Hey
koushyarp, medium alternate is not a bad place to be in. Just hang in there. Those who are already accepted may decline Touro as they get accepted to some of their top priority schools, then High alternates will be offered acceptance, and they may decline for the same reasons, and you will then receive an acceptance letter. Just keep your hopes up. I don't know if being a scholar athlete helps with admissions but it doesn't hurt to mention it during an interview if you get a chance to talk about it. Touro wants well rounded students who have outputs for the stress that incurs during Pharm school. Athletics is so big here that we have a student Vice President of athletics. We do basketball, football, raquetball, ping pong, yoga, rockclimbing, snowboarding trips, and a dodgeball tournament...yeah I said it...dodgeball.
Hey
tesahelena, yes its true we do host Touro idol, and we have a student that plays Ryan Seacrest, and we have three faculty members that play Simon, Paula, and Randy. It's a ton of laughs and it actually raises money for our class via raffles, and selling baked goods. We want students who are willing to participate in the activities we put on. Besides Touro Idol, we do the Murder Mystery dinner, which is like a theatrical "clue", we do pharmacy feud, we have talent show, and a winter gala. We're pretty much open to host anything a student can think of, these are just some of the ongoing traditions we have so far. I look forward to seeing you get dissed my Simon (aka Dr. Madden) next year. It will be hilarious.
Some "pearls of wisdom" for those who plan to interview. On your written essay, Organize...Organize...Organize. During our written exams, faculty put a STRONG emphasis on organization. Remember, you are going to be healthcare professionals, if you can't communicate your thoughts in a clear logical manner, you are compromising the triangle of healthcare. Also, don't BS. Its better to state what you know for sure than to write something that you are not sure about. Again, think about if you were writing as a pharmacist to a physician about the dosing schedule for a particular drug. Would you guess about the dosing regimen and fax that to the physician's office? No!!! You would ask for more time to look it up and be sure about the information you convey? You
do not need to fill up the whole paper either, faculty hate when we fill our exams up with "fluff" Be as concise and accurate as possible. Remember, healthcare is a busy field. So get to the point, and don't lose your reader in a mountain of un-important garbage.
For the interview section...be yourself. Its a lottery as to who will interview you, hopefully you will get one our sweeter, funnier faculty members. Regardless of who interviews you, the faculty can smell generic answers in a heartbeat. Come on, they interview students every year and can tell a prompted answer in a heartbeat. Be passionate about why you want to be here. Talk about real life experiences that have guided you to choose a career as a Pharmacist. Don't forget this is your chance to interview Touro as well. Good luck everybody, hope this helps!