ranza003

I am really not the best person to ask as I have not had to search for a job in pharmacy (still a student). Schools definitely preach that the job market is increasing, pharmacists are becoming more valuable, etc. (of course they say this because they want your money) but others will tell you it's next to impossible to find a job, and some say it's just like every job market right now. After all, we're still in an economic slump, so extremely few jobs have a great outlook for employment.

I think it varies a lot with location. The less schools there are in the area you want to work, the better. California and Chicago are both very saturated (from what I hear) and other areas are doing OK. Unfortunately, I cannot give you accurate information regarding the job market, but the general vibe is that jobs are harder to come by than they used to be and pay is decreasing or stagnant and hours are being cut (32 hour weeks are becoming more common in some retail pharmacies). Pharmacy is not the cash cow that it used to be in the not-so-distant past. I would talk to pharmacists and fourth year pharmacy students in your area to try to get a better outlook on the job local job market. You can always check out the Student Doctor Network pharmacy forums, but I think they're a bit over-the-top with the doom and gloom.

I wouldn't say the pay is low, but relative to the amount of debt and salary-earning year lost from school it can be considered "low." I'm personally not one to stick my nose up at a salary that's about double the national average on the lower end.

gbogboemi

I take the pcat in september. My background in biology is very poor. I'm studying with Textbooks but my time is limited. Are there any online resources(quiz banks...maybe) that you know of OR How do you suggest I study for biology since my time is limited? Thanks in advance

gbogboemi

I already bought the pearsons tests.

ranza003

I guess I would go off of some PCAT study books like Barron or Kaplan. They will help give you some structure to your studying. I use quizlet.com to make and study flashcards. You can search other peoples' cards as well. I just searching "PCAT biology" on Quizlet and over 50 flashcard sets popped up. Just make sure that whatever you study from covers biochemistry as well, since biochem was added to the PCAT in the last few years.

yertle82

I am currently going on my second year as an undergrad. Maybe it's too early but I was wondering if there is anything I can do to prepare/keep an eye out for when I do apply for pharmacy school. Perhaps volunteering at a hospital? Anything would help!

ranza003

I know it's pretty lame that I'm posting a link to answer your question (to another forum, nonetheless), but this is one of the best general pre-pharm sources I've come across. Have a go at it and if you still have questions then I can try to provide more detail.

Pre-Pharmacy FAQ: schools, applications, the profession, useful links, etc | Pre-Pharmacy | Student Doctor Network

My quick general advice:
* It's never too early to start thinking about admission
* GPA and PCAT are important factors in admission, but they alone will not make or break you.
* Some sort of knowledge of or experience in the field of pharmacy is essential. Not only will it make you more competitive, it will clue you in to what being a pharmacist really entails and if you can see yourself doing it for 40+ years.
* Extracurriculars, good letters of recommendation, volunteering, research, leadership, etc. are also factors to consider.

ranza003

Hey everyone,

As happens with life, I will be very busy and not frequenting this website very often. It has now been a few years since I went through the application process, so my recollection of it is not the best. That being said, I hope other pharmacy hopefuls, students and pharmacists can chip in when able.

Check out the link in my above post. It is pretty current and has more information than I or any other one poster can provide you in a short period of time.

If you have a pressing question, feel free to send me a PM and I'll get an email alerting me of it. I'll try my best to respond in a timely manner.

Good luck everyone!

chen1111

My daughter took the PCAT today and got the result right away. Although, she ran out of the time on math and had to guess half of them, but still got 97 composite. Can anyone tell me is this a competitive score?

ranza003

That depends on if you're talking about score or percentile.

97th percentile = awesome. This means that she is in the top 3% of people that take the PCAT.

A composite scaled score of 97 would be very, very bad though.

chen1111

From my daughter's report, there are two sets of numbers. First set is like VA 99, Bio 82, RC 88, QA 55, and Chem 99, Composite 97. Another set is like VA 461, Bio 424, RC 423, QA 404, Chem 463, Composite 435. I am assuming composite 97 means percentile. But, not really sure how good her scores are. I was thinking maybe she needs to retake the test to bring the math higher.

ranza003

The quantitative analysis score of 55 means that she's right in the middle of the pack for quantitative analysis, which is not especially good but it's also not bad, especially considering that she ran out of time. The rest of her PCAT scores make up for it in my opinion.

I would definitely say she does not need to retake it. The 97 is the 97th percentile, so she's in the top 3% of all that take the PCAT. Most people would give a lot to have a score that high. It is a very competitive score and would be very difficult to improve upon. As long as she's well-rounded in other aspects of her applications and does well in the interviews that PCAT score should give her a very good chance of admission.

maddi23

Hello ranza003, i am new to this website so I hope that I am posting this post to you. I am currently a freshman in college, I just graduated high school last year. My high school offered dual enrollment which was a program that allowed me to take classes at a community while still in high school. As of right now I already have about 25 credits, and this semester I am taking 13 credits since it is my first time attending a university. I would really like to go into pharmacy, but I would love to finish as soon as possible. My main goal is to finish all of my prerequisites in 2 years (this year and next year) and then hopefully be able to get into a pharmacy school (I would prefer a 3 year pharmacy school). I was wondering what type advise you would have for me and my situation. I have already started looking at pharmacy schools and all of the required classes that I must finish within these two years. I am a horrible test taking and I fear the PCAT. I actually wanted to start preparing for it from now (I know it is a bit early, but I would like to do as best as I can). I am taking general biology right now, and I will hopefully finish all of the required science classes within these two years. Do you think that there is any way I could start studying for the PCAT from now with not much experience with the information contained within it? If so, how would you recommend I go about it? Any other advice you have for me I'd love to hear please. Thank you

Dungdang

Hello

I have read others' questions about the pharmacy and I am appreciated of your detail and helpful responds. Here is my own problem, my second PCAT score is
verbal 22
biology 67
reading comprehension 18
quantitative ability 82
chemistry 56
composite 47
*
My took all pharmacy prerequisites with all As, except that I got an B in genetics. I volunteered at a pharmacy and a nursing home for several months. I have 1 LOR from a pharmacist and 2 from science professors. I received three scholarships. Should I retake the PCAT in November 9th. Is it too late to take the test again for pharmacy 2013.* I am currently pregnant and my due date is Oct 29th. I know my weakness is English because it is my second language. What is my chance of acceptance. Please give me some advice. Thanks you so much for the respond!!!!!

chen1111

Your VA and RC scores are too low. For some schools, they have minimum of 50% or 55% composite requirement. I suggest you either apply to schools where they do not require PCAT (a lot of these schools are in California) or retake the test to bring your composite to above 50%.

es0125

I am currently in the process of applying to Pharmacy schools for 2013-2014 and am stuck on the essay portion. I wrote something, that my friend who's gone thru the process, totally shot down as being too vague and not personal enough. I like pharmacy, I have experience but I'm not sure how to explain why, I don't have anything really personal to divulge as to why. Regardless, I did my undergrad in Accounting, completely irrelevant to pharmacy, and then I got laid off, and decided to go back to school, and the one thing I wanted and liked most was pharmacy. Can someone give me some advice how to include that part into my essay, not sure if it looks bad that if I like pharmacy so much, why didn't I go into that right away after high school..any help would be much appreciated.