Chances of me being admitted into UCSF, UCSD or UT Austin pharmacy school?

[TofuBlock]

Hello (it's me again),
Since I am prepping for this upcoming cycle, I thought maybe I should just throw my stats out there and hopefully those who were already admitted to UCSF/UCSD/UT Austin will give me some insights.

I graduated as an undergraduate, bio major from one of the UCs.
I have a 3.97 GPA.
I have a 99 percentile PCAT (98 in Bio, 99 in Chem, 99 in Math but only 42 in Reading - but I didn't really study for reading before taking the PCAT because I knew I would do bad either way lol).
I have 2+ years of research experience (while doing research, I received some grant money from the undergraduate research program + I did two presentations on my research at two different events at school, if these information make my resume better haha) and I think I will get a pretty good letter from research.
A few months before I started my undergrad, I did some shadowing at an independent pharmacy but I don't think I can include this in my application, no?
For extracurricular activities, other than research, I did some tutoring in biology (only for 3 months). I will be receiving a letter from the professor I did tutoring for too.
My third letter is from another professor I took a class with.
I am currently a pharmacy technician (been doing this for like 4.5 months-ish). One of the pharmacists where I am working at did offer to write me a letter if I ask (I think she is just being nice haha, to a desperate pre-pharm student). But I feel like I haven't been working long enough and since I feel like I am just an ok tech, I didn't ask her because I think I will just waste her time (she would have to think really hard on what to write because I am NOT an EXCELLENT tech hehe). Yes, I know a letter from a pharmacist would help a bunch but I don't want to make her go through all the troubles.

Well, that is my stat. My extracurricular aspect is really weak, yeahh. I guess it really depends on how I do during interviews too (if I even get to go on one lol).
UCSF and UT Austin are top-tier schools and their pharmacy programs are ranked top. Since I don't really want to go into retail, I think these schools would help me with the networking due to more opportunity. But because they are top-tier schools, they are pretty hard to get into.

Thank you.

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[CNJ_Anon]

Your chances of getting into any pharmacy school are greater than 99%.

What other potential career paths have you been considering? As a pharm tech, do you love working with the customers? Or do you think you would be happier and more successful in research? If you do get a doctor of pharmacy degree, where do you think you might be working afterwards?

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

Hello (it's me again),
Since I am prepping for this upcoming cycle, I thought maybe I should just throw my stats out there and hopefully those who were already admitted to UCSF/UCSD/UT Austin will give me some insights.

I graduated as an undergraduate, bio major from one of the UCs.
I have a 3.97 GPA.
I have a 99 percentile PCAT (98 in Bio, 99 in Chem, 99 in Math but only 42 in Reading - but I didn't really study for reading before taking the PCAT because I knew I would do bad either way lol).
I have 2+ years of research experience (while doing research, I received some grant money from the undergraduate research program + I did two presentations on my research at two different events at school, if these information make my resume better haha) and I think I will get a pretty good letter from research.
A few months before I started my undergrad, I did some shadowing at an independent pharmacy but I don't think I can include this in my application, no?
For extracurricular activities, other than research, I did some tutoring in biology (only for 3 months). I will be receiving a letter from the professor I did tutoring for too.
My third letter is from another professor I took a class with.
I am currently a pharmacy technician (been doing this for like 4.5 months-ish). One of the pharmacists where I am working at did offer to write me a letter if I ask (I think she is just being nice haha, to a desperate pre-pharm student). But I feel like I haven't been working long enough and since I feel like I am just an ok tech, I didn't ask her because I think I will just waste her time (she would have to think really hard on what to write because I am NOT an EXCELLENT tech hehe). Yes, I know a letter from a pharmacist would help a bunch but I don't want to make her go through all the troubles.

Well, that is my stat. My extracurricular aspect is really weak, yeahh. I guess it really depends on how I do during interviews too (if I even get to go on one lol).
UCSF and UT Austin are top-tier schools and their pharmacy programs are ranked top. Since I don't really want to go into retail, I think these schools would help me with the networking due to more opportunity. But because they are top-tier schools, they are pretty hard to get into.

Thank you.

What is the purpose of these WAMC posts? Do pre-pharms not realize that they will have no jobs after graduation and that going to “good schools” doesn’t shelter you from the job market because the PharmD degree is useless? That is like buying a $50 lotto ticket and asking “what are my chances for winning the jackpot? I have a much better chance because I didn’t buy one of those cheap $10 tickets, right?”

Moreover, most pre-pharms want to do “clinical pharmacy” but 80% of the pharmacist workforce is in retail pharmacy (and not by choice, mind you). The unemployment/underemployment rate of new grads are already at >50% in 2019 and you still want to become a pharmacist?

 

[deleted898085]

You'll get in UCSF for sure. If you plan to do search after PharmD, go for it.
If you've been a tech at a hospital for many years, you'll have a chance to get hired as a clinical pharmacist at that hospital without doing any residency. I have a few friends in my class who work as technician for many years at hospitals and are getting hired at those hospitals without doing any residency.
I also see that if you've been with CVS as a tech then intern, you will get a retail job at CVS for sure at least for class of 2020.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

You'll get in UCSF for sure. If you plan to do search after PharmD, go for it.
If you've been a tech at a hospital for many years, you'll have a chance to get hired as a clinical pharmacist at that hospital without doing any residency. I have a few friends in my class who work as technician for many years at hospitals and are getting hired at those hospitals without doing any residency.
I also see that if you've been with CVS as a tech then intern, you will get a retail job at CVS for sure at least for class of 2020.

I know several unemployed UCSF grads c/o 2019. You have to keep in mind that
1. You will be looking for a pharmacist job 5 years from now, and given how quickly the market in 1H 2019 has already changed, I guarantee you there will be much, MUCH less job opportunities in the future.

2. Most if not all of UCSF’s students are already highly motivated and are go-getters, so saying that “things will be ok if you intern at a hospital or a chain” is preaching to the choir. These students are still jobless DESPITE doing all the extracurriculars, going to a “good” school etc, because the reality is that when there are no jobs there are no jobs, no matter how good you are.

3. The days of the anecdotal “I know someone who got hired on in a hospital without a residency because they interned” are long gone. If anything, situations where someone does get hired on without a residency (and this usually means beating out a health system’s current resident class) usually involve nepotism/cronyism where the employee had a personal connection with the higher-ups. So it’s not that “interning” in and of itself is of any value so much as it is an excuse/opportunity to network, and you have to be on the right side of that coin (since most hospitals if they take interns will take multiple interns).

The bottom line: many students get into pharmacy school starry-eyed and aspire to be “clinical hospital pharmacists” but the reality is that most don’t realize how bad hospital politics is. It might be worse than politics across all other practice setting types, based on my experiences (having worked in multiple different environments).

 

[BC_89]

Moving to school-specific discussions.

With that, and only in terms of an acceptance: Your stats are in great shape. Good luck with the journey after academics though.

 

[PharmtoCS]

UCSF and UT Austin are top-tier schools and their pharmacy programs are ranked top. Since I don't really want to go into retail, I think these schools would help me with the networking due to more opportunity. But because they are top-tier schools, they are pretty hard to get into.

You should really consider other careers if retail is not your goal, since retail makes up about 70% of the jobs available to pharmacists whether you like it or not.

With the saturation and lack of jobs in California you will most definitely have to look for a job out of state in the middle of nowhere after you graduate. There is also that to consider.

 

[TofuBlock]

Thanks for all the replies!
Yes, I understand the saturation, especially in California. My pharmacists tell me about the saturation in California two, three times now. But I am not fixed to staying in California post-pharmacy school so that might open up more "opportunities" (if any). As of right now, I am not leaning toward anything. I am willing to do anything that is possible with a PharmD. Retail (stressful job but I got to work to survive), clinical, research, industry, insurance company, anything...

Chances are slim but other than pharmacy, I don't really know what else I want to do. I have had pharmacy fixed in my mind every since high school. I don't want to become dentists or etc. The road to becoming to a doctor is too hard to accomplish as I currently know people with good stats who still struggle to get into one medical school. Plus, I never really want to become a doctor. I took a pharmacology class and I enjoyed it.One thought that I always have in my mind to motivate me is that all jobs are saturated in a sense, as it is never easy getting a job as a doctor, dentist, PA, pharmacist, etc.

To be honest, I am trying to find good pharmacy schools (those that are more established) with the cheapest tuition as possible to reduce loans too.

 

[CaptainPicard]

For a while the idea of being willing to move was a guarantee for a job. However, even the middle of nowhere is very competitive now. I know someone who applied to a place that is over an hour from the nearest Walmart / actual city (which is small and only like 4000 people), and they had hundreds of applicants for one position.

 

[Timbo]

Thanks for all the replies!
Yes, I understand the saturation, especially in California. My pharmacists tell me about the saturation in California two, three times now. But I am not fixed to staying in California post-pharmacy school so that might open up more "opportunities" (if any). As of right now, I am not leaning toward anything. I am willing to do anything that is possible with a PharmD. Retail (stressful job but I got to work to survive), clinical, research, industry, insurance company, anything...

Chances are slim but other than pharmacy, I don't really know what else I want to do. I have had pharmacy fixed in my mind every since high school. I don't want to become dentists or etc. The road to becoming to a doctor is too hard to accomplish as I currently know people with good stats who still struggle to get into one medical school. Plus, I never really want to become a doctor. I took a pharmacology class and I enjoyed it.One thought that I always have in my mind to motivate me is that all jobs are saturated in a sense, as it is never easy getting a job as a doctor, dentist, PA, pharmacist, etc.

To be honest, I am trying to find good pharmacy schools (those that are more established) with the cheapest tuition as possible to reduce loans too.

So you choose pharmacy, the worst healthcare career choice right now, because you don't know what else to do??? Sorry to be blunt but that sounds like an extremely stupid reason. There are plenty of things you can do with a bio degree, especially with grades like yours: research, industry, environmental, food, agriculture, etc. Do you absolutely have to work in healthcare?

Yes all jobs are saturated but pharmacy is the worst by far. How many unemployed dentists and doctors do you know? Ever heard of any other healthcare professors who have laid off thousands of employees in the past year? Look at BLS.gov statistics: they project pharmacist jobs to only grow by 17,400 jobs in the next 10 years, yet according to AACP there are almost 15,000 new PharmDs graduating per year. This means pharmacist supply is growing 8x faster than demand. Now look at doctors, dentists, and PA statistics... they don't even come close to how fast pharmacy is becoming saturated.

You say you are willing to do anything to survive. Well the first step is not choosing a dying profession because that would be financial suicide.

 

[PharmtoCS]

There are fields that are booming right now and hurting for workers, i.e. computer programming, finance, accounting, engineering, etc. These professions pay well and do not require you to take out an additional $200k+ in loans and spend an additional 4 years of your life in school.

Choosing a profession that pays well, isn’t saturated, and does not require you to take on astronomical student loans is your best way to survive.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

As of right now, I am not leaning toward anything. I am willing to do anything that is possible with a PharmD. Retail (stressful job but I got to work to survive), clinical, research, industry, insurance company, anything...

That kind of thinking is going to kill you, my friend. A PharmD is not a versatile degree and you will need specialized postgraduate training in order to work in any non-retail setting (provided that there are even jobs to apply to which there are not, because everyone is trying to get out of retail) so please do not pretend that being “open-minded to different career paths” or being “open-minded to relocation” will change much. A PharmD by itself (which is the profile of any new grad) means nothing in this day and age, and employers are looking for skills and real work experience which a new grad will not have (interning doesn’t count).

During P4 year, you will face the cold reality of either desperately trying to scrap for a job in the non-existant job market, or resigning yourself to doing multiple years of residency (if you’re lucky to match) in hopes that you will somehow have a better chance of finding a job at the end of it all. Does that sound appetizing to you?

 

[Saiyo]

Am pharmacist.

Can confirm both what people say about the job market and that your stats are better than mine were. Know that your degree from a top school will not make the job hunt much easier.