Returning Student Looking for Advice

[smh1181]

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Hi,

I am new to this forum and have been waiting to ask some questions so here it goes. I plan on applying to pharmacy school for the 2010-2011 year. I am going to apologize for my length ahead of time and will try to make this as easy as possible for you to read and answer.

I graduated with my B.S. in Dietetics and Exercise Sciences in 2004 (GPA 3.44) and my M.S. in Clinical Nutrition in 2006 (GPA 3.87). All were from Florida State University. I have never dropped or failed or retaken a course. I've gotten A's and B's in my biology/A&P courses and a's in all my Math and Stats courses. I am a Registered and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist. I have been working as a Physical Education teacher full time for the past 3 years. I also work as an independent contractor part-time for a nutrition staffing agency that places me as a dietitian at such locations, as acute care hospitals, long term care facilities and home health care. I still have to take some pre-requisite courses at a community college and still need to take the PCAT in October. I just had some questions about my situation that I would truly appreciate anyones opinion on.

1. Do you think taking pre-reqs at a Community College will hurt me? I am only taking classes at a CC b/c they offer classes at night that I can take.

2. Would you recommend me getting experience as a pharmacy technician or would volunteer or shadowing experience suffice? I plan on trying to shadow or volunteer during my free time this summer and am even considering working part-time as a pharm tech if I can.

3. I am also a little bit concerned about writing my personal statement. It is hard for me to explain my reasons why I did not go back to pharmacy school sooner and why I am passionate about it now, all in one page. Lots of factors helped me realize why I wanted to go to pharmacy school now. These factors include, Saving money for pharm school, Pharmacy appears to be more stable than my job teaching due to budget cuts and me possibly losing my job, Being a teacher allows me to go back to class at night for pre-reqs, I am getting married soon and my fiance is finishing up graduate school so we had to really discuss pharm school, Realizing that working as a teacher or a dietitian will not allow me to financially provide for my family, I want more of a challenge, I want to be in a rapidly growing healthcare field, There are not many jobs in dietetics other than working in a hospital or doing consulting so I would like to have more opportunities, such as working retail, doing drug compounding, nuclear pharmacy, working for a pharmaceutical manufacturer or working in the hospital. I love the healthcare field and I enjoy learning about the human body and loved learning about medications/pharmacology in school. Also, I have shadowed other professions, such as physical therapists and occupational therapists to see if I would be interested in those areas of healthcare. It is difficult for me to put this into my statement and I don’t know if this is even what I should focus on in my statement. I wrote a personal statement for graduate school before and I focused a lot on why I wanted to get my M.S. in Nutrition and what I would like to do in my career etc. What do you feel should be my main focus for my personal statement?

4. I am a little worried about being in the interview and having to explain my situation and the admissions committee frowning on it. Such as having a Master’s degree in healthcare and not working full-time in the field and why did I wait so long for pharm school or why did I get my M.S. in Clinical Nutrition instead of my PharmD when I was younger etc. Would this come up in my interview and I am not quite sure how I should handle it?

5. Given my situation, would you recommend anything else for me to do to improve my chances of getting into pharmacy school for the 2010-2011 year?


I apologize for giving everyone too much information. But in my experience I have found that it is best to be thorough and detailed. Any help would truly be appreciated. Thank you for your time and help.

 

[themulya]

quick answers to your question

1) No...ish. a 4.0 from a well known 4 year university is going to look better than 4.0 from a CC, but you wont be looked down upon for going to a CC. This topic has been discussed a lot on these so use the search function if you want to read other threads on it.
2) Technician position is better. As a technician you get hands on experience of a retail or hospital setting. As a volunteer or a shadower, there is a limit to what you can do, and you dont really get the all around experience you would as a tech.
3) I would use your most important reasons for going into pharmacy in your personal statement. Not all the reasons have equal importance do they?
4) Well what else can you do besides tell the truth. Don't lie, be honest about why you are choosing pharmacy later in your career. Also there are a lot of older students who apply to pharm school, so dont think that you're the only one making a decision later in your life.
5) Do well in your classes, get some experience, nail the PCAT

 

[mletter]

Here's some general advise; be confident and don't be frivolous with your apologies. 😉

 

[FarscapeGirl]

So I finished in 2003 with a degree in biochem. I started grad school in molecular biology right away. I realized right away that I didn't want to stay in research, but it wasn't until my fourth year that I realized I wanted to do pharmacy school instead. I took a few more pre-reqs that I needed, took the PCAT twice (my math score ended up being a bit low the first time; I didn't realize how much calculus would be on there, and it's been almost ten years since I've had calc!), volunteered in a pharmacy, and joined a pre-pharm club. I applied to UW, the only school I had the pre-reqs for, and I got in.

I was able to explain why I wanted to switch, and I had done enough pharmacy-wise that I believe they knew that I understood what career I was getting myself in to and that I really wanted to go into pharmacy.

I think it helped that I kept in touch with the school, letting them know my situation, and checking that I had all the requirements.

Now, in answer to your questions:
1) I don't think it'll be a problem that you take pre-reqs at a CC, but check with schools you want to apply to. You've shown you can handle a full load at a university and a grad program as well.

2) I think I was fine with just volunteering. But I also had a busy schedule, as I'm trying to finish my PhD. If you have time, I'd try teching, but if it's apparent that all you have time to do is volunteer, I think that's okay.

3) Main focus in your PS: why you want to be a pharmacist. Why you would feel fulfilled doing it. What got you interested. Why you realize that it's a better fit for you than your current career. I wouldn't mention anything financial-wise, though. It's kind of a given!

4) I really think as long as you can explain why you want to switch, this shouldn't be a problem. I did explain during my interview and in my personal statement that the diseases I do research on I'm still interested in and would instead like to switch to caring with people with those diseases instead of researching them. As a nutritionist, you might have a leg up with pharmacy as well. You can say you're still interested in making people healthier, just in a slightly different way. Check with pharmacists, but maybe it'd even be a good thing that you're a nutritionist, too. You can advise people on their diet and their medications!

Also, I think it's an advantage that you've already gone through a grad program. You'll be better prepared in some areas anyway, and it shows you can deal with more difficult course loads.

5) If you know of a pre-pharm club, join it. Talk with as many pharmacists and job-shadow as much as possible. Talk with the admissions people in the schools you're applying to. They can give you a lot of advice on things to do to increase your chances of getting in.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[aboveliquidice]

Ridiculously long post with to many questions...

Welcome to the Pre-pharmacy forum - please utilize the Pre-pharmacy FAQ, as it holds many answers to commonly asked questions.

After reading the FAQ - please utilize the "Search" function - Many more questions that are not addressed in the FAQ have been asked before - and a simple search will bring back all of those threads (conversations on the topic).

If after reading the FAQ and conducting your searches you still do not have your answer, feel free to post a new thread. Please keep the questions to a minimum, as it makes it easier to answer them in a reasonable amount.