Pharmacy & Medicine No Chance?

[nonzerosum]

I just finished first year at UofT SG and I am contemplating whether I should be spending money & time to pursue pharmacy (and in short term taking the PCAT).

 

The problem is I had a very average (literally average) first year, I have a cgpa of 3.2 and my major concern is my CHM138 (or 1st year Organic chemistry half credit) where I obtained a final grade of 65%. The thing is I don't know if I even have a chance at Pharamacy, I know the minimum req is B- at U of T but I have feeling that's just a cash grab to pay for the new building. I really don't want waste any more of my parent's money on something that is highly risky. Has anyone ever heard of anyone getting into UT Pharmacy with a C in organic chem and a 3.2 gpa? (sarcasm not intended)

 

So I think in short, do I have a reasonable chance to get into Pharmacy or Medicine at U of T (or Pharmacy in Canada at all?)? If not, are there any alternatives for my current situation? What should I do???

 

Thank you for any advice

[MSmith19]

No clue about pharmacy, but it'll be hard for med schools that use cGPA without a weighting formula. Luckily U of T will eliminate your worst 8 semester course marks if you go for 4 years with a full courseload. Other schools use percentages, best 2 years, last two years, there are still many options if you get 3.8+ in your next 3 years.

[w8kg6]

Honestly, with a 3.2, you're not going to stand out from the crowd when applying to any professional school. I'm not sure what the standards for pharmacy are, but judging on the GPAs of a few friend who have been rejected, I think that would be a major anchor for you. It may be best to look into other options.

 

EDIT: Sry, I just went back and saw that is your GPA after first year only. Yeah, don't worry too much. Just clean up your act, and you'll be ok.

[princess19]

although your marks are currently not competitive, you shouldn't give up on your goal. it is very possible to overcome a mediocre first year. i can't speak for pharmacy but many med schools have a weighting forumla for GPA or look at your best/most recent 2 years, so if you pull your marks up next year and beyond, your 1st year marks can definitely be overlooked.

[Halcyon]

Hello there,

 

I don't know about U of T pharmacy; but, I believe the pharmacy program at UW requires a min. overall GPA of 3.0/4.0 (75%) to apply. That being said, you'd probably need higher than that to get in. Plus, there's a bunch of pre-reqs to do before you apply to pharmacy, so you'd have to minimum do another year of uni (for UW at least).

 

Good luck!

 

[nonzerosum]

Thanks for the replies,

 

I am also considering transferring from U of T SG to perhaps UTSC (or somewhere else where the transfer deadline hasn't passed) but I am not sure if that will help. I've put a lot of effort into my first year but I always received mediocre grades (I personally think my work ethics is sound 96% avg final in grade 12) but I felt that the tests and exams don't reflect the material in the textbooks and lectures (esp chem) and the TAs I've encountered at UTSG are horrible (esp chem, they can't answer ANY questions!). Is this is same everywhere? Should I transfer? If so, to where?? Should this next year or should I transfer after 2nd year?

 

Thanks again

[Tolentinium]

Hello guys,

 

I have a question. This may be a repeated question from other threads but is it really possible to apply to medical school from pharmacy? I mean pharmacy really is an undergraduate after all. And if it is, does anyone if medical school takes the primary post-secondary grades or the grades from pharmacy school? (I suspect they would naturally take pharmacy school grades but what about the courses before pharmacy school?)

[Halcyon]

Hello guys,

 

I have a question. This may be a repeated question from other threads but is it really possible to apply to medical school from pharmacy? I mean pharmacy really is an undergraduate after all. And if it is, does anyone if medical school takes the primary post-secondary grades or the grades from pharmacy school? (I suspect they would naturally take pharmacy school grades but what about the courses before pharmacy school?)

 

Depends on the school how they will evaluate the grades (look at the different sub-forums per school), but pharmacy is an undergrad. They will take the pre-req and pharm courses to figure out your GPA. For instance, Mac will take ALL undergrad courses ever taken to calculate your cGPA.

 

Good luck!

[Slashsev01]

i havent read others replies, but u will get red flagged on below average chem...idont know how much they dock on the overall scale..and a 3.2 is low, but u are in 1st year, and u still have alote time to lift it to a 3.5-.6...

 

take more chem and get A's...thats the best way u can offset it...

[nonzerosum]

i havent read others replies, but u will get red flagged on below average chem...idont know how much they dock on the overall scale..and a 3.2 is low, but u are in 1st year, and u still have alote time to lift it to a 3.5-.6...

 

take more chem and get A's...thats the best way u can offset it...

 

Actually I've only got one more year, I am apply to pharmacy in 2nd year so should I retake the chem course (by transferring universities) or continue at U of T which is basically a guaranteed below A- for sure,

[Slashsev01]

thats for you to decide, but they usually say they want upper level courses so orgo chem I 60 they want orgo chem II 80 (i dont know the specific numbers)...so going higher is wat i hear

 

I know its early in the game, but u seem confused, medicine or pharmacy, uoft or another school..i would first evaluate my priorities...rushing is not an answer (something that parents push for)....i would hate to do something for the rest of my life if i was going to be miserable (what iam doing now..ahaha) (you might want to shawdow a pharmacist, md) and decide wats best for you.....2 years in the big shceme of things is really small...

 

in short, i dont know ur history..but i would recommend u to send the summer at shoppers drug mart and see if its for you...

[Slashsev01]

oohh and always set goals...

 

ie...this is what i have to do to get into medicine...

 

not this is what i have to get into medicine, but if i dont ill can take that n get into dentistry or do this and get into pharmacy or sniff glue so i can get into grad school

 

even though backups are good...they usually distract u from ur ultimate goal...

[nonzerosum]

oohh and always set goals...

 

ie...this is what i have to do to get into medicine...

 

not this is what i have to get into medicine, but if i dont ill can take that n get into dentistry or do this and get into pharmacy or sniff glue so i can get into grad school

 

even though backups are good...they usually distract u from ur ultimate goal...

 

Actually pharmacy and medicine are two routes I can take to my ultimate goal. There are a lot of overlap between the two and I have interests in both. I am definitely not considering any of them as a "just another back up plan"

 

I've done quite a bit of volunteering in both fields, I am just worried about my grades. I've put a lot of effort (to be honest, I've never worked as hard in school as I did in first year at U of T) but I am still getting subpar marks at UTSG. I don't know what I should do.

[Prothrombin]

Apply out of province as well, but work to boost your marks.