Texas A&M

[RobertZimmerman]

15 points - PCAT
15 points - GPA
10 points - Recommendations (all 3 of them together)
10 points - Essay (done on the day of the interview)
25 points - Interview itself

--Garfield3d

In addition to this there are some "bonus" points that get tossed in... ie South Texas resident/native. While only a few points, imagine a huge pool of interviewees with 20 or so sitting at say 58 (I dont know what a good score really is) and one of them has a +2 which puts him/her at 60. Suddenly he/she is pushed ahead of the crowd and past a offer line of say 59.

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[ShadowRX]

I was sitting pretty much in the center of the fish bowl when you came in.

Glasses or Navy?

 

[pharm B]

Navy.

Zimmerman, is that true about the bonus points? What else qualifies you besides being from the area?

 

[RobertZimmerman]

I dont want to name things that may or may not still be true. I do know that my specific example of being a South Texas resident is still in effect. One other I know of is being a TAMUK student. As far is TAMU students are concerned, I'm not sure.

I would also assume that if you had some sort of amazing life story scenario leadership thing... you would likely get a point or two as bonus.

 

[pharm B]

So would they give you an idea of where you stand, points-wise before sending out letters? Or is best to suck it up and wait?

I felt really good after walking out yesterday, but I don't really know how they scored the interview. Especially after you mentioned the really strong group that came after us.

 

[RobertZimmerman]

So would they give you an idea of where you stand, points-wise before sending out letters? Or is best to suck it up and wait?

Dude seriously don't call them. It will happen when it happens. I'm not saying they will intentionally move you down the list for being annoying but it will certainly disgruntle some of the secretaries. If you got an interview and felt you did well, you probably have a great shot. Remember the first round of acceptances is just that... a first round. Half of those will likely decline. If they are the "best" 90 applicants then many of them likely will have other offers closer to home/family. From there J-Rob will be calling people to make offers on somewhat of a rolling basis.

 

[KwangWin9]

Hey everyone, i just declined my interview for March 18th date. Hope one of you out there lands the invite =) good luck guys!

 

[enchanted]

Dr. Robertson called me and I have an interview on the 18th!

When is your interview? Mine is at 10:30am.

 

[LSUCPhT]

Mine is at 9am

 

[FPharmDTTP]

I have an interview tomorrow as well at 4:00. Is there anything that I need to bring with me? I am not aware of anything. Thanks.

 

[enchanted]

Somehow the MSC 131, 1010 West Avenue B Kingsville, TX 78363 address doesn't show up on mapquest. I hope the college is easy to find! Good luck everyone!

 

[Splack]

The college is the only thing to find in Kingsville

 

[pharm B]

There are signs for the college until you get to the college. I think it's King street that takes you to the main entrance, but the sign for the school looked like 2 feet tall. We drove right by it the first time we came out to tour.

 

[LSUCPhT]

The college is the only thing to find in Kingsville

haha! Yea, the drive here was rather.....dull. haha.

 

[pharm B]

The commute is going to be terrible. I only listen to about 5 podcasts a week driving to work and school. If I get in, it's time to find more shows to listen to.

 

[FPharmDTTP]

Had my interview yesterday. The pharmacy school is very nice. The labs and class rooms are top notch. They seemed very comparable to Texas Techs Abilene campus. The interview was low stress level and seemed to flow well. Now its just a waiting game. Hopefully I wont go crazy waiting for a letter!

 

[pharm B]

I keep playing the "oh, first week of April is so far away... what day is it now?!" game.

Looks like last year acceptances went out around 4/2 or 4/3. 2008: 4/7!

They could save themselves the trouble and just give us all a call.

 

[RxMTM]

For those who are highly considering A&M as one of your top choices, I learned some things during the interview that they don't tell you unless you ask or observe them for yourself. First of all, unlike many other programs, students begin their rotations during their P2 year. Granted the opportunity to be able to start rotations early is a good thing but because Kingville is so small and desolate, the rotation sites are very limited. Unless you are very lucky to receive a close location, the majority of you will be commuting every Monday for 2 hours to and from your rotation sites. Another thing to consider is the amount of community service needed each semester. Texas A&M has by the far the most strenuous amount of mandatory community service hours needed in comparison to any other pharm program. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that community outreach is not important, but that much commitment I feel is not necessary. The time allocated into these activities can be better placed into other areas. Finally, personal questions to those currently attending that read these forums, how well prepared do you guys think you are for the NAPLEX? Having your first graduating class this Spring, you guys will have a lot on the line; one of these being full candidate accreditation status. While I was taking a tour, I asked the student who was giving the tour why the classes contained so few people. She told me that not all students attend class everyday; in other words do you guys ditch or are the lectures not as vital as independent study? Is attendance not mandatory for certain classes? I have heard that the professor-student relationship was spectacular but noticed that many of the students were not paying attention to the lecture. Clearly the lectures can’t be so interesting where many of the students are enthusiastically smiling and diligently typing on their laptops. Not only were students not focused on what the professor was saying but there was eating and talking during the lecture. I could be harsh to judge because it was just a few minutes of observation but first impressions mean a lot. Because of this, I don’t think I will consider A&M as my first choice school (or even a middle choice school) unless convinced otherwise. For any of those who are currently attending A&M please respond to this with what you think about these issues. It's just the impression I received while I was there.

So you're from Rice?

 

[RxMTM]

I keep playing the "oh, first week of April is so far away... what day is it now?!" game.

Looks like last year acceptances went out around 4/2 or 4/3. 2008: 4/7!

They could save themselves the trouble and just give us all a call.

You should expect them around May or June.

 

[pharm B]

Sweet.

 

[talkingdonkey]

You should expect them around May or June.

And you are basing this on what? Usually the first wave of acceptances goes out in April. Those that go out later are usually because someone in the first group chose not to accept the offer.

 

[pharm B]

I thought he was just being fantastic. Either way, I wanted to see if anyone else was pacing the floor with me.

 

[pharm B]

I meant sarcastic. Had a brain fart while responding in class.

Not sure where "fantastic" came from...

 

[Garfield3d]

I meant sarcastic. Had a brain fart while responding in class.

Not sure where "fantastic" came from...

Fantastic does seem to be a word that wouldn't fit into that sentence very well....

From what I remember, the first wave of acceptances usually come out during the first week of April. The exact day during the first week of April is a bit inexact. I remember that they, on more than one occasion, people have called to "confirm" a day, only to have the invitations e-mailed out a day or two late due to various delays (all while people paced with trepidation on the SDN thread).

Assuming things haven't changed...
The first wave of acceptances have a two week deadline to accept. One week after this deadline, people start getting pulled off from the wait list. This means that after the first wave of invitations, three weeks should pass before people on the wait list start receiving phone calls for an invitation to join the College of Pharmacy.

Although, I don't know if our methods have changed in the two years since I joined.

Names are slowly pulled from the wait list one-by-one until all of the seats are filled. In the past, the wait-list was rolling until late July for the last spot, so even if you don't receive anything by April, that doesn't mean that your chances are dead.

Lastly, I know it's been mentioned before, but unfortunately, the College of Pharmacy doesn't divulge hints on where a candidate is ranked on the invitation list or wait list. Calling the pharmacy for an idea of where you stand on a wait list isn't going to yield any new information. I know it's an anxious period of time, and there is a great deal of nervousness involved, but unfortunately the only thing to do is to try to keep your mind preoccupied with other things to stave off the insanity....

--Garfield3d

 

[ahimsel]

Garfield,

During my interview, Robertson gave us an example of our chances for getting in according to our 'ranking'. He said if you're ranked ~140 to you have a "good" chance at getting an offer. He then went on to say that if it's late in the game (i.e. June/July maybe?) and you called the COP to see how you stood in the rankings or how far down the list you were from being offered compared to the number of spots available, he would tell you that things aren't looking good and you should probably be initiating Plan B (not to be confused with the BTC BC =P). Sooo.... do you think we could do that? I wouldn't consider doing it unless I got an offer to a lesser school and wanted to wait until I heard from A&M before accepting it.

 

[Garfield3d]

Garfield,

During my interview, Robertson gave us an example of our chances for getting in according to our 'ranking'. He said if you're ranked ~140 to you have a "good" chance at getting an offer. He then went on to say that if it's late in the game (i.e. June/July maybe?) and you called the COP to see how you stood in the rankings or how far down the list you were from being offered compared to the number of spots available, he would tell you that things aren't looking good and you should probably be initiating Plan B (not to be confused with the BTC BC =P). Sooo.... do you think we could do that? I wouldn't consider doing it unless I got an offer to a lesser school and wanted to wait until I heard from A&M before accepting it.

Oh, hm, well, perhaps things have changed. I would imagine that Dr. Robertson is just giving general advice (since everyone should always have a contingency plan, and the June/July timeline is cutting things a bit short). If you're going to call, then calling during June should be a relatively quiet time to call. Calling in April or May, though, would be a bit presumptuous since it's still early in the process. Additionally, things are pretty busy during that time period (in addition to classes, final exams start popping up, grading deadlines for professors occur in May, and that kind of internal stuff), so calling in to ask where you are on the list may cause some undue stress.

I don't want to dissuade anyone from calling if they have any particular concerns or questions on their mind. The staff is friendly and will help you out. But, if you're wondering where you are on the invitation list, then... well, I would hold off on that until at least classes and grading are done.

--Garfield3d

 

[ahimsel]

Oh, hm, well, perhaps things have changed. I would imagine that Dr. Robertson is just giving general advice (since everyone should always have a contingency plan, and the June/July timeline is cutting things a bit short).

But, if you're wondering where you are on the invitation list, then... well, I would hold off on that until at least classes and grading are done.

--Garfield3d

Yeah, I would agree with that. Thanks!

 

[1pharmdplz]

I haven't been participating in this thread but I just skimmed it over and noticed some confusion about when acceptances will go out from A&M..

I thought I remembered Dr. Robertson saying that acceptances will go out on April 1st. The main reason why I remember this is because he made a joke about it being April Fools day. We all laughed.

I was really stressed so maybe my imagination made this up.. I'm pretty sure I heard this but I'm not sure if it was from Dr. Robertson. I interviewed on 3/11.

Does anyone else recall this? Or am I going crazy?

 

[ShadowRX]

I haven't been participating in this thread but I just skimmed it over and noticed some confusion about when acceptances will go out from A&M..

I thought I remembered Dr. Robertson saying that acceptances will go out on April 1st. The main reason why I remember this is because he made a joke about it being April Fools day. We all laughed.

I was really stressed so maybe my imagination made this up.. I'm pretty sure I heard this but I'm not sure if it was from Dr. Robertson. I interviewed on 3/11.

Does anyone else recall this? Or am I going crazy?

I believe he said the 1st week of April, but I think my friend said it was the 1st.

 

[ahimsel]

interviewed on the 12th -- he said they will be mailed April 1st. But he also mentioned something about an email going out maybe prior to that?? Does any current student know if they get an email as well as letter?

 

[pharm B]

I thought he did say the first week of April, also. But I do remember the April Fool's joke.

Eh, either way. Sounds like we might know by Friday. And if we don't, that's going to be one frustrating weekend.

I was really stressed so maybe my imagination made this up.. I'm pretty sure I heard this but I'm not sure if it was from Dr. Robertson. I interviewed on 3/11.

Does anyone else recall this? Or am I going crazy?

I interviewed the same day as you! How do you think you did?

 

[RxMTM]

And you are basing this on what? Usually the first wave of acceptances goes out in April. Those that go out later are usually because someone in the first group chose not to accept the offer.

I'm thinking I got mine in April. I remember getting Texas Tech in April right before recieving Rangel COP.

 

[TexasHeat]

I had my interview on March 5th and haven't heard anything either. I really liked what the pharmacy students had to say. They were all so friendly. The staff was really nice too, and they really helped me relax. I think my interview went really well, and even enjoyed my conversation with my interviewers. The only thing I didn't like was how Dr.Roberson kept telling us how "choosy" they were, and how there was only a small chance we would be accepted. I didn't understand why he kept saying that. We already know the odds of being accepted, and it kinda killed the mood/excitement for me. On the bright side, I got accepted to UT, so if i get accepted here I will be declining. Hopefully that opens a spot for someone! Good luck everyone!

 

[RxMTM]

I thought he was just being fantastic. Either way, I wanted to see if anyone else was pacing the floor with me.

Pharm B, I meant to say April / May. I went back into my email and looked up some dates. I recieved an email on April 2nd with an offer. The pre-orientation meeting was on June 5th. During the final orientation (August 15th), I met many new people that I did not see at the first orientation.

 

[FPharmDTTP]

Could a current student tell me aproximatly how much tuition and fees are per year? I could not find it on the web site.

 

[pharm B]

Could a current student tell me aproximatly how much tuition and fees are per year? I could not find it on the web site.

You have to search through the main Texas A&M Health Science Center site:

http://www.tamhsc.edu/education/finaid/forms1/cost-of-attendance/college-of-pharmacy1.pdf

Obviously, that's the expected cost of attendance for the college of pharmacy.

 

[Garfield3d]

Could a current student tell me aproximatly how much tuition and fees are per year? I could not find it on the web site.

The exact amount varies slightly (relatively speaking) from semester to semester because of the credit hours recorded per semester. As an in-state student, I paid a little over $6,700 last semester.

--Garfield3d

 

[FPharmDTTP]

What are the most common cities students serve their 4th year?

 

[pharm B]

Looks like we're getting closer to finding out about acceptances!

I doubt we'll hear anything Thursday or Friday, but it doesn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed.

 

[1pharmdplz]

I interviewed the same day as you! How do you think you did?

I thought the interview went well. My interviewers were friendly and we all conversed nicely. I even made them laugh once. We'll see if it was good enough.. maybe even tomorrow?

I've got a feeling that some will hear news tomorrow.

 

[pharm B]

I'm afraid to get my hopes up. I'm just planning on updates on Monday or Tuesday from the people who get accepted.

My phone's going to be on vibrate and in my hand all next week.

 

[Theta16]

So did anyone hear anything today?

 

[pharm B]

Nothing here. He DID make that joke about April Fool's Day, so I'm hopeful. But it's a restrained hopeful.

Sounds like something Garfield would say.

 

[ahimsel]

nada here as well. =/ I'm too nervous.

I looked back through this post (~pages 4-5) and the students received their emails late in the day, after 5 PM on April 2ND. But Robertson said.. April 1st was the goal and he seemed pretty confident about it. Although I find it odd to send out emails the Thursday before a 3 day-holiday weekend.. Aye aye aye.. it very well could be next week. Oh the horror.

 

[pharm B]

I had a separate question to ask, so I called them today. I went ahead and asked about the acceptance letters also and they said we should know "very, very soon."

Today? Hopefully!

 

[mrlytran]

Oh man...."very soon" hopefully today! Anyways, April 2nd of last year would also be a Thursday before a 3 day weekend so hopefully, they do the same for this year!

 

[lollipop9902]

Has anyone heard yet, my stomach is getting queasy.

 

[mrlytran]

nothing yet.... this waiting is killing me!

 

[pharm B]

I think it's safe to say it won't be today.

 

[Garfield3d]

Nothing here. He DID make that joke about April Fool's Day, so I'm hopeful. But it's a restrained hopeful.

Sounds like something Garfield would say.

Something along the lines of 'cautious optimism' does sound like something I might say....

Oh, and concerning Good Friday, technically we have a half-day, so it's possible that something could come out tomorrow morning but... I really wouldn't bet on it. I wouldn't start holding your breaths until next week.

--Garfield3d