This blog is a helpful tool of bits of information I have gathered being in education (student and teaching) for a long time. I am a current pharmacy student and have been through the current application process. If you have been accepted into pharmacy school and would like to post, let me know and we can work it out.
So maybe your adviser is useless and/or not really familiar with many pharmacy schools, you need to be your own advocate. Know what you need to take! Each school has a different set of standards that they consider minimum to get into pharmacy school. This list can help you figure out what basic classes you should take and specifically what each school wants you to have. It may be good for helping to limit the schools you are looking at as well as help you choose your classes for the next few semesters.
My advice, take as many courses as you can on the lists so you can apply to as many schools as possible. Think you can't hang with Calc 2, maybe stay away from it, but make sure you get the minimum requirements for most schools.
So there's this thing that pharmacy schools require, it is a digital application from the service called PharmCAS. Pharmcas is just like any old application, it requires all your demographic info, your qualifications, ect. The thing that takes the most time is inserting your classes. It is VERY important to get pharmcas filled out very early. The length of time to complete the Pharmcas varies, but can be done within about 5 hours (not including your personal statement) for a student with 120 semester hour credits. The application opens in the summer for the application process of that school year (ie. summer 2009 for the 2009-2010 acceptance cycle, school starting Fall 2010) , start it immediately. Get it done fast. Get your recommendation forms to your professors right away and make sure they get turned in so your application can be sent out to schools. Many people have letter or recommendation writers who will take a really long time (months) to complete. Make sure you find someone who will not only fill out a good recommendation, but will also do it in a timely manner. Keep on the writers if they haven't gotten it done. The Pharmcas website is available now for students wanting to start Fall 2010.
Most schools of pharmacy do what is called a rolling application. That means that they accept a certain number of people every time they review applications and if you don't get accepted the first time you may get accepted the second. This is VERY cool if you get your application done early, you have many more chances to get accepted than if you applied later. Also, you are in the minority of applicants if you get done before September, meaning less competition!
While I am urging you to get your pharmcas done fast, do not send in poor quality. Make your application gold for the acceptance committees. If you are waiting on that next PCAT score that may be much better than the first, give it a few weeks, but remember early submission gets more reviews and more chances to get in!
This is the standardized test that will be the measurement of how smart you are by admissions committees. Yes they look at grades, but this is what they think is really a measurement of how well you will do in pharmacy school. With that said, don't just take the PCAT once, take it until you get a score you are happy with.
I recommend taking one or more review courses and getting all the books you can. They are put out by Barrons , Kaplan, and Cliff's to name a few. Personally, I found the review session at Midwestern University to be very high quality and was very valuable for me. I took tests out of all the books I could find. Sit down and actually take the tests in a timed manner like you would for the exam and don't allow any distractions.
Use the tests as a vehicle for your studying, if you got something wrong on the test review that material and make sure you understand it before you take another test. If you feel you just keep coming to the same few things, go back to your college professors and have them go over it with you, see if they can teach it a little bit differently so you can get it this time around. If you feel they are stuffy and unapproachable, find a TA or lab assistant or a tutor for that subject area.
I'm going to repeat myself from earlier here... Take the test multiple times, it gets easier each time you take it! You will score better every time. Some people say you can only hope to get 10 percentile higher if you take it again... that's 10 percentile higher than you were the first time and that's huge! I disagree with the 10 percentile statistic because I think 95% of statistics are make up. I personally scored 20 percentile higher the second time I took it. It's worth it to keep taking it!
The first time you take the PCAT you will be nervous, it is a fairly long test. Eat a good breakfast with plenty of carbs so you can get through it all without getting the rumblies in you stomach.
I am writing to help you get into pharmacy school. It will take lots of work and dedication... and unfortunately some money (the truly unfortunate part is that the money isn't going to me). Who am I to think I can help you? Just someone who has been through the process, who didn't have really good grades and who made some mistakes in applying the first time, but got into school in the end. I'd like to help you learn from my mistakes.
First, I want you to think long and hard about why you want to be a pharmacist. Really think about the subject, don't just keep reading. Write down a list of reasons you want to be wearing that white coat. If the first one is money, stop reading, don't waste your time applying, there are many other better and easier ways of making money.
I wanted you to write down the reasons why you want to go into pharmacy not just for yourself, but also to use for the entrance essays which you will have to write during application time.
Next, I want you to think about all the things you currently enjoy in life. Those things will go on hold until you get accepted. This will help you make the time to do everything you need to do to get in.
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