Where to apply?

[AmandiLee]

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I don't want this to be another "What are my chances?" post, but I was just wondering if anyone with similar stats has been accepted to Howard, Belmont, Appalachia, or VCU recently.

GPA 3.43
PCAT 64 (first and only time)
1 year as a Pharm Tech at CVS (state-certified, taking PTCE in August)
4 EC's + Habitat for Humanity
3 Honor Societies
Will have BS in Biology in May 2009

Normally I wouldn't panic, because I think I should stand a reasonable shot at least some of the newer schools. But I do have a few C's, and they're not in good classes. I have them in Animal Physiology (which was an upper-level class as opposed to the lower division Human Physiology, but I doubt any schools will care), Physics 1 (but I did get a B in Physics 2), and worst of all, O Chem 1. Now here's the really bad thing. I have 4 W's, and they're pretty much all in the same class. I have a W in O Chem Lab 1 (which I did take and got an A), O Chem 1 (which I took and got a C), and 2 W's in O Chem 2 (which I am currently taking as a summer class and which I will be happy to get a C in). My W's in O Chem 1 and Lab 1 were due to me changing my major and withdrawing from them a week after they started. But I went back to pre-pharmacy later on and took them and passed them the first time. I started O Chem 2 the first time when I just started working at CVS, and I know I should have put school first, but I didn't because I loved my work and my patients, so I ended up withdrawing from it in the fall and spring to work more. And now I am stuck with the teacher who doesn't speak English for my summer class and am barely squeaking by.

So, after my long rant, do you think maybe my other stronger areas will help to compensate for those W's and C's? If I don't get into pharmacy school this year, I'm probably going to start an accelerated BS in Nursing and then apply again next year (nursing is my backup because I already have a ton of student loans and I can't keep applying for years in a row, unfortunately). Sometimes I just think what's the point, since I seem to have such a bad track record with O Chem. But I love working at CVS and I would like to continue that for many years to come. Do you think that I should try to explain some of these W's in my personal statement, or just hope they overlook them?

Thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read this!

 

[IrishRxMan]

Why not apply to all three? it's a good idea to apply to more than one school just in case. Just be prepared to answer questions about your coursework.

 

[AmandiLee]

Why not apply to all three? it's a good idea to apply to more than one school just in case. Just be prepared to answer questions about your coursework.

I actually am applying to all of them. But I'm worried about not even getting interviews because of my string of W's. I was going to try to apply to a nursing program at the same time, but all of this applying is getting expensive.

 

[jyw003]

you worked as a pharm tech but you are taking ptce in august? which test did you take to get certified then?

 

[IrishRxMan]

You shouldn't have a problem getting an interview with your stats. You may want to retake the PCAT to see if you can get a better score. All you have to do is show that you have learned from the mistakes of not putting school first before things like work. People make mistakes and stumble all the time. What makes a person successful is what they do after they stumble and make that mistake.

 

[AmandiLee]

you worked as a pharm tech but you are taking ptce in august? which test did you take to get certified then?

I started out at CVS with no certification at all. Within 9 months of starting work, I had to take the Virginia Pharmacy Tech Certification Exam (which I did, and passed), so now I'm state certified. I'm taking the national test in August, although it's optional. But CVS is paying for it so I figured why not? 🙂