Rush and apply or take a year off?

[endlesswinter]

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Hey all,

I am currently a senior studying biochem with a concentration in medicinal chem. I was on planning medical school, but after a lot of reading I have realized it may not be for me. Also, in all of my shadowing experience most of the questions I have had for the physicians were about drug structure/MOA 😛

So that led me to look into Phd programs involving drug design and research such as med chem and pharmacology. I am still looking at those, and will likely apply this year, but again I am not sure if that path is 100% for me as I always liked the idea of working with/helping patients directly.

Now I am here. However, because I only recently started researching pharmacy, I have not taken all of the pre-reqs nor have I done any relevant volunteering. I have research experience in biochemistry and neuroscience, and physician shadowing...but no work/volunteering in a pharmacy setting. I have to really look at the details, but I believe I can squeeze in all the pharmacy pre-reqs before I graduate next spring (I need public speaking, microbiology, and econ classes), though it would be a pretty rough semester. My GPA now is decent so I'm not too worried there.

My question...do you all think it would be worth it to rush and apply this year to any schools that don't require PCAT (or accept GRE, because I'm taking that soon)? Or take my time, graduate w/ my degree, then try to work/volunteer a year in a pharmacy setting before applying next fall? I will be 22 when I graduate, so if I got in on my first try to Pharm school I would be 23 when I started. I guess that's not too old but I feel I would be behind from taking a year off, especially with these 2+4 programs and the fact that most pharm schools don't require a bach. degree

 

[Passion4Sci]

Hey there.

If it was me making the decision, I'd apply now, while still planning to do everything you said - That is, planning to shadow/volunteer, etc.

That said, there are arguments for both sides of the equation. On the "apply now" side - What've you really got to lose besides PharmCAS fees / app fees? Maybe you'd get accepted if your GPA and other ECs are good enough, it's impossible to tell.

Then again, you might be rushing on getting things like the letters of recommendation done and in time before a lot of deadlines start cropping up, and w/o the PCAT you'll be limiting yourself geographically to a lot of schools.

I think you're on the right track, and if you've got some spare cash and don't mind the ego trash if you don't get accepted/interviewed yet, throw some apps in.

Or just take the slow route and go about it linearly - You're definitely young enough to do it!

 

[endlesswinter]

Hey there.

If it was me making the decision, I'd apply now, while still planning to do everything you said - That is, planning to shadow/volunteer, etc.

That said, there are arguments for both sides of the equation. On the "apply now" side - What've you really got to lose besides PharmCAS fees / app fees? Maybe you'd get accepted if your GPA and other ECs are good enough, it's impossible to tell.

Then again, you might be rushing on getting things like the letters of recommendation done and in time before a lot of deadlines start cropping up, and w/o the PCAT you'll be limiting yourself geographically to a lot of schools.

I think you're on the right track, and if you've got some spare cash and don't mind the ego trash if you don't get accepted/interviewed yet, throw some apps in.

Or just take the slow route and go about it linearly - You're definitely young enough to do it!

Cool, thanks for the response! It's looking like most of the schools I was interested in anyway do not require PCAT, though the ones in my state do so that's a bummer.

I will continue to do my research, but knowing it wouldn't be completely ridiculous to apply now is a relief (though I understand my chances of acceptance aren't great). Would the ego/wallet hit really be the only downside here? Say if I didn't get in, would the fact that I already applied hurt my chances the next time around?

I currently work in research at a hospital, so I may be able to get in volunteering at the pharmacy there. Even if it's only for a month or so before I apply at least it would be something in that area.

 

[phathead]

For many schools the earlier you get your app in the better chance you have as well.

I would say wait to apply and here is why. You've already changed your mind from being a doctor and you're unsure if you wanna do a PhD program, but you don't have any relevant pharmacy experience.

Because of that I would suggest you try and get some experience right now in either a retail or clinical setting. You don't want to make a blind application into a field you really haven't experienced. I've known too many people who wanted to go into pharmacy for the reasons you just listed, only to change their mind once they got a taste of it because they realized it was not what they expected. This happened with people who read up on pharmacy as well.

Judging from what you said, you would probably enjoy the PhD side of things, but, as I just stated, I would try it out before I sent out applications.

 

[endlesswinter]

For many schools the earlier you get your app in the better chance you have as well.

I would say wait to apply and here is why. You've already changed your mind from being a doctor and you're unsure if you wanna do a PhD program, but you don't have any relevant pharmacy experience.

Because of that I would suggest you try and get some experience right now in either a retail or clinical setting. You don't want to make a blind application into a field you really haven't experienced. I've known too many people who wanted to go into pharmacy for the reasons you just listed, only to change their mind once they got a taste of it because they realized it was not what they expected. This happened with people who read up on pharmacy as well.

Judging from what you said, you would probably enjoy the PhD side of things, but, as I just stated, I would try it out before I sent out applications.

Cool, I appreciate the input and definitely see what you mean about getting some experience and seeing if it really is for me. I plan to talk to the pharmacy department at the hospital tomorrow and learn about volunteering/shadowing opportunities.

I am tending to rush into things lately...I'm starting to feel like I'm getting too old to still be exploring things 😳 lol

 

[tahi193]

.

 

[endlesswinter]

You definitely wouldn't be too old if you took a year off. The average age for a lot of pharmacy schools is in the mid-20s. People do still get in after 2 years of undergrad but its becoming less common.

Yea I've read a lot that a BS or BA before PharmD is becoming more common, thanks for the response.

I've gotten in touch with the inpatient pharmacy at the hospital I work at and will hopefully be doing some shadowing in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I don't think I'll have enough time to get an LOR from any pharmacist I shadow.

I really only have two people I would even feel confident about asking for an LOR at this point, and with the PharmCAS due Nov 2nd for the schools I'm looking at I will be cutting things wayyy close if I decide to go for it

 

[delano2000]

Any volunteering is good enough. I don't think they will be too hard on you. Definitely try to at least shadow a pharmacist to make sure that is what you want to do so you don't set yourself back in the future.