Shoot Me Straight

[YooperPharm]

I'm not sure how many people have already asked this question but i've used the search technique on this forum and I have found no other threads that really helped out.

I've been focusing on Pre-Pharmacy for the past year and a half. Except now i'm having a change in mind set and am interesting is going to medical school. I want to know if you guys think its worth my time to entertain the thought of med school.

I am a Soph., 20 years old, Overall GPA 3.33, Science GPA 3.43, I have worked in a pharmacy for the past year, and this summer I will be working full-time with my current organic professor on research. Also all next year, he has already taken me on board for another project. That was just to give you a little background, hope it wasn't too much.

Anyway, I know there are many people who have done much more reading up on the processes of getting into medical school along with the averages that are accepted so....... I hope someone can help me.

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[braluk]

Your GPA and Science GPA will probably be what may hurt your chances switching over to apply for medical school. Of course, its not by any means terrible to the point where you should forget about medical school- Im just saying that if you do choose to switch over to medicine you're going to need to deal with many readjustments such as 1) getting clinical and volunteer experienced related to medicine (not pharmacy) 2) getting the right LORs from professors 3) raising that GPA up a little bit. Its certainly not hard, you are only a sophomore and you have plenty of time. So if you decide to switch, now would be the time. You have plenty of time to improve your GPA and to work on your MCAT if you do choose this route. Just be damn sure because its a long committment to get to the point where you are applying to medical school.

 

[drsm]

Your GPA and Science GPA will probably be what may hurt your chances switching over to apply for medical school. Of course, its not by any means terrible to the point where you should forget about medical school- Im just saying that if you do choose to switch over to medicine you're going to need to deal with many readjustments such as 1) getting clinical and volunteer experienced related to medicine (not pharmacy) 2) getting the right LORs from professors 3) raising that GPA up a little bit. Its certainly not hard, you are only a sophomore and you have plenty of time. So if you decide to switch, now would be the time. You have plenty of time to improve your GPA and to work on your MCAT if you do choose this route. Just be damn sure because its a long committment to get to the point where you are applying to medical school.

I agree with all of this and wanted to add that gpa trend is also important. If you show consistent improvement in your grades over the next couple years, that is impressive.

 

[YooperPharm]

Thanks for the advise.

 

[PCATtaker]

What made you change your mind about Pre-pharm?

 

[kevster2001]

If you can't raise your GPA significantly you'll have to rely on your MCAT to be pretty good.

Also clinical exp is important, that means patient interaction.

 

[PZMO]

I was pre-pharm until going into my senior year of undergrad. I had even taken the PCAT and completely filled out my app, was ready to submit it and found that I just couldn't hit the button.

I have worked in various pharmacies since high school. When I really looked at why I was having a hard time submitting, I realized what it was- at each of the pharmacies that I worked at, the majority of the pharmacist's "problems" or things he/she had to deal with each day were business-oriented. Not patient-oriented. Many more patients were upset about what they had to pay, how long they had to wait, etc. then needed counseled about their meds. With everything now so computerized, the pharmacist does... well, basically very little.

So I switched. I had to stay an extra year of undergrad, but I've had no problem at all getting into med school and am so happy I switched now. Good luck to you!

P.S. I'm not in any way dismissing pharmacy as an important field or looking down upon anyone who chooses to pursue it. This is just my experience and my feeling about my future.

 

[YooperPharm]

Thanks for sharing your story. I have been having similar thoughts about pharmacy as well. It just seems that the pharmacist doesn't have as much patient interaction as I would like. Its seems to me that its turning into more of a middle-man stage of the doctor saying this and the patient complaining that they wait too long for you to fill it, or yea that it does actually cost money to get healthy!!

I like the chemical part of pharmacy however I'm looking for much more patient interaction. Thats why I'm thinking of switching over..... but not completely sure, but I feel better after I was told that its still early because i'm only a sophomore and i have some time to think about it.

Just wondering PZMO if you took the PCAT. What was your score on the PCAT and how would you compare test difficulty to the MCAT. Just wondering because I just took the January PCAT and I havn't got my scores back yet which is KILLING ME!! You don't have to answer the score question if ya don't want to share. I'm just wondering mostly how the difficulty compared! Thanks