How many schools should you apply to?

[S.E.N.S.E-A-LOT]

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Hey, Im apply to pharm school for the fall of 06, but im kind of lost on how many schools to apply to. I dont want to not apply to enough and risk not getting in anywhere, and I dont want to have too many and apply to schools im not really interested in. So far I have a list of 5 but whats typical? If anyone could help me out on this I would appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

 

[KUMoose]

I would say apply to as many as you have money, time and effort to apply to, assuming you would actually go there if accepted. For me, it's 3 (or 4) schools this time around (7 if I don't get in, in '06).

Part of my decision was geographical areas, I discounted a number of schools because of their location (like say Auburn where swampy hades like tempuratures are the norm 😀 ), then went through and worked with the schools to see what would and would not transfer course-wise. This gave me a list of schools I could reasonably get into by taking part-time classes through next summer. Poof I had my number! 😀

 

[jky007]

i've heard that 4-6 schools is typical. personally, i'm applying to 4 🙂

 

[RLK]

Applying isn't all that cheap. Wouldn't it be great if it was free!

 

[rougemarie]

I apply to 3 due to tuition, location, etc. I wish I can apply to more, but in TX, I don't have much choice. OK for example, is only 3 hours drive from where I live but the tuition is triple because I'm a TX resident, so that option is out because even if I got accepted, I probably would take any schools in TX first.

 

[Kawen]

I applied to MUSC, UGA, UNC, and Oklahoma with MUSC being my first choice. I interviewed at UNC in November of 2003 and at MUSC in January of 2004. UGA did not do interviews at the time and my OU interview was scheduled for the last week in March of 2004. I got accepted to MUSC in the 2nd week in March, so I ended up not having to go to the OU interview and I got to call and decline UNC. 4 applications was enough to make me go crazy- especially since only 2 used PharmCAS and the application fees seemed a bit excessive.

 

[starsweet]

i've heard that 4-6 schools is typical. personally, i'm applying to 4 🙂

How competitive is getting into pharmacy school as compared to medical school? I know it's like comparing apples to oranges but roughly I was wondering what was more competitive.

 

[BTB]

Applying isn't all that cheap. Wouldn't it be great if it was free!

Plug! Plug! It's free to apply to Wilkes University's Nesbitt School of Pharmacy in Pennsylvania.
http://www.wilkes.edu/pharm/pharmd.asp
One thing: If you're applying, you NEED to take the PCAT no later than October 2005.

 

[RLK]

Plug! Plug! It's free to apply to Wilkes University's Nesbitt School of Pharmacy in Pennsylvania.
http://www.wilkes.edu/pharm/pharmd.asp
One thing: If you're applying, you NEED to take the PCAT no later than October 2005.

I wonder if they would give any preference to students that reside in Pa.

 

[RLK]

I applied to MUSC, UGA, UNC, and Oklahoma with MUSC being my first choice. I interviewed at UNC in November of 2003 and at MUSC in January of 2004. UGA did not do interviews at the time and my OU interview was scheduled for the last week in March of 2004. I got accepted to MUSC in the 2nd week in March, so I ended up not having to go to the OU interview and I got to call and decline UNC. 4 applications was enough to make me go crazy- especially since only 2 used PharmCAS and the application fees seemed a bit excessive.

Someone's making a lot of money on application fees.

 

[aaron31981]

The first year I applied to 3 schools. MN, AZ, and NVCP. I was on the wait list at all 3.

The second time I started applying to 18 schools. After I was accepted to the first one (Mercer), I dropped the applications to all cold weather states except MN (where I am a resident) and ones in areas that have accents (Like LA-Monroe). All in all, I filled out and interview at 4 schools. I got accepted in 2 and chose MWU-CPG.

Even though Mercer was a decent school and I really liked my visit, I figured I would probably end up getting expelled for something. Something just doesn't feel right about being an agnostic from MN in a Southern Baptist University.

Just look on PharmCas and see if which schools you have met the requirements for. Don't look at the minimum GPAs, look at the average GPA and PCAT scores. Also try to find out if the state colleges give special consideration to residents. If they do, save your money and skip it.

I realize that I am at one extreme, and one school is the other extreme. Try to find somewhere in the middle that you have a reasonable chance at being accepted.

Good luck!

 

[jky007]

it really depends on the school, but i know that some pharm programs are just as competitive or even MORE competitive than med schools (ex. ucsd in california)... more and more people are applying to both schools with the # of spots available staying the same! just research schools, but both are about the same level of toughness now.. 🙁