PILLS 8 th General Meeting Pharmacy Application Workshop April 7, 2010

Membership Update Marissa Hom

PILLS Membership How to be an ACTIVE PILLS member ▫Turn in PILLS membership form and fee ▫Attend at least 2 general meetings ▫Attend at least 1 social ▫Contribute at least 4 hours of community service

Volunteering Update Marissa Hom

PILLS Social Update Huy Nguyen

PILLS 6 th Social: Up and Ice cream When: Friday, April 23 rd. 6:00 -7:30pm What: Movie and Game Night + ICE CREAM ▫Games: Taboo, Apples to Apples, Cranium, Jenga, Dirty Minds, and much more ▫Movie: Up!!!! Where: TBD

Hot Topic Schatz3110: hey lisa i will do my slide tomorrow.. i gotta study for 105 but ill do it after 10am

Hot Topic: The Danger of Taking Aspirin Daily Aspirin acts as a blood thinner Many middle-aged people take baby aspirin because it is believed to protect against heart attack and strokes Now, experts are changing the guidelines for taking daily aspirin to target a narrower group of patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. The concern is side-effects such as stomach ulcers and possibly bleeding in the brain.

NCPPS Michelle Lew

Pharmacy School Application Workshop PCATPharmCASInterviews Letters Of Rec Supplemental Apps Admission decisions

PCAT Lisa Lam

Test Dates ▫June 19, 2010 ▫August 21, 2010 ▫October 16, 2010 ▫January 22, 2011 Register online at pcatweb.info Cost: $ multiple-choice items: Verbal Ability, Biology, Chemistry, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Ability 2 essay questions Essential classes: General & Organic Chemistry, General Biology

Letters of Recommendation Katya Kurdyukova

Letters of Recommendation Who to ask for a letter? ▫Someone that knows you well academically, at work or community service  Professor, pharmacist, volunteer coordinator  No friends, classmates or family members When to ask for a letter? ▫Figure out by what time you want to submit PharmCAS application and give recommenders months notice What to give your recommender? ▫Resume, personal statement, cover letter, transcript if applicable Requirements ▫for almost every school you need 3 letters ▫1 from a professor ▫1 from a pharmacist

Letters of Recommendation School# of LORs requiredAcademic requiredIs GSI ok?Pharmacist requiredClergy CNCP2yes no UOP2yes no UCSF3yes no Loma Linda3recommended yes UCSD3yesno Western3recommendedyes Touro3yesrecommended USC2

Letters of Recommendation PharmCAS submits the same letters to all schools ▫A maximum of 4 letters can be submitted ▫eLORs vs. paper references ▫ Letter service ▫Will keep your letters on file for up to 5 years ▫Cost of having a file is $20 while enrolled ▫Recommenders will have to fill out a ranking grid

PharmCAS Michelle Lew

PharmCAS: Pharmacy College Application Service Application begins June 3 rd Academic History Additional information ▫Extracurriculars, work experience, professional licenses, honors & scholarships, publications 1 Personal essay References

Coursework Requires all taken, in progress, and planned classes Copy grades and course titles directly off transcript Send transcripts ASAP Include PharmCAS transcript request form! PharmCAS calculates its own cumulative GPA Calculates science, non-science, math, total, and pre-requisite GPAs Additional Information Very brief descriptions of extracurricular activities, work experience, honors & scholarships, publications (“resume- like”)

Personal Essay Prompt: “Your Personal Essay should address why you selected pharmacy as a career and how the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and long- term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals. The personal essay is an important part of your application for admission and provides you with an opportunity for you to clearly and effectively express your ideas. ” 4500 maximum character count (including spaces!) References/Letters of Recommendation (LoRs) - 3 minimum, 4 maximum - Same letters sent to every school; make sure they are not tailored to any particular school - Must fulfill the requirements of all schools you are applying to - Must ALL be submitted by first deadline of all the pharmacy school you will be applying to (UOP Tier 1 Deadline: August 1st) ***Once submitted, you cannot change anything on the application***

Supplemental Applications Calvin Huynh

Supplemental Applications Separate from PharmCAS: MANDATORY! Input: grades, resume, essays ▫Use the allotted space wisely! Electronic or paper Supplemental application fee Why is it important? ▫Allows schools to get to know you better ▫Open interviews: access to supplemental apps ▫Gauges how well you match with the school

Supplemental Applications What does this all mean? ▫Start early! ▫Multiple drafts & proofread ▫Review for your interview(s) ▫Do NOT fabricate stories or lies about yourself Sample essay prompts: ▫How have your personal experiences informed your understanding of the human condition? ▫Which of your personal characteristics will make you stand out as an individual?

Revise, revise, revise!

Interviews Lisa Lam

Interviews Professional attire Study your application Preparation ▫Mock interview ▫Student Doctor Network Know the basics ▫Why do you want to go to that school? ▫Why pharmacy? ▫Tell me about yourself… ▫Situational questions Interview expenses ▫Flight ▫Hotel ▫Transportation to and from hotel

Admission Decisions Huy Nguyen

Admission Decisions Decision time varies by school ▫Generally 3-5 weeks after the interview Deposit (ranges from $100 to $2000) ▫Non-refundable once you pay Waitlist or On-hold ▫Some schools will put you on a waitlist until late summer, a few weeks before classes start =( Finish prerequisite coursework

Other Huy Nguyen

Other Reapplying ▫Only 2 month gap from previous application cycle ▫Some schools keep application on file  Ex. UCSF holds onto your file for 2 years and continues to review and compare with the next one Taking time off ▫Work Experience – pharmacy jobs/volunteering ▫Something involved with pharmacy to show that you are still interested

Continuing education – To replace or finish courses ▫Post-Bac a UC or CC: Most pharmacy schools accept both ▫Retaking classes for better grades  PharmCAS will average out your grades  Ex. C in Ochem at Berkeley, and A at community college averages to a B on PharmCAS (Both grades will still be on your application file) ▫All schools will look at these grades differently  Some schools will average them out and some will even replace with the newer grade

Advice & Questions