Student Athlete with pharmacy/other work experience

[kansasgal]

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I know schools look at volunteer hours as part of the application process. I was a Division I athlete and worked part time as a RA (resident assistant) for 3 out of 4 years. I majored in Bio and minored in Spanish. My schedule didn't leave much room for volunteer time... do you think lack of volunteer hours will be my down fall?

P.S. I have been working in outpatient pharmacies for a large health system for over a year and shadowed hospital pharmacists quite a bit so I do have pharmacy experience.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[NextStepTutor_4]

Hey @kansasgal, I was a student-athlete too (cross country!), and my travel ~once every week or every other week paled in comparison to the travel schedule of team sports with several games a week. I was always impressed by how my peers in basketball and soccer managed to balance their schedules and still maintain such good grades! Members of the admissions committee who appreciate the seriousness of the time commitment to your sport will no doubt be impressed as well, and I doubt that you would be penalized for that. It sounds like your priorities were learning as much as possible, gaining pharmacy experience, keeping tabs on a dorm-ful of students as an RA, and probably taking names in your athletic competition. 🙂

In other words, if you don't have a million bazillion volunteer hours, I think adcoms will understand why. Your personal statement is one place where you can discuss your commitment to your sport and how that taught you time-management, cooperation with a team, etc., so you can use it as a strength.

One thing I do want to mention, however, is that your experience with pharmacy is so critical - yes, admissions committees care, but more importantly you'll (hopefully) have absolutely zero doubt about whether or not pharmacy is the right career for you, you've likely become aware of some of the challenges (and rewards!) you'll face as a pharmacist, and best of all, a positive experience will help motivate you through pharmacy school. Sounds like you're on the right track!

 

[William Shakespeare]

Well, if your GPA is over 2.8 and you can say the word pharmacy you’ll have a good shot. I know a lot of my classmates got in with zero experience and a sub 3.0 GPA. Don’t worry about getting in. Worry about having a job when you get out.

 

[kansasgal]

Thanks for the reply!! I really appreciate it! And I am very aware of the over saturation problem thanks though!