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Hello StudentDoctorForums,
First time poster here and I wanted some input/ advice from pharmacy students, graduates, or anyone with experience in this sort of thing.
Anyways, some background on my stats/creds: I am 21 years old. I have no degree; my only education after high school is my pharmacy technician course. Still, my highschool courseload included most of the honors and AP classes offered by my high school which included Bio, Chem, Physics, and the social sciences (the farthest I got on my math was Trig/ Pre-Calc), albeit my GPA was only decent at best. As you can see my creds seem very lackluster. My work experience, however, can be considered above average. I am PTCB certified and CA state registered/ licensed pharmacy technician. I did an externship as a pharmacy technician in an outpatient pharmacy in a KP facility for six weeks and I am now currently working in an Inpatient pharmacy at a different Kaiser facility. I am going on six months strong now in this job and have learned numerous new skills such as compounding intravenous medications and even chemotherapy, knowing medical terminology/ abbreviations and brand/generic drug names by heart, and all that other jazz that inpatient technicians are exposed to.
To put it succinctly, I'd like to attend pharmacy school (or their accelerated pre-pharm programs) and hopefully become a full fledged pharmacist by 28. My goals seem unrealistic to both my peers and I, especially with my top choice of schools being (University of the Pacific and UCSF). Nevertheless, this is what I want to do. Not for the paycheck or the prestige; I'd just like my father to have that feeling of pride again.
To illustrate my enthusiasm, I already purchased the PCAT Kaplan study review (thinking of taking it on July; aiming for 85+ composite to make up for my lackluster stats). I have made great connections with the pharmacists at my work so reference letters will be easily acquired. I have been looking into taking CLEP and other similar exams to accelerate my time as an undergraduate. I have been looking at undergraduate schools (both local CCs and the faster and more expensive online universities) to fullfill the prerequisites. I will be having trouble juggling my position at Kaiser due to varying hours (Night/Double shifts) and my low seniority and with the times of that of a traditional school.
Herein is where my dilemma lies and where I need your help SDN:
Are online universities really looked down upon as rumors say?
What are some online schools you guys would recommend? (I have been researching UoPhoenix and Capella and getting both positive and negative criticism)
With only the brief description of my creds (with a heavy reliance on my work creds), do you guys believe I could already apply for the pre-pharm programs even without meeting the high school GPA requirements?
What other things have I overlooked to make my way to acceptance as speedy as possible?
What else should I be doing to make my application more attractive?
With that said, my priority is getting PharmD as soon as possible. I am willing to skip getting a BS, skipping coursework/ pre-reqs with CLEP exams, and increasing courseload. I am willing to 'no-life' it to achieve my goal; refusing to waste anymore of my time and potential.
Thanks in advance for your input. 🙂
First time poster here and I wanted some input/ advice from pharmacy students, graduates, or anyone with experience in this sort of thing.
Anyways, some background on my stats/creds: I am 21 years old. I have no degree; my only education after high school is my pharmacy technician course. Still, my highschool courseload included most of the honors and AP classes offered by my high school which included Bio, Chem, Physics, and the social sciences (the farthest I got on my math was Trig/ Pre-Calc), albeit my GPA was only decent at best. As you can see my creds seem very lackluster. My work experience, however, can be considered above average. I am PTCB certified and CA state registered/ licensed pharmacy technician. I did an externship as a pharmacy technician in an outpatient pharmacy in a KP facility for six weeks and I am now currently working in an Inpatient pharmacy at a different Kaiser facility. I am going on six months strong now in this job and have learned numerous new skills such as compounding intravenous medications and even chemotherapy, knowing medical terminology/ abbreviations and brand/generic drug names by heart, and all that other jazz that inpatient technicians are exposed to.
To put it succinctly, I'd like to attend pharmacy school (or their accelerated pre-pharm programs) and hopefully become a full fledged pharmacist by 28. My goals seem unrealistic to both my peers and I, especially with my top choice of schools being (University of the Pacific and UCSF). Nevertheless, this is what I want to do. Not for the paycheck or the prestige; I'd just like my father to have that feeling of pride again.
To illustrate my enthusiasm, I already purchased the PCAT Kaplan study review (thinking of taking it on July; aiming for 85+ composite to make up for my lackluster stats). I have made great connections with the pharmacists at my work so reference letters will be easily acquired. I have been looking into taking CLEP and other similar exams to accelerate my time as an undergraduate. I have been looking at undergraduate schools (both local CCs and the faster and more expensive online universities) to fullfill the prerequisites. I will be having trouble juggling my position at Kaiser due to varying hours (Night/Double shifts) and my low seniority and with the times of that of a traditional school.
Herein is where my dilemma lies and where I need your help SDN:
Are online universities really looked down upon as rumors say?
What are some online schools you guys would recommend? (I have been researching UoPhoenix and Capella and getting both positive and negative criticism)
With only the brief description of my creds (with a heavy reliance on my work creds), do you guys believe I could already apply for the pre-pharm programs even without meeting the high school GPA requirements?
What other things have I overlooked to make my way to acceptance as speedy as possible?
What else should I be doing to make my application more attractive?
With that said, my priority is getting PharmD as soon as possible. I am willing to skip getting a BS, skipping coursework/ pre-reqs with CLEP exams, and increasing courseload. I am willing to 'no-life' it to achieve my goal; refusing to waste anymore of my time and potential.
Thanks in advance for your input. 🙂