Pharmacy School Interviews...

[BRUINGOLD]

Hi,

Does anyone know what type of questions they ask at these interviews? I just want to get an idea of what to expect and what I should prepare for. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BRUINGOLD]

*bump*

 

[Samoa]

I think the only one you really need to have an answer for is, why do you want to be a pharmacist and what led you to become interested in pharmacy?

You have to admit, it's kind of an obscure profession, unless you know someone who is one.

 

[BRUINGOLD]

Thanks, Samoa! I've written a lot of essays on that so I think I'm prepared for it. I'm also applying to med schools so I just wanted to check and see if there was anything special that I needed to know about the pharmacy interviews!

 

[Kovox]

Some pharmacy schools may also ask you to write 2-4 paragraphs on a particular topic, so that they can make sure you have strong communication skills.

 

[Nocsag56]

Hi.

Congrats on interview invitations!

Definitely have an answer for "why pharmacy?".

It may not be in your best interest to mention you are also applying to med schools.

Some schools like to hear compliments, so they sometimes will ask why you applied to their school in particular.

Much luck to you
-nocsag56

 

[Samoa]

It's definitely NOT in your best interest to mention that you are also applying to medical schools.

 

[INevrLearn]

Feels like forever ago... but I believe I had a few ethics-type questions (i.e.- confidentiality, cooperation w/ other healthcare fields vs. being an A-hole). Definitely know the "why do you want to be a pharmacist" question... and do a little research on the school and be prepared for the "Why University X?" question.

They usually like it when you have questions for them. Makes them feel important (because on a daily basis, they have students making them feel like idiots )

Good Luck

 

[BRUINGOLD]

Hi guys!

Thanks for all the tips and support! I won't mention the med school thing.

 

[spoons]

quick followup question... if you apply to both med school and pharmD program at the same time, can they actually find out about it? or will they never find out so long as you shut your mouth about it?

 

[INevrLearn]

It depends on the school and how their adcoms are set up. At my school (MUSC) the initial application is a university-wide app. (I.E.- you apply to the university and check the little box corresponding to the school of your interest.) In that case, yes, they would know. If the different colleges within a university have completely different application procedures, then they PROBABLY wouldn't know. And of course... at different universities, they won't know.

 

[spoons]

thanks INevrLearn!

 

[iceman132]

Was it just professors who interviewed you? Or were there student interviewers also?

 

[UMterps]

I think the only one you really need to have an answer for is, why do you want to be a pharmacist and what led you to become interested in pharmacy?

You have to admit, it's kind of an obscure profession, unless you know someone who is one.

having been interviewed and having conducted interviews, this is important. I can't stress how bad it looks when people stumble on this question. Be confident in the answer you give, and be honest too. Pharmacy school is 4 additional years, and people can change their mind many times over during that time until they figure it all out.

Also, like any job interview, why <this school>? Tailoring this answer to your "why pharmacy" answer works well. There are over 100 schools to earn a Pharm.D., so spending even 5 minutes to research a school will help. Either through the location and future rotation opportunities, what you have heard from alumni, the curriculum, or even the some random unique aspect of the school/college, it is important to cite something that shows "i want to go to this school" over "i applied just to apply and this is my fallback". If a school has 60 seats, and they have 2 candidates that are almost equal.. do you think they'll offer the seat to candidate A who might accept but gave the vibe of "fallback school in case i don't get into my first choice", or will they offer candidate B who seemed to genuinely want to go to this school and will most likely accept and invitation. If a school has 60 seats, or 250 seats, they want to fill all the seats if possible. Having 10 vacant seats because someone accepted then reneged last minute will gain them a deposit in the short term, but result in lost tuition over 4 years in the long-term. And then, you're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel for applicants if this occurs late in the process.

 

[Pharmizzle]

If you haven't checked it out already, go to the top of this page under Reference Materials --> Interview Feedback and select pharmacy schools on the dropdown menu. The feedback was very helpful for me in preparing for specific schools; it gives you a good idea of the types of questions you can expect and in some cases, the exact questions you should expect.