April 28, 2008

 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 -----» «---- Receive Supplementary Applications » « Interviews » « Admissions decisions » 

 June 1 st  PharmCAS opens.  Mid July  UCSF Supplemental Application opens.  November 1 st  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 1 st  Deadline to submit Spring transcript with degree posting.

 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

 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 ◦  Plan schedule accordingly ◦ Sample officer schedules on PILLS website  UC courses vs. community college courses

 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!

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

 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)

 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:

 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

 Counted as P/NP, not calculated into GPA  Varies from School to school UCSF  pharmacy.ucsf.edu/go/ap, 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.

 Send by November 1 st.  Official Copy vs. Personal Copy  UCSF  send official copy of AP score by using code 4794 directly from ETS UCSD  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

 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 school’s websites. Format and questions do not change much from year to year.

 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.

 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)

 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

 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 (

 Interview Reviews ◦ Student Doctor Network ◦ ◦ UCLA Pre-pharmacy Club  Mock Interviews ◦ Career Center ◦ UCSF PhAMLI  Strategies for conquering 50 Common Interview Questions ◦ interview-qa/v interview-qa/v