Reapply next year- some questions.

[smallkitty00]

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Hi everyone,

I am planning to reapply for Fall 2008. I will get married soon so I would love to be able to stay in CA, if possible. Any comment or advise here is very appreciated.

This year I applied to all CA except UCSD and got rejected from all of them. Actually, I haven' t heard from WesternU and LLU yet but it's pretty late for a hope now. I interviewed with USC in Nov and just got my rejection letter last week or so.

Here is my stats -

Culmulative GPA - 3.2, hopefully higher when I retake Gen Bio this summer.
Science GPA - 2.9
Prereqs GPA - 3.4
BS in Biochemistry, June 2007
Will have all my prereqs done by Summer 2007
Certified and licensed Pharm Tech in CA in August 2006
Working at Walgreens since Jan 2007
Volunteer in a VA hospital in Pharm Deparment for like 1 year and other leadership thing.

- Should I take the PCAT even if CA schools do not require? I gonna apply early, by August or so, should I take the one in June? English is not my primary language so I'm kind of worried...
- Should I apply to other out-of-state schools? I'm thinking of Nevada 'cause it's close to CA.
- I'm planning on working as a Pharm Tech and retake Gen Bio series. Is that good enough? What else can I do to make myself a better applicant?

Thanks for any input...

 

[Dr.Biassi]

I think you need to take some higher science class to raise your total science GPA. I'm from the east coast coming to school in Cali. Accepted to LLU. I can tell you that they look at my whole transcript and when I went to the interview, my interviwer was talking about the consistency on my transcripts. That is is pretty good. I didn't take the PCAT but if you get rejected at all cali school I think you need to take the PCAT and apply to some others school outside cali. california school are really difficult to get into because of the competition. My GPA (general was a lilttle bit higher than yours 3.4 but i had the same science GPA and the prerequisites GPA was slightly higher.
You have pretty good experiences but I think the problem is with your GPAs
If you ace the PCAt that will give you some good shouts at out of state school.
LLU is still interviewing.

 

[smallkitty00]

Thanks for your input. I will be taking 2 BCH and one BIOL courses in Spring. Then, I'll retake Gen Bio series. I'll be graduating. U think I should take other science class in a JC/

 

[KUMoose]

I would approach USC, or other schools you are interested in, and see what you can do to strengthen your application. I know that I impressed the Dean of Students and Associate Dean when I asked for a meeting as I was flying out to baldimore.

If you are committed to staying in California, then likely you will need to get all your grades up. So buckle down and do what you can. 😀

 

[Farmercyst]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to reapply for Fall 2008. I will get married soon so I would love to be able to stay in CA, if possible. Any comment or advise here is very appreciated.

This year I applied to all CA except UCSD and got rejected from all of them. Actually, I haven' t heard from WesternU and LLU yet but it's pretty late for a hope now. I interviewed with USC in Nov and just got my rejection letter last week or so.

Here is my stats -

Culmulative GPA - 3.2, hopefully higher when I retake Gen Bio this summer.
Science GPA - 2.9
Prereqs GPA - 3.4
BS in Biochemistry, June 2007
Will have all my prereqs done by Summer 2007
Certified and licensed Pharm Tech in CA in August 2006
Working at Walgreens since Jan 2007
Volunteer in a VA hospital in Pharm Deparment for like 1 year and other leadership thing.

- Should I take the PCAT even if CA schools do not require? I gonna apply early, by August or so, should I take the one in June? English is not my primary language so I'm kind of worried...
- Should I apply to other out-of-state schools? I'm thinking of Nevada 'cause it's close to CA.
- I'm planning on working as a Pharm Tech and retake Gen Bio series. Is that good enough? What else can I do to make myself a better applicant?

Thanks for any input...

I know USC specifically says if you submit a PCAT they will consider it. That will definitely strengthen you application. In addition to retaking classes, you might also review your PS and re-evaluate who you had do your LORs. If you can think of someone who could give a better recommendation make sure you ask them. You may also look into other classes that would strengthen your application. For me I took Pharmacology at a CC and Medicinal Chemistry. Since I have no pharmacy experience I use that to show I at least have a knack for the courses of study involved. I haven't been accepted anywhere yet. I should find out something from Western and Oregon State next week. USC in ~3 weeks. If I get bad news I'll be following my own advice.

 

[lubbable]

I think you need to take some higher science class to raise your total science GPA. I'm from the east coast coming to school in Cali. Accepted to LLU. I can tell you that they look at my whole transcript and when I went to the interview, my interviwer was talking about the consistency on my transcripts. That is is pretty good.

You have pretty good experiences but I think the problem is with your GPAs
If you ace the PCAt that will give you some good shouts at out of state school.
LLU is still interviewing.

Dr. Biassi, may I ask, when you mentioned they looked at your whole transcript during the interview and talked about the consistency, do you mean both in the workload (number of units) and the level of difficulty of the courses? In the case that we may have inconsistencies, where we had "w"s etc, would they then ask you right then and there to explain it (which I haven't heard of about interviews)? Or actually, would they have been selective in interviewing only students with consistant, nearly flawless transcripts? Also, since pharmacy schools provide an area on their applications where we could relate to these deficiencies, do you think that schools would be forgiving in this respect?

Thanks, and I myself am interested in learning more about the OP's topic. 🙂

 

[redrose0786]

Hi, I am a reapplicant this year. Last year I applied to UCSF, USC, UOP and Loma Linda. I had interview at UCSF and USC. Got rejected from UCSF and got waitlisted at USC. This year I applied to all the schools in CA except UCSD. I interviewed at UCSF, Western, and USC and still have another interview at Touro coming up. My GPA is pretty much the same as yours except I have a 3.0 Science GPA. My point is, Its not all about the GPA. You will graduate this year and will have your bacholars degree. Western and USC give you extra points just for having that degree. you are already a pharm tech so the schools know that you have knowledge of the field. You have a lot of experience so they know that you are committed. Re-taking classes at a JC will show that you have taken steps to improve your application and it would also improve your GPA. I wouldn't worry about taking the PCAT. Call them and find out why you were rejected this year, make sure that you write a killer personal statement and get really good LORs.
Good Luck!

 

[sdn1977]

Many people pointed out on here the tremendous competition in CA. This state has hugely inflated gpas - partially due to high school AP classes & partially just because of the number of qualified applicants. (UCs consider AP classes as a "C" for graduate programs, so don't rely on those for pre-reqs - use those for breadth requirements).

As Dr.Biassi mentioned - consistency is the key here with grades. If you keep retaking a course, percentages indicate you will do better each time. The idea is, you should not consistently be retaking classes. You should be able to handle a full academic courseload & consistently do well - the first time. You should also try to take the most difficult science courses that are offered (most schools offer chemistry for science majors & one for nonscience majors - take the one for science majors). They can't afford to have you not do well & at least at the UC's - once you're in - they do everything they can to keep you there. Your competition is with yourself.

As for the ps - that is another big, big place you want to work on. We have so many, many qualified applicants that you need to have a great ps. Think about what YOU have to offer the profession, the school, the community as a pharmacist. Don't focus on what the school can do for you - they want to know what you'll give back. What makes you so special that they want you to be their representative for the whole life of your career?

We are a tremendously diverse state - think about that & what you can offer in the way of providing pharmaceutical care to the different areas of our communities. Try to get this across in your ps & in your interview.

Good luck!

 

[smallkitty00]

Thank you.