Should I apply this year?

[Hogwarts]

I am a pre-pharmacy student that has completed 1 year of prerequisites. I was feeling very rushed last semester so I have been planning on taking three years of prereqs so that I don't have to take more than 6 classes at once. I also wanted to have time to get pharmacy experience. However, I am starting to feel like I might be wasting time. I have a 3.92 science gpa and 3.86 over all, but I have no pharmacy experience, letters of recommendation, or PCAT. I can sign up for the October PCAT and probably get LORs, but does this seem like rushing? Is it wise to wait another year or does it not hurt to apply this year?

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[Passion4Sci]

I am a pre-pharmacy student that has completed 1 year of prerequisites. I was feeling very rushed last semester so I have been planning on taking three years of prereqs so that I don't have to take more than 6 classes at once. I also wanted to have time to get pharmacy experience. However, I am starting to feel like I might be wasting time. I have a 3.92 science gpa and 3.86 over all, but I have no pharmacy experience, letters of recommendation, or PCAT. I can sign up for the October PCAT and probably get LORs, but does this seem like rushing? Is it wise to wait another year or does it not hurt to apply this year?

It can't hurt to apply, as long as you have the money laying around for supplemental(s) and such! But... if I was in your position, and looking at 3 years for pre-requisites, having completed only 1/3, I would wait until next year. Reason being, if you want a decent schedule, it'll be impossible. Imagine if you were accepted to Acme CoP tomorrow... You'd need to cram 2 more years of pre-requisites (it'd help if you were more specific and listed what you need to take vs. what you've taken!) into fall/winter, and spring. MOST CoPs will not allow you to complete courses in the summer before you matriculate so you'll have not much time to do it.

Finally, "wasting time" is a completely irrelevant notion. This is not a race, unless you're 50 years old or something! You're probably young-ish (shoot, I'm almost 30 and don't feel as if I am wasting time) so don't fret. Do it right - YOu have a good GPA so far, but with another ~2 years of pre-requisites left, have you even taken OChem, Calculus, or Physics (Courses that routinely trash GPAs)? Not trying to throw doubt onto you or anything, just trying to give you a fresh PoV, which obviously is what you're going for by posting here. IMO, snagging pharmacy experience and volunteering will enrich your application to such a degree that, in tandem with a stellar GPA, you're a sure-fire bet (as good as can be said for anyone applying to CoPs) next year.

Cheers!