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Struggling with Pharmacy personal statement

username881968

I'm really struggling with my PS for pharmacy. I have good grades (4AS-levels, and predicted A2s of 2*s and 2As), but I have no experience in a pharmacy, and have done hardly anything extra-cirrucular except volunteering in a charity shop - haven't had a job, only sport I've represented school is running which doesn't really show teamwork, and haven't gone on any relevant courses. Is outside reading helpful for pharmacy, and if so what books do you recommend?
Will I be able to get into the top universities (Nottingham, bath etc) even without experience?

Reply 1

charj09

You're definitely leaving it late! Most universities want to see that you've had some experience in a pharmacy but since you've been volunteering in a charity shop there's ways round it.
Make sure you mention how the volunteering has given you communication skills and experience in interacting with people.
Outside reading can help, however they probably will ask about it in your interview. I bought the book 'An Introduction To Drug Metabolism' off Amazon however never read it (its boring as hell) so I haven't mentioned it on my personal statement. A good idea I've heard is reading a chapter you're interested in, then if they ask about it in the interview you can spew that out (so you don't have to read the whole book and you can quickly read it over before an interview.) Any book to do with pharmacy will do, I chose that one because I was interested in it (although the book just wasn't good!) - it just shows that you're passionate about the subject.
To pad out your personal statement I guess you'll just have to mention more about your current studies and how you've gained skills that will help you has a pharmacy student.