What would look better...

[PonderingChoice]

So, I'm currently working 20 hours a week, doing school, and studying for the PCAT.

Since my GPA from my undergraduate education is not as competitive as I'd like (3.1, got my B.S. a couple years back, doing better now), I'd love to rock the PCAT.

So, my question is: should I just take the two lab-classes I had planned to take this quarter, and take one next quarter, and thus complete my pre-requisites, or should I spread all three out over the coming year? I just need 3 more classes.

I'm probably worrying too much about the PCAT, and I should probably just take both classes this quarter, but recently I've been stressed out about scheduling conflicts and making sure I'm just ABLE to take both classes this quarter, so I decided to ask the all knowing hive mind of the pre-pharmacy forums.

Dumb question: one can surely apply to pharmacy school without having completed all the pre-requisites, right? I'm sure the answer is yes, but I'd really like to be in school come Fall 2010.

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[charfdorn]

So, I'm currently working 20 hours a week, doing school, and studying for the PCAT.

Since my GPA from my undergraduate education is not as competitive as I'd like (3.1, got my B.S. a couple years back, doing better now), I'd love to rock the PCAT.

So, my question is: should I just take the two lab-classes I had planned to take this quarter, and take one next quarter, and thus complete my pre-requisites, or should I spread all three out over the coming year? I just need 3 more classes.

I'm probably worrying too much about the PCAT, and I should probably just take both classes this quarter, but recently I've been stressed out about scheduling conflicts and making sure I'm just ABLE to take both classes this quarter, so I decided to ask the all knowing hive mind of the pre-pharmacy forums.

Dumb question: one can surely apply to pharmacy school without having completed all the pre-requisites, right? I'm sure the answer is yes, but I'd really like to be in school come Fall 2010.

Yes, of course. You need to have them done before school starts, and in your case having a few more courses might help your GPA, but most pharmacy students get accepted with a few outstanding pre-reqs.

If you do two courses this quarter, will they be done and in to PharmCAS before your schools' application deadlines? If so, I would do that in an effort to notch up the GPA and make you a slightly more attractive candidate (with 1 prereq to go instead of 2 - but that's not a huge difference). If not, you can spread them out. Applying and interviewing takes up a lot of your time, and is difficult to do while taking a whole bunch of classes. I couldn't blame you for wanting to lighten your load a little bit.

As far as the PCAT goes, after a certain score (maybe 90? I'm not sure, and it depends on the school) an improvement will make almost no difference. For instance, a 3.1 with a 90 and a year of pharm tech experience will have the same basic chance as a 3.1 with a 95. I think a 3.2 with a 90 might even have a better chance than a 3.1 with a 95, but both will get interviews and then it's up to you to close the deal.

 

[PonderingChoice]

First off, thanks.

If you do two courses this quarter, will they be done and in to PharmCAS before your schools' application deadlines? If so, I would do that in an effort to notch up the GPA and make you a slightly more attractive candidate (with 1 prereq to go instead of 2 - but that's not a huge difference). If not, you can spread them out. Applying and interviewing takes up a lot of your time, and is difficult to do while taking a whole bunch of classes. I couldn't blame you for wanting to lighten your load a little bit.

Yes, that's part of the reason I've been considering spreading them out, since one of my most desired school's application deadline will have already passed and I won't have completed the Fall course(s).

Also, the way my schedule is looking, it's the difference between a 2 hour commute a day and a 1 hour commute a day. (The latter is with one course.) 2 hours isn't horrible, but 1 hour is better.

As far as the PCAT goes, after a certain score (maybe 90? I'm not sure, and it depends on the school) an improvement will make almost no difference. For instance, a 3.1 with a 90 and a year of pharm tech experience will have the same basic chance as a 3.1 with a 95. I think a 3.2 with a 90 might even have a better chance than a 3.1 with a 95, but both will get interviews and then it's up to you to close the deal.

Noted, thanks. Though currently I'm not sure if I'll score a 90! But maybe I'm over-estimating the PCAT's difficulty.

 

[charfdorn]

First off, thanks.



Yes, that's part of the reason I've been considering spreading them out, since one of my most desired school's application deadline will have already passed and I won't have completed the Fall course(s).

Also, the way my schedule is looking, it's the difference between a 2 hour commute a day and a 1 hour commute a day. (The latter is with one course.) 2 hours isn't horrible, but 1 hour is better.

Noted, thanks. Though currently I'm not sure if I'll score a 90! But maybe I'm over-estimating the PCAT's difficulty.

You probably aren't. I got a 1410 on the SAT and a 1410 on the GRE with zero prep. I was less responsible back then, and decided to prep for the PCAT anyway, just in case. I'm glad I did because I would have done quite poorly without the Kaplan book.

 

[Carboxide]

So, I'm currently working 20 hours a week, doing school, and studying for the PCAT.

Since my GPA from my undergraduate education is not as competitive as I'd like (3.1, got my B.S. a couple years back, doing better now), I'd love to rock the PCAT.

So, my question is: should I just take the two lab-classes I had planned to take this quarter, and take one next quarter, and thus complete my pre-requisites, or should I spread all three out over the coming year? I just need 3 more classes.

I'm probably worrying too much about the PCAT, and I should probably just take both classes this quarter, but recently I've been stressed out about scheduling conflicts and making sure I'm just ABLE to take both classes this quarter, so I decided to ask the all knowing hive mind of the pre-pharmacy forums.

Dumb question: one can surely apply to pharmacy school without having completed all the pre-requisites, right? I'm sure the answer is yes, but I'd really like to be in school come Fall 2010.

Hard to say about the classes as I don't really know the quarter system well. But I just wanted to say that a 3.1 isn't a TERRIBLE GPA. It's just not outstanding. However, I doubt it would send up a red flag at any school (although it won't, of course, make your application glow either).