Pacific University Oregon

www.westernu.edu/pharmacy/
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MrCoolDPh said:
Im not referring to the naplex. I am referring to the pass/fail standard that they use as their grading system. I do believe that you must have at least a 90 % overall in each class in order to go on to the next class. I am pretty sure that it said 90% on the supplemental application. Whether it is pass/no pass I am still interested in the program, especially since it is accelerated.
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It is a 90% pass/no pass system. They do give you a lot of chance to pass. If you fail a block you can retake the exam on Monday.

I just had my interview on 11/10th and I really like the campus and the block system that they have. They said they will notified us within three weeks if we get accepted for not.
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Really? That's awesome! I really think I would like Oregon!
 
eskyesther said:
It is a 90% pass/no pass system. They do give you a lot of chance to pass. If you fail a block you can retake the exam on
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Above poster is right, it is 90% however you can retake it, also you get extra points for a group test & if you still don't reach 90% you can retake the block during summer break. They want you to succeed.
 
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Kmnguyen said:
Thanks!


93% is still not bad. It is something you would have to assess yourself on, do you feel like you would be part of the 93% who passed it on the first time?

I understand wanting to be competitive for a residency though. I hear it is harder and harder to get one. Does anyone have any info on how many graduates from Pacific went on to do residencies? Or rather how many applied and how many were accepted?
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For residencies, Pacific is at less of an advantage than say a traditional school because of their grading system. With everyone having a pass/no pass grading style, that means everyone would "essentially" graduate with a 4.0 GPA. IMHO, the other school in the state is Oregon State University, and they are more well known for residencies.
 
Why do you think pass/no pass is a big mistake? Other schools, such as University California San Diego also have pass/no pass and I'm sure there are others besides these two.
 
us2013 said:
Personally, I think pass/no pass system is a big mistake. They are a bit out of touch with the reality. Maybe their good reputation in local community can make up for that part? I heard good things about this school from one of my classmates who was originally from Oregon.
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Quite the contrary, I think the pass/no pass system reflects better the reality. First, GPA can only measure the didactic part of pharmacy education and there is no guarantee that a 4.0 pharmacy student would do better in clinical than a 3.5 one. Besides, it takes much more than just book knowledge to become a pharmacist and in the end it all comes down to whether someone is competent enough to be granted the privilege of practicing pharmacy.

The key factor of getting matched for residency or landing a job is networking, NOT a 4.0 GPA. When a residency director or a regional director read your application and they can immediately recognize who you are (in a positive way of course), then they would more likely to offer you a job. So, the question is "how do you get to meet those "directors"" ? At Pacific, if you attend the right events then within your P1 year, you will have a chance to meet a lot of "directors" in the area (Fred Meyer, Safeway, Providence, Legacy,...)
 
How was your interview experience? I have interview on Jan 12th. :)
 
I got an interview invitation on the Jan 12 to. Could any one tell me how the interview go? And what are some helpful advise that I need to know?
 
Nazych said:
How was your interview experience? I have interview on Jan 12th. :)
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It was a really fun experience! The hardest part for me was the essay because they only gave us 15 min, so be prepared to think fast!
 
BTW, did anyone hear back? I'm so nervous...
 
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Just received my acceptance via email from the first interview date on 11/10. Good luck everyone else!
 
Just got the acceptance email too hehe :) Now I gotta earn $1000 for deposit !!! Good luck everyone !!
 
Congratulations to all of you who have been accepted! It must be great to see all your hard work pay off!
 
Congrats to everyone who got accepted and who got interview invitations :)

I'm a P1 at Pacific U, feel free to pm me if you have any questions!
 
Woot woot!! I also just got accepted!! WOOO so excited!! Although I am still debating whether or not I will attend this school :D I still have other interviews lined up :D
 
a student said:
It was a really fun experience! The hardest part for me was the essay because they only gave us 15 min, so be prepared to think fast!
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could you please tell me what was the essay about and how many words they expect us to write?
what questions they asked you?were there mostly about your past or your future?
what i should mostly be prepared in the interview section!
I'm so nervous. I have not had interview before for pharmacy school.

Thanks! :)
 
Nazych said:
could you please tell me what was the essay about and how many words they expect us to write?
what questions they asked you?were there mostly about your past or your future?
what i should mostly be prepared in the interview section!
I'm so nervous. I have not had interview before for pharmacy school.

Thanks! :)
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The essay was about job ethic scenario: your friend made a repeated mistake at work, if you report her/him then he/she would be fired. So they asked what would you do in that situation? You can write as much (or as little) as you want to.

The first question they probably ask you is why you choose Pacific? Then they may ask questions such as: what are your weakness? What do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your extra curricular activities? Maybe another work ethic scenario question... Then it's your turn to ask them question. Finally, they probably end the interview with the question: why should Pacific pick you?

How should you prepare for the interview? Well, just be yourself and show them your UNIQUE interest in their pharmacy program :)
 
RN2RPh said:
The essay was about job ethic scenario: your friend made a repeated mistake at work, if you report her/him then he/she would be fired. So they asked what would you do in that situation? You can write as much (or as little) as you want to.

The first question they probably ask you is why you choose Pacific? Then they may ask questions such as: what are your weakness? What do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your extra curricular activities? Maybe another work ethic scenario question... Then it's your turn to ask them question. Finally, they probably end the interview with the question: why should Pacific pick you?

How should you prepare for the interview? Well, just be yourself and show them your UNIQUE interest in their pharmacy program :)
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Yeahhh thats how I remembered it!! Also for the writing portion I only wrote 4 sentences! I guess they liked it lol
 
iwant2bapharmer said:
Yeahhh thats how I remembered it!! Also for the writing portion I only wrote 4 sentences! I guess they liked it lol
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Same here hehe. I wrote about 5 sentences :D. The guy sitting next to me wrote the whole page !!
 
HAHA..I wrote like a paragraph about 6 sentences. I guess they liked it too. I don't think the writing is a big part of the interview process. They want to know who we are so just be yourself and write whatever comes to your mind and not write what you think they should want. They want your answer and your opinion. I think.
 
Does anyone know if Pacific has strange rules like strict dress code, NO food or drink in classrooms, etc?
 
MrCoolDPh said:
Does anyone know if Pacific has strange rules like strict dress code, NO food or drink in classrooms, etc?
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Nope, we don't have any strict food or dress codes. There are special occasions such as consultation assignments where you will have to wear professional attire but they will tell you way ahead. Other than that, wear all the sweats/PJs you want to class.
 
Will anyone be attending the January 12th interview? :)
 
Pojman said:
I just got a letter saying that my application has been placed on hold for the next round of application reviews. Which is typically a soft rejection. har har! :D

I submitted my application on October 25th.
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My application got put on committee hold too! But I just got accepted to CU denver so atleast I got in somewhere!
 
I got on committee hold last year before being rejected for lack of volunteer experience. On one hand it was this maddening limbo, but on the other I knew my application wasn't laughably bad. Good luck and I hope you get through to the interview process. In the end I was glad I didn't get in last year I took some really great classes I wouldn't have been able to, and had some amazing volunteer experiences I also would have missed out on.
Good Luck!
 
Kmnguyen said:
I got on committee hold last year before being rejected for lack of volunteer experience. On one hand it was this maddening limbo, but on the other I knew my application wasn't laughably bad. Good luck and I hope you get through to the interview process. In the end I was glad I didn't get in last year I took some really great classes I wouldn't have been able to, and had some amazing volunteer experiences I also would have missed out on.
Good Luck!
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Thanks! I hope so too.

That's awesome! Congrats again. Good luck with your interview in Jan!
 
I was wondering were you put on "committee hold" after an interview, or was this an application committee hold? Thanks
 
152011 said:
I was wondering were you put on "committee hold" after an interview, or was this an application committee hold? Thanks
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Committee hold only referrers to the application. You can get waitlisted after you interview, but not put on committee hold.
 
Kmnguyen said:
Committee hold only referrers to the application. You can get waitlisted after you interview, but not put on committee hold.
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Actually this is not true. This is what they told us on my interview day: after your interview, you will be either "offered admission", "rejected" or "committee hold". The school won't have any waiting list until after all the interviews are done (which is in March 2013). They said that "committee hold" means "we like you, but it's not enough for us to offer you admission yet, and we want to compare you with other applicants from later interview days. So the "committee hold" status may turn into "offered admission", "rejected" or "waiting list"

However, base on what I know about the school, "committee hold" after interview means "we are very likely to admit you later, just wait":D
 
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RN2RPh said:
Actually this is not true. This is what they told us on my interview day: after your interview, will be either "offered admission", "rejected" or "committee hold". The school won't have any waiting list until after all the interviews are done (which is in March 2013). They said that "committee hold" means "we like you, but it's not enough for us to offer you admission yet, and we want to compare you with other applicants from later interview days. So the "committee hold" status may turn into "offered admission", "rejected" or "waiting list"

However, base on what I know about the school, "committee hold" after interview means "we are very likely to admit you later, just wait":D
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Good to know- thanks! It would make sense they would have to interview everyone in order to start a waitlist. So, I guess the anxiety and waiting may not end after the interview!
 
cup cake said:
Congrats! :) Did you both submit apps Oct and receive interview invitations Nov 9? I still haven't heard anything. :(
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I'm not sure about the other person. But yea, I did submit the applications mid-Oct, and received the invite Nov.9. I'm an out-of-state applicant though, not sure does that affect the dates or anything. Don't give up hope! Unless they send you a rejection letter, it still means that they might still want you! :)
 
riggylou said:
Congrats..when did you turn in your supplemental? and when did your PharmCAS go through?
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I turned in my supplemental sometime in October I think. And for some reason, my pcat score JUST now got sent in :/
 
christinet said:
I turned in my supplemental sometime in October I think. And for some reason, my pcat score JUST now got sent in :/
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Thank you; I think I sent mine around Nov 1st, just trying to get an idea of where mine is in the stack of applications..! No PCAT required for Oregon, not sure if they will still look at it if you send it though.
 
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