What good 0-6 or 2+4 Pharmacy Schools should I truly consider on the NE Coast?

[PharmNYY]

Well I will be a senior this upcoming year with an anticipated graduation date of June 2009. I go to a school where my class (grade size) is only 50 kids and it is a premier school that is taught on the toughest possible curriculum. I should have around a 3.45 GPA or around that. I believe that should be looked upon by schools considering the rigor of my curriculum compared to other schools. My school is basically a science oriented school that only allows about 50 kids per year out of the entire county (10+ High Schools) so it is a pretty small amount. Upon graduation I will have over double the required science, math and language classes needed to graduate. I have already taken, Marine Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Geophysical Sciences, Physics, and this upcoming year will be taking Oceanography, Environmental Sciences and Aquatic Ecology. ( I do not pick my classes, they are mainly based on the environment though.) I also will have taken 1 year of french and 3 years of spanish throughout high school along with Geometry, Algebra I + II, Pre-Calc, Pre-Calc II and Calculus I. To maintain a mid-level GPA with all academic classes is pretty tough and I hope most colleges realize upon decisions. I also have a fair amount of volunteer services with 50+ hours of tutoring, and various events. I am also a certified scuba diver and take part in some sports. My only main concern is my low SAT score, 1050 on the 1600 scale (570 Math, 490 CR). My nerves take the best of me and just alter my performances on large tests. I am not the best test taker.

Now my question is, will any Pharmacy Schools look at me with a GPA of about 3.4 (with these classes), a 1050 Math+CR SAT and 50+ volunteer hours on the east coast, preferably the northern section. I am currently residing in NJ but heard Rutgers is tough to get into. What do you guys/gals think of some possible schools? Thank you for your time!

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[Mark4275]

Well if you write a paragraph on how hard your curriculum is and how well you did, I don't think rutgers would be too difficult to get into.

I also am in the same boat with a high ACT, and high HPA, but instead of a high school I went to an engineering academy. I am hopeful they won't look down on most of my electives being engineer related.

 

[desidp12]

i will have to disagree with the above poster in saying that an essay might do the trick.

it is VERY tough to get into the program. my friend's stats who didnt get into the pharm program: 1150 out of 1600, 3.8 gpa, XCountry for 4 years, a lot of volunteer hours, numerous science research awards (NJRSF, Monmouth, etc.), researched at RU in microbiology during summer between junior and senior year, mini-med program at UMDNJ, pre-health program at raritan bay hospitals, ranked in top 10% (24 out of 400ish) and much more...i forget. but all in all, she is very brilliant and clearly had everything to get in. she was an ideal candidate but i guess RU found others

but the pharm program states that it views you in comparison to your peers, difficulty of classes, etc. im sure the ppl at pharm admissions know the atmosphere of your school, assuming ur school is in jersey/tri state area and will give u appropriate consideration. as with the sats, it is a national exam, therefore ur placed on the same scale as ALL the pharm applicants. if u can, try to take the october/november exams, doesnt hurt to try one more time.

other programs i can think of are USP and temple?...

 

[Mark4275]

i will have to disagree with the above poster in saying that an essay might do the trick.

it is VERY tough to get into the program. my friend's stats who didnt get into the pharm program: 1150 out of 1600, 3.8 gpa, XCountry for 4 years, a lot of volunteer hours, numerous science research awards (NJRSF, Monmouth, etc.), researched at RU in microbiology during summer between junior and senior year, mini-med program at UMDNJ, pre-health program at raritan bay hospitals, ranked in top 10% (24 out of 400ish) and much more...i forget. but all in all, she is very brilliant and clearly had everything to get in. she was an ideal candidate but i guess RU found others

but the pharm program states that it views you in comparison to your peers, difficulty of classes, etc. im sure the ppl at pharm admissions know the atmosphere of your school, assuming ur school is in jersey/tri state area and will give u appropriate consideration. as with the sats, it is a national exam, therefore ur placed on the same scale as ALL the pharm applicants. if u can, try to take the october/november exams, doesnt hurt to try one more time.

other programs i can think of are USP and temple?...

I was not referring to an essay but his post.

 

[Bacchus]

You won't get into USP with a 1050. The average for last year's class was an 1140-1170. You're CR will get circled and it will be the "black" mark for you, more than likely. I'd retake the SAT, to be honest. If you do apply to USP, even though not required, I'd submit something about your curriculum or have your guidance office do it. USP gives merit scholarships and I don't know where a 3.45 would throw you in the mix.

 

[speciald]

Is 3.45 your weighted or unweighted GPA? If unweighted, your weighted average would be the one considered at most schools. Do you know your class rank - that's usually a sure tipoff as to difficulty of the school in general.
You need to retake the SAT in October and do lots of review on the CR! Also, consider taking the ACT in September - alot of math/science oriented kids seem to do better on ACT than the SAT. Since merit aid is largely based on GPA and test scores, you have a huge incentive to bring those scores up!
Rutgers is tough to get into, especially if you're not a NJ resident. USP has a good rep and there's also ACP (2+4), St. John's in Queens, LIU (2+4), Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Wilkes (2+4), and MCPHS in Boston. MCPHS seems to have the lowest overall ave. SAT scores for acceptance and at St John's the min CR score for pharmacy program consideration is 450. One strategy that may work for you is to apply as early as you can for the rolling admissions schools or apply ED/EA if you can narrow down a favorite. I know ACP and Duquesne have ED, I believe Duquesne also has a non-restrictive EA.
Good luck!

 

[twizzeler]

You might want to try URI, it is a good 0-6 school and has great facilities. To get in you might need to raise your SAT scores a bit more since many 0-6 pharmacy schools rely heavily on your numbers. The only downside is that URI doesn't give a lot of financial aid to oos applicants.