A
History of Civilizatns to 1500 A
Pre-Calculus Mathematics F
BIO 3 4.00 4.00 T
BIO 4 4.00 4.00 T
(AP BIO CREDITS)

2nd Semester (GPA 3.37)
Math Retake B+
Speech A-
Chemistry 2 C+
History A
English A-

Sophomore year 1st semester (GPA 1.9)
Organic Chem D
Eco C
English A
Math 2 C
Physics D

2nd Semester (GPA 3.04)
Anatomy B+
Medical Conditions A
Organic Chem 2 D
English A-
Psychology B+

So these are my grades so far and my current gpa is 2.9 CUMULATIVE
Science 1.82
Math 1.77

PCAT 399 COMP

Going to start FALL 2014
Physiology
RETAKE ORGANIC CHEM 1
Microbio
Stats
Philosophy

I work at CVS Pharmacy as a Pharm Tech, I have good connections with head pharmacists as a good worker and knowledgeable tech.
I also work study within my university for the sixth year compounding professor/pharmacist.

Any other information, I will be glad to provide!

I strongly suggest you reconsider and choose a different profession. Even if you somehow magically get into a pharmacy school, I do not think you can survive it. You cannot regularly fail classes and retake them, and even if you did, you would be set back an entire year. From a financial aspect, this is extremely unwise.

Also your PCAT (do you mean 39.9%?) is extremely low.

 

[ajl87]

Your anatomy is good, but chemistry will be your long term struggle. Take a look at LIU's medicinal chemistry course notes from a friend. You must improve your orgo grades to at least B range in order to survive that class.

 

[oldstock]

I strongly suggest you reconsider and choose a different profession. Even if you somehow magically get into a pharmacy school, I do not think you can survive it. You cannot regularly fail classes and retake them, and even if you did, you would be set back an entire year. From a financial aspect, this is extremely unwise.

I know many schools (even the established ones) now let students do remedy in the summer. Some schools would even let students to take exam twice if the students failed the first time.

Also your PCAT (do you mean 39.9%?) is extremely low.

lower than 12 percentile ??

you see in the thread ACPE response started from HobbitJane (page 2 http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-leave-pharmacy.1077650/page-3#post-15425641), that at least one student who got 2s GPA got in and at least one student who got 12 percentile for composite PCAT also got in. (We only do not know if those two are the same one or not). And according to the people who are going there, UA is a top 10 pharmacy school.

@SteveChaoRen: Even there is possibility for you to get in a pharmacy school with those stats as admission standard are going down (because of more schools opening), you should think again if you can survive pharmacy curriculum while you are still struggling with undergrad. If you could not withstand the rigors of pharmacy program and fail 2-3 times, you might get kicked out with all that huge pharmacy student loan debts. And that is even more trouble than not getting pharmacy school in the first place.

 

[Amicable Angora]

I know many schools (even the established ones) now let students do remedy in the summer. Some schools would even let students to take exam twice if the students failed the first time.




lower than 12 percentile ??

you see in the thread ACPE response started from HobbitJane (page 2 http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-leave-pharmacy.1077650/page-3#post-15425641), that at least one student who got 2s GPA got in and at least one student who got 12 percentile for composite PCAT also got in. (We only do not know if those two are the same one or not). And according to the people who are going there, UA is a top 10 pharmacy school.

@SteveChaoRen: Even there is possibility for you to get in a pharmacy school with those stats as admission standard are going down (because of more schools opening), you should think again if you can survive pharmacy curriculum while you are still struggling with undergrad. If you could not withstand the rigors of pharmacy program and fail 2-3 times, you might get kicked out with all that huge pharmacy student loan debts. And that is even more trouble than not getting pharmacy school in the first place.

I guess I should be thankful I'm going to an established school.

 

[SteveChaoRen]

Well that was hard to hear but it was a good thing for me. I believe i may have been slacking during my first two years in college. You guys should know all the things that come along with college such as the events, parties, and such. I feel like i like pharmacy because due to my pharmacy tech experience, i love helping my patients that come in.
But now that i am officially 20, it should be time for me to stop joking around.
With the information i have gotten from three head pharmacists within the three pharmacies, they said it will be hard journey for you but with time, you can get in. Theres no doubt

As for the PCAT, LIU for some reason only requires a 380-420 to be viewed for interview. Which is around 50%
Grades however should be at least 3.0gpa

But nonetheless, anyone applying shouldnt be limiting themselves to this criteria.

With a year more of all science classes (micro/anatomy/physio/genetics/botany/ecology/parasitology/maybe two math classes), if i get a good grade meaning B and higher, will that possibly help my chances?

You guys and gals have been a great help for me.

 

[ajl87]

I think you can get into LIU, but consider completing your bachelor's degree if your science and math GPAs are not above 3.0.

 

[oldstock]

Well that was hard to hear but it was a good thing for me. I believe i may have been slacking during my first two years in college. You guys should know all the things that come along with college such as the events, parties, and such. I feel like i like pharmacy because due to my pharmacy tech experience, i love helping my patients that come in.
But now that i am officially 20, it should be time for me to stop joking around.
With the information i have gotten from three head pharmacists within the three pharmacies, they said it will be hard journey for you but with time, you can get in. Theres no doubt

As for the PCAT, LIU for some reason only requires a 380-420 to be viewed for interview. Which is around 50%
Grades however should be at least 3.0gpa

But nonetheless, anyone applying shouldnt be limiting themselves to this criteria.

With a year more of all science classes (micro/anatomy/physio/genetics/botany/ecology/parasitology/maybe two math classes), if i get a good grade meaning B and higher, will that possibly help my chances?

You guys and gals have been a great help for me.

with the current cGPA @ 2.9, you have to do better than B to pull the overall point average above the 3.0 line, i.e. you must strive for as many A's as possible.

I count 7 hard BIO classes there. Plus the 2 math classes, that is avg of 4-5 hard core classes per semester (Fall & Spring) or ~ 15 credits/sem (assuming 3 credits per class).

Given your current GPAs and your academic trendline, I think you should take it slower and maybe spread to 4-5 semesters and take like 1-2 of them along with some filler courses instead of doing all those courses in 2 semesters. Better taking a lighter load and getting all good grades than taking a heavy load with all the hard classes which sounds very cool but nobody would care if you fail. GL.

I think you can get into LIU, but consider completing your bachelor's degree if your science and math GPAs are not above 3.0.

second that.

 

[rtisansndot]

good,You must improve your orgo grades to at least B range in order to survive that class.thanks

 

[SteveChaoRen]

I agree with everything that you guys have said.

I talked over my plans with my pharmacists within my pharmacy and so far, my conclusion is as follows (tell me what you think):
With all the grades above ^
I plan on taking the necessary classes to complete my Bachelor's for Bio. During that process, I'll be increasing my math and science GPA's (hopefully) because of the necessary courses needed for the bio degree. I'll apply to LIU pharmacy for the next application cycle which is 2014-2015 with better grades.
If I don't get in (oh god) I'll still be on my way to a Bachelor's, in which then I'll just graduate with a bachelors and apply to NY Touro Pharmacy which requires a bachelors and a GPA of 2.5
since I don't want to be dwindling my fingers, I'll be researching for my professors, work study, and working at a pharmacy as well, so medical school is possibly a choice, but i know that sounds ridiculous, but who knows.

I seem to find a huge interest within the pharmacy profession but with obstacles ahead of me, I really do need an ass kicking.

 

[oldstock]

I agree with everything that you guys have said.

I talked over my plans with my pharmacists within my pharmacy and so far, my conclusion is as follows (tell me what you think):
With all the grades above ^
I plan on taking the necessary classes to complete my Bachelor's for Bio. During that process, I'll be increasing my math and science GPA's (hopefully) because of the necessary courses needed for the bio degree. I'll apply to LIU pharmacy for the next application cycle which is 2014-2015 with better grades.
If I don't get in (oh god) I'll still be on my way to a Bachelor's, in which then I'll just graduate with a bachelors and apply to NY Touro Pharmacy which requires a bachelors and a GPA of 2.5
since I don't want to be dwindling my fingers, I'll be researching for my professors, work study, and working at a pharmacy as well, so medical school is possibly a choice, but i know that sounds ridiculous, but who knows.

I seem to find a huge interest within the pharmacy profession but with obstacles ahead of me, I really do need an ass kicking.

It is not much about what you do, but it is really about how you do it.

My advice to you: knowing your current trend and stats, slow down take it really light and slow and try for good grades first and build momentum then roll from there. As time goes on and you accumulate good grades, you will gain more confidence and tackle the full load very soon. You are trying hard to take everything at once now and seem to overestimate yourself and not giving yourself much room for errors there, which would likely to set you up for failure again. Just slow down for now. Maybe cutting down on working/researching or even stopping working or researching to gain more time and focus on studying and good grades as that should be your #1 priority for now.

The most important thing I think all pharmacy or medical schools care about is that whether or not the candidate could successfully handle the rigors of their program and complete it. Thus they are going to look first at your academic performance. So it is very important that you would need to focus all your energy now to build up your GPA and build an uptrend to show on your application BEFORE worrying about anything else.

To do that you need to figure out why you did poorly in the past. Most likely you are going to have to change your study habits. This is very hard, easy said than done. (I know this from my own experience). Then you still have to come up with a plan/strategy to study efficiently and obtain good grades. If your study habits has not changed and/or your academic abilities has not improved and for some miracle you get accepted to pharmacy school, your chance to fail (again) in pharmacy school would be very high. If you failed and/or kicked out (with all those huge student loan debts), that would be an even worse situation you put yourself in than not getting in pharmacy school.

GL !!

 

[SteveChaoRen]

It is not much about what you do, but it is really about how you do it.

My advice to you: knowing your current trend and stats, slow down take it really light and slow and try for good grades first and build momentum then roll from there. As time goes on and you accumulate good grades, you will gain more confidence and tackle the full load very soon. You are trying hard to take everything at once now and seem to overestimate yourself and not giving yourself much room for errors there, which would likely to set you up for failure again. Just slow down for now. Maybe cutting down on working/researching or even stopping working or researching to gain more time and focus on studying and good grades as that should be your #1 priority for now.

The most important thing I think all pharmacy or medical schools care about is that whether or not the candidate could successfully handle the rigors of their program and complete it. Thus they are going to look first at your academic performance. So it is very important that you would need to focus all your energy now to build up your GPA and build an uptrend to show on your application BEFORE worrying about anything else.

To do that you need to figure out why you did poorly in the past. Most likely you are going to have to change your study habits. This is very hard, easy said than done. (I know this from my own experience). Then you still have to come up with a plan/strategy to study efficiently and obtain good grades. If your study habits has not changed and/or your academic abilities has not improved and for some miracle you get accepted to pharmacy school, your chance to fail (again) in pharmacy school would be very high. If you failed and/or kicked out (with all those huge student loan debts), that would be an even worse situation you put yourself in than not getting in pharmacy school.

GL !!

I agree with you 100%, i think i shall be stopping my working and anything outside not related to coursework for the entirety of the semester. maybe then ill notice a way that works for me and itll start going up.
youve been a great help

 

[oldstock]

I agree with you 100%, i think i shall be stopping my working and anything outside not related to coursework for the entirety of the semester. maybe then ill notice a way that works for me and itll start going up.
youve been a great help

knowing that you have been going wrong and willing to fix, you have already won 1/2 of the battle. I truly wish you luck brother !! GL

 

[ajl87]

I agree with oldstock. I only crammed for exams during high school and undergrad which doesn't work in pharmacy school because of the huge amount of material. So definitely focus on developing good time management and study skills that will help you succeed in pharm school.

good,You must improve your orgo grades to at least B range in order to survive that class.thanks

To clarify: to survive medicinal chemistry that is. If you can get a B in orgo I and II, you should be able to pass med chem.

 

[SteveChaoRen]

HEY GUYS! its me again!
So far my fall semester is over and I would like to post my updated grades!

Organic Chem 1: A
Physiology: B
Microbiology: A-
Statistics: B+
Physiology Lab: A
Philosophy: A-

Thank you for your motivation! I am applying to LIU pharmacy again and my GPA has risen up drastically. I hope for the best!

 

[Pharmgal2017]

Hey guys and gals!

So I would like to share my story with you all. I wanted to find out my chances with your knowledge and expertise. I don't mind harsh language (Maybe it'll even help me) I attend Long Island University as a Pre Pharm student. Many grades are abysmal!

My freshman year 1st semester (GPA 2.7)

Chemistry B
English Composition 3.00 A
History of Civilizatns to 1500 A
Pre-Calculus Mathematics F
BIO 3 4.00 4.00 T
BIO 4 4.00 4.00 T
(AP BIO CREDITS)

2nd Semester (GPA 3.37)
Math Retake B+
Speech A-
Chemistry 2 C+
History A
English A-

Sophomore year 1st semester (GPA 1.9)
Organic Chem D
Eco C
English A
Math 2 C
Physics D

2nd Semester (GPA 3.04)
Anatomy B+
Medical Conditions A
Organic Chem 2 D
English A-
Psychology B+

So these are my grades so far and my current gpa is 2.9 CUMULATIVE
Science 1.82
Math 1.77

PCAT 399 COMP

Going to start FALL 2014
Physiology
RETAKE ORGANIC CHEM 1
Microbio
Stats
Philosophy

I work at CVS Pharmacy as a Pharm Tech, I have good connections with head pharmacists as a good worker and knowledgeable tech.
I also work study within my university for the sixth year compounding professor/pharmacist.

Any other information, I will be glad to provide!

I'm in the same situation as you. So I was wondering did you get accepted. If yes, please tell your updated scores! Thank you!!

 

[SteveChaoRen]

Heyy!

Well my updated scores are as follows:
Organic Chemistry 2: A
Virology: A
Herpetology: A
Ethnobotany: A

My new GPA is 3.37! it has been such a great improvement so far, I am happy with all I did.

However, I did not get accepted.

 

[iamwhatichoosetobecome]

Can I ask how you drastically changed your grades? I am struggling and want to improve my study habits before I take orgo for the first time in the fall. Please help!!!!

 

[nutripharma]

I took Math 30 at LIU and failed it as well. My whole class did, and my professor failed his other section also. I understand your struggle, but I left LIU and i'm glad I did.

 

[SteveChaoRen]

I took Math 30 at LIU and failed it as well. My whole class did, and my professor failed his other section also. I understand your struggle, but I left LIU and i'm glad I did.

I had a professor for Math 30, his name was Knight, although all the bad mouthing, I feel bad, as he has passed away.

 

[iamwhatichoosetobecome]

Hello please help how did you change your study habits to improve your grades so much!!!

 

[nutripharma]

I had a professor for Math 30, his name was Knight, although all the bad mouthing, I feel bad, as he has passed away.

He was my professor! OMG

 

[SteveChaoRen]

Lol well he passed away.

 

[Neodynium]

Hey, i'm also an LIU pre-pharmer (unfortunately). I was wondering if you knew what PCAT scores they expect from you for the pharmacy program? Starting my sophomore year with a 3.27 GPA (Math and science cumulative are both exactly at 3.0). I've heard that they really look into your calculus grades and I'm worried because I received a C+ for it last semester (fortunately pre-cal boosted it to a 3.0 average). Retaking the PCAT in 2 weeks and aiming for a 60+ percentile. Do you know if I have a chance? You can be honest. Thanks.

P.S
A lot of the chem and calculus professors in this school are terrible.
Taking organic chem this semester with Zavitsas. Hoping for the best.

 

[SteveChaoRen]

Hey, i'm also an LIU pre-pharmer (unfortunately). I was wondering if you knew what PCAT scores they expect from you for the pharmacy program? Starting my sophomore year with a 3.27 GPA (Math and science cumulative are both exactly at 3.0). I've heard that they really look into your calculus grades and I'm worried because I received a C+ for it last semester (fortunately pre-cal boosted it to a 3.0 average). Retaking the PCAT in 2 weeks and aiming for a 60+ percentile. Do you know if I have a chance? You can be honest. Thanks.

P.S
A lot of the chem and calculus professors in this school are terrible.
Taking organic chem this semester with Zavitsas. Hoping for the best.

honestly, looking at your grades. if you are certain that you have a 3.0gpa in sciences, math, and cumulative plus the fact that you got a score of at least 380-420 on pcat. I GUARANTEE that you will get in. LIU is becoming more monetary, so if you do have bad grades in one or two classes, they may tell you to retake them in the summer for about 1000$ per credit, they will let you in.

my friend got C's and took orgo 1 and calc over, the dean allowed her in. (she got less than a 380 on pcat)

 

[SteveChaoRen]

Just a little renewal in this post of mine.
I am glad to say that i have improved from my terrible work in freshman and sophomore year. I am now deans listed for junior and senior year and currently work for Memorial Sloan Kettering.
And i have acceptances from UNE, PCOM, MCPHS, ACPHS, and LIU.
Thank you all for your help on my journey to a smarter me.

 

[nutripharma]

Congrats!

 

[GodIsBeautiful]

Just a little renewal in this post of mine.
I am glad to say that i have improved from my terrible work in freshman and sophomore year. I am now deans listed for junior and senior year and currently work for Memorial Sloan Kettering.
And i have acceptances from UNE, PCOM, MCPHS, ACPHS, and LIU.
Thank you all for your help on my journey to a smarter me.

Congratulations! Do you mind posting your stats? I'm applying for the 2019 round, I truly want to get into LIU.

 

[gyngyn]

Congratulations! Do you mind posting your stats? I'm applying for the 2019 round, I truly want to get into LIU.

He hasn't been seen in quite some time...