Question: Hi I am 30 years old, and I attended a Health and Engineering High School on the Pharmacy track. I did not go into college right after graduation due to military plans. I had a child and those to were put on hold. I started working in a pharmacy in 2003 while I worked on my Associate's in Pharmacy technology. Through all of my experience working in different areas I have decided on being either an IV Pharmacist or a compounding Pharmacist as I feel those are the two areas I excel at.
Finances and just generally being afraid of rejection I have not applied for pharmacy school. I work full-time, and I am a single mother who is also working on a chemistry degree as a back-up plan. Through all of this I have managed to keep my grades decent, my current gpa is a 3.167. I Clepped my General Biology classes, Gen Chem 1: B, Gen Chem 2: A, Org 1: C, the lab: B+, Org 2: B, the lab: A, Both Physics were C's. Now on to my PCAT. I took it in 2006 before I had any organic, physics, calculus, etc. Verbal: 86, Bio: 60, Reading: 37, Quant: 42, Chem: 35 with a composite of 53.
I have 8 schools both public and private that I would like to apply to on the east coast. Do I have a chance of being accepted at any of them? I was thinking of pushing myself and making a dash to try and take the October PCAT and score higher, now that I have had those classes.
Answer: I think your chances of acceptance are probably remote because of the low PCAT Quant and Chem scores. However, you indicated that the PCAT was taken before some pretty important courses were completed, so there is no doubt that retaking the PCAT should help you out. Minimally, you would want all of your PCAT sub-category scores > 50.
I would encourage you to retake the PCAT at the earliest time (Oct) and get all of your LORs and statement completed. If your scores improve, I don't see why you wouldn't have a decent chance. I wasn't sure if you ever applied back in 2006-07 when you originally took the PCAT or not. Nevertheless, if at first you don't succeed.....
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2 comments:
I'm rooting for you!! I can somewhat understand parts of your situation. I also am in my 30s (33) and have a child but have decided to go back to school. The PCAT has been a struggle for me also. I took my exam in June and my bio and chem scores were <50. I'm retaking the exam in October. Now that you know what to expect with the PCAT, hopefully you can improve those scores. That's what I'm hoping for myself! It sounds like you have great experience and are very determined. Good luck!
I took the pcat for the first time in Oct 09 and my composite was 19!! yeah I know. I didn't study ...I just took it to see what I would get...But is there a chance to increase my scores when I take it again in Jan? Or should i just give up the dream now?
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