10th General Meeting Pharmacy School Application Process

1
10th General MeetingPharmacy School
Application Process

• April 28, 2008

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Application Timeline

• Beyond required coursework and PCAT preparation,
  the timeline for the application process begins
  about 1.5 years prior to expected matriculation.
• The following is a general guideline - check with
  each of your institutions of choice for specific
  timelines.
• April       May           June      July       
  August       Sept./Oct./Nov./Dec.        Jan/Feb./
  March/April
•                                  ----Submit
  Applications to Schools of choice -----
                                        ---- Recei
  ve Supplementary Applications ------- 
                                   
    ----------------------Interviews---------------
  ---------
•                                              
                      ---------------Admissions
  decisions ----------------
• http//www.aacp.org/Docs/MainNavigation/Institutio
  nalData/6871_School_Narratives_PSAR.pdf

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Pharmacy School Timeline Example UCSF

• June 1st ? PharmCAS opens.
• Mid July ? UCSF Supplemental Application opens.
• November 1st ? PharmCAS Application UCSF
  Supplemental Application Due
• December to January ? Interview invitations sent
• January to February ? Interviews held at UCSF.
  Send updated fall transcripts.
• March to April ? Admission decisions are sent.
• July 1st ? Deadline to submit Spring transcript.
• August 1st ? Deadline to submit Spring transcript
  with degree posting.

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Letter of Recommendations and Restrictions

• Who to ask
• Note restrictions from certain schools--pharmacist
  , science professors, etc.
• Make sure it will be a STRONG letter
• Ask early!-At least two months in advance
• Prepare packet for your recommender some
  recommenders will ask for specific documents
• Transcripts
• Personal Statement
• Resume
• Thank you cards afterwards
• Where to submit letters PharmCAS vs. Letter
  Service

5
School Pre-Reqs and Restrictions

• GPA Restrictions based on PharmCAS
• Refer to PILLS website
• Grid with prerequisites is a good template
• Make sure you to check to see if it's up to date
• www.ocf.berkeley.edu/pills
• Plan schedule accordingly
• Sample officer schedules on PILLS website
• UC courses vs. community college courses

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Research and Visit Schools

• Look for info days, open house
• School mailing lists
• Visit the schools
• Ask the students about student life and
  recruiters about school information
• Student panelists and pharmacy school admissions
  coordinators at NCPPS
• Know what is special and unique about each school
  and program
• UOP 3 years
• Touro 2 years rotation
• Know why you want to attend!

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• Begins June 2008 for Fall 2009 enrollment
• Checklist
• Arrange for PharmCAS to receive a separate
  official transcript from each college you
  attended
• Letter of Recommendation can be sent
  electronically or as a paper reference
• PharmCAS Evaluation Form must be printed and
  attached to paper references
• Send your PCAT, TOEFL and TSE scores to PharmCAS
  if needed
• Deadline based on Eastern Time
• Schools may have rolling deadline or a set
  deadline
• For more Information and a step-by-step
  checklist, visit www.pharmcas.org

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Transcript Requests

• Arrange for PharmCAS to receive a separate
  official transcript from each college you
  attended
• Some schools may request transcripts be sent
  directly to them
• Always send updated transcripts to PharmCAS or
  the schools when available
• Transcripts sent to PharmCAS require an attached
  Transcript Request Form (each form is unique)

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• Required by most out-of-state schools
• Not required by any California schools
• Registration Fee 125
• Testing dates (2008) June 21, August 23, October
  18
• Exam is 4 hours long
• For more Information visit www.PCATweb.info

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PCAT Format

• 240 multiple choice questions
• Each item will be accompanied by four choices. 
• 2 writing assignments
• 30 minutes each
• Sections
• Part 1 Verbal Ability section contains 48 items.
  
• Analogies, sentence completion
• Part 2 Biology section contains 48 items.
• General biology, microbiology, anatomy,
  physiology
• Part 3 Chemistry section contains 48 items.
• General and organic chemistry
• Part 4 Reading Comprehension section contains 48
  items.
• Comprehension, evaluation, analysis
• Part 5 Quantitative Ability section contains 48
  items
• Calculus, geometry, algebra, pre-calculus,
  probability and statistics

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AP Scores to Satisfy Pre-Reqs

• Counted as P/NP, not calculated into GPA
• Varies from School to school
• UCSF
• pharmacy.ucsf.edu/go/ap,
• USC
• Does not accept CLEP courses
• Will consider AP credit for those with BA
  degrees.
• Recommend applying AP credit to elective credit
  in undergraduate program instead of waiving the
  pre-pharmacy requirements.
• AP Score of 4 or 5 may be used toward the first
  quarter or semester of a one-year series of
  pre-pharmacy courses like general
  biology/physics/chemistry, calculus or English.
• AP credits do not satisfy economics, psychology
  or statistics.
• Please submit all Advanced Placement scores to
  the Office of Admission and Student Affairs.

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Sending AP Scores

• Send by November 1st.
• Official Copy vs. Personal Copy
• UCSF ? send official copy of AP score by using
  code 4794 directly from ETSUCSD ? send official
  copy of AP score to school of pharmacy address
  (b/c they do not have a code)USC ? send personal
  photocopy of AP scores to school of pharmacy
  address

13
Supplemental Application

• In addition to PharmCAS, most schools require a
  supplemental application specific for their own
  school
• Each school has different dates when supplemental
  application is available and different deadlines
• Formats differ
• May submit online or mail paper supplemental
• Sample supplemental applications available on
  some schools websites. Format and questions do
  not change much from year to year.

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Supplemental Application Specifics

• UOP Supplemental
• One question only why do you want to attend
  UOP?
• Requires a CV
• UCSD Supplemental
• Submit online. You can go back to the previous
  page and modify what you submitted. There are
  more questions after the first page!!! (6)
• UCSF Supplemental
• Requires Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Has required and optional questions
• USC Supplemental
• Graduate Application vs. Pharmacy School
  Supplemental Application
• LORs and transcripts must be sent directly to USC
• Requires a CV

Check individual schools websites for specifics.
It may change each year.
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Before your Interview

• Celebrate! You are one step closer to your goal
• Arrange for accommodations transportation/hotels
• Buy Interview Clothes look professional and
  well groomed
• Research the school website/ visit the school /
  talk to the people of the school
• Review your application essays
• Practice! (career center, friends, family, your
  stuffed animals)

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Day of the Interview

• Check In Orientation
• On-site essay
• Timed vs. untimed
• Essay question vs. summarize article
• Interview
• Open file vs. closed file
• Panel vs. one-on-one
• Test communication skills
• Campus Tour / Meeting current students

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Interview Question Samples

• Tell us about yourself.
• Why pharmacy? Why our school?
• What kind of pharmacy experience do you have?
• Give an example of time where you have been a
  leader.
• What are the positives and negatives in pharmacy
  right now?
• How would you handle a physician who did not
  trust your judgment or take your advice because
  you were not an MD?
• How are you unique and what qualities would you
  bring to our school?
• Find more Interview Questions at Student Doctor
  Network (www.studentdoctor.net)

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Resources for Interview Preparation

• Interview Reviews
• Student Doctor Network
• http//share.studentdoctor.net/interviewpharm/scho
  ol_pick.aspx
• UCLA Pre-pharmacy Club http//www.studentgroups.uc
  la.edu/uclaprepharm/resource.html
• Mock Interviews
• Career Center
• UCSF PhAMLI
• Strategies for conquering 50 Common Interview
  Questions
• http//bhuvans.wordpress.com/2006/08/19/50-common-
  interview-qa/v