***Official 2010-2011 PharmCAS Questions Thread***

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Did you guys add course work for Fall 2010 & Spring 2011? Are we suppose to guess the classes we're going to take those semesters?
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dnguyen401 said:
Did you guys add course work for Fall 2010 & Spring 2011? Are we suppose to guess the classes we're going to take those semesters?
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Yes, put the classes you are scheduled or think you will take. You have time later on in the cycle to change/edit the schedule as needed.
 
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Hey guys,

I have a question regarding the LOR forms from PharmCAS.
After you e-submit your PharmCAS application, can you still generate those recommendation letter forms to give it to your professors? Or once your application is submitted, that section is closed?
I wanna submit my application, but I'm still waiting for this professor to come in from break, so I was just wondering.

Thank you for the answers in advance!
 
dnguyen401 said:
Did you guys add course work for Fall 2010 & Spring 2011? Are we suppose to guess the classes we're going to take those semesters?
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I added all planned courses for Fall and Spring. Like someone said, if you need to make changes after you e-submit, you can do so during the academic update window.
 
Once you e-submit, you can't add any new recommenders (e.g. have PharmCAS send out e-mails saying that you have requested them to fill out a LOR). But if you've already sent that e-mail out to all of your recommenders and you are 100% sure they will fill it out, you can e-submit. PharmCAS will just wait until all the forms are in to process and send out your application to all the schools.
 
KayGee87 said:
Once you e-submit, you can't add any new recommenders (e.g. have PharmCAS send out e-mails saying that you have requested them to fill out a LOR). But if you've already sent that e-mail out to all of your recommenders and you are 100% sure they will fill it out, you can e-submit. PharmCAS will just wait until all the forms are in to process and send out your application to all the schools.
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No actually you can add recommendors and/or delete unresponsive ones after you e-submit.

https://portal.pharmcas.org/applicants2011/faq/pcas_general.shtml
 
delano2000 said:
Hey I haven't seen you around here lately
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haha hey d what's up. it's cause I'm studying for the pcat :( my parents won't leave me alone about it :( but I try to come in whenever I can. you're lucky you're finished with it! Hows your summer going? just world cup watching? I said on that other thread that I'm 1000000000% sure Argentina is the winner this year and brazil is over-hyped, I can bet money. So prepare to be wrong about your beloved brazil kid, they're going down :p
 
The maximum number of letters that PHARMCAS will accept is three, correct?
I plan to have a professor/mentor write a letter, as well as my advisor (who I've had a class with), and a pharmacist I've worked with has already submitted his letter.

Thing is, while most schools will accept letters from pharmacists, U of Maryland does not. They do accept a letter from an employer, which although the pharmacist was not my direct employer, he was the pharmacist I was assigned to. I am currently working with a post-Doc performing research, so should I ask her to write a letter and delete the pharmacists letter?

I'm leaning towards having my professor/mentor, keeping the pharmacists letter (since no school directly requires one from an advisor), and asking the post-doc so I can have all bases covered, but I'd like your advice!
 
xprettygirl11 said:
The maximum number of letters that PHARMCAS will accept is three, correct?
I plan to have a professor/mentor write a letter, as well as my advisor (who I've had a class with), and a pharmacist I've worked with has already submitted his letter.

Thing is, while most schools will accept letters from pharmacists, U of Maryland does not. They do accept a letter from an employer, which although the pharmacist was not my direct employer, he was the pharmacist I was assigned to. I am currently working with a post-Doc performing research, so should I ask her to write a letter and delete the pharmacists letter?

I'm leaning towards having my professor/mentor, keeping the pharmacists letter (since no school directly requires one from an advisor), and asking the post-doc so I can have all bases covered, but I'd like your advice!
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Sorry! PHARMCAS says it will accept four. I actually saw that three would only be accepted on a pharmacy school's admissions page!
 
xprettygirl11 said:
The maximum number of letters that PHARMCAS will accept is three, correct?
I plan to have a professor/mentor write a letter, as well as my advisor (who I've had a class with), and a pharmacist I've worked with has already submitted his letter.

Thing is, while most schools will accept letters from pharmacists, U of Maryland does not. They do accept a letter from an employer, which although the pharmacist was not my direct employer, he was the pharmacist I was assigned to. I am currently working with a post-Doc performing research, so should I ask her to write a letter and delete the pharmacists letter?

I'm leaning towards having my professor/mentor, keeping the pharmacists letter (since no school directly requires one from an advisor), and asking the post-doc so I can have all bases covered, but I'd like your advice!
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As of last year, it definitely was not maximum three. I know because I submitted four letters. I'm not sure what the maximum is or if they've changed since last year, but at that time you can submit more than 3.

I submitted 4 because UCSF recommended 4 LORs. One of them was a pharmacist. I don't recall UMD having a rule against pharmacist LORs, but I had one of them from a pharmacist anyway. The other three were 2 professors (one of them my adviser) and my work boss. I got into UMD without a problem.
 
busyizzy said:
As of last year, it definitely was not maximum three. I know because I submitted four letters. I'm not sure what the maximum is or if they've changed since last year, but at that time you can submit more than 3.

I submitted 4 because UCSF recommended 4 LORs. One of them was a pharmacist. I don't recall UMD having a rule against pharmacist LORs, but I had one of them from a pharmacist anyway. The other three were 2 professors (one of them my adviser) and my work boss. I got into UMD without a problem.
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Thank you! I will definitely be submitting four. I actually saw that UMD didn't accept letters from pharmacists on the PHARMCAS school page, but thankfully I'll have another letter just in case.
 
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Hey! I have three questions!

Question 1: When I sign up for the PCAT, do I only send the scores to pharmcas or to all the schools I am applying?

Question 2: I have some credits I got in high school. One of which was a political/social issues class from syracuse university. It's not a prereq and it only transferred to my college as liberal art credit? should I include it in my application and have a transcript sent from syracuse?

Question 3: Did anyone else notice SUNY Albany isn't a choice for a college attended? Or am I just blind!

Thanks in advance!
 
kkriisttinne said:
Hey! I have three questions!

Question 1: When I sign up for the PCAT, do I only send the scores to pharmcas or to all the schools I am applying?

Question 2: I have some credits I got in high school. One of which was a political/social issues class from syracuse university. It's not a prereq and it only transferred to my college as liberal art credit? should I include it in my application and have a transcript sent from syracuse?

Question 3: Did anyone else notice SUNY Albany isn't a choice for a college attended? Or am I just blind!

Thanks in advance!
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1. You send the scores to PHARMCAS, unless the school does not use the system.

2. I know PHARMCAS wants to see all the classes you've ever taken, regardless. So I'd say include it & send the transcript, anyway.
 
Has anyone e-submitted their application yet? I submitted mine last Saturday and had my PharmCAS GPA calculated today.
 
dnguyen401 said:
Has anyone e-submitted their application yet? I submitted mine last Saturday and had my PharmCAS GPA calculated today.
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Congrats! I wish I could just make a final decision on where to send my app. I change my mind everyday. :(
 
xprettygirl11 said:
Congrats! I wish I could just make a final decision on where to send my app. I change my mind everyday. :(
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Can we have it sent to more schools after we submit? So much of my life depends on my husband's military orders. For now, it's Creighton only!
 
JJVmom said:
Can we have it sent to more schools after we submit? So much of my life depends on my husband's military orders. For now, it's Creighton only!
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Yes, you can add as many schools after submitting. You just gotta pay for it.
 
hi! im a newb so please bare with me

is it better to esubmit my pharmcas app before getting my scores? i will be taking it for the 1st time late august..
thanks!
 
samurai361 said:
haha hey d what's up. it's cause I'm studying for the pcat :( my parents won't leave me alone about it :( but I try to come in whenever I can. you're lucky you're finished with it! Hows your summer going? just world cup watching? I said on that other thread that I'm 1000000000% sure Argentina is the winner this year and brazil is over-hyped, I can bet money. So prepare to be wrong about your beloved brazil kid, they're going down :p
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I am actually retaking the PCAT in October. Haven't had much time to start studying because of the classes I am taking this semester. I will start in August though. So far my summer is ok. Been working like crazy and have papers due every other night.

Don't count Brazil out yet. I am rooting for both teams. I think I will throw Germany in the mix as well. I just can't decide but as long as one of these teams win, then I'm good.

dnguyen401 said:
Has anyone e-submitted their application yet? I submitted mine last Saturday and had my PharmCAS GPA calculated today.
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I will be submitting mine tomorrow. Reviewed for the last time and made a few adjustments but I feel satisfied now. Still waiting on one transcript.

xprettygirl11 said:
Congrats! I wish I could just make a final decision on where to send my app. I change my mind everyday. :(
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I am like that too. I have been done with mine for about 2 weeks now but everytime I log on, I find something else to correct so I am glad I did.

dnguyen401 said:
Aw, thanks. Let's just hope I score an interview :xf: Gluck w/ yours! :0)
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I am pretty sure you will get several interview invites. Lets hope I get one.:thumbup:

shimme said:
hi! im a newb so please bare with me

is it better to esubmit my pharmcas app before getting my scores? i will be taking it for the 1st time late august..
thanks!
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E-submit as soon as you are done. Just ensure that you listed PharmCAS as one of the destinations to receive the score. You don't really want to stall for that long because some schools have a rolling admissions kinda thing, so the earlier the better.
 
I am soo nervous I finally submitted my PharmCAS and saw my gpa Calculations. OMG I wanted to cry i still do everytime i log in and look at it. I hate how PharmCAS counts the classes you fail against you. Anyhow my only hope is the PCAT I started studying from the beginning of June and hope the early studying will pay off. I hope applying early and doing well on the PCAT will give me a shot on the interview. This application process is so stressful!
 
Sorry, I feel like this question has been answered numerous times, but I just wanted to know for certain. For LORs, it says that pharmcas will allow you to edit that section on the link that samurai361 posted... so does that mean that if we e-submit before all of our letters are in, they will just forward whatever they have to the schools and then just send them our letters as they come? Or are they going to wait for the letters to arrive from the evaluators we specified? Then what would be the point of e-submitting early if they're just going to wait to for everything to come in before sending it out? o_O

Thanks for your help, everyone!
 
sayuri43 said:
Sorry, I feel like this question has been answered numerous times, but I just wanted to know for certain. For LORs, it says that pharmcas will allow you to edit that section on the link that samurai361 posted... so does that mean that if we e-submit before all of our letters are in, they will just forward whatever they have to the schools and then just send them our letters as they come? Or are they going to wait for the letters to arrive from the evaluators we specified? Then what would be the point of e-submitting early if they're just going to wait to for everything to come in before sending it out? o_O

Thanks for your help, everyone!
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Your application is considered incomplete until everything is received. That includes LORs, transcripts etc. If I am not mistaken, they will wait until they get all documents before even calculating your GPA.

The point in submitting early is that you don't know when the LORs will be received. They can submit them instantly unless you went the paper route. Plus it will be a load off your mind because it can be really time consuming.
 
This might sound idiotic, but do you think I could put "works 50+ hours/week" under Extracurricular Activities?
 
BelleMD2B said:
This might sound idiotic, but do you think I could put "works 50+ hours/week" under Extracurricular Activities?
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If you worked that many hrs I don't see why there should be a problem. Unless you put there that you worked 50+ hrs and was also a full time student. That would look kinda fishy.
 
I have a question about entering courses. I took an honors course called Communications and Critical Thinking at my university. The way it was set up, you could pick what course it would fulfill the requirement for. If I remember right, it was either speech or composition. I used it to fulfill my undergrad speech credit, but it still shows up on my transcript as communications and critical thinking. Should I enter this in pharmcas as speech? I don't want it to look like I haven't had speech when I have. Any thoughts? I have 2 other courses that are similar

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!:)
 
keyplyr88 said:
I have a question about entering courses. I took an honors course called Communications and Critical Thinking at my university. The way it was set up, you could pick what course it would fulfill the requirement for. If I remember right, it was either speech or composition. I used it to fulfill my undergrad speech credit, but it still shows up on my transcript as communications and critical thinking. Should I enter this in pharmcas as speech? I don't want it to look like I haven't had speech when I have. Any thoughts? I have 2 other courses that are similar

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!:)
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If it was a speech course then put it in as speech. PharmCAS does not verify course descriptions but if the school needs clarification, then they will let you know. Plus I had to email course descriptions for the majority of the pre-req classes I took for one school. That's one way the school can verify that you actually took a speech course.
 
Hey gang!

I have a B.S., however, I have to take 3 chem courses over as well as Econ, Physics, and Calculus. After this summer, I will have only 4 courses left so I will not be done with everything until the fall. I am planning on taking the PCAT in October. My question is can I submit what I have to PharmCAS? Do I need my PCAT scores now? Or do I have to wait at least until after I've taken the PCAT.
 
AJbara said:
Hey gang!

I have a B.S., however, I have to take 3 chem courses over as well as Econ, Physics, and Calculus. After this summer, I will have only 4 courses left so I will not be done with everything until the fall. I am planning on taking the PCAT in October. My question is can I submit what I have to PharmCAS? Do I need my PCAT scores now? Or do I have to wait at least until after I've taken the PCAT.
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You can submit before your PCAT scores arrive. Just make sure that you designate PharmCAS as a recipient of your scores once they are available.
 
delano2000 said:
If you worked that many hrs I don't see why there should be a problem. Unless you put there that you worked 50+ hrs and was also a full time student. That would look kinda fishy.
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Thanks. That's the thing.
Worked 50+ hours AND was full time some semesters...two evening classes, a saturday class, a sunday class, AND raising a family. Slightly busy ;)

And people keep asking why I have no specific pharmacy experience! Hopefully that's a good enough reason. :laugh:
 
keyplyr88 said:
I have a question about entering courses. I took an honors course called Communications and Critical Thinking at my university. The way it was set up, you could pick what course it would fulfill the requirement for. If I remember right, it was either speech or composition. I used it to fulfill my undergrad speech credit, but it still shows up on my transcript as communications and critical thinking. Should I enter this in pharmcas as speech? I don't want it to look like I haven't had speech when I have. Any thoughts? I have 2 other courses that are similar

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!:)
Click to expand...

Put it down as whatever shows up on your transcript. When you get into a school, they will verify your coursework and make sure your coursework fulfills the prerequisites. If they have questions, you can always send them the course description then.

Putting down the wrong class name WILL slow down your PharmCAS processing. I've had that happen to me last year. They sent me an email telling me to correct some of my class names so it matches the transcript EXACTLY, and it took an extra two weeks for them to process.

BelleMD2B said:
This might sound idiotic, but do you think I could put "works 50+ hours/week" under Extracurricular Activities?
Click to expand...

BelleMD2B said:
Thanks. That's the thing.
Worked 50+ hours AND was full time some semesters...two evening classes, a saturday class, a sunday class, AND raising a family. Slightly busy ;)

And people keep asking why I have no specific pharmacy experience! Hopefully that's a good enough reason. :laugh:
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I don't think you should really put "worked 50+ hours/week" under extracurriculars. It's not an extracurricular if it's your family. I would have initially said put it under work experience, since there is a specific section for it, but if by "work 50 hours" you mean "take care of your family" - I don't think it applies to either work or extracurriculars. Everyone has a family to take care of - whether that involves taking care of just yourself or a significant other or little kids, that's part of your personal life. It is NOT an extracurricular, and to try to slant it as such comes off to me as desperate.

If you want to mention it, put it in your personal statement. Explain briefly that you have a family that takes more work than a full time job and that you successfully took care of your family while taking classes, and that because of this obligation, you could not do volunteer/extracurriculars.

Of course, the choice is up to you in the end.
 
busyizzy said:
I don't think you should really put "worked 50+ hours/week" under extracurriculars. It's not an extracurricular if it's your family. I would have initially said put it under work experience, since there is a specific section for it, but if by "work 50 hours" you mean "take care of your family" - I don't think it applies to either work or extracurriculars. Everyone has a family to take care of - whether that involves taking care of just yourself or a significant other or little kids, that's part of your personal life. It is NOT an extracurricular, and to try to slant it as such comes off to me as desperate.

If you want to mention it, put it in your personal statement. Explain briefly that you have a family that takes more work than a full time job and that you successfully took care of your family while taking classes, and that because of this obligation, you could not do volunteer/extracurriculars.

Of course, the choice is up to you in the end.
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No. I work 50+ hours...in research, at a hedge fund, outside of the home...that's what I'm talking about.

THEN, I take classes - sometimes full time, sometimes not, in addition to working outside of the home.

THEN, I take care of the family in the evenings, and weekends in addition to working full time, and taking classes.

Nothing desperate about it. Just showing that I bust my ass, and still manage a kick-ass GPA...so there are no excuses!
 
BelleMD2B said:
No. I work 50+ hours...in research, at a hedge fund, outside of the home...that's what I'm talking about.

THEN, I take classes - sometimes full time, sometimes not, in addition to working outside of the home.

THEN, I take care of the family in the evenings, and weekends in addition to working full time, and taking classes.

Nothing desperate about it. Just showing that I bust my ass, and still manage a kick-ass GPA...so there are no excuses!
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The way you phrased it earlier makes it seem like you were implying the taking care of your family was the work you did. Sorry about that confusion.

My advice hasn't changed though: If you worked 50+ hours, then put that under your work experience. You don't need to repeat it under your extracurriculars, because it's NOT extracurriculars. Follow directions. If you want to emphasize that you accomplished so much but didn't have time for extracurriculars, then state it in your personal statement.
 
busyizzy said:
The way you phrased it earlier makes it seem like you were implying the taking care of your family was the work you did. Sorry about that confusion.

My advice hasn't changed though: If you worked 50+ hours, then put that under your work experience. You don't need to repeat it under your extracurriculars, because it's NOT extracurriculars. Follow directions. If you want to emphasize that you accomplished so much but didn't have time for extracurriculars, then state it in your personal statement.
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Nevermind.

Thanks for your reply.
 
delano2000 said:
Damn, I just submitted my PharmCAS app yesterday evening and my GPA was already calculated this morning. Weird!
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Yeah, it was fast for me as well. I thought it was going to take several weeks!
 
I've decided that my volunteer pharmacy experience should go under the Work Experience section, b/c I did it for over a year, instead of in the Extracurricular section. My question is, is there a way to change the order of the jobs you put in work experience? Or, do I have to delete them all, then retype them in order of importance?

Also, what's the format for writing the Work Experience description? Do you just put short thoughts - as if they're bulleted? 175 characters isn't enough to write full sentences.
 
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delano2000 said:
Well if I am not mistaken yours took a few days. Mine took less than 24 hrs. Strange. Still happy it's out the way though.
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Yeah, mine took about 3 days I believe. Still fast nonetheless. Glad it's out the way too!!
 
JJVmom said:
I've decided that my volunteer pharmacy experience should go under the Work Experience section, b/c I did it for over a year, instead of in the Extracurricular section. My question is, is there a way to change the order of the jobs you put in work experience? Or, do I have to delete them all, then retype them in order of importance?

Also, what's the format for writing the Work Experience description? Do you just put short thoughts - as if they're bulleted? 175 characters isn't enough to write full sentences.
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I used commas to seperate them. I guess you can use semi colons as well but full sentences are not feasible.
 
I am applying to eight pharmacy schools 7 of which are pharmcas application based. I am submitting my application by mid August. I can't find any information on how to accept. From what I have read when you are done with interview if they send you a letter of acceptance you have like two weeks to accept or not and you have to pay the like down payment or initial payment to hold the spot in the class. What if I don't know if I want to go there and I am waiting to hear from other schools and then decide, even if they may be months apart on acceptance. Can anybody tell me how this process works?
 
Does pharmcas verify shadowing, tech work hours, and volunteering hours? If so what info will I need
 
delano2000 said:
I used commas to seperate them. I guess you can use semi colons as well but full sentences are not feasible.
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Thanks!

Does anyone have an answer to my other question?

- is there a way to change the order of the jobs you put in work experience? Or, do I have to delete them all, then retype them in order of importance?
 
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