PharmCAS

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I have a question about LORs on Pharmcas. My recommenders will be filling out electronic forms. So can they start filling out electronic forms as soon as I put their email addresses into the application, or do they recieve an email with a link to electronic forms only after I submit the complete application?
 
You only need to submit your PCAT scores to pharmcas. They will forward them to all the schools you apply to. In the meantime, submit your application now, or early, before your scores are in. Schools will begin reviewing your application whenever you do, and then add your scores in when they get them.
 
janeno said:
I have a question about LORs on Pharmcas. My recommenders will be filling out electronic forms. So can they start filling out electronic forms as soon as I put their email addresses into the application, or do they recieve an email with a link to electronic forms only after I submit the complete application?
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As soon as you input their email addresses into the application, PharmCAS will sent the electronic form to them via email. They do not have to wait until you have submitted the completed application before they receive the electronic forms. 🙂 Best wishes :luck:
 
imprecious said:
As soon as you input their email addresses into the application, PharmCAS will sent the electronic form to them via email. They do not have to wait until you have submitted the completed application before they receive the electronic forms. 🙂 Best wishes :luck:
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Thank you so much for the info.
 
So I'm a little light on the pharmacy-related extracurriculars; actually I only have one healthcare-related activity (ER volunteer). Obviously I'm going to include this, but I'm wondering what else is appropriate to include. In college I competed in varsity athletics all four years, and I was planning on including this, since it took up about 20 hours/week. Since college, I've mostly been working...but this year I've started training for a marathon. Here's my question: Would it be appropriate to include my marathon training as an extracurricular on my Pharmcas application?

Here's my tenative list
ER volunteer (~75 hrs)
Varsity track (4 yrs)
Varsity XC (4 yrs)
community service organization committee member (1 yr)
campus life and activities committee member (1 yr)
intramural soccer (study abroad in Edinburgh) (1 yr) 😕
marathon training group member (1 yr) 😕

Any I shouldn't include? I feel like I'm stretching it (to make up for my lack of clinical/pharmacy experience). Help/opinions much appreciated!!!

BTW: Pharmcas comes out in two days!
 
How do I enter the courses on PharmCAS application that I plan on taking but not sure about the school or degree ?

I have completed all the prerequisite for most of the pharmacy schools except Molecular Biology and Biochemistry required by some of the California schools ? I plan on taking them in Spring 2007 and right now I do not know which school I will do these courses from.

But since I plan on submitting the PharmCAS application to these schools in July/Aug for 2007 cycle, I want to enter these courses as planned courses in PharmCAS application.Not sure whats the best way to enter them since PharmCAS only allows courses under a particular school/Degree.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments
 
ItsAboutTime said:
How do I enter the courses on PharmCAS application that I plan on taking but not sure about the school or degree ?

I have completed all the prerequisite for most of the pharmacy schools except Molecular Biology and Biochemistry required by some of the California schools ? I plan on taking them in Spring 2007 and right now I do not know which school I will do these courses from.

But since I plan on submitting the PharmCAS application to these schools in July/Aug for 2007 cycle, I want to enter these courses as planned courses in PharmCAS application.Not sure whats the best way to enter them since PharmCAS only allows courses under a particular school/Degree.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments
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From the Pharmcas instructions (from last year): "Enter college courses in progress or planned through the completion of the Summer 2006 term. Enter all of your planned courses on the application, even if you have not registered for them yet. Use the college catalog to properly enter the course information as thoroughly as possible. Leave the grade column blank. See also “Updating Your Course Work” section."

Just enter planned courses under the particular school you think you will take them at. Then later, during the Academic Update (mid-December to February-ish), you can make changes if you have firmed your plans. Then only potential problem would be if the course you enter from school X doesn't match with school Y if you end up changing during Academic Update. At that point in the application process, however, you can probably communicate directly with your possible pharm schools to make sure the pre-reqs will suffice. Hope this helps.
 
Pharm47 said:
From the Pharmcas instructions (from last year): "Enter college courses in progress or planned through the completion of the Summer 2006 term. Enter all of your planned courses on the application, even if you have not registered for them yet. Use the college catalog to properly enter the course information as thoroughly as possible. Leave the grade column blank. See also “Updating Your Course Work” section."

Just enter planned courses under the particular school you think you will take them at. Then later, during the Academic Update (mid-December to February-ish), you can make changes if you have firmed your plans. Then only potential problem would be if the course you enter from school X doesn't match with school Y if you end up changing during Academic Update. At that point in the application process, however, you can probably communicate directly with your possible pharm schools to make sure the pre-reqs will suffice. Hope this helps.
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Thanks for replying.

And what should I write under degree and major ? I am not sure what degree and major I would enroll under when I take those pre-requisites.
 
ItsAboutTime said:
Thanks for replying.

And what should I write under degree and major ? I am not sure what degree and major I would enroll under when I take those pre-requisites.
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I'm not really sure. I filled out the application last year, but never submitted (decided I needed another year to finish classes). I have taken courses at 4 undergrad schools, but was only enrolled in a degree program at one. If I remember correctly, for the other three, I didn't have to specify a degree/major, since I was just taking a few random classes there. Here's what I found from the instructions:

"If you earned a degree from the institution, select the appropriate degree from the list. If you did not earn a degree from the institution, select "No Degree".

So basically, for schools your just taking pre-requisites at, like CCs or something, you designate that the school was not a degree program. Then when you enter your planned coursework, enter the future term (ex Spring 2007), leave the grade blank, and PharmCAS will automatically classify the courses as "College Courses Planned or In Progress". This is my understanding, but I guess we'll find out tomorrow!! 🙄
 
Does anyone know if there's a way to calculate your gpa just like pharmcas does? Do they publish anything that states how they go about calculating gpa's?

Thanks
 
Rebecatfl said:
Does anyone know if there's a way to calculate your gpa just like pharmcas does? Do they publish anything that states how they go about calculating gpa's?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Answer: You can go to FAQ section on the top. Hope it helps.

Another Question: How do I report the course with a W? I got a W for religion Studies.

Thanks,

smallkitty00
 
Oh, I get it. Thanks anyway!
 
Hi guys, I just began my pharmcas app yesterday.

I have some questions and it would be great if someone could answer them.

So I heard once you submit your pharmcas app you cannot update your GPA with new classes. Is this also true for clubs and activities because I plan on applying early to USC and UOP, but I also plan on applying later to UCSF and Western. I was planning on maybe getting a job in a research lab during Aug-Nov to beef up my app, but I was wondering could I include that new info after I already submitted my app for USC and UOP?

Also I have a retail pharmacy internship starting Jul 15, but that'll be too late to ask for a letter of rec in time for USC and UOP (I can't exactly ask for one on the first day 🙄 ). Do you think it would look weird if I shadowed my sister's friend who is a pharmacist and just asked her for a letter of rec. Even if it is just shadowing? My sister is also a pharmacist but I can't ask her for one either. Also, is it possible to turn in that pharmacy letter of rec to USC and UOP and then turn in another pharmacy letter of rec then to UCSF and Western?

I was also wondering, I'm starting to write my personal statement. I had trouble in sciences in my early years of undergrad (B's, B-, C+'s) and last quarter I got straight A's (A, A-'s). Should I mention that I'm actually not that talented in sciences and my good grades are due to a lot of hard work? Or should I not mention that because they are looking for people who are naturally gifted in science?

AAhh. last question (for now at least :laugh: ).. does it matter if I choose confidential or not on the LORS section? Would the schools find it suspicious if I choose to see the letters of Rec before they are sent?

Thanks a lot guys, this forum is awesome for people like me who would be totally lost otherwise.
 
Your GPA is updated at the end of the fall term. I don't know about summer courses. You are not able to change anything after you submit, I learned this the hard way, thought I could change my PS after I sent my apllication to the first batch of schools. What you might be able to do is send the updated info directly to the schools, possibly including it in your supplemental application that they all seem to require with more money lol. In your PS you can include your plans for EC's and as for the science thing, I would spin it as something you have a passion for but did have to work harder than other kids. Like an overcoming a challenge thing. LOr's are extremely important, I think they had a huge effect on my acceptance. If you have to get one from a pharmacist, and can't get any real experience before doing so, I would sit down with the one that will be doing your LOR and tell them why you want to go into this field. Also give them a list of your activities and highlights of your school career so that they can make the rec more personal. I really reccomend working in a pharmacy before interviewing. Most likely your interviewers will be pharmacists and would like specific examples of where your passion comes from.
Also I strongly discourage you from choosing for your LORS to be nonconfidential. Even though the college knows that you would never ask someone for a rec that would be negative, most still feel that the confidentiality allows the recommender to refrain from censoring themselves in order to spare your feelings. Ask people you both admire and respect that have seen the best of you. Sorry if this is disjointed, been working tons of overtime lately and am exhausted. 😴
Good luck, I wish you all the best.
 
😕 thanks for the advice!

I'm really have a dilemmna though because I don't think I'll get into UOP or USC if I don't apply early. (I have a 3.4 cum, 3.1 science and mediocre EC's/experience and I don't think my LORS are going to be outstanding). I was trying to turn in my apps before August but I'm thinking of maybe waiting until my summer grades are updated and I get a good LOR from the pharmacy I am working for over the summer.

.... aaahh.. its so hard knowing which one I should do. 😕
 
PolarBear21 said:
😕 thanks for the advice!

I'm really have a dilemmna though because I don't think I'll get into UOP or USC if I don't apply early. (I have a 3.4 cum, 3.1 science and mediocre EC's/experience and I don't think my LORS are going to be outstanding). I was trying to turn in my apps before August but I'm thinking of maybe waiting until my summer grades are updated and I get a good LOR from the pharmacy I am working for over the summer.

.... aaahh.. its so hard knowing which one I should do. 😕
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do you by any chance go to davis? that seems like a random question, but my retail pharmacy internship also starts that week 🙂

good luck with application!
 
Yes I DO!! Where is your internship? Thats really random.. that means I saw you on Friday 6:00 Wellman 119 🙂

My internship is at Rite Aid on russel.
 
awesome 🙂 haha. we probably did see each other. my internship is on cowell.

s.m.i.l.e. policy =)
 
I was just wondering, is there any way to separate the paragraphs and have indentations on the pharmcas app? Or does it just come out as one big blob?

Also, does anyone else have problem with entering coursework? I entered the coursework but the quarters don't go in chronological order. Like instead of listing it as Fall, Winter, Spring, it will list, Fall, Spring, Winter. Does taht matter? haha thanks a lot for anyones help!

=)
 
I cannot get my personal statement to paste into Pharmcas correctly. I've tried Notepad, Word - I even tried typing it directly into the box! No matter what I try, I cannot get indents at the beginning of paragraphs. My 'tabs' do not show up!

Has anyone had this problem - and, more importantly, figured out how to fix it!!

Thanks!
 
if i remember correctly, it was like that last year also. it looked like one gigantic box of text with no individual paragraphs. i assume it shows up correctly when the school's see it, so i wouldnt worry about it
 
I just did mine in block style - single spaced paragraphs with double spaces between paragraphs.
 
gkim8884 said:
I was just wondering, is there any way to separate the paragraphs and have indentations on the pharmcas app? Or does it just come out as one big blob?

Also, does anyone else have problem with entering coursework? I entered the coursework but the quarters don't go in chronological order. Like instead of listing it as Fall, Winter, Spring, it will list, Fall, Spring, Winter. Does taht matter? haha thanks a lot for anyones help!

=)
Click to expand...

I believe for the personal statement for last year's application, the paragraphs did not show up either. Just type it up using word processor as you normally would and cut and paste into the block on PharmCAS.
For the coursework, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just make sure you input all the course information as it would show up on your official transcript.
 
I had both of the same problems. To fix the PS, I entered it in block format: left-justified with two "enters" between paragraphs. For the coursework I don't think it matters at all. It looks funny taking Physics 203 before 202, but I'm sure the pharmacy schools will know that its an artifact of Pharmcas.
 
gkim8884 said:
I was just wondering, is there any way to separate the paragraphs and have indentations on the pharmcas app? Or does it just come out as one big blob?

Also, does anyone else have problem with entering coursework? I entered the coursework but the quarters don't go in chronological order. Like instead of listing it as Fall, Winter, Spring, it will list, Fall, Spring, Winter. Does taht matter? haha thanks a lot for anyones help!

=)
Click to expand...
pharmcas's 2006 cycle had both of the same problems - lack of formatting for the personal statement and the fall, spring, winter thing, so i wouldn't worry about it.
 
I was wondering if anyone knows if you have to summit your final application before pharmcas will send electronic letters of recommendation to recommendors. My account says pending, does that mean that they are pending on a response from my recommendor or pending on me summiting my application. I assumed that it would be sent when I set up my account but my recommendor has not received anything yet.
Thanks for the help.
 
my account also says pending, but pharmcas should have already sent the email to your letter writer. ask your recommendor to check their junk mail/spam mail, b/c it may have been filtered out.

and i believe that it means pending from a response from recommendor.

hopefully this helps.
 
Interesting question....

So you have to send your completed application (on pharmcas) in order to have pharmcas send out an email to those writing your letter of rec?
 
Although I have already gone through the application process (and boy am I happy that is over 🙂 ), I know many others are just beining and may have a question like this. I wish I would have had you all when I was going through applying 😀. Did you all do paper LORs or did you have them sent electronically? I did paper and it seemed to turn out okay (although Pharmcas never sent any of mine recs to one of my schools). Do any of you know which is better? Some of my professors/supervisors weren't all that tech savvy so I just did paper.

Good luck to all applicants :luck: !
 
ok. now i'm confused 😕
 
My professors and Pharmacist supervisor told me to do it electronically. They said that It was much easier that way.
 
pharm89 said:
I was wondering if anyone knows if you have to summit your final application before pharmcas will send electronic letters of recommendation to recommendors. My account says pending, does that mean that they are pending on a response from my recommendor or pending on me summiting my application. I assumed that it would be sent when I set up my account but my recommendor has not received anything yet.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

When you enter your recommendor's contact info (email address) into PharmCAS, PharmCAS automatically sends them an email. The "pending" status means that PharmCAS is waiting for the submission of the LOR from your recommendors. It does not mean that it is pending on your submission of PharmCAS. When you have completed your application, you can submit your application even when the status is still pending. Your recommendors just need to submit the letters prior to the deadline for your prospective schools. Once the letters are submitted, the status will read "accepted" and the date of when the letter was accepted will also be entered as well. Hopes this clears things up. 🙂
 
I filled out my references around a week ago. After talking to one of my recommendors, I found that she has not gotten an email from PharmCAS yet. I called PharmCAS and they resent the email. Hopefully she got the email this time; however, the whole issue is starting to worry me .
 
Is anybody else having problems with electronic pharmCAS LORs? It seems that my recommenders still have not gotten the Reference email even though I already called PharmCAS and asked them to send the email for the second time...
 
Hi,

I am experiencing the same problem. Did you e-submit yet? The status of my LORs on PharmCAS says "pending." I contacted two of my professors and they both said they didn't receive any notification from PharmCAS.
 
I have not e-submitted application yet, but when I called PharmCAS they said it does not matter if you have not e-submitted it yet. The email should have been automatically sent to your professors as soon as you enter their contact info. The other info they told me that professors should check their junk mail because Pharmcas email could have been directed there... I wrote my professors an email explaining that; so hopefully, they will be able to find the email there.
 
I GOT THE SAME ANNOYING PROBLEMS!!! I sent the darn email 10 times (literally!!!) to one of my peoples. They NEVER got it. I sent one to my friend to try it out. They received it right away.

I have now resorted to using paper for this last recommender. Two of the three people got it and filled it out right away. The last one is driving me (and that person) crazy.
 
When you fill out your classes and the grades you received with each, there is always a course level box.

1. Am I going to be choosing Lower Level(Fr/So) and Upper Level (Jr/Sr) for all of my courses, assuming that I am an undergraduate? Should I put down Lower Level for the years of Freshmen and Sophmore while putting down Upper level for classes I took during Junior and Senior year?

2. What does the "Professional" option mean?

Its not clear enough on the pharmcas help section.
 
You know what I am thinking maybe it has to do something with the email address. Maybe if your school's email address has a firewall, it does not let PharmCAS emails through. It is rediculous that we have to deal with all these problems, considering how expensive PharmCAS is.
 
Fresh/Soph vs Jr/Sr courses-- Generally anything available for completion in years 1 & 2 should be marked Fr/Soph (like Gen Chem, Org Chem, Physics, Biology and most of the BA/BS level Liberal Arts courses). If you have a hundreds based system anything under 400 generally falls under that category.

Professional classes are classes associated with professional degrees, like pharmacy, MBA or Law.
 
KUMoose said:
Fresh/Soph vs Jr/Sr courses-- Generally anything available for completion in years 1 & 2 should be marked Fr/Soph (like Gen Chem, Org Chem, Physics, Biology and most of the BA/BS level Liberal Arts courses). If you have a hundreds based system anything under 400 generally falls under that category.

Professional classes are classes associated with professional degrees, like pharmacy, MBA or Law.
Click to expand...

So should I mark Gen Chem as professional or Fresh/Soph?
 
question about PharmCAS, they say in the FAQ that they will take the average of both grades if you are retaking a class. Does this mean that they

1.) take both the low and high grade, average them, then count them as one grade

OR

2.) average in the re-taken class in to the rest of your grades.

it does make a difference when computing GPA, and it looks like pharmcas wont do any computations until you submit your application!
 
George Rivello said:
question about PharmCAS, they say in the FAQ that they will take the average of both grades if you are retaking a class. Does this mean that they

1.) take both the low and high grade, average them, then count them as one grade

OR

2.) average in the re-taken class in to the rest of your grades.

it does make a difference when computing GPA, and it looks like pharmcas wont do any computations until you submit your application!
Click to expand...

2
 
I called them and they said the same. All classes, retaken or not, are averaged in as separate classes.
 
Hi,

I repeated Chemistry, because I got a C, but I earned an A- the second time around. At my school, since I didn't fail chem the first time, when I repeated it the second time they gave me 0 units for it and it didn't factor into my GPA; nevertheless the grade of A- appears on my transcript w/o any units.
question: when completing pharmcas, do i also put the units for the repeated class or do I just put a 0?
 
MeHungryRx said:
Hi,

I repeated Chemistry, because I got a C, but I earned an A- the second time around. At my school, since I didn't fail chem the first time, when I repeated it the second time they gave me 0 units for it and it didn't factor into my GPA; nevertheless the grade of A- appears on my transcript w/o any units.
question: when completing pharmcas, do i also put the units for the repeated class or do I just put a 0?
Click to expand...

put the units b/c pharmacas will AVERAGE those two grades. so you'll get a B/B+ grade overall for that class.
 
But my concern is that if I put the units that its actually worth, besides zero (as my transcript notes), can they say I'm lying somehow? Because normally if someone fails a class and retakes it, they will receive units for the new class, but I'm not sure about how the old course will be weighed/ shown on the transcript. Thanks again.
 
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