How I survived pharmacy school and ended with a 4.0 GPA 

Shayne McKee | UF College of Pharmacy

Written by Shayne McKee, a UF College of Pharmacy Student, Personal Trainer, and Fitness Enthusiast. 

 

I’m writing this article as I’m transitioning into my 4th-year of pharmacy school, so while I can’t say I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, I can at least say that I made it through the entire didactic portion of pharmacy school with a 4.0. In this article, my goal is to give you all the tips that helped me along the way.

Get Involved or Get a Job

Yes, you read that right. Do the two things that would take the most time away from your studying. It would be easy to tell you to sit in a chair and study the entire day in order to keep your grades up. That’s not what you should do, though. In the grand scheme of things, your GPA is not that important. If you aren’t failing and (in my opinion) are at least slightly above average, I think you’re in a good spot. The only reason I was so obsessed with keeping my grades up was because I took it as a personal challenge. I also figured that if I graduated with an “A” average, I’d be able to take care of my patients about 10% better than if I had a “B” average. Obviously, this is not completely accurate, but when you’re fresh out of school and the only experience you have is the diagram you looked at on a PowerPoint, I think it’ll make a pretty big difference.

The best experiences and the best growth opportunities will come from being involved in organizations, volunteering, or working on-the-job. Being in class, watching lectures, etc. will not teach you how to be a professional or a leader. Trust me, I’ve made several mistakes in pharmacy school and I’ve learned and grown from each of them. Learn, grow, and lead. That’s the best way to go through pharmacy school — and it can only be achieved through extracurriculars.

 

Study for Quizzes like They’re Exams

The day before a test, everyone is super focused and studying hard. It’s cram time, right!? Not for me. I picked up the habit early of studying super hard for small quizzes, treating them like they’re exams. The benefits of this were two-fold. One, because I studied so hard for the quiz, I’d get a 100% on them almost every time. That’s about a free 20% boost to your overall grade. Two, by taking the quizzes so seriously, I’d built a great foundation for all the material going into the exam. The week or day before the exam when everyone is cramming, I’d just be reviewing what I already knew.

Cheer On & Promote Your Peers’ Success

I had the wrong mindset in pharmacy school for about the first 2 months. I came in thinking everyone was my competition, and that’s because prior to starting school I had been told by so many that “it’s super competitive,” “the job market is saturated,” “you need to do better than everyone else if you want a job out of school.” Luckily, I quickly learned that we’re all a family and that we should be looking out for each other. During school I’ve realized there are really only two types of people. There are those that are genuinely happy when their peers succeed and want to bring everyone up around them, and those that get upset by others’ success and want to bring you down with them.

Ultimately, helping your peers will only benefit you. I was known for making extremely detailed and organized study guides that were sometimes hundreds of pages long. I’d also make very detailed quizlets, and I’d post these materials to our class Facebook page. Because I was helping others succeed, who do you think was always the first one to get old class notes, tips about upcoming classes, what the best electives to take are, etc.? Me! What comes around goes around, and looking out for your peers will only come back to benefit you.

Class Is a Huge Waste of Time (Opinion)

I’m sort of snitching on myself here, but I never paid attention in class. When I did, I’d just end up more confused than before I walked in. At my school, we typically do these patient cases and answer questions about the case as a group. The only problem is that these questions always had multiple correct answers, and you’d spend 10 minutes trying to choose between answer choice “B” or “C,” only to find out they’d both be correct. In my opinion, it was an awful system that only teaches you to second guess yourself. I understand the point in trying to simulate “real-world” where there is never one correct answer, but we’ve been programmed since 1st grade that when presented with answer choices A-D, only one of them is correct. Mixing the two just doesn’t go well together in my opinion.

I’d use class time to do send emails or work on organization stuff, etc. That way I didn’t have to spend time doing it later.

Obviously, try paying attention and see if it helps you. If not, well —you may learn similar to how I do, and that’s okay. There are multiple paths to the sames destination! 

Well, that’s it! Get involved, study smart rather than hard, help others succeed, and… uh, pay attention (or not)!

Hope this helps you!