What to Improve?

[isotopic]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

I've received my rejection letters and I'm trying to decide if there's anything I can do to improve my chances next year of being accepted. I really don't want to take the PCAT again, so I think I may just go back to school and take a few science classes and try to improve my GPA (while working on a double major - Pyschology - i'm a few hours short).

I took the PCAT in October of '07, and had a cumulative score of 82 (lowest individual was 61 in Biology, the rest were 78-94 range). I had a 3/4 in the writing section. I thought that was pretty good since I'm a Chemistry major (94 score) and not a Biology major.

I have a B.S. in Chemistry (graduate of May 2007) with a science GPA of over 3.0 (not great, but decent).

I have over 2 1/2 years of pharmacy technician experience. As well as a great letter of recommendation from the Pharmacist I worked under. The Pharmacist is also a graduate of one of the Universities I'm apply for (UMKC).

I have little volunteer work in the medical/pharmaceutical field, as I mostly volunteer at my church w/ the different youth programs.

Anyway, I thought that I had a pretty decent shot this year, but I didn't even receive an interview at any school. Is there anything I should focus on improving, or just simply apply to more schools next go around? I'm considering taking classes at one of the Universities I'm applying at, to see if that can help me get a foot in the door.

Any advice?

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[tharper14]

You probably need to raise your gpa... 3.0 really is not great, I wouldn't even say decent for pharm school. You could look into repeating some pre-reqs at a cc to raise your gpa, that or you could seek out schools that are known to accept students with a 3.0 gpa. I don't know of any, but I know they're out there... people have gotten in with a lower gpa.

 

[Dave4468]

Well in my opinion, none of your stats really stand out, or are stellar, however the bachelors in chem is nice. Although you don't want to, if you REALLY want to increase your chances I suggest taking the year you have off to study/review for the PCAT and getting a score above 90 at least. You could also consider getting involved in conducting research projects.

 

[medicalCPA]

You have listed your grades, stats, and experience, but I have no idea why you were rejected. And take this from me: NO ONE ON THIS BOARD KNOWS WHY YOU WERE REJECTED THIS CYCLE (pardon the caps, but I thought it was worth emphasizing). The only ones who know why you were rejected were the ones who rejected you in the first place.

Therefore, my advice to you would be to call or otherwise contact the schools you applied to and ask them why they rejected you, or what your weaknesses were. Then work on those. For even more reasons you should do this, see the "Face my inner demons or should I call" thread.

Good luck when you apply next cycle.

 

[IrishRxMan]

NO ONE ON THIS BOARD KNOWS WHY YOU WERE REJECTED THIS CYCLE

Therefore, my advice to you would be to call or otherwise contact the schools you applied to and ask them why they rejected you, or what your weaknesses were. Then work on those. For even more reasons you should do this, see the "Face my inner demons or should I call" thread.

Good luck when you apply next cycle.

Ditto!