what do I do about my major?

[kayla994]

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I need some advice. I am finishing up my fourth year of college. My GPA after this semester is around a 2.7 with 130 hours.
I am serious about pursuing pharmacy school, however, I struggle with academics. I have had to work one job—sometimes two—to pay bills and I have also dealt with a lot of other problems. I know my weakness is letting other events affect my schoolwork; my emotions seem to always get in the way.
I have been a tech for more than 2 years, I have extensive volunteer work (food bank, tutor to children, church nursery volunteer, etc), I will have a Bachelor’s degree next year.
My problem is that I took organic I multiple times before getting a C. I still have to retake organic II and physics. I have had a lot of trouble with these classes. Most of my math and science grades are C’s. I got B’s in gen chem 1 &2, C’s in gen bio I & 2 (as well as some upper level bio), C in Cal I. I have gotten A's in the other prereqs--sociology, psych, poli sci, English, history, etc.

At this point I realize that next year after I graduate I will not be accepted to pharmacy school. I haven’t taken the PCAT but I have done practice ones and scored well. I know that won't make up for my GPA though.

SO….here is my dilemma:
If I stick with a biology degree, I will have to take Cal II, physics 1 & 2, biochem, etc.
OR I can switch to kinesiology and still finish next year with a lighter courseload. Then after graduation I can take time off and go back and take physics and organic 2.

What should I do? At this point I know I either need to pull it together and somehow motivate myself to get this degree, or find something else for right now.
I KNOW I want to do pharmacy. I just don’t know how to get there. I am very burnt out and I am not sure where to go from here.
Every semester I start out with good intentions but end up the same way.

Thanks for your suggestions. I know a lot of people will say "well she doesn't belong in pharmacy school", etc. If you feel that way then please suggest another route for me. I would like to work in healthcare, but I don't want to be a nurse (I can't give people shots.) I want pharmacy, but I know it looks slim at this point.

 

[jasonbourne]

I need some advice. I am finishing up my fourth year of college. My GPA after this semester is around a 2.7 with 130 hours.
I am serious about pursuing pharmacy school, however, I struggle with academics. I have had to work one job—sometimes two—to pay bills and I have also dealt with a lot of other problems. I know my weakness is letting other events affect my schoolwork; my emotions seem to always get in the way.
I have been a tech for more than 2 years, I have extensive volunteer work (food bank, tutor to children, church nursery volunteer, etc), I will have a Bachelor’s degree next year.
My problem is that I took organic I multiple times before getting a C. I still have to retake organic II and physics. I have had a lot of trouble with these classes. Most of my math and science grades are C’s. I got B’s in gen chem 1 &2, C’s in gen bio I & 2 (as well as some upper level bio), C in Cal I. I have gotten A's in the other prereqs--sociology, psych, poli sci, English, history, etc.

At this point I realize that next year after I graduate I will not be accepted to pharmacy school. I haven’t taken the PCAT but I have done practice ones and scored well. I know that won't make up for my GPA though.

SO….here is my dilemma:
If I stick with a biology degree, I will have to take Cal II, physics 1 & 2, biochem, etc.
OR I can switch to kinesiology and still finish next year with a lighter courseload. Then after graduation I can take time off and go back and take physics and organic 2.

What should I do? At this point I know I either need to pull it together and somehow motivate myself to get this degree, or find something else for right now.
I KNOW I want to do pharmacy. I just don’t know how to get there. I am very burnt out and I am not sure where to go from here.
Every semester I start out with good intentions but end up the same way.

Thanks for your suggestions. I know a lot of people will say "well she doesn't belong in pharmacy school", etc. If you feel that way then please suggest another route for me. I would like to work in healthcare, but I don't want to be a nurse (I can't give people shots.) I want pharmacy, but I know it looks slim at this point.

Never lose hope. There are people who have gotten in with your GPA. However, work as hard as you can to make A's on the rest of your classes. Go back and retake some prereqs and make sure you ace them all. Your extracurriculars are excellent but adding more doesnt hurt. Do some more volunteer service. Try hard to bring your GPA to at least 3.0. This means you really need to retake some prerequisites. Also, study hard for the pcat and make at least an 85% to make you competitive. Try to make above 90% in the science sections. Finally, write an excellent personal statement.
apply to schools that have lower requirements.
Go to church and pray hard to GOD.

Dont let anyone discourage you from doing what you like. This is America, land of opportunity, and you can be whatever you want if you work hard. Its never too late.

 

[WEsternU2013]

I need some advice. I am finishing up my fourth year of college. My GPA after this semester is around a 2.7 with 130 hours.
I am serious about pursuing pharmacy school, however, I struggle with academics. I have had to work one job—sometimes two—to pay bills and I have also dealt with a lot of other problems. I know my weakness is letting other events affect my schoolwork; my emotions seem to always get in the way.
I have been a tech for more than 2 years, I have extensive volunteer work (food bank, tutor to children, church nursery volunteer, etc), I will have a Bachelor's degree next year.
My problem is that I took organic I multiple times before getting a C. I still have to retake organic II and physics. I have had a lot of trouble with these classes. Most of my math and science grades are C's. I got B's in gen chem 1 &2, C's in gen bio I & 2 (as well as some upper level bio), C in Cal I. I have gotten A's in the other prereqs--sociology, psych, poli sci, English, history, etc.

At this point I realize that next year after I graduate I will not be accepted to pharmacy school. I haven't taken the PCAT but I have done practice ones and scored well. I know that won't make up for my GPA though.

SO….here is my dilemma:
If I stick with a biology degree, I will have to take Cal II, physics 1 & 2, biochem, etc.
OR I can switch to kinesiology and still finish next year with a lighter courseload. Then after graduation I can take time off and go back and take physics and organic 2.

What should I do? At this point I know I either need to pull it together and somehow motivate myself to get this degree, or find something else for right now.
I KNOW I want to do pharmacy. I just don't know how to get there. I am very burnt out and I am not sure where to go from here.
Every semester I start out with good intentions but end up the same way.

Thanks for your suggestions. I know a lot of people will say "well she doesn't belong in pharmacy school", etc. If you feel that way then please suggest another route for me. I would like to work in healthcare, but I don't want to be a nurse (I can't give people shots.) I want pharmacy, but I know it looks slim at this point.

Don't worry, I had exactly a 2.7 Cumulative GPA when I graduated with my degree in biology. My PharmCAS was also a 2.7. I've improved it to over a 3.0 after retaking like 40+ semester units. I was accepted to 4 out of the 10 schools I applied to this year and receiving interviews to 8 of them (declined 4 interviews).

I guess since you're going to have to retake your pre-req courses over again, I would take the easiest way out to improve my GPA. But if you graduate with a Biology degree and if things don't work out with professional school then at least you can use your biology degree getting a science job.

Nursing is pretty competitive also btw. (SoCal)

 

[Pharmacyy]

Nursing is an option you should look at, but it is also becoming competitive, Physical Therapy is also a good field

 

[PharmPrincess]

well, in applying u just gotta make sure ur application stands out among the other applicants, (usually that's grades and PCAT score), so if u think u can show them something else, hopefully the adcoms will see that