PharmCAS Questions

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cvsfarmer said:
Okay so I submitted my application 4 weeks ago but nothing has changed. I am afraid I will not be able to meet my November 2 deadline. :mad: Anyone in the same situation?
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It is my understanding that if you submit your application to PharmCAS by your chosen school's deadline - it is submitted in time. PharmCAS may take a couple of weeks to process everything but you are OK on the deadline.
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I think it should be immediate... maybe someone else could elaborate.

You can't alter your application once you E-submitted.
 
roziak said:
I think it should be immediate
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i agree...:thumbup:

kashkow said:
Hi guys,
Hope all is going well with the application cycle. I was wondering if someone can help me since pharmcas is busy and has not gotten back to me yet.

I have already submitted my application but two of my references are unresponsive and have not come through with their letters. I already have 2 received :thumbup: but the other two are :thumbdown:. Now, do I just go to my application and delete the unresponsive ones and add someone else...........then click submit again? Also, one of the :thumbdown: reference told me that he submitted his reference 2 nights ago. How fast does pharmcas update the status on LORs or is the guy lying to me cause my status still say "not received"?
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Unfortunately PharmCAS states

POST-SUBMISSION CHANGES

After the initial submission of your completed PharmCAS application, you may only make changes to the following items:
Full Legal Name
Alternate Name
Permanent Mailing Address
Current Mailing Address
Phone Numbers
Email Address
Fax Number
Password: Not transmitted to your designated pharmacy schools
Designate Additional PharmCAS Programs: No substitutions or deletions.
Planned Coursework: One-time changes during the Academic Update only
New Fall Courses Completed: One-time changes during the Academic Update only
Reference Contacts: You may not delete an evaluator from your application once PharmCAS receives the evaluator’s reference

You can read it here:
http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/esubmit.htm

Sorry, but thats just the way the dice roll... many thanks! to "THEMULYA" :D
 
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If your reference submitted electronically, it should come up immediately. If they sent in a paper reference, it may take some time to show up.

If you have already e-submitted your application, you can go in and change references that have yet to respond.... You can delete the two that haven't responded and add new ones. You just can't delete a reference that has already been submitted. You don't get to e-submit again, you just add a new reference. I had to change a reference after I e-submitted too, and it worked out just fine =) Good luck!
 
This is for those who had applied last year and this year.

On the GPA calculation section there is the upper area that breaks down your classes by the years you took them and science/math/general and totals up your cumulative GPA in the bottom left of the section. This IS the same as last years application. On both this years app and last years I had my 3.45 total gpa - 3.91 science - 3.22 Math.

But on the lower GPA section, where it is class specific - Ochem, Biochem, physics etc... last years application had a separate total for GPA down there - like a coursework specific GPA. On last years application I had a 3.8 gpa down there - now this year I have a 3.45? The same as my top gpa?

I find that hard to believe since that lower gpa should not go down if I got 22 credits worth of A's and 4 cr B+?!!!

Has anyone else noticed this?

OR for those who's first application this is - does your upper total gpa reflect at all on your lower corsework specific gpa?

Thanks all!
 
I clicked on Pharmacy designation and pharmcas has not mailed my application to any of the schools. They calculated my GPA exactly a week ago.

When did PharmCAS mail your guyses applications after you esubmitted and gpa has been calculated??
 
Yeah, they either must be lazy over there or are too busy to even click the "send" button. I'm waiting for them to send an app for a school I just added and I'm almost losing my patience with PharmCAS.
 
KMIMSM said:
I clicked on Pharmacy designation and pharmcas has not mailed my application to any of the schools. They calculated my GPA exactly a week ago.

When did PharmCAS mail your guyses applications after you esubmitted and gpa has been calculated??
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It took PharmCAS 11 days to mail out my applications, and I submitted in August.
 
I think they mail out mondays. I submitted on a Friday and they mailed out on the following monday.
 
TibialplateauFx said:
This is for those who had applied last year and this year.

On the GPA calculation section there is the upper area that breaks down your classes by the years you took them and science/math/general and totals up your cumulative GPA in the bottom left of the section. This IS the same as last years application. On both this years app and last years I had my 3.45 total gpa - 3.91 science - 3.22 Math.

But on the lower GPA section, where it is class specific - Ochem, Biochem, physics etc... last years application had a separate total for GPA down there - like a coursework specific GPA. On last years application I had a 3.8 gpa down there - now this year I have a 3.45? The same as my top gpa?

I find that hard to believe since that lower gpa should not go down if I got 22 credits worth of A's and 4 cr B+?!!!

Has anyone else noticed this?

OR for those who's first application this is - does your upper total gpa reflect at all on your lower corsework specific gpa?

Thanks all!
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i noticed this and it is their fault. they made a mistake but i ignored it.
 
gtpederson said:
I think they mail out mondays. I submitted on a Friday and they mailed out on the following monday.
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Yup! I believe they mail apps every Monday.

Also, I think it takes longer to mail applications after August. I don't know why though.
 
silver tea said:
Yup! I believe they mail apps every Monday.

Also, I think it takes longer to mail applications after August. I don't know why though.
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It took like a week after they calculated my gpa to mail it, what is weird is when they mailed it I got an email the next day from like 3 of the schools I applied to telling me they had received it. Oh i think it takes longer to mail right now because a couple of the schools have Nov 1st deadlines so prolly a lot of people are submitting right now.
 
pharmRxn said:
i noticed this and it is their fault. they made a mistake but i ignored it.
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All I know is this section is way different from last years application!! So it is either an error on their part or they changed the layout of the application to a way that makes no sense. Why put the total from above down below - is that not a little redundant?
 
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Under the "course work" section on PharmCAS application, are we suppose to include highschool course work?
 
no. If you have any AP courses that counted for college credit, put it in your first semester coursework and select AP credit otherwise ignore it. Also don't include any ECs that you've done in high school. Pharmacy schools don't want to know what you did in high school, they want to know what you've been doing now.
 
themulya said:
no. If you have any AP courses that counted for college credit, put it in your first semester coursework and select AP credit otherwise ignore it. Also don't include any ECs that you've done in high school. Pharmacy schools don't want to know what you did in high school, they want to know what you've been doing now.
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heyy mulya ^ ^ uuuuu, you beat me to it. but, yeah...:thumbup::D:thumbup: i agree indefinitely!!!
 
I must have overlooked this but still not sure after searching the forums.

For anyone submitting pharmcas now for the Nov.2 deadline(CA schools), you're pretty much SOL because pharmcas will take more than a week to mail it out and the schools won't accept it after the Nov.2 deadline.

Is that correct?
 
Wrong.

They accept it as long as PharmCAS indicates that you submitted your application by Nov 2nd. It's not PharmCAS' deadline - it's YOUR deadline.
 
Awesome! Thank you for clearing that one up izzy.
 
you'd think PharmCAS would work faster than that huh?
I mean they do make a lot of money off of the students couldn't they hire extra people.
I'm impressed with how fast they answer emails but I mean...over 2 weeks to calculate your GPA and a whole week to mail out your applications? thats a bit too long.
 
.... procrastination = fail


So I am JUST starting on my pharmcas and I am in the process of obtaining LORs to meet my Dec 1 deadline. I already have instructors and pharmacists in mind but I am unfamiliar with the process of mail vs electronic methods.


I wish to go the electronic method since it is recommended by pharmcas. However, my professors tend to be older folk so I am unsure if they will be comfortable with the e-route. If that is the case, I can go with the regular old paper LOR.

However, if I "order" a LOR now, how long does it take to for pharmcas to send out the necessary forms to me/my instructor? If the order time is too lengthy, I may have to selectively choose instructors who are willing to go the e-route to ensure I finish my application on time.

once again, procrastination = fail

-----------

edit:

Okay so just to clarify:

If I go electronic method, the professor receives the request automatically.

Once they complete the request, is there any processing time before it shows up on pharmcas??

i only ask because:

NOW, keep in mind that it takes a few weeks to process & mail out your LORs once PharmCAS received them.
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i believe kashkow was referring to the snail mail method and not electronic?
 
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Go the electronic route. Your references will get the info on the LOR as soon as you submit their info on PharmCAS. NOW, keep in mind that it takes a few weeks to process & mail out your LORs once PharmCAS received them. Then, there are those LORs who doesn't come through even though they insist on helping you (like 2 of mine) so you have to find someone else. So schools will not look at your application until everything is complete, including all your LORs must be received by the school. Anyway, time is valuable so get started on them soon and you will find out who are truly your LORs in the end.....good luck.
 
So I was typing the name of honors I received and I found out I don't have enough space to type out the full award I got. Would it be acceptable to abbreviate 'certificate' to 'cert.'?

Otherwise, I get cut off at the end, and I don't want admissions committee reviewing my application and thinking, look, this girl didn't even proofread her application! What is 'resea?'
 
Of course, that's your only option aside from leaving it out completely which isn't the route to go here.
 
SYPHARMACY said:
me
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I didn't get done with Pharmcas until Jan 09 and I got into 2 pharm schools (only applied to 3, withdrawn from 1). So you will be fine, still very verrrry early. :)
 
boozefus,

I know what you mean about the older folk - one of my references was my chemistry professor and he is 95! After resending the email twice to have him complete the electronic process, I stopped by his office to inquire whether he need assistance! Turns out he did - he was trying to copy and paste his LOR in the wrong field so it was way too many characters and kept saying "error". I helped him and after five minutes we were done and it was received by pharmcas. So, offer to help your references if they need it but let them know that your deadline is looming so you need to save time wherever you can. Good luck!:luck:

P.S. Have a back up in case one of your references doesn't come through.
 
DocAcclamation said:
^^^^^^
With what kind of credentials?
:rolleyes:
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I had a pretty high GPA. ~3.9, but my PCAT was in the low 80s can't remember the exact number. I took the PCAT for the first time in Jan 09 as well...they are so SLOW, I didn't get the results back until March. LOL...

The POINT is don't worry about applying late, if you are good enough to get accepted YOU WILL. :)
 
Maybe I am somewhat naive, but does anyone else think that phamcas is a joke and that the whole supplemental application think is redundant? I thought our country valued the free market, but we can only take the PCAT from one source and we can only apply to certain schools through pharmcas. I guess I am just blowing off steam, but I think a year of Organic chemsitry and physics is nothing compared to the application process.
 
Think about how crazy it must be if there aren't standardized services for things like transcripts, letters, and grade verifications/transformations? How would you deal with a school that graded on a number scale or don't use the normal system of credits? My undergraduate school had all classes as 1 credit, and sometimes an extra half credit for lab courses. Several of my fellow classmates went to Michigan State where they are graded from 0-4.0 per grade. My friend who went to Columbia got over a cumulative 4.0 because they award 4.3s for A+s. Sure they could transform every individual person's grades, but having standardization is important. Schools aren't always equipped for that kind of manpower, which is why they pay PharmCAS to do it for them.

Some schools also want to know more about your personal writing capacities, or want to know specific things about how you think. The worst was the UCSF supplemental. Damn application took me months to put together.
 
If nothing else, I appreciate PharmCAS for their LOR section and their personal statement section. PharmCAS isn't that bad, honestly.... it sucks paying the fees, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Really, if you sit down with your transcripts and resume, you can finish the application (minus the statement and LORs for obvious reasons) in 2-3 hours.

The LOR is nice, because come on, who LIKES asking for 10 letters to 10 different schools. Even if it is only a little bit of additional trouble of printing and mailing, it's still more trouble than worth. I love that PharmCAS has the electronic system, and that each person need only send it once. Talk about convenience! That in itself is a huge relief, so I don't need to constantly call schools and ask whether they got each individual LOR - I can see it on PharmCAS.

It might be redundant, but seriously, where have you gone where that HASN'T been the case? At a doctor's visit, you fill out a form with your current and past health problems, then the nurse comes in and asks you EXACTLY those questions, and the doctor comes and asks you the EXACT same problems. On the phone when you call your credit card company or loan service (for student loans), they ask you to enter your account number and to confirm your identity via keypad with the automatic system ... then when you talk to someone, they ask you for that EXACT same information.
 
I can definitely see why a lot of folks like PharmCAS because, in my case, I am applying to non PharmCAS schools and it gets to be tedious having to do all these different apps every single time.
 
I also enjoy the PharmCAS system, the only thing I don't like are the short descriptions in the extracurricular section. You can't even begin to explain what you have done before you reach the character max! :mad:
 
HristosKaran said:
I also enjoy the PharmCAS system, the only thing I don't like are the short descriptions in the extracurricular section. You can't even begin to explain what you have done before you reach the character max! :mad:
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I agree!

I also like the e-LOR system. It's really nice, especially since you will know when the LOR is turned in, and you don't have to go out of your way to ask if your reference turned it in yet. Instead, we can just obsessively look at the status of the letter. :laugh:
 
Waiting for this semester to end before submitting (need to prove myself worthy of LORs and need my 4.0 this semester to boost overall gpa). Obviously not too worried if it doesn't happen this year.
 
busyizzy said:
If nothing else, I appreciate PharmCAS for their LOR section and their personal statement section. PharmCAS isn't that bad, honestly.... it sucks paying the fees, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Really, if you sit down with your transcripts and resume, you can finish the application (minus the statement and LORs for obvious reasons) in 2-3 hours.

The LOR is nice, because come on, who LIKES asking for 10 letters to 10 different schools. Even if it is only a little bit of additional trouble of printing and mailing, it's still more trouble than worth. I love that PharmCAS has the electronic system, and that each person need only send it once. Talk about convenience! That in itself is a huge relief, so I don't need to constantly call schools and ask whether they got each individual LOR - I can see it on PharmCAS.

It might be redundant, but seriously, where have you gone where that HASN'T been the case? At a doctor's visit, you fill out a form with your current and past health problems, then the nurse comes in and asks you EXACTLY those questions, and the doctor comes and asks you the EXACT same problems. On the phone when you call your credit card company or loan service (for student loans), they ask you to enter your account number and to confirm your identity via keypad with the automatic system ... then when you talk to someone, they ask you for that EXACT same information.
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It doesn't take 2-3 hours when you have 160 credit hours completed at college. Filling out isn't the bad part though, it is all the supplemental applications that you have to do afterward. You end up paying obscence amounts of money for a supplemental application with questions that are almost identical to pharmcas. So my question is...why do the schools even participate with pharmcas if they don't use the information already stated.
 
joh0472 said:
It doesn't take 2-3 hours when you have 160 credit hours completed at college. Filling out isn't the bad part though, it is all the supplemental applications that you have to do afterward. You end up paying obscence amounts of money for a supplemental application with questions that are almost identical to pharmcas. So my question is...why do the schools even participate with pharmcas if they don't use the information already stated.
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I had 153 credit hours and it didn't take me that long to put in all my coursework. I actually think that the coursework is one of the easier sections.

For me, it's a pain trying to fill out the extracurricular explanations in the small amount of characters given.
 
When I applied last year, I had 212 credit hours! It didn't take that long for me to put in my grades either.

And OP, if you don't like PharmCAS, think what your application would be like without it.
 
medicalCPA said:
When I applied last year, I had 212 credit hours! It didn't take that long for me to put in my grades either.

And OP, if you don't like PharmCAS, think what your application would be like without it.
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I figure it must suck to apply to like 6 non-pharmcas schools. It would certainly take a lot mroe organization. Instead of sending transcripts and pcat scores to one place, you have to send it to 8. And also 8 lors, etc. THe LORs must really suck
 
I LOVE PharmCAS but I loathe schools with supplementals! 3 down and 8 more to go
 
joh0472 said:
It doesn't take 2-3 hours when you have 160 credit hours completed at college. Filling out isn't the bad part though, it is all the supplemental applications that you have to do afterward. You end up paying obscence amounts of money for a supplemental application with questions that are almost identical to pharmcas. So my question is...why do the schools even participate with pharmcas if they don't use the information already stated.
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My 2-3 hours was an estimate for slow people and slow internet - I didn't want people telling me no, they couldn't finish it, it's a lie! blahblahblah. Better to overestimate than underestimate.

Think how bad it'd be if you didn't have PharmCAS. You complain about the pain of filling out supplementals now. If each "supplemental" was twice its' length because we did not have PharmCAS? You have to send each of your LORs to each school; you have to send your transcripts to each school (and at my school, you have to pay for each transcript sent). Your personal statement has to be slightly modified for each school, even the main, why pharmacy one, because each school could ask it slightly different ways.

This is really nothing new; if you applied to undergrad via the Commonapp, you'll see it's (almost) the EXACT same thing. You have a common application, but you also have a supplemental where surprise surprise, you need to fill out your same personal information again, as well as additional questions. Schools get some pertinent information from PharmCAS, but they don't get everything, thus the supplemental. They still use it because it's useful and convenient.

You sound like you have a problem with the money. If you don't like it that much... don't apply to schools using PharmCAS. That solves your problems.
 
The eLOR is so easy to use, and almost anyone in academia is going to know basic internet skills. Especially if they are science based professors. don't give old timers a bad time. I learned more computer skills from an old codger than I care for.
 
i love pharmcas...i didn't apply to a few schools because they weren't on pharmcas, made my life a whole lot easier.
 
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