Should I complete by Bachelors degree before applying to pharmacy school?

Question:
I graduated with and AA degree four years ago. But I’ve been wanting to go back to school for a more stable career, so I’ve been researching the requirements for a pharmacist. So basically my question is should I go back to a CC to fulfill my prerequisites and try to get in or just go for my Bachelors and then try to get into a pharmacy school?

The only reason this is an issue is because I am married so the shortest route would be ideal, but again, if I go the first route it seems like I would be putting all my eggs in one basket.

Any advice would help!
Thank you!

Answer:

You ask a couple of good questions. My answer probably depends on what your Associate's degree is in and how many prereqs you need to complete. If you are using your degree in some type of health care field and gaining some relevant work experience, it may not be necessary to to pursue your Bachelor's degree. If your degree is completely unrelated to pharmacy (ie, culinary arts), obtaining your Bachelor's degree would be advisable.

In either case, however, understand that you can apply to a school once you have fulfilled the prereqs. You do not need a BA/BS, but having one does improve your chances. Additionally, as I advise everyone, I would encourage you to apply to more than one school. I understand there may be circumstances that do not allow you to move, for example, but I have seen many applicants paint themselves into a corner by only applying to one pharmacy school. Just something to consider.

Good luck.

Can I apply to pharmacy school and dental school at the same university?

Question:

I am wondering if applying to the same school for both pharmacy school and dental school would negatively impact my chances of getting accepted?

 

Answer:

I would advise against doing so. A part of any pharmacy AdCom's decision making process is trying to ascertain an applicant's motivation to the profession. Applying to more than one professional school at the same institution would raise eyebrows and probably red flags among many commitee members. Professionally speaking, I would encourage you to spend as much time as you have available to shadow both professions so that you can devote your energy to being admitted to the program that you feel is the best fit for you.

 

Good luck.

Should I withdraw from a class or risk failing it? What is the better choice for a pharmacy school applicant?

Question: 
Could you let me me know how an Adcom looks at an F and a W on a transcript? I am struggling with a non preq course and I am going to need to decide whether to withdrawal soon. Is that worse than sticking with it and maybe getting a D or F? Or do Adcoms look at a W as someone who quits?

Answer:

When in doubt, withdraw. As an Adcom, I have fewer concerns with a file of an applicant who withdrew from a course than with someone who failed a course. Part of the reason may be that we don't have any idea why the student withdrew, so it is difficult to hold a W against him/her (it could have been a scheduling conflict, for example). A series of W's, on the other hand, becomes a concern. In this case, a single W in a non-prerequisite course shouldn't hurt your chances.

An F, however, will jump out to any Adcom. Plus, it will hurt your GPA and that can significantly hurt your chances at gaining admission.

Good luck.

Will having an MIP (minor in possession) keep me out of pharmacy school?

Question:  I was cited for minor in possession while in undergrad almost 10 years ago. As I told my parents, I just happened to be at a party where alcohol was present and we all got MIP's In every case I mentioned this on my application when asked about any offenses. This won't negatively affect my chances at admission will it? Has you found something similar to be an issue?


Answer:  We see situations like this quite frequently and I would not anticipate any issues in your case. Problems might arise if you had multiple MIPs (indicating that you didn't learn from the first one) or if you received an MIP in the very recent past (more applicable to 2nd year undergraduate students applying to pharmacy school) as this might indicate maturity issues. A DUI would be scrutinized much more closely and anything on your record relating to possession of illicit drugs (ie, marijuana) or paraphernalia would be significantly detrimental to your chances.

Will military experience in ROTC or the reserves help me get into pharmacy school?

Question:
Do you have any experience with interviewing students with a background in ROTC or belonging to the reserves? I was wondering if having some type of military service on my record would help my chances.


Answer:
I have interviewed applicants with some type of military experience several times over the year.  While I do not think that having military experience will help you get into pharmacy school, I know certain professors, deans, and other administrators who served in the military who might disagree with me. I suppose it is possible that the discipline and character developed in the military would be an advantage to your chances, but I think the real value would come in the built in networking that exists between members of the armed services.

Good luck.

What should I do if I apply to pharmacy school and get rejected?

Question:
I'm looking at pharmacy as a career option since I have a passion for medicine/drugs. But I was wondering: What happens if you get rejected from all pharmacy schools you apply to? Do you wait till next year to apply again? or Do you stop pursuing that career?


Answer:
The key is to identify the reasons you were rejected and try to determine if those areas can be improved. If you PCAT score was low, you can improve that. If your GPA is 2.0 and you have completed 150 credit hours, it could be very difficult for you to make a dramatic overall increase.

I think it is important that you contact the schools where you have been rejected and ask them for their feedback and suggestions on how to improve your application. I am always impressed when we review a re-applicant and the admissions office can tell me that they have been contacted by the person being reviewed and they have made the improvements we suggested.

Good luck.

How should I express my appreciation to those who helped me get into pharmacy school?

Question: 
I am so happy to be starting pharmacy school this fall and feel like I should give the people who wrote letters of recommendation some sign of my appreciation because they obviously helped me out a lot. Is this appropriate or what would you recommend?

Answer:
I do not think you should feel obligated to give a gift to someone who wrote a letter of recommendation for you. It is a very nice gesture, certainly, but it is not an expectation of the reviewer.

I have had students bring me a bag of M&Ms because I have a candy jar in my office. One gave me a CD because I used to make fun of the music he listened to. Cookies or a card are also very thoughful. If you have a personal relationship with the reviewer (ie, a pharmacist you work with, mentor, or college advisor) something very small is acceptable. If it is a professor or someone you voluntered with, an email or phone call to let them know you were accepted into pharmacy school to thank them for the time they spent is more than enough.

I can't get out of work to attend my pharmacy school interview. Why should I do?

Question: 
I just got an interview invite for March 22nd, however I may not be able to attend that day due to work obligations. Do you think schools would be willing to let me change the interview date? I would prefer to do it after when my schedule at work loosens up more, but would a school be willing to accommodate my request?


Answer:
I can almost guarantee that a school will work with you. However, please consider the following from the perspective of the school:
1) what is more important to you - work or your pharmacy school interview?
2) is it possible for you to rearrange your work schedule?

If you choose to reschedule your interview, I would not tell them the reason is because you cannot get out of work. Understand that most interviewees are missing school and/or work to attend out of town interviews and choosing not to do this could be perceived negatively by some. It's just something to consider. Just state that you had an unexpected conflict and you need to reschedule if that is the direction you choose.

Good luck.

Interviewing at a pharmacy school where I was waitlisted last year

Question: I got invite for an interview with this one school (I had an interview with them last year) except this time it's about a month earlier. I was on their waitlist last year. This is my 2nd time interview at this school.

just want to know what should I expect on the 2nd time?

also, during my interview should I mention about last time I had an interview here? or what should I do to get accepted the 2nd time?

so nervous because this might be my ONLY interview for this year.

Answer:  Great question. First of all, I commend you for reapplying to the same school even though you were not accepted last year. I think applicants sometimes give up their dreams too quickly instead of persevering.

Next, I should preface my advice to you with some general guidance: I would advise all applicants who are rejected or waitlisted to contact the school and ask how to improve your application. We get this phone call occasionally, but not nearly enough in my opinion. In many cases, we really do have a solution for how the applicant can improve. It might be as simple as improving your PCAT chem score, gaining some pharmacy experience, rewriting your personal statement to better indicate why you want to become a pharmacist, or improving one's interviewing skills.

To answer your question, I think you should expect the interview to be pretty similar to what you experienced last year. In that regard, you should be relaxed relative to your peers who might not know what to expect.

My advice to you would be (and this would impress me tremendously): Let the interviewer know that you had the opportunity to interview last year and were waitlisted, but you had such a desire to attend this particular school that you worked diligently to improve your application. At this point, add in anything you did which might impress an interviewer: Did you get a pharmacy job or shadow an RP? Did you take additional courses or retake the PCAT if that was an issue? Basically, tell them why you are a better candidate now than you were at this time last year.

I might add, hopefully without sounding too parental, that if an applicant has done nothing to improve their application from one year to the next, that they should not expect a different result than was achieved the first time.

Good luck. I hope that you will let us know how the interview goes.

I got accepted to my top choice for pharmacy school! Can I cancel a deposit check mailed to another school?

Question:  
I was admitted to a school and paid their sizable deposit with a personal check last week. Today I found out that I was admitted to my school of choice. How wrong would it be to cancel the check for the first school? Or if I notified them of the situation and asked them not to cash the check, would they agree? I assume they have the check now but it hasn't cleared and I'd hate to lose all that money. Help please!

Answer: 
I wish I could answer this one for you, but this really is between you and the school. I suppose you could argue that a school hasn't officially accepted the deposit until the check is actually cashed, but that might be splitting hairs. I would discourage you from simply canceling the check without any mention of it to the school.

If I had to make a recommendation, it would be to call the school and explain that you mailed them a check with the intention of attending their school of pharmacy.  Inform them, however, that in the past day or two (or however long ago), you were admitted to another school and that you would like to respectfully decline the first school's offer of admission.  During that conversation, request that the deposit check not be cashed.  Inform them that you will be canceling the check during that conversation and follow up with a polite email stating the same so that you have documentation of it.

Good luck.