So far, how does this look?

[Bully Worm]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

1st semester. Freshman.
-Chem1 -A
-Chem1 lab - A
-Bio1 - A
-Bio1 lab - B 😡 (Yes, I am furious)

My TA was an Indian guy whose english is very, and I mean very, poor. I emailed the lab coordinator to request a change of TA but that wasn't going to happen. Basically me and the rest of the class was stuck with this guy.

If your wondering why I'm taking only that many classes, I have already gotten my history, english, calculus, and a few other courses out the way so therefore overloading my freshmen year wasn't necessary.

But yeah, how does this look so far? Am I on the right track? Should I consider re-taking biolab1 for an A later on down the road?

 

[AngelaCL]

Should I consider re-taking biolab1 for an A later on down the road?

Absolutely not. It's probably 1 credit hour, and it's a B which is still good. It's going to have minimal impact on your GPA. I was told that too many retakes look pretty bad (some schools only let you have a couple retakes) and that's a waste of money and time to retake a 1 credit hour B. I got 4 credit hours of Bs in undergrad and ended up with a 3.97... There is no school in the nation that would accept you with a 4.0 but not with a 3.95.

Take the time you would have spent retaking the class and volunteer or get some kind of leadership experience. It's a much better use of your time.

 

[LoKoTe]

Science labs are always hard, specially because the amount of work is crazy for ONLy 1 credit, so if you got an A in the class, even a B- or a C should be fine, at least that's my opinion.

 

[Bully Worm]

Absolutely not. It's probably 1 credit hour, and it's a B which is still good. It's going to have minimal impact on your GPA. I was told that too many retakes look pretty bad (some schools only let you have a couple retakes) and that's a waste of money and time to retake a 1 credit hour B. I got 4 credit hours of Bs in undergrad and ended up with a 3.97... There is no school in the nation that would accept you with a 4.0 but not with a 3.95.

Take the time you would have spent retaking the class and volunteer or get some kind of leadership experience. It's a much better use of your time.

🙂 Thanks for the tip Angela.

 

[sterling40]

Would a C- in chem. lecture I be worth retaking?

 

[Bully Worm]

Would a C- in chem. lecture I be worth retaking?

Personally, I couldn't live with myself if I got a C- in chem1. I'd be livid.

 

[rXcmoney]

You need a C or better in all prepharm classes...So, yes, retake it.

 

[JWells488]

This can't be serious

 

[Pharmpills]

This can't be serious

i was thinkin the same thing. the person who wrote this thread seems to want high grades which is great but that person should not post there grades here until they get a pcat score or are finished with 2 years bc i made Almost all A's my first year but things change when u encounter organic and other classes i guess.

 

[Bully Worm]

Yes, from the majority of horror stories I heard about OrganicI/III and how only two people can get an A in organic lab, I'm already sweating from my palms thinking about it. Very concerned indeed.

I took the practice pcat held by Kaplan in October and scored the average score of Pcat test takers. Still, this isn't anything to get happy about. 🙁

Pharmpills, when you say "other classes", which "others" are you speaking of if I may ask?

 

[andrewattheU]

Yes, from the majority of horror stories I heard about OrganicI/III and how only two people can get an A in organic lab, I'm already sweating from my palms thinking about it. Very concerned indeed.

I took the practice pcat held by Kaplan in October and scored the average score of Pcat test takers. Still, this isn't anything to get happy about. 🙁

Pharmpills, when you say "other classes", which "others" are you speaking of if I may ask?

don't worry too much about ochem I got Bs and B- in ochem and got accepted to pharm school

 

[Bully Worm]

don't worry too much about ochem I got Bs and B- in ochem and got accepted to pharm school

Thats good to hear. 🙂 Congrats!

 

[Pharmpills]

Yes, from the majority of horror stories I heard about OrganicI/III and how only two people can get an A in organic lab, I'm already sweating from my palms thinking about it. Very concerned indeed.

I took the practice pcat held by Kaplan in October and scored the average score of Pcat test takers. Still, this isn't anything to get happy about. 🙁

Pharmpills, when you say "other classes", which "others" are you speaking of if I may ask?

depends like some schools want physics and calculus which can be a pain but i made it and even did calculus 2 and did good. some1 may say why did i take cal 2 but then again i did get a 95 pcat math so do the math. i made an A in orgo 2 lab but not in orgo 1 or 2. i got a few interview for pharm school but im still waiting for my home state school. anyways dude dont worry so much early in the game just stay above 3.4.

 

[fenixtnlfan]

Organic isn't that bad, you just have to put the time into it. The majority of people who didn't get good grades or say it's a horrible class studied the night before the test. I was terrified going into that class too, and it ended up being one of my favorite classes of my four years.

Definitely don't stress about a few Bs here and there, even a few Cs won't kill you. Obviously, try not to get these grades but it happens. I would stress taking a full load of classes though. One of the qualities adcoms look for is being able to handle academic rigor. Good job so far! Keep it up!

 

[omnione]

I'm glad that you hold yourself to such high standards that you consider a B to be bad but let's inject some reality into your situation. Your GPA from those classes are probably at the average accepted GPA if not higher. Not even Cs kill unless you make Cs your habit and As a scarcity.

 

[jojo7]

i agree...when i read this post i couldnt help but laugh. if those grades are what you're worried about..then you would have a heart attack if you had my grades throughout undergrad. i wouldn't stress too much about a few B's and start crying when the C's pop up.

 

[PharmDY]

1st semester. Freshman.
-Chem1 -A
-Chem1 lab - A
-Bio1 - A
-Bio1 lab - B 😡 (Yes, I am furious)

My TA was an Indian guy whose english is very, and I mean very, poor. I emailed the lab coordinator to request a change of TA but that wasn't going to happen. Basically me and the rest of the class was stuck with this guy.

If your wondering why I'm taking only that many classes, I have already gotten my history, english, calculus, and a few other courses out the way so therefore overloading my freshmen year wasn't necessary.

But yeah, how does this look so far? Am I on the right track? Should I consider re-taking biolab1 for an A later on down the road?

regardless of how many classes you've "gotten out of the way", taking 2 classes isn't going to make u look competitive at all. i know you're a freshman, but there are still classes you could've taken during ur first quarter. for example, your GE classes--speech, gen psych, or even an elective. getting straight A's by taking 2 classes at a time doesnt mean anything, unless of course you're working full time. one question pharmacy schools always have for applicants who take small loads each quarter during interviews is "how do we know that you can handle the 20+ units per quarter in pharmacy school?"

i encourage you to take more classes next quarter if you're not working full time. at least 16-18 quarter units, or 12 semester units.

good luck!

 

[UES Girl]

1st semester. Freshman.
-Chem1 -A
-Chem1 lab - A
-Bio1 - A
-Bio1 lab - B 😡 (Yes, I am furious)

My thoughts - looks really good so far -congrats- just make sure you keep it up. Most people do good in those easy classes sophomore/freshmen classes like physics , calculus, gen chem but it's around the third year when most people's GPA starts sliding down.

 

[Bully Worm]

Thanks for all the advice. I plan on applying for Fall 09 after my sophomore year.

So far, this is the path I am currently on, tell me what you guys think:

Summer 07- I have already gotten both Histories out of the way (1377/1378) along with my psychology course.

Fall07 - Chem1&lab, bio1&lab.
X-mas minimester(currently taking it right now) - my art credit course

Spring 08- chem2&lab, bio2&lab, and a writing intensive course online.

Summer 08 - Physics, Statistics, and political science1 at a community college.

Fall 08 - Organic1&lab, physics lab, Anatomy and phys.

Spring 09 - Organic2&lab, Microbiology1&lab

Summer 09 - Polysci 2(might take during Spring 09), Fundamentals of speaking, Humanities course.

(calculus and english are already taken care of)

And yes, I plan on working throughout the course of these 2 years. I'm currently volunteering at a local hospital as of now.

One of the qualities adcoms look for is being able to handle academic rigor.

I spoke to my academic advisor about this and she says that even though I'm only taking 9-12 credit hour courses each semester, they will take into account that I'm also working/volunteering and taking minimester sessions. So she told me not to worry about that and just focus on achieving the highest grades possible. I'm not sure if I should listen to her😕.

 

[triumphbr]

I wouldn't waste time either. Look on the bright side, now you don't have to stress over keeping a 4.0. 😉

 

[phuang06]

Thanks for all the advice. I plan on applying for Fall 09 after my sophomore year.

So far, this is the path I am currently on, tell me what you guys think:

Summer 07- I have already gotten both Histories out of the way (1377/1378) along with my psychology course.

Fall07 - Chem1&lab, bio1&lab.
X-mas minimester(currently taking it right now) - my art credit course

Spring 08- chem2&lab, bio2&lab, and a writing intensive course online.

Summer 08 - Physics, Statistics, and political science1 at a community college.

Fall 08 - Organic1&lab, physics lab, Anatomy and phys.

Spring 09 - Organic2&lab, Microbiology1&lab

Summer 09 - Polysci 2(might take during Spring 09), Fundamentals of speaking, Humanities course.

(calculus and english are already taken care of)

And yes, I plan on working throughout the course of these 2 years. I'm currently volunteering at a local hospital as of now.



I spoke to my academic advisor about this and she says that even though I'm only taking 9-12 credit hour courses each semester, they will take into account that I'm also working/volunteering and taking minimester sessions. So she told me not to worry about that and just focus on achieving the highest grades possible. I'm not sure if I should listen to her😕.

are you even a full time student with that amount of classes each semester?

 

[Bully Worm]

are you even a full time student with that amount of classes each semester?

What do you think?


So what some of you guys are saying is that its better to cram in all your classes, 12+ credit hours, in each semester and just relax/work for the summer?

 

[phuang06]

not necessarily 'cram.'

At least be a full time student (for me that's 12 credits) and if you can work along with that, then that's great. it'll show that you have the time management skills and the dedication to be able to go beyond and excel at taking on multiple tasks especially if you do well in classes too. If you can't manage to do well in your classes by taking a full (semi-full) load, then you might as well drop down the number of credits to the amount that you would be able to handle. It basically all boils down to whether or not you can handle a full course load and work (or undergrad research or volunteering).

 

[omnione]

What do you think?


So what some of you guys are saying is that its better to cram in all your classes, 12+ credit hours, in each semester and just relax/work for the summer?

That is the generic pathway for most traditional students. Cramming occurs when one takes 17+ hours in one semester.

I suppose the idea everyone here may be alluding to is that pharmacy schools like to see that you could handle a 17+ credit hour load as that is what you'd encounter in pharmacy school. Of course, taking only 12 credit hours doesn't kill one's application; I've done it because of my laboratory position.

 

[pakbabydoll]

One of the pharmacist I work with said that pharmacy students take average of 18 credits in pharmacy school. So she recommended I take 16-18 credits every semester to prepare myself for professional school. So OP you should def take more credits.

 

[Bully Worm]

But thats the thing, I really dont need to though. Its pretty much in balance right now with how I have it set up. But I see where you guys are coming from. 18+hour in graduate school, take a good amount during undergraduate to prepare.

So basically, take my summer classes and incorporate them into my Fall/Spring semester classes. I guess...









...but it so cheap to take the electives at a community college though

 

[AngelaCL]

I found it really difficult to just take one class plus lab this summer - I had to be in class 9-5 3 days a week and I had tons and tons of homework. Everything moved very quickly and if I missed a concept it was tough to catch up. If I were you, I'd limit my summer classes and take more intensive fall and spring semesters. And 12 credit hours in a normal semester is not "cramming" - it is probably less than what the majority of applicants are doing. When I got my undergraduate degree, 15 hours was my lightest semester - I would take up to 19 hours. Granted, I wasn't working, but I definitely could have when I was taking only 15 hours.

 

[Bully Worm]

I found it really difficult to just take one class plus lab this summer - I had to be in class 9-5 3 days a week and I had tons and tons of homework. Everything moved very quickly and if I missed a concept it was tough to catch up. If I were you, I'd limit my summer classes and take more intensive fall and spring semesters. And 12 credit hours in a normal semester is not "cramming" - it is probably less than what the majority of applicants are doing. When I got my undergraduate degree, 15 hours was my lightest semester - I would take up to 19 hours. Granted, I wasn't working, but I definitely could have when I was taking only 15 hours.

Did you live on campus? Reason I ask this is because it takes me roughly an hour to drive up to campus, and another hour home. The traffic is really bad and sometimes, it takes up to 1.5 hours. And of course, it gets tiring and very tedious sitting in traffic and once you get home, your basically dead tired.

 

[AngelaCL]

Did you live on campus? Reason I ask this is because it takes me roughly an hour to drive up to campus, and another hour home. The traffic is really bad and sometimes, it takes up to 1.5 hours. And of course, it gets tiring and very tedious sitting in traffic and once you get home, your basically dead tired.

I never was an hour away from campus - the most was this summer when it was a 45 minute drive to campus, but usually it was a 10 minute drive then a 20 minute walk. Is it possible for you to schedule your classes so that you are taking 12 credit hours, but only have to drive to campus 3 days a week? Because honestly I think taking 3 classes over the summer and driving that much is going to be way more exhausting than taking 4 classes over a long semester. Then again, I guess it depends how your school does summer classes- cramming 3 classes into a 4 week semester would be a nightmare, but maybe you can take 1 4 week class in a Maymester and then take 2 classes in a June-July 8 week session or something?

 

[Bully Worm]

I never was an hour away from campus - the most was this summer when it was a 45 minute drive to campus, but usually it was a 10 minute drive then a 20 minute walk. Is it possible for you to schedule your classes so that you are taking 12 credit hours, but only have to drive to campus 3 days a week? Because honestly I think taking 3 classes over the summer and driving that much is going to be way more exhausting than taking 4 classes over a long semester. Then again, I guess it depends how your school does summer classes- cramming 3 classes into a 4 week semester would be a nightmare, but maybe you can take 1 4 week class in a Maymester and then take 2 classes in a June-July 8 week session or something?

Yeah theres no way to put in 12+credit hours into 3 days. Its gotta be 5 days for 12+. Next semester, I'm taking 11credits and I'm basically going to school 4 days a week already. Thats 8 useless hours stuck in traffic. 🙁

The summer classes that I plan on taking at a community college, the college is about 8 minutes behind my house. The courses should be easy since a few of my friends have already taken them during hte summer. Plus, I took 3 classes last summer and had no problem getting A's. But I might take into consideration taking that one 4 week semester your talking about.