Sunday, May 13, 2012

Leaving research fellowship to pursue pharmacy school

Question:  My GPA in undergraduate was not good ( 3.0 ). I was awarded a fellowship to
conduct research in Pharmacology and get my PhD, but I decided to leave the program

because I was not into research and development.

Now, I am choosing to go to pharmacy school because I feel that this will
be a better career for me.  Two reasons for choosing pharmacy school : 1) I
still love the science and pharmacology 2) I want to be in an environment
that will allow me to interact with patients.

I fear that my undergrad GPA will hurt me and my lack of experience in a
pharmacy setting will not help either. On the other hand, I feel that my
background in scientific research will benefit me. My graduate school GPA
is 6.0 out of 8.0. What is the best route for achieving my goal on becoming
a pharmacist? Has anybody else taken this route?





Answer: Your path, albeit not typical, will not be a concern for pharmacy schools.  We have all seen plenty of applicants who have pursued other careers and/or been successful in other fields prior to pursuing a PharmD.  Most AdComs will want to hear from you why you decided not to finish your fellowship (your reasons seem legitimate to me) and anytime someone makes a change like this, having some sort of practical experience can bolster your chances.  It's hard for an applicant to explain why they want to make a change to pharmacy without having any volunteer, shadowing, etc to reinforce their belief.

Your GPA will be on the lower end of what most schools admit and I would encourage you to look into and apply to several schools.  Begin contacting admissions counselors now and initiate dialogue with them.  Ask them for their advice - that is my best suggestion in your case.

I hope that helps.

-Admissions

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