*~*Official 2011-2012 PharmCAS Thread!*~*

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On my UC transcript, there is a list of transfer courses from community colleges. Do I have to input those grades under my UC too even if I already inputted them under the community colleges?

I realized that my application was sent out July 27th but all my references were not completed until July 30th. Does this mean that the schools do not have my references? If not, when will they actually receive my references since they are all complete now? Thank you for the help.

Originally Posted by checksta

On my UC transcript, there is a list of transfer courses from community colleges. Do I have to input those grades under my UC too even if I already inputted them under the community colleges?

No. Just under the sessions for CC is fine.

Originally Posted by Trumpet

I realized that my application was sent out July 27th but all my references were not completed until July 30th. Does this mean that the schools do not have my references? If not, when will they actually receive my references since they are all complete now? Thank you for the help.

Yes, the LORs weren't sent out. Those LORs should be sent out soon (maybe a week).

1. for my AP tests, I just listed them under Freshman year Fall term along with my regular fall classes, is that correct?
2. for student registration status, do I put freshman if it's my 1st year, sophmore if it's my 2nd year in college and so on? Or do I have to go by specific units (0-45 is freshman, etc.) since I got AP credit so it's a bit confusing?
If I go by # of units then I would've started school as a "sophmore"
My adviser told me to just put freshman for 1st year and so on, but I've heard some people say different.

Thanks!

I tried putting in .16 in my avg weekly hours for volunteering, but it said invalid. It would only let me put "1" . is that okay even though I didn't do 1 hour per week?
Thanks

I took already took one class this summer, and got an A. I'm in the process of finishing another, and it will be completed on August 11th. I want to submit my application as soon as possible.

Should I wait until grades for the summer session are turned in (August 17th-ish), and then send an updated transcript to PharmCAS?

Or should I submit my application now, and then just update my grades in the "academic update" in December?

These classes make up 7 credit hours or prerequisites and will help boost my GPA, but by the time my school sends the transcript to PharmCAS, and PharmCAS receives them, I'm afraid it will already be September.

How to we differentiate a volunteer work experience vs. an extracurricular activity?

for example, if i currently volunteer at a pharmacy...I see that as an extracurricular activity....like in general..isn't volunteer not really work..

then could it be a volunteer work experience too?

for the descriptions that we write for our volunteer or work experience...is it necessary to write complete sentences? or can we abbreviate...and like skip the spaces between sentences?
i want to fully describe my experiences..but this text limit is killing me!

Originally Posted by angeleyesoasis

for the descriptions that we write for our volunteer or work experience...is it necessary to write complete sentences? or can we abbreviate...and like skip the spaces between sentences?
i want to fully describe my experiences..but this text limit is killing me!

I would use complete sentences because using abbreviations and skipping spaces may look unprofessional.

Originally Posted by DedicationNSU11

Has anyone else checked their app on pharmcas? Mine says "mailed"

So now the mailing date all of a sudden changed to today 08/02/11 from the previous date of 7/28. That's weird, I guess the first time it said mailed it really didn't mean it.

Originally Posted by DedicationNSU11

So now the mailing date all of a sudden changed to today 08/02/11 from the previous date of 7/28. That's weird, I guess the first time it said mailed it really didn't mean it.

Really?

My application is completed (Transcripts, LORs are received and GPA has been calculated) but, my status still says "not mailed". I thought pharmcas was going to mail it yesterday but did not. They did not do it today either. Anyone else having the same problem?

Originally Posted by heya1

Really?

My application is completed (Transcripts, LORs are received and GPA has been calculated) but, my status still says "not mailed". I thought pharmcas was going to mail it yesterday but did not. They did not do it today either. Anyone else having the same problem?

PharmCAS only sends them out once a week. In the past, it has generally been on Mondays.

Originally Posted by Project2015

PharmCAS only sends them out once a week. In the past, it has generally been on Mondays.

Oh, I see.

But the thing is that I e-submitted it on 7/15 and my GPA was calculated and my application was verified on 7/28. I thought my application would be included during the August 1 mailing since I finished my app before the deadline.

Searched for this, couldn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated:

My school gave me credit for some AP scores, but it is just credit for the sake of credit and is not in substitute of any course. What do I put under title? On the transcript it does have the name of the AP class (ENG LANG/COMP) but would I put that?

I ask that because for other ones where it does give credit and substitutes for a class, they also have the class name (i.e. CALCULUS AB/SCR 5 P 4.00 MATH140 ) with math140 of course being the class it replaces (so for that I put the course name as the name of math140 (Calculus I).

I go to the University of Maryland if that helps anyone (if you go there and have done this already :P).

Thanks for reading.

Originally Posted by PharmEcon

Searched for this, couldn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated:

My school gave me credit for some AP scores, but it is just credit for the sake of credit and is not in substitute of any course. What do I put under title? On the transcript it does have the name of the AP class (ENG LANG/COMP) but would I put that?

I ask that because for other ones where it does give credit and substitutes for a class, they also have the class name (i.e. CALCULUS AB/SCR 5 P 4.00 MATH140 ) with math140 of course being the class it replaces (so for that I put the course name as the name of math140 (Calculus I).

I go to the University of Maryland if that helps anyone (if you go there and have done this already :P).

Thanks for reading.

In both case, you should just enter exactly what the transcript indicates. Be sure to also check the AP credit policy for schools you're applying to.

Originally Posted by Project2015

In both case, you should just enter exactly what the transcript indicates. Be sure to also check the AP credit policy for schools you're applying to.

So even for calc I should put CALCULUS AB/SCR instead of the class I got credit for (Calculus I)? For class prefix I still put math140 though right?

Thanks for the help by the way

Originally Posted by PharmEcon

So even for calc I should put CALCULUS AB/SCR instead of the class I got credit for (Calculus I)? For class prefix I still put math140 though right?

Thanks for the help by the way

Is that the course prefix listed on the transcript?

The thing is, PharmCAS only has the transcript to go by and if they find any differences compared to what you entered, they will change it back to the transcript data.

Is what it shows as. Of course the class they actually give credit for is named differently than the AP title listed there (Math140 is Calculus I, not Calculus AB; the history one is named differently as well)

For the english ones, I got credit but not for a class- I guess I'd just put the AP title for those?

And should I put the one I got no credit for too?

It has been 17 days since my school mailed out my transcript (from CA) to pharmcas. They still haven't received it. Did it take anyone else this long to send their transcripts? I think I am going to resend another one soon.

I have E submitted my application and have all my LOR in. The only thing left is I Have my transcripts being sent in. Will Pharmcas send my application while my transcripts are still being sent? I sent my transcripts in a couple of days ago and they have not yet received it. Thanks

Originally Posted by HopefulDreamer

It has been 17 days since my school mailed out my transcript (from CA) to pharmcas. They still haven't received it. Did it take anyone else this long to send their transcripts? I think I am going to resend another one soon.

I would call them. I tried emailing them but no reply. I'm gonna call them if they dont have mine in soon

Originally Posted by thesituation559

I have E submitted my application and have all my LOR in. The only thing left is I Have my transcripts being sent in. Will Pharmcas send my application while my transcripts are still being sent? I sent my transcripts in a couple of days ago and they have not yet received it. Thanks

Definitely not. Your application is still not complete if they haven't received the transcripts. Once they receive the transcripts, they will verify it against your entries to ensure accuracy before mailing it.

Originally Posted by Project2015

Definitely not. Your application is still not complete if they haven't received the transcripts. Once they receive the transcripts, they will verify it against your entries to ensure accuracy before mailing it.

So the only thing left for them to send it is receiving my transcripts and comparing it to my entries?

Originally Posted by thesituation559

So the only thing left for them to send it is receiving my transcripts and comparing it to my entries?

Basically. They make sure that your transcript was properly entered. If there were minor problems, they'll correct it for you. For major problems, they will prompt you to correct them. Next, they calculate your various GPAs. Finally, they mail it out on their weekly schedule.

I did some volunteer work at the hospital and I entered under the "work experience" on the application but it only tells you how many hours of week I volunteered. Does volunteering go under work experience? And also it doesn't say anything about showing proof of it, so how do I provide proof of volunteering???

Originally Posted by xNeenax

I did some volunteer work at the hospital and I entered under the "work experience" on the application but it only tells you how many hours of week I volunteered. Does volunteering go under work experience? And also it doesn't say anything about showing proof of it, so how do I provide proof of volunteering???

Volunteering is not "work experience". I seem to recall a whole section just for volunteering.

You do not submit proof of volunteering, it is the honor system.

Originally Posted by xNeenax

I did some volunteer work at the hospital and I entered under the "work experience" on the application but it only tells you how many hours of week I volunteered. Does volunteering go under work experience? And also it doesn't say anything about showing proof of it, so how do I provide proof of volunteering???

Originally Posted by owlegrad

Volunteering is not "work experience". I seem to recall a whole section just for volunteering.

You do not submit proof of volunteering, it is the honor system.

It can. Or it can go to EC.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Enter any paid or volunteer work experience. List experiences in order of importance to you. List each activity only once. Do not repeat any activities listed in the previous section.

I stand corrected. I would not list it as work experience.

Originally Posted by owlegrad

I stand corrected. I would not list it as work experience.

I agree.

Hey guys, I am new to this forum and am in the process of putting the final touches on my pharmCAS application. I know there has been a ton of questions on AP credit and I've tried searching every pertinent discussion to see if anyone else had the same problem as me but haven't found anything. On my unofficial transcript, I can't see the invdividual AP courses that I took. All that shows is total transfer credit (I've attached a picture). I know we are supposed to exactly replicate our transcript so I e-mailed pharmCAS asking for their advice. They told me to call in the school and report individual AP credit so it can show up on my transcript but I've already submitted it to pharmCAS (and they've received it). There is a total of 28 transfer units. I tried inputting them all at once, but the credit number won't even go that high plus I wouldn't even know what to put for the course title. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Originally Posted by hsamow

Hey guys, I am new to this forum and am in the process of putting the final touches on my pharmCAS application. I know there has been a ton of questions on AP credit and I've tried searching every pertinent discussion to see if anyone else had the same problem as me but haven't found anything. On my unofficial transcript, I can't see the invdividual AP courses that I took. All that shows is total transfer credit (I've attached a picture). I know we are supposed to exactly replicate our transcript so I e-mailed pharmCAS asking for their advice. They told me to call in the school and report individual AP credit so it can show up on my transcript but I've already submitted it to pharmCAS (and they've received it). There is a total of 28 transfer units. I tried inputting them all at once, but the credit number won't even go that high plus I wouldn't even know what to put for the course title. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

You can certainly try asking your school but I doubt that they'll change the way AP credits are reported on the transcript.

The picture only shows the summation. Are there any line items on the transcript that suggests those 28 units are from AP? If so, you can just add two courses as 14 units each with course name "Advanced Placement," course prefix "AP", CR for grade, none for score, and "Advanced Placement" for classification.

If you are using any of these AP credits to fulfill prerequisites, you'll need to check with the schools individually to find out the policies and procedures.

Originally Posted by owlegrad

I stand corrected. I would not list it as work experience.

Then how can I show pharmacy schools that I have some pharmacy experience?

Hello everyone!

I have a question about the PharmCAS personal statement. I know it asks us to talk about MANY different things-- our background, why we chose pharmacy as a career, our goals, etc. Does anyone have advice as to how much space we should allocate for each question? For example, would it be a bad idea to talk mostly about your past, and then mention briefly how it will affect your future goals?

"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."

Originally Posted by AmberD

Hello everyone!

I have a question about the PharmCAS personal statement. I know it asks us to talk about MANY different things-- our background, why we chose pharmacy as a career, our goals, etc. Does anyone have advice as to how much space we should allocate for each question? For example, would it be a bad idea to talk mostly about your past, and then mention briefly how it will affect your future goals?

"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."

Ideally, you'll be killing multiple birds with one stone, so to speak. In discussing your past (and in the process, your "personal, educational and professional background"), you should be able to make it clear how it influenced your decision to pursue pharmacy. As much as possible, you want your essay to work as a cohesive unit, not just a collection of paragraphs that individually satisfy the requirements of the given prompt. In my essay, I took a similar approach to what you're suggesting by focusing heavily on my past and my pharmacy experience then wrapping up by relating my past and experience to my future goals.

If you're interested, we do have an awesome* collection of proofreaders who would be happy to take a look at your essay when it's done.

*Disclaimer: I am one of these proofreaders, so I am clearly biased

Edit: Excellent tips for writing a PS can be found here.

Originally Posted by Project2015

You can certainly try asking your school but I doubt that they'll change the way AP credits are reported on the transcript.

The picture only shows the summation. Are there any line items on the transcript that suggests those 28 units are from AP? If so, you can just add two courses as 14 units each with course name "Advanced Placement," course prefix "AP", CR for grade, none for score, and "Advanced Placement" for classification.

If you are using any of these AP credits to fulfill prerequisites, you'll need to check with the schools individually to find out the policies and procedures.

There are no notations suggesting the transfer units are from AP courses. The picture I attached is the only thing that inidicates transferable units from the AP classes I took. I listened to your advice though, as it is the only reasonable thing that I can think of to do. Luckily, none of the AP courses I took are used to fulfill any pre-pharm prerequisites so hopefully it won't be that much of an issue. Thanks so much =)

R2pharmD2, thanks for the advice .

Hello all! I just have a quick question.

So I'm trying to add my coursework to PharmCAS at the moment. I'm a bit confused about repeated courses. If I repeated a course, do I list the course twice on PharmCAS? And do I list the second listing as "repeated" or should they both say "repeated"?

Thanks!!!

P.S. Also, 1 more question! So I took some courses at a community college during some summers that were transferred to my current university. Do I just send a transcript from my current university (which includes the courses I took at the community colleges) to PharmCAS or do I need to send individual transcripts from the community colleges as well??

Originally Posted by Ayuka001

2. for student registration status, do I put freshman if it's my 1st year, sophmore if it's my 2nd year in college and so on? Or do I have to go by specific units (0-45 is freshman, etc.) since I got AP credit so it's a bit confusing?
If I go by # of units then I would've started school as a "sophmore"

I have very similar question. All of my credits are at community college, which technically has no "upper classman" classes. On PharmCAS, I listed my first year as "freshman" and second (etc.) years as "sophomore." Since I took a bit of a meandering path to pharmacy, I have something like 60 credits listed as "sophomore." Does my logic in putting "sophomore" make sense - is that what I should do?

Either way, I'm thinking it doesn't effect the overall GPA so much, because they only separate into "undergrad" and "grad" GPAs. For my "sophomore year" GPA, I do have one semester of Bs with 1 F that will be skewed (in my favor, most everything else is an A).

Does PharmCAS wait for ALL letters of recommendations in order to process our applications ????

Originally Posted by DedicationNSU11

So now the mailing date all of a sudden changed to today 08/02/11 from the previous date of 7/28. That's weird, I guess the first time it said mailed it really didn't mean it.

My mailing date said 7/29 and now there is another date underneath that says 8/08 and it says revised next to it. I'm not sure what this means, because I havent changed anything since I e-submitted

When I was requesting a transcript from my university I forgot to write "Transcript Department" as part of the address, is this bad?
Address: PharmCAS
Transcript Department
P.O. Box 9109
Watertown, MA 02471

Also I haven't submitted my application yet, so it's ok to just send them my transcript anyways just so they have it, right?

It says on the application once submitted no changes can be done so that means I have to wait until all recommendation letters are in, right?

Also, I'm taking the PCAT in September (for the first time), will they give you the PCAT code on that day or do I have to wait until I get my score report? When do the score reports usually come in?

For the pharmCAS application, I need a letter of reference from a pharmacist but I don't know any. Do you know what questions they ask on the electronic reference form? Do they ask how long they have known me?

Since I do research under my school's bio department, I get units for it (shows up on my transcript). Would you guys recommend adding it under extracurricular activities as well?

Originally Posted by umhb10

For the pharmCAS application, I need a letter of reference from a pharmacist but I don't know any. Do you know what questions they ask on the electronic reference form? Do they ask how long they have known me?

Check the applicant instruction book. They list the questions on the evaluation that goes along with the LoR.

Originally Posted by xNeenax

Then how can I show pharmacy schools that I have some pharmacy experience?

Uh, isn't volunteering "pharmacy experience?" You don't have to get paid to get experience...

Originally Posted by xNeenax

Also I haven't submitted my application yet, so it's ok to just send them my transcript anyways just so they have it, right?

As I read the instructions, yes. Since I know it takes a while for the transcripts to get there & get logged as "received," I did this last week so the waiting (for that part at least) happens concurrently with my personal statement writing & contacting LoR writers.

Originally Posted by xNeenax

It says on the application once submitted no changes can be done so that means I have to wait until all recommendation letters are in, right?

Deadlines

Applicants must arrange for PharmCAS to RECEIVE all references by the application deadline date set by their designated pharmacy schools. PharmCAS does NOT enforce reference deadlines. Both online and paper references will be reproduced and forwarded to each of the applicant's designated pharmacy schools.

PharmCAS Mailing of References

PharmCAS will begin to forward your references to your designated pharmacy schools once your file is complete. PharmCAS will

NOT hold your application for missing references.

Application Verification

[...] Once your application is complete, PharmCAS will verify the accuracy of your application materials, compare your original transcripts to the

self-reported course information on your application, calculate your PharmCAS GPAs, and submit your application to each of your designated pharmacy institutions.

These three passages from the instruction booklet seem to say that once PharmCAS receives the complete application (i.e., all "required" sections complete), their fee, and all of your transcripts, they will forward your application to the school, along with any LoRs they have received to that point. As they receive additional LoRs, they will forward to the school. This seems to match up with what I've read elsewhere on SDN, but could someone with more experience confirm/deny?

Originally Posted by xNeenax

Also, I'm taking the PCAT in September (for the first time), will they give you the PCAT code on that day or do I have to wait until I get my score report? When do the score reports usually come in?

Your PCAT CID is actually on the first page after you log into Pearson's PCAT portion of the website, in the upper right corner of the info box (which is sort of in the middle of the page). You are assigned this as soon as you register for the test. Input it into PharmCAS before you take your test (so you don't forget later).

Score reports come out about 5 weeks after the test. I believe I read scores are mailed to the institutions you indicated within 2 weeks after the score report. More information available in Pearson's instruction booklet about the PCAT. By the way, make sure you put PharmCAS on your PCAT registration to receive your scores.

Originally Posted by PhoenixFire

Does PharmCAS wait for ALL letters of recommendations in order to process our applications ????

Nope. Read my response to xNeenax above.

Originally Posted by xtsukiyox

Uh, isn't volunteering "pharmacy experience?" You don't have to get paid to get experience...

You're amazing! Thank you for your response

I was wondering about the volunteer experience because I can get a document from my volunteer coordinator to show how much volunteer hours I've done, but I didn't see anything about this on the PharmCAS. I was just wondering if pharmacy schools wanted to see that or not.

Originally Posted by xtsukiyox

Your PCAT CID is actually on the first page after you log into Pearson's PCAT portion of the website, in the upper right corner of the info box (which is sort of in the middle of the page). You are assigned this as soon as you register for the test. Input it into PharmCAS before you take your test (so you don't forget later).

Score reports come out about 5 weeks after the test. I believe I read scores are mailed to the institutions you indicated within 2 weeks after the score report. More information available in Pearson's instruction booklet about the PCAT. By the way, make sure you put PharmCAS on your PCAT registration to receive your scores.

What are you for real? That means I could have sent my application a long time ago! Why am I so stupid, I should have found this out before.
Now I have to start on references and get all this done before next Wednesday, when all the final grades are done. I feel like beating myself in the head right now