pharmcas calc NON pre-req, ONLINE science classes into SCI GPA?

[Lilquack]

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sorry everyone if this was asked before, but i couldn't find anything. i only saw posts mentioning do not take ONLINE science classes if they were for pre-reqs. However, i wanted to raise my overall science gap, and was wondering whether ONLINE science classes would count or not. Thanks in Advance!

And are classes for "other science" calculated in the science GPA as well? or just the physics, chem, general bio, etc.

 

[xtsukiyox]

The PharmCAS applicant booklet has more information about which categories they calculate GPA for: http://www.pharmcas.org/docs/Instructions201112.pdf

I believe Science GPA includes Biochemistry, Biology & Other Life Sciences, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physics, and Microbiology. I am unable to confirm whether Other Science is included (I had none). I can confirm Social Sciences are not included in Science GPA.

PharmCAS doesn't care if the classes are online, as long as you have a transcript for them.

However, the pharma schools themselves may or may not count online classes. Also, most pharma schools calculate the GPA themselves anyway, rather than going strictly off the PharmCAS calculations. You will need to do some research on the schools you'd like to attend before you can be sure about this course of action.

PS,

 

[netmag]

Anything classified as Other Science is included in your total Science GPA. PharmCAS also breaks everything down though so the schools can also see your gpa by each category type such as Organic Chem, Gen Chem, Bio, Other Science, etc.

But yes, Other Science is calculated as part of your cumulative science gpa. Social Sciences (like Psych and Sociology classes) are not though.

 

[xtsukiyox]

Anything classified as Other Science is included in your total Science GPA.

I've always kind of wanted to ask. What did you have included in "other science"? Is this the home for geology, astronomy, etc.?

 

[netmag]

They list it on their "course subjects" page:
https://portal.pharmcas.org/applicants2011/instruction/pcas_subjects.htm

Any class that falls into here will count in your cumulative science gpa:

Other Science: Agricultural Science, Astronomy, Chiropractic, Dentistry, Electronics, Emergency Med-Tech, Engineering, Epidemiology, Geology, Kinesiology, Medical Technology, Meteorology, Nursing, Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacology, Physical Anthropology, Physical Geography, Physical Science, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Public Health, Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Teaching Science

I've always kind of wanted to ask. What did you have included in "other science"? Is this the home for geology, astronomy, etc.?

 

[netmag]

Looks like they updated the page a bit for 2012

https://portal.pharmcas.org/applicants2012/instruction/pcas_subjects.htm

 

[xtsukiyox]

😍

 

[bw6]

sorry everyone if this was asked before, but i couldn't find anything. i only saw posts mentioning do not take ONLINE science classes if they were for pre-reqs. However, i wanted to raise my overall science gap, and was wondering whether ONLINE science classes would count or not. Thanks in Advance!

And are classes for "other science" calculated in the science GPA as well? or just the physics, chem, general bio, etc.

My understanding is that PharmCAS does not count ANY online classes toward your GPA or credit hours. I took a few online electives while I was a student at Penn State and none were counted by PharmCAS (these were just fun electives like rock history and photography but still, the credits I received from them were ignored by PharmCAS while every elective I took in a classroom counted towards my credits).

I am not positive but based off of my recent experience, PharmCAS will not count your science prerequisites if you take them online.

 

[xtsukiyox]

My understanding is that PharmCAS does not count ANY online classes toward your GPA or credit hours. I took a few online electives while I was a student at Penn State and none were counted by PharmCAS (these were just fun electives like rock history and photography but still, the credits I received from them were ignored by PharmCAS while every elective I took in a classroom counted towards my credits).

I am not positive but based off of my recent experience, PharmCAS will not count your science prerequisites if you take them online.

They counted my American Indian History course, which was entirely online. I can't find anything in the PharmCAS applicant book to explain why they wouldn't count online courses.

 

[bw6]

They counted my American Indian History course, which was entirely online. I can't find anything in the PharmCAS applicant book to explain why they wouldn't count online courses.

Yeah, it seems fairly ambiguous. So, to be safe I would say don't do prereqs online. They may count but best case scenario you get credit and look lazy. People tend to look down on online classes. My aunt works in the Columbus area as a school principal and told me she will not even consider hiring a teacher that did online coursework.

If possible, I would say take the classes in a classroom. If that isn't an option then contact PharmCAS and make sure online is OK before you take them.

Either way, good luck!

 

[netmag]

Online classes count just the same as in person classes in terms of how PharmCAS calculates gpas. They ask you to mark it as online but only so that the schools can see that and then it's up to the schools as to how they want to interpret it.

Keep in mind that PharmCAS is just a middleman service. They don't directly determine whether you're going to get into a pharmacy school nor do they want to. They just collect and organize your info in a central location and they get paid to do that. They aren't going to do anything outside of that nor should they want to. If you were fortunate enough to start a business making money by just collecting and verifying applicant information why would you want to do anything that would put you in the way of the applicant and the schools? You wouldn't. You just want to convince everyone (primarily the schools) that your service has value to them so that more people will have to use that service.

They collect all of your grades because then they don't have to decide which transcripts to take or leave. They leave it up to you to punch in all the details so that then they just have to pay people to look it over and verify it against the official transcripts that you pay to send to them. Then they just take all the grades and average everything together and get paid. They do some added value things like break out the gpas by category or add Turn It In capability to auto-scan personal statements, etc. But for the most part, they just collect and organize information in a manner that can cover most pharmacy schools and try to convice as many schools as they can to sign on with them to maximize the number of applicants that have to go through their service.

Who ever came up with the idea for the service must be doing well now. They've grown it fast in a short period of time.

 

[chemguy79]

My understanding is that PharmCAS does not count ANY online classes toward your GPA or credit hours. I took a few online electives while I was a student at Penn State and none were counted by PharmCAS (these were just fun electives like rock history and photography but still, the credits I received from them were ignored by PharmCAS while every elective I took in a classroom counted towards my credits).

I am not positive but based off of my recent experience, PharmCAS will not count your science prerequisites if you take them online.

Yeah, it seems fairly ambiguous. So, to be safe I would say don't do prereqs online. They may count but best case scenario you get credit and look lazy. People tend to look down on online classes. My aunt works in the Columbus area as a school principal and told me she will not even consider hiring a teacher that did online coursework.

If possible, I would say take the classes in a classroom. If that isn't an option then contact PharmCAS and make sure online is OK before you take them.

Either way, good luck!

This information is completely incorrect.

Online coursework IS counted by PharmCAS. I took numerous courses online through the community college system and they were ALL counted by PharmCAS.

SOME schools state that you can NOT use on-line courses to fulfill pre-requisites, but there are more schools that allow you to use online courses than not.

Therefore, if online courses fit with your schedule and you can explain the necessity of taking the courses online versus on campus, feel free to do so at your leisure without any problems from PharmCAS or your SOP of interest.

Good Luck!

 

[xtsukiyox]

This information is completely incorrect.

SOME schools state that you can NOT use on-line courses to fulfill pre-requisites, but there are more schools that allow you to use online courses than not.

Agree.

Just want to stress the caveat of checking with the school before you take a bunch of online classes. I don't think most of them care about the liberal arts type stuff or non-prereq science classes, but I'd triple check before I went to the effort & expense of doing so, at least at my top few schools.