Is pharmacy school attainable at this point?

Question: My issue is that I do not want to pursue something that will not be attainable. I received a BA in Business about 3 years ago with an overall GPA of 2.6. After working in a retail pharmacy I made the decision to become a pharmacist. I began taking courses at a CC and am now on academic probation ( Grades are B two, Cs, F, a W, and two Ds in an attempt at the same course. On top of working full time while attending class, I was in an accident and missed many classes as a result, in addition to the fact that I had never taken courses of this magnitude and may have been overwhelmed. What can I do, if anything, to possibly be accepted into a professional program? How much will volunteering and community service help? Or should I just begin looking for a career elsewhere? Thanks for your help : )


Answer: Thanks for your email. Of course, there are no absolutes in this world, so I won't tell you that your goal is unattainable. However, you have painted yourself into a corner and don't have much room to get out.

Without knowing the courses you are struggling with or how working full time and your accident affected you, I can only speculate. Although it may be unrealistic, I wonder if you were to dedicate yourself to your studies on a full time basis if you feel that would enable you to be successful. Ceratinly, I have seen cases of individuals with less than stellar academic records who have shown significant improvement once they focused exclusively on their studies and increased their chances of admission dramatically.

At this point, volunteering and community service are not going to get you into pharmacy school. It would appear that you need to markedly improve your grades. If you believe you can do this, even if it requires great sacrifice, that would be your best opportunity. You simply have to weigh the positives and negatives and determine what direction is best for you.

Good luck.