Special Circumstances

[Prepharm0425]

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Here's my situation. I have had a tumultuous academic history. I am 28 years old. I have been in school for 9 years and I have taken approximately 280 units of schoolwork. I started college when I turned 18. I didn't know what I wanted to do until I turned 21 and decided on engineering, but due to various reasons I decided against engineering and saw pharmacy as the thing for me. I managed to get into UCLA and fell under depression for 6 long years. I have a condition known as Social Anxiety and it affected me for 2 years at a community college to the 3 years I spent as an undergrad at UCLA. As a UCLA student I was very excited in the first two quarters managing a 3.3 GPA in really difficult science classes. I was still fighting through depression but I was still proud to be at the school that I was attending and the area I was living in was so beautiful. My third quarter, things went downhill, depression hit hard, I saw a therapist, I dropped one of my classes and I failed Biochem due to not showing up to class after the second week. I never took a single test in that class. I felt alone, I would go home to see my family and friends every weekend. Social Anxiety has affected my life greatly, made it really hard to make friends, talk to girls, and many more things. It prolonged my education for longer than it should have. I should have applied to pharmacy school 4 years ago. Still fighting through depression, the 2nd year rolled in and I took Biochem again, and I was still too depressed to study and not show up to class but managed to get through it and got a C+. But that same quarter I got a B- in Communication Studies. The next quarter my grades were still low and I had to withdraw the following quarter to work on my anxiety. It didn't really work out so well and I decided to switch from chemistry to a political science major for my third year at UCLA so that my GPA doesn't keep dropping. I graduated with a 3.17 GPA at UCLA. My community college GPA is a 3.25. I took a year off of school after that to work on my life with better results. Went back to school to finish prereq's at a community college and got a 4.0 this past year. I took the PCAT and got an 82 composite, finally glad that I am able to study instead of being depressed.

My questions

How do I explain the F in Biochem where I retook the class and still got a C+? It's not that I didn't understand it, just that I didn't study. Should I bring up my 85 in Chem on the PCAT?

Should I mention that I was depressed for 6 years? It was a long time and I am afraid they will think that I will be depressed again. I also don't want to mention Social Anxiety because it looks bad for a pharmacist, but honestly I worked as a clerk at a market for 5 years and have 6-8,000 hours of work experience to help support my family during part time and full time schooling, and I feel I have great customer service through my work experience?

I have taken many humanities and social sciences classes and I am afraid that they want me to explain why I took so many classes (it's a huge list, like 150 units of humanities) should I mention anything regarding my enormous yet unique academic history?

Here are some of my math/science grades if you guys are interested

Precalc A
Calc 1 B
Calc 2 B
Calc 3 A
Stats A
Linear Algebra C
Differential Equations A-
Intro Physics C
Physics 1 B
Physics 2 B
Physics 3 B
Gen Chem 1 B
Lab A
Gen Chem 2 C
Lab C
Ochem 1 A-
Ochem2 A-
Ochem 3 A-
Physical Chem C
Biochem C+
Inorganic Chem C
Anatomy A
Physiology A

Math/science In progress

Microbio
Gen Bio 1 and 2

PCAT

VA 78
RC 51
Math 91
Chem 85
Bio 67


My chem grades are bad and I feel like I have to explain what happened there. I really dont want to take them all again and I have an 85 in Chem on the PCAT which looks good. Anyways how should I put this in perspective in special circumstances app?

I plan on applying to 15-20 schools because the C's I have might be major red flags.

 

[oliviaalta123]

Well since you got a 3.1 from ucla, which is a pretty prestigious school, you will probably get into some pharmacy school.. your pcat scores are decent/pretty good which makes you more competitive. i don't think the school will take their time to look individually at which grades you got in which classes. i think your overall GPA is more important and your test score, your resume, shadowing/volunteer work, and interview etc. if they ask why you got certain lower grades in science classes say that you tried your best and you learned a lot at ucla and your nation wide pcat score reflects that.

 

[Prepharm0425]

Well since you got a 3.1 from ucla, which is a pretty prestigious school, you will probably get into some pharmacy school.. your pcat scores are decent/pretty good which makes you more competitive. i don't think the school will take their time to look individually at which grades you got in which classes. i think your overall GPA is more important and your test score, your resume, shadowing/volunteer work, and interview etc. if they ask why you got certain lower grades in science classes say that you tried your best and you learned a lot at ucla and your nation wide pcat score reflects that.

So your saying don't mention anything regarding my depression and completely disregard and leave the special circumstances section blank. I feel like if i dont mention it they will ask me on the interview why I withdrew one quarter and why I randomly switched to a polysci major.

 

[The Recoverer]

dude, To make you feel better. I have 8 Ds and 4 Fs on my transcript and I'm applying to 8 or 9. 15 is OVERKILL for you. You should stick with maybe 4 to 5 schools tops. You're in good shape

 

[The Recoverer]

A "C" is average. Most people are average.

 

[Rx MPLS]

A "C" is average. Most people are average.

While this is true, most average people don't go to pharmacy school. I have met very few pharmacists or pharmacy students that I would characterize as average.

OP: they'll wonder about your record. Be frank and honest. If you can allay their fears by explaining your situation and mentioning it is now under control, it will probably be to your benefit. Also, a few Cs on a transcript won't kill you, but don't get too many...

 

[Prepharm0425]

dude, To make you feel better. I have 8 Ds and 4 Fs on my transcript and I'm applying to 8 or 9. 15 is OVERKILL for you. You should stick with maybe 4 to 5 schools tops. You're in good shape

Thanks but my concern has less to do with my overall GPA and more to do with whether I should explain anything on my application. Should I mention my depression and why I became a political science major? I just want to know if explaining what happened will end up backfiring on me. I was doing two years of math and science then I randomly switched to just doing political science for a year. Adcom's might find it kinda fishy. I did that because I was too depressed to study and wanted to just get a bachelors in an easy major until I sorted my personal problems out.

 

[Prepharm0425]

While this is true, most average people don't go to pharmacy school. I have met very few pharmacists or pharmacy students that I would characterize as average.

OP: they'll wonder about your record. Be frank and honest. If you can allay their fears by explaining your situation and mentioning it is now under control, it will probably be to your benefit. Also, a few Cs on a transcript won't kill you, but don't get too many...

Thanks, I will do just that. Should I structure my special circumstances section similar to the personal statement. I was thinking of just listing a quick explanation with a number of points, maybe have it done in a couple of hours.