My Final Admission Stats

Thought it would be best to provide my final admission stats that were used to accept me to various schools. For the original post, please click HERE is this is only an admendum to the original.

Accepted: 4 Schools (2 of of waitlists)
Waitlisted: 1 School
Denied: None
Final cGPA - 3.00
Final sGPA - 2.72
Dean's List the last three semesters

Again, original PharmCAS information and PCATs are listed in the original post, so if you're looking for those you can find them at the link above.

Well I'll Be....

My best friend and I have this mantra that keeps us going on a daily basis. Namely that life has a tendency to kick you down. Doesn't matter how high you get, it'll always come back and roundhouse kick you in the balls.

What matter is that despite that, you are able to rise above it and come fighting back. Yes, things may be dreary at that particular moment, but everything happens for a reason and eventually you'll claw back.

With that, I feel the need to share that I received a second acceptance letter at the end of last week. This school is a lot more favorable choice than the first school that accepted me, so I am liable to go there instead.

It's a rather odd feeling knowing less than a week ago I was wondering if I would have to find a job in the fall, and now I hold in my had two acceptance letters.

I guess our mantra works out after all.

And before you ask, I have not decided if I will disclose where I will either decline or be rejected from. The school I'm declining this week is.... well I was very unimpressed with them. Case in point, there was a spelling error in my acceptance email. I find things like that to be EXTREMELY unprofessional, especially considering what the email pertained to.

Additionally it is a fairly major institution, so I'm not sure if I want to burn any bridges. I'm not looking to make any enemies around here and don't want to start pharmacy school with people having preconceived perceptions about me.

Maybe when everything is all said and done I'll reveal a couple of my choices. Until then, y'all will have to just keep wondering...

It's Over... It's Finally Over

Today was just another day... well aside from the fact of earning the joy of working with the owner.

Since its spring break, and after my recent waitlist notice, I have avoided my school email. With no school, there was nothing pertinent being sent to that particular email account. I figured I needed a break and would check all of my email accounts to kill time.

My account consisted of one email from yesterday.... from one of the schools I applied to.

I am finally relieved to say I know what I shall be doing this fall. That email stated that I was accepted into their program as their Class of 2014.

After staring at the screen for what seemed like hours, I was able to mutter a 'Holy Shit' as I stepped away from the screen.

It's not my first choice... or my seconds... actually its my last choice, but who the hell cares? This entire ordeal is over and a new chapter is set to begin.

It still hasn't fully sunk in yet and I doubt it will completely for several days. I write this now in a state of disbelief, especially when I consider how bleak the prospect looked four years ago.

As I end those post I want those of you who dig yourself in a hole as great as mine that there is hope. You just have to work your ass off 24/7 to earn it back.

Thus, the title of this blog should no longer be "I want to be a pharmacist..." but instead "I will be a pharmacist..."

Another Day... Another Waitlist

You know the most annoying part of this whole process? As you meander though each stage, there are people who will tell you,

"You're a great candidate for pharmacy school, they're surely accept you!"

or,

"It's rare to see someone so well rounded about the profession at your age. I'll be seeing you in the fall."

The latter is even worse when that is the closing remarks of one of the interviewers.

Alas I am on a waitlist... again. At least this time I know where I sit in line. Of course, as always, it was a royal kick in the balls, which have had their fair share of trauma over the years, but at least it's not a no.

That's what I keep telling myself at the moment.

It's just frustrating to have all of this feedback from people, interviewers included, and still nada. It's like dangling chocolate cake in front of a fat kid, but never quite giving it to him.

Chocolate Cake = Pharmacy School

Fat Kid = Me

Alas the waiting game continues for yet another month. Hooray.

A Twist to the Waiting Game

Much like the rest of us who work in a pharmacy and are applying to schools this time of year, chances are you know several other people who are applying to the same set of schools you are. It is just the nature of the beast. In fact I have become really good friends with one of them to the point where I refer to her as the little sister I never wanted.

However I discovered a bit of a twist to the waiting game I am in now. You see a couple of people I work with, including my friend, were all accepted to my favored school today.

It's an odd feeling because I am immensely happy for them... yet selfishly I feel jealous and a tad angry. More so, why couldn't I have been accepted right off the bat like them.

I already know the answer and it comes down to my foe in this whole process, the dreaded GPA, but it still makes me feel like an ass for thinking that way.

Oh well, hopefully my day will come soon.

Pharmacy School Interview Round-Up

Man that's a weird title for this post. My mother-in-law is obsessed with Bonanza, maybe its running off on me.

I thought I would go over the five schools I have interviewed at over the last few months. Those of you thinking to apply to just one school, I implore you to consider otherwise. Needless to say I was shocked at the overall variation in several aspects between the schools. It doesn't hurt to have a well rounded selection if you ask me.

As always, no school names will be mentioned for anonymity's sake. This is to give an idea of what a collection of schools can offer.

Pharmacy School Interview #1

This is probably still my top choice. The program best fits what I want to do over my career. One of the things you discover as you travel around is how pharmacy schools can have vastly different focuses. This one was focused on patient care which I can relay into my retail aspirations.

By far, the students here were the most friendly. Not only were they kind during the Q&A sessions and able to stick around to chat afterward, but when passing students in the hallway they were spontaneously offer support to all of us. It was a small token at the time that I came to realize is a strong reason why I like this school.

Pharmacy School Interview #2

This is easily the my least favorite choice out of the schools. It had a vastly different interview schedule, which I now believe to be far too short. One of my interviewers stated she hadn't looked over my application nor even knew my name prior to sitting in the room with me. I briefly covered the experience here.

The students were nice, but they appeared frazzled. At times it seemed as if they were forcefully saying nice things about the school and the program. It wasn't until we ventured over for pizza and drinks, yes drinks, that they finally seemed relaxed.

It also didn't help that this school has a strong focus on clinical and research pharmacy, two areas I do not wish at this moment to go into.

Pharmacy School Interview #3

Whoever scheduled this interview is an asshole. I had to be on campus by 7am, by FAR the earliest out of all of the interviews. It was also my first experience with an interview essay, which went okay despite the fact that my brain is not fully functioning this early in the morning.

Didn't really get to meet too many students during this interview, but the ones I met appeared content with the school and the program. Some gave the impression that they did not really wish to be here, but it was 7am and during winter break so I will let that slide. I was VERY impressed with the way the curriculum was laid out over the four years as it had the most logical progression out of all the schools. The faculty was very laid back and VERY willing to help you, a nice touch.

Plus the location of the school, and the city it was in, gave it major points for living conditions. That is another factor I did not really think to consider when this all started.

Pharmacy School Interview #4

This school had the most beautiful and well thought out campus. Actually, you could say their campus was rather innovative in many aspects. The students and faculty were all very cordial and did their best to make you feel at home. I left with really no negative feelings, but also really no overtly positive feelings.

Easily, this school presented the most thoughtful essay out of the three I had to write and I found the topic to be rather enjoyable. The way the graded you throughout the day was also very considerate as it relied not only as you as a student, but how you are as a person. I would have no qualms about going to school here.

Pharmacy School Interview #5

This one was... well strange. No tour of the school was given and when I asked some questions about the program the response was, "Well you can look that up online." This was, by far, the farthest I traveled for school, so I really did not appreciate that response.

The essay was rather self-promoting in nature, much like the essay from school #3, but simple. I really don't like a self-promoting essay as it is forces you to sensationalize yourself. Honestly, I do not think you should have to do this, but I suppose it is not my choice.

Perhaps the most unusual portion of the experience was the interview itself. The questions were unlike anything I had had previously and it really through me off my game. One of the questions that really bothered me was whether or not I had a moral or ethical problem with dispensing Plan B. It was one of the questions, since it is a such a hot topic with some people, that I was not comfortable answering because of the strong views some individuals have on it. I rather felt like it was an inappropriate question given the circumstances.

That being said the faculty was overly enthusiastic, but the students only acknowledged us during the defined meeting time. They appeared content with the program, but also appeared rather distant.

Thus, the waiting game has begun. I have five chances to find out my fate between now and May 1st. The experience as a whole has been illuminating and I hope I have shown some light upon the process the last several months.

To be honest I am not sure what program I would decide on, if I'm lucky enough to have the option to decide. It's a decision my wife and I shall have to come at together, but as long as I get in somewhere, that's all that matters.

And trust me, there will be one helluva celebration if an acceptance letter arrives. And y'all are invited!

The Trip From Hell

Let me preface this first by saying that I do not travel so I may appear ignorant in some areas of this story.

Before I left I mentioned that I was going on a bit of a trip. Essentially what this has consisted of is a vacation in Las Vegas, directly followed by my fourth interview which is almost directly followed by my fifth interview. All in 13 days. Wicked.

The Vegas part was fine, actually you could call it down right fun. Leaving Vegas though, that's when the shit started to hit the fan.

You see in my haste to exit our return flight I left my PSP and all of my games on the plane. Yes, dumbass move on my part (which will soon be eclipsed, trust me). Still waiting to hear back if they found the damned thing because I know precisely where I left it.

The next morning we went to the airport to fly out to my fourth interview. I had everything prebooked before we had left for Vegas, so I assumed we were set. I went to the kiosk to get our boarding passes and when I punched in our code this popped up on the screen.

This flight has already departed. Please select another flight.

What?!?

I glance down, the time is right, the airline is right, the date..... oh shit. Somehow I had selected a fly out date for Saturday, not Sunday. To top it off, despite checking over everything at least a half dozen times, I never caught the mistake.

Fuck.

Over to the ticket counter we go to see how we can remedy this. The chick at the counter was a complete bitch. I mean rolling her eyes, the whole works. She informs me, obviously, that'll have to buy a new pair of tickets and the flight leaves in about an hour.

$450 poof.

Whatever, it was my mistake and at least we had a flight to the city I needed to be in. I took the high road and realized it could be much worse than it actually was.

We arrive in the city and mosey on over to where our rental car is. They give me the keys, and I notice the vehicle they had given me.... a PT Cruiser. Oh dear God no. Again, I said fuck it and lets go. I put the keys in the car start it.... and it promptly dies.

Now what?

Try starting it again and nothing. It appears, to me at least, that the battery is dead. Oh joy.

Luckily they were fairly accommodating and gave me a different car which was able to drive off of the lot. Hooray!

The next day I arrive at the school for our day of activities (note to those who will be doing this in the future, you spend 6-8 hours at the school and your interview is usually only 30 minutes. Make note of this.) and get myself pumped up for my interview.

I arrive at the appropriate room at the appropriate time... and no one is there.

What...the...fuck...

Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication and my interviewer was unaware he was supposed to be here today. I felt like I had been stood up on prom, but this time without the booze to ease my pains.

Whatever, they find me someone else and the interview goes quite well. The trip is done! Or is it?

The next morning we arrive at the airport and find ourselves at the kiosk trying to print our boarding passes when this notice comes up:

Please pick up the phone next to you and talk to a Representative
IMMEDIATELY

Uh oh, am I on some kind of list? Did I utter the word bomb in an inappropriate place? Instead they tell me that my return tickets are void and I have to go to the ticket counter. Okay...

At the ticket counter they tell me that because we did not make our initial flight, it automatically voided our return flight. I don't fly, so I am completely unaware of this fact, but apparently she is. I suck it up, and buy another set of return tickets on the same flight.

$460 poof.

Now here is my question. Obviously the chick at the return airport was aware of the problem and understood that I simply did not have the time to call Travelocity to remedy the problem before I had to board. So why didn't the first ticketing clerk mention that my return tickets were no good.

I could have bought roundtrip tickets for over $400 less if she had just mentioned this fact. I know its my mistake, but c'mon, I thought these people were here to help in that kind of situation.

Alas, that part of my trip is over. With the extra airfare and extra night in a hotel that we didn't stay in (they were a package deal) the whole thing cost me an extra $1035.

Alright!

I have no one to blame but myself for the entire situation. So here is the lesson kiddies, always, ALWAYS have someone else proofread your trip itinerary with you. Otherwise you'll end up like me.

Where's Phathead?

I will be traveling around the country for the next two weeks or so. Prior to having to go back to school for that one motherfuc... I mean that one class, I had made plans to spend a week in Vegas.

Two weeks ago I received notice of my fourth and fifth interviews... at roughly the same time.

So this week I find myself in Vegas where as next week I am traveling to two different parts of the country for two different interviews.

Ole Phatty is gonna rack up some frequent flyer miles!

Posts will probably be short and sweet during that time and, as creepily as it sounds, I could be sitting next to some of you during the interview process... and you would never know!

*Cue evil laugh*

If, for whatever reason, one of my many flights crashes, I leave this blog to our fellow medical blogging brethren. Maybe Dr. Grumpy can divvy the site up for me.

I'm such a positive thinker!

Until then, booze and sight seeing awaits me!

Five-for-five

Don't worry oh loyal readers, I am still alive. My main computer took a crap on me about three weeks ago and I have been trying to identify the problem ever since. Thus I have not been around to entertain you with my exquisite rantings.

In other news, I received noticed that I have two more interviews in the next three weeks. That makes me five for five on interviews thus far. I do believe its time I can start relaxing a bit over whether or not I'll be going to school in the fall. Kind of an odd feeling if you ask me.

So, ole Phatty will be boppin around the country for the next few weeks. Who knows, maybe I'll be sitting next to some of you in some random city and you'll never even know it.

Spooky, isn't it?

Interview... Round Three

I'm starting to enjoy going to these interview just to people watch. I mentioned on Twitter the guy in khakis and a green sweater. A rather odd combination for an interview, but he fit in with the guy in a polo and cargo pants.

Probably the best part of it is how serious some of the interviewees are. I mean seriously, there were sticks shoved so far up some peoples asses that they had splinters in their eyes. While the Dean gave the opening welcome I scanned the room and was astounded with how many people held their unblinking gaze with chin up in the area at the Dean.

It reminded me of a dog begging for a treat. I actually have to stifle a laugh.

A few times I attempted to chat with people, but most of them had the personality of a wet rag. Or at least they did at this particular time. I make a joke about something, and yes it was a decent joke, and you can hear crickets as the other people look at me.

Laugh people, they aren't going to like to interview a statue.

All in all I think it went rather well. I was very impressed with the program and the faculty members I met. It appears they know exactly where the profession is going and are more than willing to adequately train students for that. Much better than school number two whose sole focus was on research for some odd reason.

Now the waiting game begins once again as I will not here from this school for a couple months. The only thing I'm left wondering is how others felt when they finally did remove that stick from their ass. I bet they'll be shittin' pancakes for a week.

What More Do I Have To Do?

Today I found out I was waitlisted from the other school I had an interview with this past month. That makes one deferral and one waitlist for those counting at home.

I know what some of you are thinking. I'm not out of it yet and it's better than being reject, which I wholeheartedly concede.

My question is what more do I have to do though? I know my grades from my first two years sucked. I have been spending every waking moment since then trying to make up for it. And ya know what, I am utterly exhausted. I cringed at the fact that I will now, for certain, have to come back in the spring after I graduated to take a class for another school's pre-req. I was immensely looking forward to a nine month break from studying, but alas that is not the case.

They asked me to bring my grades up to show an upward trend. I'd think a GPA of 3.5 over the last 60 credits would do that.

They asked me to have volunteer work on my application. I'd think volunteering at a hospital pharmacy a couple hours per week for six months would have done that.

They asked me to ace the PCAT. I think a 94 is a pretty damn good score if you ask me.

They asked me to do research. I think a year's worth of research that not only will be published, but has shed a new angle on the field it was in, would be enough.

They were worried I may not be able to handle the stress and amount of work involved in pharmacy school? How about the fact that since September 2007 I have either been in class nearly all year and/or studying for the PCAT? Oh and I got married during that period as well.

On top of all of this I have had at least 16 credits per semester, worked 35 hours a week, tutored a person or two on chemistry, and done every other damn thing they wanted. My experience is probably unlike 99% of the other applicants out there. Seriously, what person redesigns a pharmacy when they're 22 years old? I know where the profession has been, where it is, and where it is going.

And yet here I am, awaiting a decision for another five months. Yes I have started growing bitter about the whole situation. The last several years I have sat idly by as my friends went out for the night or on trips while I had to stay behind to focus either on school or paying for school.

Would you think I've sacrificed enough during that period? My wife is probably the only thing that's kept me sane the past few years.

I know this is not the end of the road, but these two schools were my most likely to get into schools. To say this is a kick in the nuts may be the understatement of the year.

I get kicked down, I get back up and go even harder. Kicked down again, bounce back even higher. Its gotten to the point where there's not much to bounce back too.

So I ask, just what the hell more do I have to do?

A Setback

Today I received via snail mail my admissions status from my second interview. I thought it was the better of two interviews, especially with some comments I recieved from the interviewers, so I had thought the entire experience went quite well.

I was wrong though. I have been told that I will have a second review once all other applications have been reviewed in April. No acceptance, no waitlist at this time. From what I have read this effectively corresponds to a Dear John letter.

Really, this shouldn't come as a surprise. One cannot expect to be accepted in all the schools that have been applied to.

I suppose the bigger thing is that I thought this had gone really well. Makes you doubt your first interview ya know?

Only thing to do is keep pluggin' away like I have been for the last couple years and keepin' the fingers crossed. I do think, however, it is time for a beer.

Interview... Round Two

Earlier today... or yesterday... or whatever the hell you wanna call it I had my second interview. This one required quite a bit more traveling than the last, but it's been a rather interesting journey since I have arrived. Upon boarding the plane I considered if it would be rude to remind the pilots to land as we neared our destination, alas I thought that may not be a very wise idea.

The interview itself was quite different from last week's. Instead of having one interviewer for forty minutes, this one was broken up into 4 separate interviewers each for twenty minutes. It was nice to talk to a range of people, but in all honesty twenty minutes is not a whole helluva lot of time.

It didn't really help that one of the interviewers appeared completely disinterested in interviewing me. She hadn't looked over my file and didn't express an ounce of emotion or reaction during the interview itself. I thought that if it was expected to be prepared and to conduct myself in a professional matter that my interviewer would do the same.

After wards I felt pretty good about the process. I'm a people person, thus why I love retail, and I have no qualms about talking with random people about something I love. I suppose it's a good sign that one of my interviewers said that I appeared "overqualified given my background" (whatever the hell that means) and my last interviewer said he expected to see me in his class next year. Good signs I hope.

The funny thing is I thought this was the school I was most certain that I wanted to go to. After my first interview, and the events of today, I'm not really sure that's the case. I do not really care for how the curriculum is setup, although I'm told it will be changed for next year, and the vibe the school gives off is completely different. Last week every one I met, from students to professors to support staff were overly friendly and supportive. Today, people were friendly, but those outside of the interviewing process flat out ignored us in the halls.

It doesn't help that this school is quite focused on the clinical side of things which is most likely where I will not end up.

But after the last few years what right do I have to be picky? I'll find out my status by Friday, possibly as soon as Tuesday, and I really don't know what I'll do then. The whole situation is very surreal after everything that's happened over the years.

Could it be that, in the near future, I may have to change the name of this blog to "I will be a pharmacist...?"

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Interview Review

Yesterday actually went pretty well. It's the first time in the five years I have been attempting to accomplish this that I feel really good about my chances. My interviewer almost forgot his structured questions because of the various interesting tangents we were discussing. I would think that would be a good sign.

To be honest I have never had an actual interview before. I've only interviewed for one job in my life and it was very informal. I decided not to practice though because I tend to get flustered when I try to remember what I prepared to say and I am generally very personable to begin with. One of the skills you gain working with the public for so long.

Of course it helped that everyone at the school was massively friendly. For as much as I have disliked working with interns over the year, the students there were extremely kind and thoughtful. I may have to revise that thought in the coming years.

In any case, one down, one to go!

And the Choice Is....

Well I decided to listen to the masses and go with the green shirt/blue tie. I also went out and picked up a similar colored shirt, but with a non-button down collar.

Now T-minus 15 hours and counting until interview time... gulp

Pharmacy School Admissions Interview Attire

I figure everyone who has read this blog (all 41,104 visitors as of the writing of this post) has been with me on my journey towards becoming a pharmacist. Due to this fact, I feel as if I should share at least part of the experience with you guys.

I know right now you're thinking either, A) Holy shit is he fucking crazy! or B) Holy shit what the fuck is he talking about?!?

And in either case it is perfectly understandable, but let me digress. Yesterday I went out and picked me up a spiffy suit for the interviews. I have since begun the process of attempting to pick out what precisely to wear with the suit.

Now herein lies the dilemma I have tons of dress shirts and ties as I generally wear those to work. Many of them, however, are not in consideration for the interview. Together they all sob and drink Jack Daniels in my closet. Why is this you ask? Because, from everything I have read, most pharmacy schools prefer that you dress conservatively for your interview.

That is a problem for my dress clothes because they are not conservative. I like bold colors which is why my shirts are colored Fuchsia and Copper and True Blue and Hunter Green and Blood Red and Chocolate Brown and etc etc with ties to go with. I do not like wearing pastel like colors and I will not wear a white shirt.

Therein lies the problem. I am left with two options in my closet and I went to the store today and picked up a 'conservative' shirt and tie. I know ask for honest and constructive criticism as to which to wear.

Now let's start with the 'conservative' shirt and tie. Of course all pictures are click-able to scale to a large size... if for some god awful reason you want to do that.


I will admit this does not look near as bad as I thought with the suit. The tie seems very Harry Potter-esq, but its decent. Now I could go with a pink tie, which I have and the wife loves to torture me about, but I figured that my scare the admissions people. Because, as well all know, pink is EXTREMELY threatening.

Let's carry on to my personal favorite.


This is probably my favorite shirt/tie combo I have at the moment. It helps that the shirt is like wearing the skin of a baby sheep against your body... ya know without all the blood and such. I have the fear that it is too fancy for the admissions folk. Not sure if that is the best way to phrase that, but I am genuinely not sure if this would be the correct way to go. The flash made the tie look quite a bit more shiny and silver than it actually is.

And last, but certainly not least;


This is actually the very first shirt/tie combo I ever bought (although this is a 2nd gen shirt) and I always thought I looked pretty snazzy in it. My problem is I think I look a bit like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but without the ice cream. And really, I don't need the admissions people salivating while they look at me. Well, salivating from hunger at least.

So there are your choices oh loyal blog readers. For those of you who are of the quiet type, I have placed a poll on the top right side for your clicking pleasure.

Now... lay it on me!

One Step Closer...

Today started off as a normal Monday. I literally had to drag my ass out of bed in time for Genetics. I was rather apathetic as I doodled aimlessly while being taught regulation factors in gene expression. For some reason the term Operon caused me to imagine some sort of monster destroying the city I live in. It was... perplexing.

Next I sat through my Race and Ethnicity class where I learn every day that you can be a racist even when you're not a racist. Or some crazy shit like that. This time I imagined the monster eating my professor. Such a lovely thought this was.

As I left this class to head home for lunch my phone rang; it was my manager. Already knowing what she was going to say, I answered it. She pleaded with me to go fill in for a sick co-worker on my day off at a store that is 30 minutes away from where I live. Being that I'm an overly nice son of a bitch, I agreed.

In essence, it was another dreary Monday.

Until I checked my emails.... and I found out the following:

On Friday, October 23rd, I have an interview at a pharmacy school.

Dear God, did I read that right? Am I losing my mind? After busting my ass to the point of exhaustion for the past three years could it possibly be true?

Those of you who have read this blog over the last two years, ya know all four of you, may understand how utterly monumental this is. Three years ago I thought I had no chance in hell of even being eligible to apply, yet alone be admissions worthy.

Yet here I am, booking plane tickets, searching for hotels and plotting to buy a suit on Wednesday.

The whole thing is very surreal. I read the e-mail about five times just to make sure I was reading it correctly. Hell I might frame the freakin' thing and hang it up in my living room.

Previously I said my PCAT scores were the achievement I was most proud of in my life. Today, it was supplanted with this e-mail.

So for all of you who read this blog, all of you who think you have made too many mistakes along the way and have no chance of reaching your dream, I am proof that you can climb out of that wretched hole. That no matter how bad it gets, no matter how much you may want to quit, retribution is possible.

Next Thursday I leave to take the next step in this epic journey. Next Thursday I leave to take the next step towards my future.

And damn is it sweet.

Pharmacy App Essays are a Joke

I have grown quite weary of writing the last few weeks. I swear the pharmacy schools across the nation are trying to overwhelm applicants with various redundant application questions.

Some want an essay in 1000 words. Some in 1000 characters. Some in 1000 characters with spaces. Some in three pages (whatever the fuck that means as there is no formatting requirements). Rain Man couldn't even keep track of all this shit.

And the questions are so abstract at times its unreal. Or they'll ask you a question that requires a detailed answer, but they want you to keep it under 300 words.

The best part is the same questions appear on the various apps, but they're all just different enough that you have to write a new one.

I was writing a slew of them at about 2am the other night when I realized that I that first I had combined two questions in one answer and then in another I had typed 1700 words when they wanted 1700 characters.

Oops.

Thank God I'm almost done with these... they're really starting to tap out what's left of my sanity.

My Pharmacy School Admissions Stats

I know when I was judging what was needed to get into pharmacy school, and once I was behind what I needed to do, I had a hard time gaining a complete picture of other applicants. Thus I have decided to share with you all my pertinent data that I am using in my application process.

First here are my PharmCAS calculated GPAs
As I have mentioned previously, I screwed up a ton my first two years in college, but have been trying to make up for it ever since. My science and math GPAs are low due to the fact that I took the majority of those course those first two years. Kind of shitty, no?

PCAT scores can be found here

PCAT 1
PCAT 2

I volunteered at an inpatient hospital pharmacy for 3 hours a week for about five months.

Over the past 8 years I have worked 15,000 hours in a pharmacy. I had to actually figure that out for one application and found it rather amusing. This includes 17 different pharmacies across three states. During that period i also completely redesigned a pharmacy from the ground up. For about two years I was the manager of the out front section of a pharmacy.

I have been certified by the PTCB for four years now and two years ago went through a 20 hour advanced diabetes training course. I've also recieved additional training in orthopedics, compression aids, respiratory aids and mobility aids.

Over this past school year I also worked on an undergrad research project with another student and my microbiology professor. It had to do with isolating and identifying a particular insertion sequence in the E. Coli genome. I have given a presentation at a microbiology conference and the work will be published.

I also have about a twenty year plan in my head to start up my own chain of pharmacies which focuses more on patient care than dispensing since this is the ultimate future of retail pharmacy.

And on top of that I'm a huge pharmacy nerd.

So there you have it, that's what I'm going to look like to the admissions committees at the four schools I'm applying too. Hopefully they will be able to look past my faults and admit me. Only time will tell now...

Studying for the PCAT

I have had some inquires as to how I studied for the PCAT considering the sizable change in my scores the second time around. I shall describe my method, but first I must offer a disclaimer.

I'm a science geek. When I learn something interesting in class, it sticks with me. Thus can tell you to use a Lindlar catalyst to go from an alkyne to an alkene and to use H2 and a palladium catalyst to go from an alkyne to an alkane. I remember vividly viral replication and the fact it can follow a lytic or lysogenic path. I remember how and what the kidney filters and replaces at its various stages.

Again, I am a nerd. All I need is a very brief refresher and it all comes pouring back out of my brain. I know not everyone is like this, thus why I am offering this disclaimer.

I used mainly the Kaplan 2008-2009 PCAT prep book. The book is quite good, but it does have some faults. For one, there are some incorrect answers in the back off the book which will drive you nuts at times. It only glances over O Chem and I felt it under prepared me for the quant portion of the test.

That being said it is a great reference for all the other sections of the test. If you're comfortable with what you know, you may only need this book. Personally I like to cover every single base and then some before I go into a test like this.

Therefore I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up a couple of Spark Notes book. First I picked up a book on biology found here. It covers virtually everything you'd cover in general biology and A&P. I never really had a class on plants, due to falling into a crack in our bio dept, so I used this heavily to prep for that. It's not detailed by any means, but it covers a good deal of information.

Next I picked up these two books, one on Pre-calc and the other on stats. In reality I probably did not need these (although I needed to brush up on trig) but it provided good practice for the test. Part of the challenge of the Quant portion is being able to quickly do calculations and being able to distinguish which answers are illogical. You should be able to do trig, division and basic stats problems very very quickly. In reality you do not have much time to spend on a particular problem.

I brought those three books with me virtually everywhere I went for two weeks reading through them and quizzing myself. At night, I would come home and hit up the Kaplan book to cap off the night.

Generally I would go section by section in the Kaplan book being slow and methodical. If there was a concept I vaguely remember or didn't understand when I remember it initially, I made note of it and after the section researched it further. I have kept virtually all of my pre-pharmacy course books which greatly helped with this part.

I know some of you are going, he started studying with two weeks to go? He's nuts! Hear me out.

I have studied for every single test in college in this manner. And I cannot sit and study for hours and hours on end. You know those kids who go to the library when it opens and leaves when it closes? That's not me.

I have learned to study in spurts. Hit the books really hard for 45 min to an hour and then leave them. Go screw around on the internet, go to the store, but do not touch the books. I try not to even think about it. Usually this break lasts for a half or so and then I go back to studying. I repeat this method again and again until I'm comfortable with the material.

And since I usually remember about 3/4ths of the material from the first time around, I don't study until it gets closer to the test date. I will get test anxiety and wind up burnt out if I start studying sooner. I simply cannot study for a test in that manner.

Finally purchase at least one of the practice tests from Pearson. Next to the Kaplan book, they are the best thing you can use to study. They generally reflect the type of questions of the test and will give you a really good ballpark for how prepared you.

As for the test make sure you're well-rested, eat breakfast and at the break time (this was my undoing the first time) and above all remain calm. I am lucky in that I am a fast test taker. Usually I am the first one done at a test and, in this instance, it allowed me to go over the whole section twice to check for errors. In taking it the second time I learned how to properly pace myself and I was able to whip out answers more quickly due to, I think, being more relaxed.

I know I probably study in an atypical manner, but I figure this should help answer some questions. If anyone has anymore either shoot me an email or leave a reply in the comments field and I will do my best to answer it.