PharmCAS

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terse said:
so that means you've e-submitted your pharmcas app already?
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Yeah.. I did.. It take 3 days after that for grades to appear ..
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Farmercyst said:
Your phone call tomorrow should straighten everything out I hope.
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I just got of the phone with them.
They recategorized my Microbiology class to "Microbiology" category.

:( However, Pharmcas consider "nursing courses" as "other science"!
They told me pharmacy schools ask them to categorize it that way :p
However, they categorize computer science as "computer science"!

For this reason, there nursing courses pulled my science GPA downward.
 
Farmercyst said:
Don't you designate what the courses are? That's the way it was last year. You select math, biol, other, etc. If that's still the case, I'm not sure how they misclassified it.

As for the Micro, where I took it it was a BIO class, BIOL 323 Biology of Microorganisms. So classifying at Biology and other Life sciences would not necessarily be a misclassification.
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This was how it was for me last at the beginning of the year when I used PharmCAS to apply...



RNtoPharmD said:
I just got of the phone with them.
They recategorized my Microbiology class to "Microbiology" category.

:( However, Pharmcas consider "nursing courses" as "other science"!
They told me pharmacy schools ask them to categorize it that way :p
However, they categorize computer science as "computer science"!
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...but obviously PharmCAS is making some changes. I had no problems selecting exactly which courses should count for each pre-req.

At my undergrad. school, any "majors" nursing courses falls under the biology department. To me it is perfectly legitimate to place those courses under sciences.
 
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RNtoPharmD said:
I just got of the phone with them.
They recategorized my Microbiology class to "Microbiology" category.

:( However, Pharmcas consider "nursing courses" as "other science"!
They told me pharmacy schools ask them to categorize it that way :p
However, they categorize computer science as "computer science"!

For this reason, there nursing courses pulled my science GPA downward.
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I am curious why you keep bringing up computer science, is it because the word "science" is in the name. Computer science has NOTHING to do with physiology, biology, or any health related science for that matter so it makes perfect sense why it is not included in the science GPA for entrance into a health related field. Pharmacy schools are going to categorize other Health professional courses along with science because it would be assumed they have a strong application of science background. I am sure they categorize med school, dental school and Physician assistant classes in science too because it makes sense. Nursing is in the same field as pharmacy, health profession. I do not understand why you think it is SO crazy that it is included and computer science is not.
 
Idesiretosling said:
I am curious why you keep bringing up computer science, is it because the word "science" is in the name. Computer science has NOTHING to do with physiology, biology, or any health related science for that matter so it makes perfect sense why it is not included in the science GPA for entrance into a health related field. Pharmacy schools are going to categorize other Health professional courses along with science because it would be assumed they have a strong application of science background. I am sure they categorize med school, dental school and Physician assistant classes in science too because it makes sense. Nursing is in the same field as pharmacy, health profession. I do not understand why you think it is SO crazy that it is included and computer science is not.
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Yeah, seriously. I was gonna question that on the opening post, but decided against it, but the original poster keeps bringing up comp sci. Just cuz comp sci has the word 'science' in it, it doesn't mean it's an actual science, like bio or chem. It's much more closely related to mathematics in my opinion, so if you HAD to categorize it into these broad categories, I'd throw it into mathematics before even considering science. Altho honestly, it belongs in its own category ... speaking as a former comp sci major...

I don't see why it's so impossible to believe that nursing is considered as a science course. It falls into health professions, as other people mentioned, which have a strong basis in the sciences, not to mention, like you yourself said, "application of SCIENCE." Where else would they classify that one?? I think you're fighting a losing battle here, especially since pharmcas told you themselves that that is how the system works.
 
Idesiretosling said:
I am curious why you keep bringing up computer science, is it because the word "science" is in the name. Computer science has NOTHING to do with physiology, biology, or any health related science for that matter so it makes perfect sense why it is not included in the science GPA for entrance into a health related field. Pharmacy schools are going to categorize other Health professional courses along with science because it would be assumed they have a strong application of science background. I am sure they categorize med school, dental school and Physician assistant classes in science too because it makes sense. Nursing is in the same field as pharmacy, health profession. I do not understand why you think it is SO crazy that it is included and computer science is not.
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Simply put, a "science" in health professional language actually means natural sciences. Computer science isn't included because its theory isn't natural. That hopefully should answer your question RN.
 
bananaface said:
There isn't a specific classification for Microbiology unless it's new this cycle. All the science stuff goes under that generic header.
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Microbiology is a new catgeory for the 2007-2008 admissions cycle.

Oh, and Nursing classes are specifically listed under "other science" in the PharmCAS instructions, so they get calculated into the Science GPA.

See pp. 26-27 of the instructions: http://www.pharmcas.org/docs/Instructions200708.pdf
 
kittycatblues said:
Microbiology is a new catgeory for the 2007-2008 admissions cycle.

Oh, and Nursing classes are specifically listed under "other science" in the PharmCAS instructions, so they get calculated into the Science GPA.

See pp. 26-27 of the instructions: http://www.pharmcas.org/docs/Instructions200708.pdf
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Thanks for info. ..those with degree in Engineering/Electronics/Teachment also get the same treatment... Those classes are also categorized as "other science":)
 
omnione said:
Simply put, a "science" in health professional language actually means natural sciences. Computer science isn't included because its theory isn't natural. That hopefully should answer your question RN.
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Right.. but I think it's based on mathematics, which is also a suject included in science GPA. It's the application of Math. eg. Matrix... the same way health science is the application of biology..

Anyway.. I am losing battle here... I gave up because I don't want to add any more repetitive post to SDN memeory.. it's up to pharmcas or the way pharm schools want to categorize it :)
 
I did a search on past forums and couldn't really find any thread discussing Withdrawn classes on transcripts and wanted your opinions on this. So, I know withdrawn classes do not effect your GPA, but I'm worried how the Big W looks to admissions commitees. Any thoughts?

I have 3 W's on my transcript, each several years apart. I am thinking of including in my personal statement an explanation of why I decided to withdraw. (the first one was simply b/c I could not devote what I felt to be adequate time to the class and still maintain my ROTC scholarship. The second was just one too many insane course loads. Lastly, my brother was diagnosed with cancer which required major surgery, and I needed to be home)

I graduated with a 3.76 GPA. The bummer is that I probably would have gotten an A or a B in each of those withdrawn classes had I stuck it out, and my GPA wouldn't have been drastically altered. I guess I'm worried about not addressing the W's in my personal statement b/c it may be seen as a lack of motivation. But I'm worried if I do address the W's it may seem whiny.

Anyone else encountered the Dreaded W Problem? How do you handle it?
 
weezbug123 said:
I did a search on past forums and couldn't really find any thread discussing Withdrawn classes on transcripts and wanted your opinions on this. So, I know withdrawn classes do not effect your GPA, but I'm worried how the Big W looks to admissions commitees. Any thoughts?

I have 3 W's on my transcript, each several years apart. I am thinking of including in my personal statement an explanation of why I decided to withdraw. (the first one was simply b/c I could not devote what I felt to be adequate time to the class and still maintain my ROTC scholarship. The second was just one too many insane course loads. Lastly, my brother was diagnosed with cancer which required major surgery, and I needed to be home)

I graduated with a 3.76 GPA. The bummer is that I probably would have gotten an A or a B in each of those withdrawn classes had I stuck it out, and my GPA wouldn't have been drastically altered. I guess I'm worried about not addressing the W's in my personal statement b/c it may be seen as a lack of motivation. But I'm worried if I do address the W's it may seem whiny.

Anyone else encountered the Dreaded W Problem? How do you handle it?
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Generally, one or two W's isn't a big deal. If the admissions committee deems it a problem, they'll address it in the interview. There's no real need to explain it in your PS; generally those types of explanations end up taking up an entire paragraph's worth of space and you really don't have that much space to begin with. I would just make a note to yourself to have a well-crafted answer to answer any questions about your academic record; don't make it sound like you're coming up with excuses for each one, but just address them broadly and quickly shift toward the remedial stage (how did you overcome this deficit and what have you learned and how will it apply to your goals as a pharmacy student and future pharmacist).
 
Most of the time they don't even bother to ask about your W's. I withdrew the same class twice!!! That's 2 W's for 1 class and none of the schools I applied to even ask about it.

On your personal statement, it asks why you want to be a pharmacist, not why you withdrew a class. Some schools might even ask if you have had academic difficulty, then you can explain it there.

And why would you worry with a 3.76 GPA??? You think that everyone that got into pharmacy schools has 4.0?
 
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Sometimes, a secondary application offers a section to explain extenuating circumstances regarding grades. Some interviews also have a question at the end asking you to explain any red flags on your application so that the adcoms won't speculate about the wrong conclusions.

Do remember that your GPA, PCAT, application completion (prereqs, LORs) dictate whether you get an interview or not. Sometimes, the school just looks at the average simply because its easier that way to screen out the weaker applicants in a pool of 1,000 applicants. Your 3.76 should not be a liability for you to get an interview, but you can indirectly refer to those Ws in your PS (i.e. "how I handled struggles" etc) and/or interview. Generally, I've been advised not to bring up Ws and sub-C grades in a closed-file interview without being asked as it tends to do more harm than good on the adcoms' impression of you.
 
Thank you for the responses! You guys (or gals- not to offend) brought up points that hadn't even occurred to me. I'm glad I don't need to waste space in my P.S. for it, especially when I can sum it up easier in person (only if they ask, of course!)
 
Hmm.. What I did was this-- I listed the 2nd time I took the course as repeated. I submitted my PharmCas app and there wasn't any problem. :)
 
You only list the second course (and additional courses...though I hope that it didn't take you three or more times to get it right.;)) as repeated as the "Repeated" option is considered to be a Special Classification for atypical courses (honors, AP). You don't list the first one as "Repeated" because logically, you can't repeat something you had never taken at the time.;)
 
HeyyouETSU said:
I emailed PharmCAS and their reply didn't answer my question about that, unfortunately.

My instinct says to mark the first take as repeated, but I wanted the opinion of others before setting that in stone. Thanks!
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Maybe there will be a Repeated email with the answer.;)
 
Well - looking solely at the definition of a repeat - you cannot repeat something unless you have done it at least once... as in:

**** - forgot to add ether to the separatory funnel - guess I'll have to repeat the extraction again...

or - more to the point:

**** - I got a C- in Organic - I guess I will have to repeat it.

Hopefully you have your answer - and congrats on an excellent Org grade (I never scored better than a B in it)

~above~
 
omnione said:
You only list the second course (and additional courses...though I hope that it didn't take you three or more times to get it right.;)) as repeated as the "Repeated" option is considered to be a Special Classification for atypical courses (honors, AP). You don't list the first one as "Repeated" because logically, you can't repeat something you had never taken at the time.;)
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Did you get this directly from PharmCAS?

I think the OP is correct. On my transcript, all of the classes I have repeated, its the older class that has a special designation, not the newer one. The idea being that you go over a transcript from oldest to newest, and when they see that C in O-Chem, it'll say repeated next to it, advising the person to check lower for the newer grade.
 
azPharmD2B said:
Did you get this directly from PharmCAS?

I think the OP is correct. On my transcript, all of the classes I have repeated, its the older class that has a special designation, not the newer one. The idea being that you go over a transcript from oldest to newest, and when they see that C in O-Chem, it'll say repeated next to it, advising the person to check lower for the newer grade.
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My philosophy at the time I did my application was that the second course was the "repeated course" so that's why I put repeated for the second course. However, you have a good point in your post so you could be right. I don't have my transcript anymore so I can't check to see if PharmCAS corrected me.

In terms of verb conjugation, the mere word "repeated" suggests that it would be more suitable to say "repeated" for the first course as in "I repeated the course". The noun "repeat" would be better for the second course as in "This course was a repeat of the same course". I initially interpreted "Repeated" as used in "This course is here again because I repeated it". :oops:

Oh well, the distinction of repeated courses didn't prevent me from getting accepted.:)
 
HeyyouETSU said:
I feel bad for hijacking this thread, but...I have a question along these lines. When I graduated high school, I was eligible and awarded the Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholars Scholarship, but decided to go out of state to ETSU instead, and got the Academic Performance Scholarship there. The Bright Futures was "saved" for me for 3 years, but I did not return to FL so I "lost" the money. Would you all NOT put this down in the honors/recognition portion of the PharmCAS application because it was not used, or put it anyway since it was awarded?

Part of me thinks it would be bad to put something down that I didn't use, while the other part of me thinks it's still an achievement to be awarded the scholarship (in other words, despite the fact I didn't used their money it's still a recognition).

Decisions, decisions! Any insight would be greatly appreciated, as usual. :)
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Generally, awards and honors from high school aren't considered and weighed as heavily as collegiate awards and honors. I wouldn't bother putting it down unless it involves something current you have to do (i.e., maintain a certain GPA to keep the scholarship). It seems more like you would be grasping at straws to fill the spots on the application. You don't have to do so at all.

Note I'm not familiar with those two programs at all. It may be similar to the University of California Regents scholarship program (awarded outside of high school) in which case I would put it down because it involves academic and social achievement during college as well.
 
People have mentioned that Pharmcas gets the PCAT scores a few days before we do (though they don't reveal the actual score to you). Is this done in a way so that you know when it happens?

If so, then we'd know when to start getting excited about the mail.
 
Assuming that PharmCAS still doesn't post your scores online this year, then you should start getting excited the moment that PharmCAS posts that they have received your score.

So yes, you can access the status of your PCAT scores on PharmCAS, but you won't know what they are.
 
I'm not applying to any Pharmcas schools, so I'm counting on those of you who are to give me the tip when you get it.
 
Where should I list job shadowing? Under extracurricular right, or work experience? The instructions also say to put the deans list under extra curricular as well, when I feel like it is a "Honors & Scholarships". Should volunteering that I did during high school (and still do) be put on my pharmcas application? How about other awards I recieved during high school? Like being the captain of my soccer team, three years first team all county, senior all-star team ect. If I miss place some things or put things on there from high school, will schools/pharmcas reject my application?

I tried searching to find these answers but could'nt really find what I am looking for. Thanks
 
if the instructions say to do something, i would follow that. shadowing goes under the ECs. don't list anything that you did in High School unless it is something that has to do with pharmacy and it is not in the distant past. so i would not mention stuff like soccer unless you are coming straight out of high school
 
ehhh i don't really know if the high school stuff will fly...college is a whole different experience and they want to know about that

as for job shadowing...i put my volunterring at a pharmacy under extracurricular since job shadowing/volunteering isn't really "working" and getting paid for...etc
 
Alright, thanks. I didnt think the high school stuff was ok but I only have like eight things on pharmcas and thought I would try and fill all ten, but oh well, my other eight are pretty good.
It is just hard to find things to put down from college when I have only been throught one year. Thanks anyways!
 
it's about quality not quantity. don't feel like you have to fill all 10 spots. a school would rather see maybe one or two items where you show a lot of commitment, leadership, and influence than 10 filler activities.
 
markk122 said:
Where should I list job shadowing? Under extracurricular right, or work experience? The instructions also say to put the deans list under extra curricular as well, when I feel like it is a "Honors & Scholarships". Should volunteering that I did during high school (and still do) be put on my pharmcas application? How about other awards I recieved during high school? Like being the captain of my soccer team, three years first team all county, senior all-star team ect. If I miss place some things or put things on there from high school, will schools/pharmcas reject my application?

I tried searching to find these answers but could'nt really find what I am looking for. Thanks
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(Refer to the topic: )
Curriculum: single
Curricular: plural
Theres no curriculars.
 
I'm going to apologize in advance for fretting over getting my scores. Today is four weeks since the June exam, and I'm now in "Dagwood knocking over the mailman" mode.

I'm trying to figure out the complete connection between Pharmcas acknowledging PCAT scores and us actually getting them in the mail.

Does everyone's Pharmcas application get the acknowledgement of scores at the same time, or does it happen at different times? I know that some people get their scores in the mail at ~5 weeks while others are more like 7 weeks. I'm just wondering if Pharmcas exhibits this time difference.
 
Knickerbocker said:
I'm going to apologize in advance for fretting over getting my scores. Today is four weeks since the June exam, and I'm now in "Dagwood knocking over the mailman" mode.

I'm trying to figure out the complete connection between Pharmcas acknowledging PCAT scores and us actually getting them in the mail.

Does everyone's Pharmcas application get the acknowledgement of scores at the same time, or does it happen at different times? I know that some people get their scores in the mail at ~5 weeks while others are more like 7 weeks. I'm just wondering if Pharmcas exhibits this time difference.
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Pharmcas showed having received the scores a couple days before I got them in the mail. It will not show your scores, only that they have been received.
 
fmbzp5 said:
Pharmcas showed having received the scores a couple days before I got them in the mail. It will not show your scores, only that they have been received.
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I know that it won't show the scores; it should have been clear from my post.

If everyone got their scores in the mail a few days after pharmcas was updated, then that means they don't do it all at once (since some people got their scores in five weeks while others were another week or two off).

I'm asking because I'm not applying to any pharmcas schools, and I want to know of everyone else's "hint" applies to me.
 
Hi, everyone.
I am working on personal statement for pharmcas application.
I have a question about the format of ps and need your help.
I worked on MS word and copied and pasted to nopepad, then copied and pastes again into the small wondow box for personal statement in pharmcas.
The box's width look very narrow and I wonder how it looks when it mailed out to each school.
It does not look as neat as I did on MS word.
Any idea??

Oh, I have one more question. Can I edit planned courses after I submit?
 
i don't think you should worry about the way the personal statement looks on the pharmcas window..ever other applicant's essay will look like yours does. i'm sure they put it in a format that makes sense once they print out your applcation to send out or whatever

also...i put spaces between my paragraphs, not indentations...you could try that to make your paragraphs look more distinct

as for the planned courses. you cannot edit them once your pharmcas app is submitted
 
Yeah, the PharmCAS does not retain most of the formatting used in Word as the field in PharmCAS is a simple text input box. I also agree that you should leave one full space in between paragraphs because to make it easier for adcoms to read.

As for editing planned coursework, you can update courses during the Academic Update window period sometime in December. However, you really can't before and after that period.
 
hi everyone,
i needed help with the pharmcas app..in the extracurricular section we have to fill out the start month/year and the end month/year for each entry...however, there are activities that i'm still doing right now...how do i write that its still "in progress"??


also, if you give an approximate end date, and say that end date is june 2008..do you count the hours u havent done yet and add them into the total hours too??

thank you so much in advance.
 
Does anyone know what is on the recommendation email that pharmcas sends? Is it a list of questions? or does it just ask the person to write a recommendation letter?

Also, during the pharmcas update period in december, can you just update grades? or can you also update ECs, work experience, etc?
 
The recommendation email requires a letter to be written, as informed to me by one of my references.

As for the update, I believe that you are only allowed to update grades.
 
Im sorry can someone explain to me what is pharmcas? Is it a organization for pre-pharmacy majors ?
 
googleit said:
The recommendation email requires a letter to be written, as informed to me by one of my references.

As for the update, I believe that you are only allowed to update grades.
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Yeah, thats what i thought (about not being able to update).
If I'm going to be starting a pharm tech job in september (already lined up and finalized), should I go ahead and put it on my application now? If by some slim chance it doesnt work out though, I dont wanna get in trouble for false info on my app.
 
PharmHopeful3 said:
Yeah, thats what i thought (about not being able to update).
If I'm going to be starting a pharm tech job in september (already lined up and finalized), should I go ahead and put it on my application now? If by some slim chance it doesnt work out though, I dont wanna get in trouble for false info on my app.
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Save it for your supplemental, or work it into your PS.
 
You can leave the end date blank.

For the # of hours you put down, if you've already worked a substantial # of hours, then just put down what you've already done. There's no big difference between working 100 and 150 hours. After a certain point, the adcoms will consider your experience ample. No need to embellish, because it's not that big a deal.
 
euclidean said:
Hi, everyone.
I am working on personal statement for pharmcas application.
I have a question about the format of ps and need your help.
I worked on MS word and copied and pasted to nopepad, then copied and pastes again into the small wondow box for personal statement in pharmcas.
The box's width look very narrow and I wonder how it looks when it mailed out to each school.
It does not look as neat as I did on MS word.
Any idea??

Oh, I have one more question. Can I edit planned courses after I submit?
Click to expand...


If you want, you can paste it into Microsoft WordPad or Notepad to get rid of the Microsoft Word formating. Then you can reformat to your liking and then paste it into PharmCAS
 
And also, don't use Firefox when copying and pasting your essay. It apparently has some weird glitch with the character count. I got my essay down to around 4495 characters, and it kept telling me I'm at around 4550. When I used Internet Explorer, it gave me the correct count. Just FYI.
 
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