what should an international pharmacist like me do now??? can any one help

[sando]

Hello friends i am really depressed :cry:,because i did not get in any where this year. I am an international pharmacist and have completed my BS from India. I applied to 4 schools this year and could not make it to even one. I have a gpa of 3.99 and toefl score of 100. Is it my bad luck or i am incompetent ?? Can anyone help me? There are only two schools in the whole country offering international program and hundereds of students applying every year. I applied to nova international and western ipbp but could not make it and other two school did not even consider me, so hav'nt got even rejection frm them. Any tips for making my application stronger for next year from those who have already made it. I will really appreciate help and guidance given...

i am confused should i start all over again?? give pcat?? do prereqs?? what to do?

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[AnnaP]

sando,

I'm sorry to see you so depressed. I am an international pharmacist myself, and I got into the IPBP Program at WesternU this year. My GPA is 3.27 and iBT 114. Because I've been aware of my low GPA since the start of my application, I studied hard for the IA exam to make myself more competitive. In the end, I was able to score 178 on the exam, and I think it really helped to improve my chance of getting in. I even submitted my PCAT score that I took last year, which is 97 composite- I'm not sure if it made any difference, but I did almost everything I could to make myself stand out from the rest. I don't think I did particularly better than the others at the interview nor did I write an outstanding essay. However, at the interview, I tried to look cheerful and enthusiastic, kept smiling, and told them how determined I was. Don't lose hope- maybe the school didn't finish sending out their acceptance emails or you could be pulled off from the waitlist later. With the status as competitive as yours, I would definitely tell you to reapply next year. Meanwhile, you can get more pharmacy experience and volunteer work to complement your application. Where there is a will, there is a way- good luck!

 

[dhruvp77]

I am sailing in the same boat as Sando - well I started looking at the universities(Pharmd) that transfer international credit for at least few of my BS courses. I am planning on doing the rest of the Pre-reqs at a community college or other colleges that offer pre-pharmacy. I have sent at least 25 e-mails to schools offering those. As soon as i hear from someone i will keep posting - as Annap said - where there is will there is way - If you find any school that offers pre-reqs do let me know. This is the criterias -
1) Trying for Fall 2008 - schools w and w/o SAT.
2) Try schools that offer pre-pharm and then PharmD at same school - that don't need PCAT and considers international credits.
3) Thinking of other options too - so lets see

 

[tomtom101]

I am currently in a pharm school and I found that having some kind of pharm experience will help out greatly. Spend the year as a pharm tech, research in pharmacy, or volunteer at a pharmacy. Your grades are great, and I am not sure about your PCAT, but I would recommend taking it if you haven't. With a 3.99, you are bound to do great on it. Then reapply to more than 4 schools. All professional programs are getting very competitive so having more schools will hopefully increase your chances.

Good luck!

 

[dhruvp77]

I had pharm Technician experience for 1 year from Walgreens and i'm CPhT - still no luck! as international student our courses from other countries are not valid for all Pharmd schools. That is the reason Sando chose 4 schools only - as they entertain International transcripts to some extent. I think we need to take pre-reqs again at least for calculus, physics, General requirements and English - to apply for more PharmD schools.

 

[cdpiano27]

Maybe you should have a US student read over your essay. I do not know if you write the same way on your essay that you write on this forum. But if you do, that could have easily prevented you from getting in.

Make sure your personal statement reads well. Especially that NOVA international program has no interviews. This could have been a big factor against you

 

[sando]

sando,

I'm sorry to see you so depressed. I am an international pharmacist myself, and I got into the IPBP Program at WesternU this year. My GPA is 3.27 and iBT 114. Because I've been aware of my low GPA since the start of my application, I studied hard for the IA exam to make myself more competitive. In the end, I was able to score 178 on the exam, and I think it really helped to improve my chance of getting in. I even submitted my PCAT score that I took last year, which is 97 composite- I'm not sure if it made any difference, but I did almost everything I could to make myself stand out from the rest. I don't think I did particularly better than the others at the interview nor did I write an outstanding essay. However, at the interview, I tried to look cheerful and enthusiastic, kept smiling, and told them how determined I was. Don't lose hope- maybe the school didn't finish sending out their acceptance emails or you could be pulled off from the waitlist later. With the status as competitive as yours, I would definitely tell you to reapply next year. Meanwhile, you can get more pharmacy experience and volunteer work to complement your application. Where there is a will, there is a way- good luck!

Thanks much... keep in touch hoping to be yr classmate or junior... but will see you def... my interview was good and i got 153 on IA but dunno what went wrong.. my eassay may be.. i am always cheerful n smiling whether it be interview or not.. and i thought that the teacher who interviewed me, was alrea talking lik i got in... but my bad luck may be.. but i really apreciate yr help... thank you so much and keep helping us lik this.. and am happy for you that u got in congratulations

 

[sando]

I am sailing in the same boat as Sando - well I started looking at the universities(Pharmd) that transfer international credit for at least few of my BS courses. I am planning on doing the rest of the Pre-reqs at a community college or other colleges that offer pre-pharmacy. I have sent at least 25 e-mails to schools offering those. As soon as i hear from someone i will keep posting - as Annap said - where there is will there is way - If you find any school that offers pre-reqs do let me know. This is the criterias -
1) Trying for Fall 2008 - schools w and w/o SAT.
2) Try schools that offer pre-pharm and then PharmD at same school - that don't need PCAT and considers international credits.
3) Thinking of other options too - so lets see

i have worked searched and found out about prereqs.. so that wat am going to do now.. most of them need

history
psychology
sociology
physics
economics
government
english 101
english 102
biology
so lets get thi done n apply to lik 10 schools that doesnt require pcat

 

[sando]

Maybe you should have a US student read over your essay. I do not know if you write the same way on your essay that you write on this forum. But if you do, that could have easily prevented you from getting in.

Make sure your personal statement reads well. Especially that NOVA international program has no interviews. This could have been a big factor against you

no tht is not how i write my essays.. definately and not even my personal statements.. i knw my english is pretty much GHETO over here but trust me tht is not how i write in essays

 

[sando]

I am currently in a pharm school and I found that having some kind of pharm experience will help out greatly. Spend the year as a pharm tech, research in pharmacy, or volunteer at a pharmacy. Your grades are great, and I am not sure about your PCAT, but I would recommend taking it if you haven't. With a 3.99, you are bound to do great on it. Then reapply to more than 4 schools. All professional programs are getting very competitive so having more schools will hopefully increase your chances.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your advice

 

[sando]

Maybe you should have a US student read over your essay. I do not know if you write the same way on your essay that you write on this forum. But if you do, that could have easily prevented you from getting in.

Make sure your personal statement reads well. Especially that NOVA international program has no interviews. This could have been a big factor against you

I would love to show you my essay for review if you think you can help

 

[smrc]

Hi Sando
i wanted to know who was there in your interview panel. i know there will be a student other than the student do you know the name of the professor who interviewed you. because i exactly faced the same situation in the interview. please let me know

 

[smrc]

sando can you PM me with your email address and phone number

 

[sando]

s
ando can you PM me with your email address and phone number

Stephen O'Barr was my interviewer

 

[dhruvp77]

which state are you in Sando? I am in FL and have been contacting out of state schools to get the pre-reqs. I contacted PharmD colleges , got the evaluations done. now I know what pre-reqs are required for those colleges so i am applying for the common pre-reqs. I just got the info that community colleges credit are not considered if you were to go out of state for PharmD. So I am trying "Univeristies" now. I have applied to one lets see what happens. Have you applied to any colleges for pre-reqs?

 

[sando]

which state are you in Sando? I am in FL and have been contacting out of state schools to get the pre-reqs. I contacted PharmD colleges , got the evaluations done. now I know what pre-reqs are required for those colleges so i am applying for the common pre-reqs. I just got the info that community colleges credit are not considered if you were to go out of state for PharmD. So I am trying "Univeristies" now. I have applied to one lets see what happens. Have you applied to any colleges for pre-reqs?

i am in penn state. i will start with my prereqs this summer. which college told you that community coll prereqs is nt valid. it is definately. univeristy will be too expensive

 

[dromor pii]

Simply keep hope alive Sando and keep working hard! i think writing the pcat would increase the amount of schools u can apply to, thereby increase your probability of getting accepted. Have a look at the pharmcas page, it lists so many schools which accept international students. Should you start learning for the pcat now u'd have ample time to write it and do very well in it! with very good pcat scores and with your good gpa and of course a good personal statement and LORs, the sky is your limit! keep on keeping on!
Best wishes
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