***Official 2010-2011 PharmCAS Questions Thread***

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Hey guys,

I was wondering when does the PharmCAS application cycle open? Is it sometime in early June? I'm just asking since I'm not really sure.

Thank you!
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snake3 said:
Hey guys,

I was wondering when does the PharmCAS application cycle open? Is it sometime in early June? I'm just asking since I'm not really sure.

Thank you!
Click to expand...


Yes, PharmCAS opens in early June, usually 1st week. Check PharmCAS website some time in early June, then you'll see.
 
I need to retake one of my prerequisite classes. I will be applying this fall 2010 cycle for pharmacy school. Admissions application open usually around September and application deadline is around Feb. At the time of application my GPA will be 3.1 and fall grades come in around Dec.

So my question is do the admission committee wait until fall grades are in to recalculate your prerequisite GPA again if we are repeating a course?

Or if the application is weak they will reject it immediately?

I mean when colleges put their statistics on the website for example, "the entering class GPA averaged between 3.4-3.5" is this the GPA of the applicant during application or GPA after Fall grades are received
 
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I would not rely on future accomplishments to be considered.

The GPA doesn't fluctuate that much towards the end anyways and if anything, only decreases will be dramatic (i.e., 3.50 cumulative, 1 C could lower it to 3.45 but 1 A only raises it to 3.51).
 
I was wondering whether PharmCas would still have everything even if we apply in 2009/2010 for the 2010/2011 cycle?...or do we have to redo the whole PharmCas again? I know that the supplemental part have to be redone but how about the PharmCas? Thanks you.
 
John87 said:
I was wondering whether PharmCas would still have everything even if we apply in 2009/2010 for the 2010/2011 cycle?...or do we have to redo the whole PharmCas again? I know that the supplemental part have to be redone but how about the PharmCas? Thanks you.
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It all has to be redone on PharmCAS also.
 
tsicamrahp said:
It all has to be redone on PharmCAS also.
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There's actually some debate on this subject. The site and email say that information will be retained if it was submitted with payment. CSRs and previous procedures suggest that you will have to start from scratch.
 
I applied for the 08-09 cycle and had to redo it for this past cycle (09-10). However, due to the above post by Project, I checked on the PharmCAS website and found the following note. So, perhaps some people now you have that option to update. I'd contact them directly if you want to know the answer.

The 2009-2010 PharmCAS Application cycle closed on April 1, 2010. PharmCAS will no longer accept letters of reference, transcripts, or test scores. You will have until April 15, 2010 to login to your application and print a copy for your records. After that, you will no longer have access to your 2009-2010 application. Applicants who have not yet submitted their application by April 1 and want to reapply will be required to create a new application for the 2010-2011 application cycle. All other applicants who have submitted and paid for their applications for the 2009-2010 cycle will have the opportunity to update their application and reapply in the 2010-2011 application cycle. If you have submitted your application but are missing the required payment, you will have the option to create a new application for the 2010-2011 application cycle, but will not be allowed to update your 2009-2010 application. Updated 2010-2011 applications and new 2010-2011 applications will be assessed the same application fees which will be announced in early June 2010.
 
In an effort to keep this forum organized, this thread is the place to ask all PharmCAS related questions. Any additional threads created regarding PharmCAS will be merged into this thread. Also, Please use the search function. Remember you can search within a thread as well as within the entire forum.

Happy Applying!
 
I would like to know for those who plan on reapplying, will pharmcas still hold all of the information from the previous cycle (not include supplementary)? I would also like to know whether only 1 LOR is necessary since the previous 3 will also be included. For now, I'm on waitlist and just thinking about reapplying since it is near June. Thanks guys. :)
 
I'm taking organic chemistry II over the summer. I'm guessing you guys would suggest to submit the application anyways and update PharmCAS afterward?

Also, would it be wise to apply this year even though I am missing anatomy, physiology, biochem, phys II and public speaking? I've gotten A's on all my other prereqs, including A+'s in calculus, gchem I & II, and ochem I. I'm planning to complete the other prerequisites by spring 2011.
 
dnguyen401 said:
I'm taking organic chemistry II over the summer. I'm guessing you guys would suggest to submit the application anyways and update PharmCAS afterward?

Also, would it be wise to apply this year even though I am missing anatomy, physiology, biochem, phys II and public speaking? I've gotten A's on all my other prereqs, including A+'s in calculus, gchem I & II, and ochem I. I'm planning to complete the other prerequisites by spring 2011.
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Yes, apply this year. Just don't stack physII with biochem. Do A and P and Biochem in Fall, then A and P II and Phys II in spring. Can you take public speaking over summer, too? Even if you can't, that class is easy as hell. Just put it in your fall semester.
 
rxlea said:
Yes, apply this year. Just don't stack physII with biochem. Do A and P and Biochem in Fall, then A and P II and Phys II in spring. Can you take public speaking over summer, too? Even if you can't, that class is easy as hell. Just put it in your fall semester.
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Sounds like a good idea. It's kind of funny because my other friends are telling me to do the same thing. The only thing is that Anatomy and Physiology is not a combined course. It's actually a separate course at my school.
 
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Hey All,

Im applying for the Fall 2011 term. I have about 8-9 schools that I am planning to apply. My overall GPA is a 3.4. I finished my first year at CC and am going to start my 2nd year at the community college to finish the remaining pre-reqs.

Now, what if some of my schools are not rolling admission? Should I still complete the pharmcas app asap and send it in? Im really confused, can someone please simplify this for me?
 
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ki124 said:
Hey All,

Im applying for the Fall 2011 term. I have about 8-9 schools that I am planning to apply. My overall GPA is a 3.4. I finished my first year at CC and am going to start my 2nd year at the community college to finish the remaining pre-reqs.

Now, what if some of my schools are not rolling admission? Should I still complete the pharmcas app asap and send it in? Im really confused, can someone please simplify this for me?
Click to expand...

If none of your schools are rolling admissions, then you do not need to complete the pharmcas app asap. However, if one or more schools are rolling, then yes, you need to complete it asap.
 
ki124 said:
Hey All,

Im applying for the Fall 2011 term. I have about 8-9 schools that I am planning to apply. My overall GPA is a 3.4. I finished my first year at CC and am going to start my 2nd year at the community college to finish the remaining pre-reqs.

Now, what if some of my schools are not rolling admission? Should I still complete the pharmcas app asap and send it in? Im really confused, can someone please simplify this for me?
Click to expand...
You DO NOT have to send in all your pharmcas schools at once. For example, say you are applying to 6 schools - 3 rolling, 3 non-rolling with late deadlines.
Send in the rolling ones ASAP. But you can add the other 3 schools in later. Some people are accepted to their top choices if they are rolling before the deadlines for other schools. You can save yourself money if you get accepted to a school you would want to go to above the non-rolling ones.
As fa as the actual deadline goes - it doesn't matter for a non-rolling school I send in the supplemental application the day of the deadline for one school and I got accepted.
 
Does Pharmcas allow you to upload two personal statements and select which school I send it to?
 
irishspring said:
Does Pharmcas allow you to upload two personal statements and select which school I send it to?
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No, you write one personal statement for all the pharmcas schools you want to send to.
 
So to be clear:

I can submit my application to PHARMCAS, even if it is missing certain parts (LORs, PCAT scores, transcripts)? I can just update those parts as necessary?

And can anyone link me to a list of schools with rolling admissions? I'm confused as to which schools offer rolling, when my list has a clear deadline set.
 
xprettygirl11 said:
So to be clear:

I can submit my application to PHARMCAS, even if it is missing certain parts (LORs, PCAT scores, transcripts)? I can just update those parts as necessary?

And can anyone link me to a list of schools with rolling admissions? I'm confused as to which schools offer rolling, when my list has a clear deadline set.
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I don't think pharmCAS has a list of rolling schools. They used to say on the pharmcas page if it was a few cycles ago but it doesn't now. So you have to go to the school's official website and check out their admissions info. I know that the University at Buffalo is rolling. I also believe UNC and Ohio State are as well but you should check out the official websites. All the schools you are interested may all have deadlines and you may not apply to any rolling schools this year.
 
snake3 said:
Hey guys,

I was wondering when does the PharmCAS application cycle open? Is it sometime in early June? I'm just asking since I'm not really sure.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

PharmCAS indicated that its 2010/2011 apllication will open June 4, but the site might be located far the in west since it still has thesame message on June 4 and you can't access the application . When is June 4 again? maybe i am on another planet.
 
I took two courses in high school as a senior at my local community college that count towards college credit - Psychology and Algebra/Trig. What classification should I put? Senior, since I was a senior in HS?
 
Anyone know if we can update our old apps?
 
I'd suggest applicants to read the instructions on how to complete the application first. All AP credits should be designated as a Freshman course. If I remember correctly, the grade level is only in terms of the college year.
 
musicman123 said:
I'd suggest applicants to read the instructions on how to complete the application first. All AP credits should be designated as a Freshman course. If I remember correctly, the grade level is only in terms of the college year.
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Thanks. My high school didn't offer AP (well, only one) thus the classes technically weren't considered "AP," since they were CC courses.
 
xprettygirl11 said:
Thanks. My high school didn't offer AP (well, only one) thus the classes technically weren't considered "AP," since they were CC courses.
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lol, sorry, I don't know why I thought of AP. Regarding CC courses, I just know that applicants are to designate them as lower-division courses despite the ranking system at the corresponding CC.
 
musicman123 said:
lol, sorry, I don't know why I thought of AP. Regarding CC courses, I just know that applicants are to designate them as lower-division courses despite the ranking system at the corresponding CC.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's tough figuring out where I stand since I took those classes senior year in HS to make up for the lack of AP. I looked in the instructions like you suggested, and they don't even have that tidbit in there anymore! So I'm not sure where to put the 1 AP class I took - AP English.
 
Hi all,

For Nova Southeastern specifically: there will be 2 essays required to be written, correct? One on the pharmcas and one on the supplemental? If so, which does Nova place more importance on? Looking for someone who's been through the whole application process already. Thanks!
 
Ok, on the section in Pharmcas where we input coursework, there is an option under "input grade" that says "repeated". Is this a designation for courses you have repeated (for a better grade)? Or something else? Thanks!
 
PharmaMaya said:
Ok, on the section in Pharmcas where we input coursework, there is an option under "input grade" that says "repeated". Is this a designation for courses you have repeated (for a better grade)? Or something else? Thanks!
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Yes. Enter in the old course with the grade and select repeated. Then enter in the new course with the new grade. So, you should have two separate entries for that class.
 
Oh..there are two repeated designations. One is under Special Classification, the other is under the grades part. I was looking under the grades part...but I guess I should be putting the designation under special designations. :)
 
Another question...

I'm thinking about asking 3 pharmacists to write letters of recommendation for me. My A&P professor has already agreed to write me a letter, too. When I have 4 letters in Pharmcas, how is it decided which pharmacist's letter would go to which schools (for example, a school that wants 2 letters, 1 from a professor and 1 from a pharmacist)? Do I pick? Is it random?
 
Some of the schools I applied to said they look at all four. So, I would put all four in anyway if they are all good letters. If there is a mediocre one, I would just leave it out since 2-3 is all you need for most (if not all) schools.
 
xprettygirl11 said:
So to be clear:

I can submit my application to PHARMCAS, even if it is missing certain parts (LORs, PCAT scores, transcripts)? I can just update those parts as necessary?
Click to expand...

Anyone please confirm this. I'm confused too. Thanks a lot!
 
rxlea said:
Some of the schools I applied to said they look at all four. So, I would put all four in anyway if they are all good letters. If there is a mediocre one, I would just leave it out since 2-3 is all you need for most (if not all) schools.
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Does Pharmcas give you the option of selecting the letters, even if it sends the same ones to every school? I know this sounds silly, but I want to ask 2 out of the 3 pharmacists I volunteer with for letters. Nothing against the 3rd pharmacist, but he is a little jaded with the profession and I'm worried about that affecting my letter...but I'm also worried about hurt feelings/resentment if I don't ask all 3. I live in Tennessee...this is an area where people get feelings hurt and build up resentment without ever saying a thing. Am I over-analyzing this?
 
PharmaMaya said:
Does Pharmcas give you the option of selecting the letters, even if it sends the same ones to every school? I know this sounds silly, but I want to ask 2 out of the 3 pharmacists I volunteer with for letters. Nothing against the 3rd pharmacist, but he is a little jaded with the profession and I'm worried about that affecting my letter...but I'm also worried about hurt feelings/resentment if I don't ask all 3. I live in Tennessee...this is an area where people get feelings hurt and build up resentment without ever saying a thing. Am I over-analyzing this?
Click to expand...

Nope, you cannot select which letters you want the school to read. PharmCAS will send all on file to the schools.
 
PharmaMaya said:
Does Pharmcas give you the option of selecting the letters, even if it sends the same ones to every school? I know this sounds silly, but I want to ask 2 out of the 3 pharmacists I volunteer with for letters. Nothing against the 3rd pharmacist, but he is a little jaded with the profession and I'm worried about that affecting my letter...but I'm also worried about hurt feelings/resentment if I don't ask all 3. I live in Tennessee...this is an area where people get feelings hurt and build up resentment without ever saying a thing. Am I over-analyzing this?
Click to expand...

hmmmm....not sure about that.
Have you seen this: http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/evalquestions.htm

Even if the other pharmacist is jaded, I really don't see how it would affect his rating of you based on these specific questions.
 
I am wondering from anyone who has taken the Kaplan courses for Pcats, Are they helpful, and did the review course actually help raise your pcat scores?? I am not very good at taking standardized tests, I have taken the PCATS a couple times and my highest score was a 51 :( Should I register for the review course???
 
I volunteered at a clinic in Mexico to help out in the pharmacy as a tech. Do you guys suggest to put this in "Work Experience" or "Extracurricular?" Also, if I was in the Dean's list for all 6 semesters, where would I put this?

Thanks!
 
dnguyen401 said:
I volunteered at a clinic in Mexico to help out in the pharmacy as a tech. Do you guys suggest to put this in "Work Experience" or "Extracurricular?" Also, if I was in the Dean's list for all 6 semesters, where would I put this?

Thanks!
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If I remember correctly, it tells you where to put volunteer work.

I didn't list dean's list or academic distinction or anything else that shows up somewhere else (transcript).
 
dnguyen401 said:
I volunteered at a clinic in Mexico to help out in the pharmacy as a tech. Do you guys suggest to put this in "Work Experience" or "Extracurricular?" Also, if I was in the Dean's list for all 6 semesters, where would I put this?

Thanks!
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I think PharmCAS defines "Work Experience" as a position you are paid.
 
delano2000 said:
I am curious as to how you have such a big difference between your Math/Sciences GPA and your cGPA.:confused:
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I was an art major for 3 years when I was younger and stupider. Hardly went to non art classes and was happy to get by with a C. Thankfully I only took 1 math class and no science classes back then. Since I came back as a chemistry major last summer (2009), I have gotten a 3.93 gpa over 47 hours. All A's, 2 A-'s. What I would give to have appreciated an education then the way I do now. :)
 
The instructions for PharmCAS aren't well written; it seems to be vague, outdated, or missing in some descriptions and the order doesn't match up with application.

So two things came up so far:

"Current Mailing Address Until" is a required field even though there are cases when it should be blank (i.e., not expecting to move during the app cycle). What is everyone else putting? Perhaps the estimated matriculation date?

Instructions explain the purpose of the SSN field but it's not on the app in the Applicant Account Info (account registration) and I don't think it's elsewhere. So it's not required now?


Oh and... A lot of the fields are optional but do apply (e.g., ethnicity, Parent/Guardian section, city of high school/GED). Should those be completed anyway?
 
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Project2015 said:
The instructions for PharmCAS aren't well written; it seems to be vague, outdated, or missing in some descriptions and the order doesn't match up with application.

So two things came up so far:

"Current Mailing Address Until" is a required field even though there are cases when it should be blank (i.e., not expecting to move during the app cycle). What is everyone else putting? Perhaps the estimated matriculation date?

Instructions explain the purpose of the SSN field but it's not on the app in the Applicant Account Info (account registration) and I don't think it's elsewhere. So it's not required now?


Oh and... A lot of the fields are optional but do apply (e.g., ethnicity, Parent/Guardian section, city of high school/GED). Should those be completed anyway?
Click to expand...

Current mailing address until - this one can be important if you plan on moving soon but probably won't matter anyways - if the date is a long time in the future make up a best guess date...

Not sure on the SSN requirement.

For optional fields that apply it's more or less up to you if you feel like filling them out, although in most cases it's probably best to fill them out unless you have a compelling reason not to.
 
When the Pharmacas app is e-submitted, does that mean that the materials are sent to all designated pharmacy schools or can we choose to send it to specific schools that have rolling admissions first and then go back and update for schools that don't have rolling admissions?
 
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