undergraduate needs some info

[Dr. Steve Brule]

well let me introduce myself..im currently a junior at the University of Georgia majoring in microbiology. im also premed and am planning on taking the mcat in april. im in a kaplan review class as well. now to get to my question..i've been thinking a lot lately that im not sure how much i would enjoy being a doctor..im also worried that my chances at getting into med school are extremely slim due to my low gpa and the few Cs that i have gotten..for a while i've thought that i would enjoy being a pharmacist so im strongly considering going that route..but how do i go about doing that? i mean im so close to graduating i'd like to do that..but where do i go from there? sorry im such a Pharm newbie..any help is greatly appreciated, thanks a lot

Mitch

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[Kovox]

I think you should volunteer and find out about the pharmacy career. Go into pharm because you like the career, not as a backup if you don't get into medical school. If you want to improve your GPA for med, there are post bac programs with linkages to medical school that you can apply too.

Other Pharm stuff:
If you were doing the pre-req for med, you shouldn't have to worry about the pre-req for pharm then.

Most Schools of Pharmacy require the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT). It is recommended that students take the PCAT in October of their sophmore year IF they plan to apply with 63 credits OR October of their senior year IF they plan to apply upon graduation from a degree granting program

 

[dgroulx]

Hi,

I've applied to University of Florida and have an interview on Tuesday. Their average math/science GPA for accepted students is about 3.5 with a PCAT score above the 80th percentile. I think Georgia has the same high standards. If you have some C's, you could try applying to Mercer in Atlanta.

 

[MolarGuy02]

Hey MitchSe,
I have a very close friend who is in a similar and fortunate situation as yourself. My friend was pre-med, he always wanted to go into medicine, but the reality was that it was in no great likelyhood that he would gain admission into medical school. My suggestion to you is that you should pursue your dreams based on your realistic potential. If you feel that you are better suited to be a physician, than do so, apply to schools that are less competitve, or try the carib. If you honestly feel that you could excel better in pharmacy (though it is no cakewalk, as I am sure you know by now), go for this option. Or, you could apply to pharmacy, defer the admission for one year, and in the meanwhile, apply to medical schools. Both are wonderful careers. I wish you the best of luck.
-MolarGuy02

 

[Dr. Steve Brule]

thanks for the info everyone..im almost positive this is what i want to do..but does anyone know what grades they'll look after i've graduated and i apply? i mean will it be my whole gpa or just the gpa of the core classes they require? and will i be given any special consideration since i'll already have a B.S. degree? also does anyone know how the pcat compares/contrasts with the mcat? thanks a lot

 

[dgroulx]

Originally posted by MitchSE-R
thanks for the info everyone..im almost positive this is what i want to do..but does anyone know what grades they'll look after i've graduated and i apply? i mean will it be my whole gpa or just the gpa of the core classes they require?
and will i be given any special consideration since i'll already have a B.S. degree? also does anyone know how the pcat compares/contrasts with the mcat? thanks a lot

It depends on the school. At UF, they only look at Bio I & II, Gen Chem I & II, Organic I & II, Physics I & II, Anatomy I & II and Calculus. If you've taken Microbiology and Biochemistry, they make a note of it. I'll have my BS in Biology this May, but I don't know if it makes any difference or not to any school.

I haven't taken the MCAT, but I believe it's much, much harder than the PCAT. I didn't find the PCAT too challenging of a test. I've heard the MCAT referred to as 7 hours of hell.

 

[ucdbiochem]

i agree with what molarguy said. i decided to apply to pharm school last august, so i went to get a pharm volunteer position and worked almost full time in sept. i got my letter of rec from the pharmacist and went ahead to apply to university of pacific, UCSF, and UCSD. i've been accepted to UOP three weeks ago.
i think i got in because of my gpa, letter of rec, application, and interview. so everything adds up.

i'm studying for mcat now and hope i can take it in april. if everything goes fine, i'll apply to med school this year while being a pharm student. if i get into med next year, i'll go to med!