what to do if you get rejected from pharmacy school?

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so I was just wondering, if you keep failing to get into pharmacy school, would you just give up on pharmacist career and go for pharmacy technician instead?
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I was thinking the same....I really do not know what should I do. Med Tech (B.S)- I have thought about it..I know it is waste a lot of courses..but I do not want to be a nurse or else...
 
violettulip said:
I was thinking the same....I really do not know what should I do. Med Tech (B.S)- I have thought about it..I know it is waste a lot of courses..but I do not want to be a nurse or else...
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just look into other careers like PA, nurse, teach if u cant get in.
 
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This is a really scary thought to me, pharmacy is all I want to do. I've gone over other possibilities many times and get really messed up when I think about it. It puts my stomach in knots. I don't want to do nursing, they are great people and do great work but it's not for me. And I don't want to switch focus entirely, business and stuff just isn't my can of worms. What I'm hoping to do to avoid having to think about this is to focus on ways to increase my competitiveness, like volunteering, pharm tech experience, getting a bachelors degree. I don't know how far on you are with everything, if you are at the stage of applying or are further back, but what I suggest is to do what I'm doing. Focus on ways to drive your competitiveness. That way in case your GPA isn't stellar you have other positives for the admissions people to look at.
 
nobody will make pharm tech a career, it is extremely underpaid.
 
how many application cycles did you undergo? also, if you posted your stats in detail perhaps we would be able to evaluate your situation even better!


personally, i think that everyone who TRULY wants to be a pharmacist can get into pharmacy school.
 
If you realllllllllllly really want to be a pharmacist, then you do whatever it takes. If you need to improve your GPA, retake classes, do community service, work in a pharmacy as an assistant or tech for experience, etc., then just do it. I graduated in 2004 from undergraduate w/a horrible GPA. I have been applying since (4th year now), I practically could have received my B.S. degree twice with all the classes I retook over these 4 years, I can probably even teach some classes (lol), I've been working since, and I FINALLY got accepted this year!!! So TRUST me, if I can get in, anyone can. I was thinking about giving up so many times and I am really glad I didn't b/c I didn't want to work as a tech and get underpaid and over-worked for the rest of my life. Especially since my pharmacists always tell me how great of a worker I am and how I would be a great pharmacist. Just listen to the positivies and hang in there.
 
To RXist,

Congratulations on your acceptance! What's your recent PharmCAS cGPA?
 
RXist said:
If you realllllllllllly really want to be a pharmacist, then you do whatever it takes. If you need to improve your GPA, retake classes, do community service, work in a pharmacy as an assistant or tech for experience, etc., then just do it. I graduated in 2004 from undergraduate w/a horrible GPA. I have been applying since (4th year now), I practically could have received my B.S. degree twice with all the classes I retook over these 4 years, I can probably even teach some classes (lol), I've been working since, and I FINALLY got accepted this year!!! So TRUST me, if I can get in, anyone can. I was thinking about giving up so many times and I am really glad I didn't b/c I didn't want to work as a tech and get underpaid and over-worked for the rest of my life. Especially since my pharmacists always tell me how great of a worker I am and how I would be a great pharmacist. Just listen to the positivies and hang in there.
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wow...u really got perseverance buddy, tht was sucha motivating story and congrats for ur acceptance....hard work will pay somethime or the other! :luck:
 
Hey guys, thank you. PharmCAS calculates GPA lower than anywhere else for some reason, but it's lower than a 3.0....so seriously people don't give up!
 
Apply again, but have a clear Plan B (pun not intended). Before applying again talk to the school(s) that rejected you to find out how you can strengthen your application.

Alternate plans for me included: med tech, teaching, medical school (just HAD to throw that in there 😉), and returning to a previous IT career. I have always wanted to be an editor in the publishing industry, so I might have moved in that direction.

Good luck, everybody.
 
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Give up, thats what I would do. Get an MBA and make some real money.
 
apply again, or go for a PhD. or both 😀
 
Perseverance and determination pay off in the long run. I finally got accepted for Fall 2008, (at the only school I applied to), after my 5th time applying. If you really want to be a pharmacist, do not give up!
 
Reapply and apply to more schools, retake PCAT, take more classes, continue to volunteer.

Plan B: apply to international schools (I'm still trying to figure out how this works), pursue a career in neonatal nursing or nurse practitioner
 
omg i've thought about doing med. tech as my backup too. i think i'll apply to both that & pharm school at the same time. of course, i'd much rather go to pharmacy school. do a lot of ppl use med. tech as their backup? they don't get that much considering all the stuff they go through. i need to be able to pay off all my loans man. being a med. tech, that would take forever. lol.
 
fiorio said:
nobody will make pharm tech a career, it is extremely underpaid.
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I disagree...there is a lady where i work who has been a technician for over 25 years ad she loves it. she could have easily gone to pharmacy school but chose not to...so she says!
 
futurerx212 said:
I disagree...there is a lady where i work who has been a technician for over 25 years ad she loves it. she could have easily gone to pharmacy school but chose not to...so she says!
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I agree...many pharm techs love their jobs...and the way the field of pharmacy is evolving so many more opportunities have become available to techs and the pay increases with the complexity of the job.
 
If I fail after two tries, I'll have a BS in Biology and a BA in History. That's got to count for something.

Right?


Right?

🙁
 
If pharmacy is what you really want to do you need to reapply for the next year. As much as that may suck, that is he only thing that you can do. I would also suggest taking some upper division courses or graduate level courses that pertain to pharmacy to show that you are still staying in the swing of things with your academics. Some suggestions: biochem, advanced microbio or immunology, molecular bio, etc. Schools may ask what you will do if you don't get accepted......it would be good to say that you will take some upper level science courses to provide a stronger foundation for the concepts that will be taught in pharmacy school.
 
unpaired e said:
omg i've thought about doing med. tech as my backup too. i think i'll apply to both that & pharm school at the same time. of course, i'd much rather go to pharmacy school. do a lot of ppl use med. tech as their backup? they don't get that much considering all the stuff they go through. i need to be able to pay off all my loans man. being a med. tech, that would take forever. lol.
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I've been a medtech for almost 7 years. I can tell you that it's not a bad back up plan. Many people will be retiring from the profession so the salaries will probably be going up along with the demand. I am pretty comfortable money wise and I am a homeowner. So, if you want to be a pharmacist and you need a profession while you're waiting to get in. I would say go for med tech. It's only a 1 year program. If you need any advice about med tech feel free to pm me.
 
Honestly, there is a big gap between pharmacist and tech, techs do everything that pharmacist can but salary only 1/5,1/6 of a pharmacist make. How many times you tried already?
 
RXist

I really admire you for your patient. I was so lazy to finish my application last year so never done suppliment application so this year I have to finish them hic hic hic ( take me less than 30 min)

what school you go to, maybe I need to study with you to get out of my lazy zone
 
Haven’t applied to any pharmacy schools yet but graduating in August 08 with BS. I was thinking retaking some of my chem and bio classes over again. Will it be big deal when I apply to pharmacy school, that the fact I have retook couple of classes? Is it the overall GPA pharmacy school looks or how good you did in your chem/bio classes? Thanks!
 
Do what I really want to do and become a petroleum engineer.

I'm 24 now, so if I don't get in this year I'll be pushing 30 when I finish. Most people don't care about how old they are in school, but I do for some reason.
 
UTplease said:
Do what I really want to do and become a petroleum engineer.

I'm 24 now, so if I don't get in this year I'll be pushing 30 when I finish. Most people don't care about how old they are in school, but I do for some reason.
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If you really want to be a petroleum engineer, why are you applying to pharmacy school?
 
gtpederson said:
If I fail after two tries, I'll have a BS in Biology and a BA in History. That's got to count for something.

Right?


Right?

🙁
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BS biology and BA psychology
applied two times, and no acceptance
third time, accepted (FINALLY)

keep at it, and follow the advice everyone is leaving on this thread, it's all solid, except the petroleum engineer part. that kinda puzzles me 😛 jk
 
Petroleum engineerings make great money, seriously!! 90K with a PhD after school. And most of the jobs are in Texas.
 
did you guys work at a pharmacy while preparing your applications for pharmacy school again next year or something?
 
1. Cry
2. Be depressed for a week.
3. Apply again EARLY!!!



4. WorK, WorK, WorK for a year.
5. Take a year of Anatomy/Physiology Pharmacy school in Oregon requires.

6. PREPARE FOR MY INTERVIEW
7. Get accepted.
 
Guys.. dont' give up, if you really want to do pharmacy, then getting rejected a few times wont' hold you back. The competition is just to big... and all of us are good candidates, it is just a matter of time once you hit it golden. Just improve your standing either by retaking classes, improving PCAT scores or pursue advanced degree's related to science or pharmacy (I did masters).
I have to say my story is very similar to RXist. I also graduated in Dec'03 with not so stellar GPA. I've been appying to pharmacy ever since (except '06) and eventually it worked and I finally got accepted this year!!! Strong will, persistance, improvement and APPLYING EARLY pays of and eventually someone will look at that with a positive note. 👍
 
UTplease said:
Do what I really want to do and become a petroleum engineer.

I'm 24 now, so if I don't get in this year I'll be pushing 30 when I finish. Most people don't care about how old they are in school, but I do for some reason.
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😕

But anyway... I'll also be 30 when I finish IF I get in to a school my first try. It does bother me some, just because it will mean that I'll have lived 12 years of my adult life struggling to make ends meet. BUT overall I'm actually ok with it, I'll have a lot that I can use on my supplemental applications/personal statements. :laugh:
 
tharper14 said:
If you really want to be a petroleum engineer, why are you applying to pharmacy school?
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I complete my pre-reqs so it seems like a waste not to apply, and pharmacy is a much more stable career.
 
lessotto said:
1. Cry
2. Be depressed for a week.
3. Apply again EARLY!!!



4. WorK, WorK, WorK for a year.
5. Take a year of Anatomy/Physiology Pharmacy school in Oregon requires.

6. PREPARE FOR MY INTERVIEW
7. Get accepted.
Click to expand...


I really liked your post - that's pretty much my plan for next year. This year I could only apply to 2 schools - because I was missing 1 ! pre-req that prevented me from applying to all the others schools in CA. After crying for a long time over the winter break - I had an "enlightening" moment and decided that whatever happens - happens for the best. ( at least that's what russians believe in). This year - I am taking PCAT/pharm tech exam and plan on getting lots of experience working in a pharmacy. Hope I get in this year !
 
deutsch said:
so I was just wondering, if you keep failing to get into pharmacy school, would you just give up on pharmacist career and go for pharmacy technician instead?
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I coached high school football for 4 years, and I had a person who came out his freshman year who was overweight and extremely out of shape. This person loved football . During two a week practices in the summer, he was really struggling. I guess after pracitce, when I wasnt around, other players on the team teased him. One day he came to me after practice and told me he wasnt ready for football and he was going to quit. He was crying and I was really affected by it. I did not talk him out of quitting because I feared if he continued he would get hurt, so I told him some people are not made to play football. He responded by saying he is made for football and he promised me that next year he would be ready. I did not take much into his statement because he was so young, and I thougt the grueling practices probably deterred him from the sport.

The next year he was out there again, and he was the best conditioned athlete on the. Remind you he probably was 14-15 years old at the time. He ended up starting at running back and linebacker. I ended up coaching him his entire 4 years of high school. This individual received a full scholarship to play football for the Orgen Ducks, and know he plays professional football for the San Francisco 49ers. HE HAS BEEN IN THE NFL FOR 5 YEARS and counting. The day he signed his letter of intent I was present. We talked about the time he quit the team, and he told me that he loved football so much that he conditioned himself the entire year to prepare himself for his sophmore year of football.

My point in telling you this story is because sometimes its ok to back off your goal, reevaluate your weakness, work on your weakness, and re-attack your goals again. Saying this, I have no doubt you can make it into pharmacy school. Look within yourself and find out what you need to do to improve your weaknesses. I promise that if you improve on those areas you will get into pharmacy school some day.

good luck and never give up
 
thanks for the encouraging story!
 
Nice story! Perseverance pays off😉
 
cheburashka said:
I really liked your post - that's pretty much my plan for next year. This year I could only apply to 2 schools - because I was missing 1 ! pre-req that prevented me from applying to all the others schools in CA. After crying for a long time over the winter break - I had an "enlightening" moment and decided that whatever happens - happens for the best. ( at least that's what russians believe in). This year - I am taking PCAT/pharm tech exam and plan on getting lots of experience working in a pharmacy. Hope I get in this year !
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He He..... Hi cheburashka! YOu have no Idea how many times I 've heard "Vsyo chto ni delaetsya - delaetsya k lucshemy" from my friends and parents after yet another bad interview. (I am from Belarus, btw).

I am probably going to study for PCAT too! Plus, it is only 4 short month before PharmCas opens again =))))))

In any case, good luck to us. Im sure next year we'll get in, since we'll be more prepared!!!👍👍 It is just that the whole idea of NEXT YEAR is very depressing and hard to get used to.
 
WOW Shprot and yazzman, thanks for your great stories!!! i'm serious, i actually had tears in my eyes after reading them because i was so inspired by the struggles that people go through to get to where they are.

I've been really depressed not only because I've been rejected by 2 schools and haven't received ANY interviews so far but also because of other events that happened this year (breaking off of an engagement). I felt soooo much better after reading your posts because I realized that things WILL get better after this darke (sorry for the pun hehe) period.
 
yazzman said:
My point in telling you this story is because sometimes its ok to back off your goal, reevaluate your weakness, work on your weakness, and re-attack your goals again. Saying this, I have no doubt you can make it into pharmacy school. Look within yourself and find out what you need to do to improve your weaknesses. I promise that if you improve on those areas you will get into pharmacy school some day.

good luck and never give up
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I think everyone has to struggle with their goals. I always want to lose weight, because I want to be healthy and fit. It takes a lot of effort for me to lose weight- let's just say a rigorous 1200 calorie/day diet works.
School gets in the way sometimes. Life gets in the way too. I always have to go back to watching what I eat. Sometimes I'll splurge and buy candy. After I've had too much, I'll have to tell myself that I can't have candy again. It's just a big circle that I have to keep close tabs on.


I didn't start college as a pre-pharm. I wanted to go to medical school, sometimes I still want to go to medical after I see some of these ridiculous scripts that physicians write. Here's some background info.

It was hard to switch to pharmacy. I was ridiculed for my decision. My "friends" at work just assumed that I was applying to pharm school, because I thought that it would be easier to get in after the hurricane in NOLA. It might have been a tiny bit easier, but I worked really hard in my classes, at work, and on my application none the less. My mother assumed that I was going into pharmacy, because my friend was too.

My "friends" kept telling me that I shouldn't go into pharmacy if I didn't really want to be a pharmacist. I kept telling them that there was no way for me to know what I really wanted to do or if I wanted to be a pharmacist, because I wasn't one. I didn't really like my first pharmacy job either. I was always stuck on the cash register, because I was the last part-time employee hired- a little hierarchy if you will. (I eventually left that job to work in a hospital. They don't have cash registers in hospitals 😀).

Thankfully, a pharmacist from my first job had talked to me about the other sides of pharmacy- clinical, academia, hospital, etc. Let's just say that after that, I was inspired. I kept what she said in mind for a long time, especially while I was working as the register slave.

When I got the acceptance/rejection letter from pharmacy school, it said that they had put me on their waiting list. It was devastating. At the time, I would have preferred a straight "no". The whole waiting list thing was super scary and crazy. I like to have control over my life, but I was at their whim.
I was enrolled at another university when they called me off the list- I even got a 90% refund when I had to drop those classes 🙂.

So ladies and gents... hold tight and stay convicted. If you want to try pharmacy, go for it, but you should be able justify your decision somehow. Go out there and get some experience. It will benefit you.

Lastly, don't make a decision to please someone else. You're the one who will become a pharmacist.
 
yazzman said:
he plays professional football for the San Francisco 49ers. HE HAS BEEN IN THE NFL FOR 5 YEARS and counting
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What player would that be? If you don't mind me asking.
 
PS- I still work at a retail pharmacy, but it's not my end-all. I would like to do hospital administrative work.
 
I graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 2007 and since then have been taking science prereqs. I am done with all my classes this Spring '10. I applied to four schools and did not get in to any this year. I have my pharmacy assistant license, undergrad degree, GPA is 3.0 and work as a coach at a gym. I also have hundreds of hours volunteering in outpatient and inpatient hospital pharmacy. I did poorly on my PCAT and know I need to take it again(even though I have taken it a few times) I am wondering what schools Shprot and RXist got into and any advice from anyone as to what I can do to become a stronger applicant for this next year? I have thought about pharm tech and maybe EMT but I think that would require more schooling. I am open to any advice thank you. I really want to get in and start a career as a pharmacist.
 
If i dont get this time then il retake PCAT......or try to get masters in science or pharmacy related n go in research...or PhD 🙄
 
work, work, work!!! take PCAT again and start the whole admission process over. i will be 31 in May but pharmacy is the only thing i want to do so i don't care if i'm 80 by the time i graduate....ok hopefully not that old but i am not giving up!! i have worked as a tech since i was 17 and have never had the desire to work in any other field.
 
Fargo said:
I graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 2007 and since then have been taking science prereqs. I am done with all my classes this Spring '10. I applied to four schools and did not get in to any this year. I have my pharmacy assistant license, undergrad degree, GPA is 3.0 and work as a coach at a gym. I also have hundreds of hours volunteering in outpatient and inpatient hospital pharmacy. I did poorly on my PCAT and know I need to take it again(even though I have taken it a few times) I am wondering what schools Shprot and RXist got into and any advice from anyone as to what I can do to become a stronger applicant for this next year? I have thought about pharm tech and maybe EMT but I think that would require more schooling. I am open to any advice thank you. I really want to get in and start a career as a pharmacist.
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Apply to more schools, there's a school out there for everybody. Look at some of the newer private schools, they don't discriminate against out of state applicants and usually take low GPA/Pcat. You could also apply to some candidate schools (I'd look for state/established universities when looking at candidate status schools). Honestly, if you're applying to hard to get into programs I can see why people fail to get in, but if you can't get into the newer programs then take that as a sign pharma might not be for you.
 
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