Does the 4th year of undergraduate college matter?

[emkwong]

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I know many students apply to pharmacy schools and get interviews around the start of their 4th year so I was wondering if 4th year matters. I'm asking because I wanted to get a good upward trend in grades and ECs for my 3rd and 4th year.

So I just wanted to know if doing well in 4th year can improve my chances of getting into pharmacy school without having to take a year off after undergraduate college.

 

[kcwang]

I know many students apply to pharmacy schools and get interviews around the start of their 4th year so I was wondering if 4th year matters. I'm asking because I wanted to get a good upward trend in grades and ECs for my 3rd and 4th year.

So I just wanted to know if doing well in 4th year can improve my chances of getting into pharmacy school without having to take a year off after undergraduate college.

Yes and No. I know one school that continues checking course gpa and EC activities by putting you on the "defer" list. Most people who show consistancy get into the program. Some schools just require you maintaining a gpa of 3.0 after acceptance. Each school is different, so you should contact the school you are interested in.

 

[ShindyK2]

It does sort of, but nothing that can beat a 4.0 of 2-yr.

They kind of want "mature" or enough life experience to interact on the level of med students.
At least for my school that has a hospital and med school.

 

[pharm B]

Every school is different, and I think the best way to approach the question is from the pharmacy school's perspective.

If you have to submit your application during the Fall of your Senior Year, then Fall (and following) grades are probably not reported or considered. If they make their decision during the Spring, then your Spring grades most likely don't factor in. This is for first-round decisions.

If you get wait-listed, then of course it looks better for you to do well those semesters and raise your GPA. If I was on the WL, I would even go out of my way to send updated transcripts to the school if I thought my GPA and package would look better with the update.

 

[bw6]

Every school is different, and I think the best way to approach the question is from the pharmacy school's perspective.

If you have to submit your application during the Fall of your Senior Year, then Fall (and following) grades are probably not reported or considered. If they make their decision during the Spring, then your Spring grades most likely don't factor in. This is for first-round decisions.

If you get wait-listed, then of course it looks better for you to do well those semesters and raise your GPA. If I was on the WL, I would even go out of my way to send updated transcripts to the school if I thought my GPA and package would look better with the update.

^Don't listen to this person they are 100% incorrect^

PharmCAS sends your academic update to every school that you apply to which uses PharmCAS (the large majority). Your academic update must include your fall grades and most school will make you send spring transcripts as well.

So to answer your question, yes. Fall grades DEFINITELY matter and spring grades less so but still to some degree. I was actually told that my grades from this past fall (I just finished my final interview) were a big reason why I was accepted. A lot of schools start interviews after fall grades are available and make their decision a week or so after the interview. Spring grades won't matter as long as you get a C or higher in the required classes (for most schools) but fall grades absolutely matter!

 

[xtsukiyox]

^Don't listen to this person they are 100% incorrect^

... Wooow.... 👎

 

[owlegrad]

pham B didn't go through PharmCAS and is not aware of how their system works. In general I would say that schools probably do not care about the academic update as long as you don't do something crazy, like fail all your classes or something. I have never heard of anyone losing a seat over a C in their AU.

 

[xtsukiyox]

It seems to me that what PharmB said was still correct, independent of his knowledge of PharmCAS. If the school decisions your application in Fall, they will do so without your Fall grades being received / reported. If the school decisions your application in Spring, they will do so without your Spring grades. He then recommended asking the Fall decision schools to relook a wait list decision with your Fall grades. Whether the grades are received through the Academic Update or other means seems to be extraneous - a good letter of intent would still be warranted to show your continued interest.

 

[owlegrad]

It seems to me that what PharmB said was still correct, independent of his knowledge of PharmCAS. If the school decisions your application in Fall, they will do so without your Fall grades being received / reported. If the school decisions your application in Spring, they will do so without your Spring grades. He then recommended asking the Fall decision schools to relook a wait list decision with your Fall grades. Whether the grades are received through the Academic Update or other means seems to be extraneous - a good letter of intent would still be warranted to show your continued interest.

The schools do receive your transcripts though, through academic update, and it is conceivable they can use that information once they receive it. B said:

If you have to submit your application during the Fall of your Senior Year, then Fall (and following) grades are probably not reported or considered.

They are certainly reported, without question, if your school uses PharmCAS. They may or may not be "considered" though. In your acceptance packet there will almost certainly be some mention of the expectations of your performance in any uncompleted classwork.

I am not trying to turn this into a "B was wrong" thread. His advice is still sound. There was one tiny inaccuracy in it, that is all. 🙂

 

[pharm B]

^Don't listen to this person they are 100% incorrect^

My bad. 😳

Stuff about PharmCAS

Like Owle said, I didn't use PharmCAS, so consider my advice to be worth exactly what it cost ya.

Edit:

The key thing here (I think) is simple: Don't take it too easy during your last year. Keep working until you're done! Picture the absolute worst scenario possible. ABSOLUTE worst:

You don't get in. Through an act of Gawd, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or random fate, you end up not getting into a school.

When you re-apply the following season, you probably want a strong academic record, not one that tapers off into mediocrity during the last year.

That's the absolute worst scenario, though. I don't think anyone's going to fault you for a little senioritis, but don't just scrape by, either.

 

[xtsukiyox]

They are certainly reported, without question, if your school uses PharmCAS. They may or may not be "considered" though. In your acceptance packet there will almost certainly be some mention of the expectations of your performance in any uncompleted classwork.

Yes, they are reported, but if your application is reviewed, say, early decision in October, there's no way they can wait until after Academic Update to make a decision on your application. So, if you submit an application during Fall semester - the vast majority of the time, the school has reviewed your application prior to Academic Update and made a decision (interview, waitlist, decline). This is where I'm getting the impression it would not be considered for the decision - how can you consider it if you have to make a decision before the classes are even complete?

The only exception I can think of would be an application you submit early (technically "during fall semester") but the deadline isn't until later (like March) and the school doesn't do rolling admissions.

I suppose we're going to have to agree to disagree. 😎 Either way, I think it can't be said he was "100% incorrect." 👎

Since this has become a semantics thread anyway - I believe "autumnal semester" is technically more correct for formal language than "fall semester," since "fall" is typically a noun rather than an adjective. English never met a word or usage it didn't like, though. Discuss. 😛

 

[delfang]

I applied in November and got most of my interview offers before the Academic Update on PharmCAS. Almost all of my acceptances, however, were made AFTER AU. That may have been intentional. Also, Purdue's admissions member Brenda emailed me and asked me to send in an unofficial copy of my fall grades (I hadn't sent in my AU yet), and after a few weeks I received my Purdue invite.

So yes, don't slack off in the Fall if you're applying in your Senior year. For the spring, it's different because your grades may not even need to be reported to the school at all, and the admissions decision is made before the spring semester or quarter ends. But, as mentioned, don't let senioritis plague you too much (I'm a hypocrite for saying this .__.). I heard a story of a student who received a C in his last semester before pharmacy school and got his offer letter rescinded. This story is what is pushing me to get off my lazy rump lol @___@

 

[bw6]

I applied in November and got most of my interview offers before the Academic Update on PharmCAS. Almost all of my acceptances, however, were made AFTER AU. That may have been intentional. Also, Purdue's admissions member Brenda emailed me and asked me to send in an unofficial copy of my fall grades (I hadn't sent in my AU yet), and after a few weeks I received my Purdue invite.

So yes, don't slack off in the Fall if you're applying in your Senior year. For the spring, it's different because your grades may not even need to be reported to the school at all, and the admissions decision is made before the spring semester or quarter ends. But, as mentioned, don't let senioritis plague you too much (I'm a hypocrite for saying this .__.). I heard a story of a student who received a C in his last semester before pharmacy school and got his offer letter rescinded. This story is what is pushing me to get off my lazy rump lol @___@

👍 Good advice