PharmCAS Questions

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i know its kinda late to be sayin this but to those of you who were talkn bout going back to the school to request it...my school has a fax number to fax transcript requests to and you just fax the pharmcas request to them...not sure all schools do but for future reference its something to look for on your schools website to save unnecessary trips to the school
 
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The pharmacy schools that I want to apply to have a deadline on 02/1/10. I have taken 2 PCAT's already and scored well. I've been bogged down a bit because of some family stuff going on in the house and I haven't been tending to my Pharmcas application. So far, I have everything done for the Pharmcas except for 1 eLOR and the personal statement. I sent in a transcript request form on thursday for my PCATs and courses. I haven't done the supplemental applications yet.

Honestly, if I e-submit EVERYTHING, pay ALL the fees, etc. sometime next week probably 01/20, will I be okay? Well, will everything get in on time? Or do you think I'm wasting my time (ironic bc I wasted a lot)?

Honestly, what do you think I should do? I'm about to cry. :(
 
As long as you get everything turned into PharmCAS including that last LOR and personal statement and they receive your transcripts by 2/1, you should be fine.

Now each school may have a separate deadline for the supplemental application, being due either the same day as PharmCAS or later, so you will want to make sure to check each school you're applying to and make sure you complete and send in the supplemental app by their respective due date.

Best of luck to ya!
 
The LOR doesn't even have to be there when you e-submit. That is one thing that can be edited after the application is submitted. Trust me from experience, don't wait to get that last LOR, just submit.
 
bugg said:
OP, If you submit everything by 1/20, you should be fine so relax a bit. The only thing that might cause a problem will be the speed of the post office. If you put everything in the mail on 1/20, your supplemental should get to your school in time using regular mail. However, if it were me, I'd ship that thing overnight or 1-2 day mail. Good luck! You're almost there!
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A lot of supplementals require you to have it postmarked by Feb 1, which means it just needs to be at the post office by Feb 1. However, there are some supplementals that require the application to be in their admissions office by Feb 1.
 
E-submitted my apps 12/28, GPA calculated 1/7, fall update transcript received 1/15.

I hope they mail my stuff soon!
 
Does the Pharmcas deadline mean that transcripts (PCAT and College Coursework) MUST be received by that date for it to be good to go?

OR

Does it mean that you must at least e-submit the Pharmcas application? (meaning that it is okay that transcripts will arrive a few days late)
 
From the e-mail PharmCAS recently sent out, it says:

"A pharmacy school may not consider your application if PharmCAS received your transcripts late. PharmCAS DOES NOT ENFORCE TRANSCRIPT DEADLINES and will forward your verified application to your designated schools even if your transcripts arrive late. It is your responsibility to make sure that PharmCAS received all of your transcripts, your fee, and your application by the deadline."

So it seems that PharmCAS will forward all transcripts, whether received before or after the deadline, to the school but it's up to the school's discretion of whether or not they will accept it. I would contact each individual school and ask them about their policy on transcripts and PharmCAS. My hunch, though, is that they will want everything received by PharmCAS by the deadline, including transcripts. But call to just check.
 
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bugg said:
This is true, but your recommender still needs to write and submit the letter to PharmCAS before the school's deadline.
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This is true. I guess I forgot how early I had submitted my applications; I had them sent out in the middle of August, way before school deadlines.
 
I had a similar problem, not realizing a certain school's deadline was so early (November 2). I E-submitted on Nov 1 and all my transcripts and LORs were received by PharmCas merely days before. A few days later I checked to see if PharmCas had mailed the app. They hadn't. I spoke with a representative there who said it takes up to 5 weeks to calculate a GPA. Only after the GPA is calculated do they mail out the application. The rep said that some schools only care if you E-Submit by the deadline, while other schools want your application postmarked by the deadline. I tried to contact the school but they are so busy with applications they have yet to get back to me. In response to your problem, I would say go for it and try to get everything in on time. Your personal statement shouldn't take too long, and hopefully your PCAT scores and trancripts will make it. GL!
 
I submitted 1/8 and just got a email today saying my GPA was calculated.

Stats:
Submitted 1/8
Calculated 1/20
79 Credit Hours
 
Floridapharm20 said:
I submitted 1/8 and just got a email today saying my GPA was calculated.

Stats:
Submitted 1/8
Calculated 1/20
79 Credit Hours
Click to expand...

Good to know that you do get a confirmation email so I can stop checking like 8 times a day to see if mine was calculated. haha :)
 
Does anyone know how important academic update is for schools?

I updated my fall courses and grades on PharmCAS, however, my school was super slow about sending transcripts to PharmCAS. They sent them on 01/19/2010, and the deadline for PharmCAS to receive transcripts is Feb 1st. Now I'm worried that PharmCAS might not get my transcripts before the deadline, and on their website, it says that if you don't finish the academic update by the deadline, the schools may not consider you for admission. At this point, I've been accepted to two schools, and still waiting to hear from two more. Has anyone been in this situation before? What if PharmCAS doesn't get my transcripts on time, will the schools cancel my acceptance then?

Thanks for your help.
 
So, I have already submitted my application a while ago and have also done the academic update.

Previously, I listed three science professors for my recommendations. However, one school I am applying to requires that one LOR be from a pharmacist or other medical provider. The pharmacist I asked the recommendation from was UBER slow and I finally gave up and just submitted the three science professor LORs.

Now the school is requesting the final LOR via the supplemental checklist on PharmCAS. However, the only ones I have listed on PharmCAS are the three I knew I was going to definitely get from the science professors. I know that you can have four LORs through PharmCAS but will I be able to send a fourth one now, even though I don't have them listed in my application?

I know I should call PharmCAS and ask this question and then if the answer is no, contact the school and see if I can have my recommender forward the LOR straight to the school but it is late / past business hours and the call will have to wait until tomorrow....but figured I would ask this question here on the off chance there is someone who might know the answer.
 
How accurate are the School Pages on PharmCAS, typically? Specifically, the values given for "Number Interviewed/Number Accepted"?
 
I think it is typed in by the schools, but there are some discrepancies. For example, some schools have different minimum pcat requirements on their websites, than the one found on the pharmcas school page. You should always check the school's website, in addition to the pharmcas school page.
 
lola87 said:
You should always check the school's website, in addition to the pharmcas school page.
Click to expand...
Definitely. PharmCAS is a great way to survey schools to see which ones may be a great fit and get an overview of the program but always go to the official site also.
 
Hi Everyone:
My application shows that it has been mailed 3 weeks ago to my pharmacy school. Does it every show if it was rec'd by the schools? i called the pharmacy school and told me to contact pharmcas. I called pharmcas they say to call the school. :mad: I have no email or confirmation that my application has been received by the school
Anyone else experiencing this?
 
School information, yeah, I'd visit the school's website. But I asked specifically about values given for number interviewed/number accepted. These aren't available anywhere but on PharmCAS, and asking the school directly would be awkward.
 
Once my Pharmcas AND the supplemental were received, I got an email stating that. But when it was just the pharmcas application, I don't remember any confirmation. I'm sure they got it, though, that's why you pay pharmcas- to ensure everything is submitted and delivered.
 
Transcripts received 1-1-10
GPA Calculated 1-27-10

Does anyone know how long it will take them to mail the revised copy of my application back to the schools?
 
I wud feel better if i knew my pharm school had received everything. All they keep saying is to call pharmcas

PharmOl said:
Once my Pharmcas AND the supplemental were received, I got an email stating that. But when it was just the pharmcas application, I don't remember any confirmation. I'm sure they got it, though, that's why you pay pharmcas- to ensure everything is submitted and delivered.
Click to expand...
 
bugg said:
You'll have to check with PharmCAS to be certain, but I bet it will be mailed out on Monday, just like the initial applications were mailed out the Monday following GPA verification.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks! :)
 
My application was verified on 01/28 and they said it will be sent out with the next PharmCAS mailing. My last eLOR made it in on 01/30 and I also took the January PCAT (i took the August and October PCAT's though).

Will they just send my PharmCAS application without my January PCAT and just send a revised application when my January PCAT's come in? Will my PharmCAS application be sent today? Mailing Status still says "Not Mailed" and there is no date under the Mailing Date! :idea:
 
pharmcas mails out complete applications each monday. so if your application was complete today it will mail next monday.
 
After a few weeks that applications have been mailed to pharmacy schools, shouldn't the status say recieved or reviewed on pharmcas?? Mine still states mailed as of 5 weeks ago.:( School will not confirm status over phone!!!

thanks
 
Mine only says 'Mailed'. I have an interview so maybe Pharmcas only indicates the 'mailed' portion. 'Receiving' or 'reviewed' status is entirely up to your schools and doesn't show up on Pharmcas.
 
i thought the same until i called the school to see if they received it. They told me it should say received or reviewed on pharmcas...So I thought something was wrong.

thanks,

Anyone else??
 
It only says mailed. It won't change to reviewed. UNLESS your specific schools do that but I've had two interviews already and everything was received months ago and they still just say mailed :)
 
hi,

I was wondering if you guys can view your recent grades (including summer 09 and fall 09 grades) on your PharmCAS.

Because I sent my transcripts to PharmCAS and entered grades online but still can't see the grades being changed....:(....
 
When the Pharmcas Science GPA is calculated does that include the Math courses too or just the Science ones? If both GPA's are above the minimum requirements do the colleges look more at the science, math, or cumulative? (and the science/math may be one category, I don't know)
Thanks in advance
 
Science GPA is calculated separately from Math GPA.

I've been told many things about how ADCOM's look at grades. More commonly, they will be looking for your Chemistry and Calculus classes in addition to your upper division science classes. Obviously, science will be weighed more heavily than your general ed.
 
If I can remember correctly, PharmCAS takes a separate Math GPA and Science GPA. It does not combine Math and Science GPA. It does different categories including Biologic Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Other Sciences etc.

What's important to remember is each institution prefers different GPA's. For instance, one school may calculate math and science GPA and use that as a distinguishing factor while another may only take the GPA of particular courses (prereqs etc.)
 
So... does anyone else think that PharmCAS is absolutely ridiculous? I just found out, about two weeks after the deadline for one of the schools that I am applying to, that my pharmCAS application is incomplete. After going through all the trouble to write my essay, submit all my data and everything else by the deadline... including their excessive fee, it may be worthless. Of course, after I submitted everything I made sure to check it constantly for about a week to a week and a half after that day. But, it wasn't until I checked two weeks later that a notification showed up in the transcripts tab stating that they have not received my transcript for a school I attended for a year before coming to my primary institution. Because of this, they have not "calculated my GPA."

Granted, I probably should have read their instructions and documentation more thoroughly. But when I read over "transcript from every institution" for the first time, its likely that this didn't feel emphasized with importance. Why should it be that important? The transcript from my current school includes all of that information anyways. Not too mention, it would take an incredibly long time to get the proper transcript request form to that school and then to have pharmcas receive it.

Why are we paying them a 150$ fee for an application to a single school? So that we can enter all of our own courses and grades just to send them that data via transcripts anyway? My guess is that their version of our GPA's are simply calculated using the data we input, while our transcripts are used to check for accuracy.... certainly not something that would require much of an addition to their fee. And you think with such a large fee they could notify you appropriately about information missing from your application... or at least leave a decent indication that the data is missing within a reasonable amount of time. They take their payment and, in my opinion, provide the absolute minimal amount of customer service knowing that most pharmacy schools utilize their system. Thank god for the select few that do not use their system.

Sorry for the long and somewhat incoherent rant, but after finding out that I may not even get the opportunity to be interviewed at this school and that I've potentially lost my overall application fee (including the supplemental fee and fee to have my pcat scores sent to the right places), I've become angry enough to the point that I'm having trouble sleeping. Maybe venting will help. Anybody else have any beefs with PharmCAS?
 
cbstiles27 said:
...... But when I read over "transcript from every institution" for the first time, its likely that this didn't feel emphasized with importance. Why should it be that important? .....
Click to expand...


I would not blame pharmcas for your own inability to follow clearly outlined instructions.

Submitting transcripts from ALL institutions you attended, is one of the most important things you need to do for your own application and it is stressed highly by Pharmcas.

Why do they require separate transcripts ? Because some undergrad institutions don't transfer all the classes and some of the classes you may have taken at CC or another undergrad may never show up on your record unless you sent in those transcripts.

How is the Pharmcas supposed to know your own instution's academic policies ? They don't - and that's why they require transcripts from all schools you attend. I remember even reading some kind of statement regarding that when I was submitting my application.

Tough lesson learned but it's entirely your fault. Not taking responsibility for your own actions = > won't help you much in pharmacy school.
 
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Sorry to hear this...but did you only apply to ONE school? and how come you applied so close to the deadline? Well your money and time would not all go to waste if you just add another school that still accepts applications. Good luck, and if you have to reapply next year, do so as early as possible so you have LOTS of time to fix things. Note: I've seen people apply as early as June/July to be on top of things.
 
the PharmCAS process was sort of new to me this year ... I found this in the FAQs when I was applying ...

Q: If I have attended multiple colleges, do I need to send a transcript from each school?
A: Yes. You are required to send ONE transcript from each college you have attended regardless of the number of courses you have taken.
Click to expand...

Q: I have transfer credits that appear on my primary transcript. Do I still have to send all transcripts?
A: Yes. PharmCAS requires an official transcript from every regionally accredited U.S. college attended.
Click to expand...

Probably a good learning experience for you to read directions more carefully. ;) Better learning this lesson now than down the road on some patient's prescription. Good luck next year if you try again
 
The rant will help but only for a moment. Unfortunately everyone here is right. RIF...reading is fundamental. Their instructions clearly state you have to send all transcripts from all schools attended. I had to send my veterinary school transcript and am taking MBA classes which clearly have nothing to do with pharmacy school application. But, it is what was instructed of me to do (and trust it cost a lot of money for all these different transcripts). Find another school that the deadline has not passed or use this experience as lessoned learned and try again next year. Oh and do try to get everything done early...the volume of applicants is what makes it take a while.
 
Does PharmCAS actually know which schools you went to if you don't list it there?
 
Something this big and you can't even follow the directions? Accountability...That's whats missing in America these days. Everyone wants to blame everyone else. Pharmcas was not your problem. Not only was your situation answered in the Pharmcas FAQ's but you clearly know how to use SDN and I'm sure its been answered 7 million times here as well. Better luck next year.
 
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