PharmCAS

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Here is my story: I am planning to apply for 2008 entering class. So, I opened an account from PharmCAS in October 2006. After getting the account, I start to enter my grades and those required materials whenever I have time. I have also asked my professors and the pharmacist who I am working with to write me letters of recommendation. And they have submitted back to PharmCAS. I logged onto PharmCAS website a few days ago and noticed that the 2007 application cycle had ended. PharmCAS now is not accepting any new material and they will make the application available again on June 1, 2007. My question is that will I be able to gain the materials that I have entered so far? Are they going to clean all the old accounts from last year and let people to get new accounts every year? My biggest concern is the letters of recommendation that I have got from my professors and pharmacist.
 
The materials you have already entered have been lost. Even the letters of recomendation. They will have to be resubmitted. The PharmCAS website clearly states that the applications cycle for Fall 2008 admission doesn't start until June 1, 2007.
 
Unfortunately, PharmCAS doesn't keep any of your documents. You will need to request the letters again or have them sent to PharmCAS from a letter service if you used one last year.

Good luck!
 
Elysian,

Thank you for telling me about this. It is a bad news. I am so messed up now... >_<.... ...😱
 
Its still very early - certain things can be done in a single day - the things that take longer, like your LOR's and your personal statement you can start working on now. Pharmcas opens up in June - so you have at least two full weeks to start working on them...

Trust me - this part of the process is short, the waiting later on is a different story...

Good:luck:

~above~
 
Well.. it actually doesn't seem as bad as I said. I have also asked my professors to send a hard copy to the letter service at my school. (I also asked them to print a copy of whatever they filled in online for PharmCAS. And send that along with the letter. However, I doubt that they did this. I think they just send in that general letter.) I know that PharmCAS has its special format for letter of recommendation. They require the letter writers to provide more than just a general letter. The letter writers have also to rate the applicants, right? If I don't have that in file of letter service and I am just going to send whatever letter I have from the letter service to PharmCAS, will they accept that? 😕😕
 
Pharmcas applications are only good for a year. If you read the application materials it says that.
 
Just ask the people who wrote your letters if they can submit another one electronically. I'm pretty sure the letters must come directly from the person who is writing it... not the applicant. If they have a copy of what they wrote it should be pretty easy for them to submit the info electronically in June when you can put in the request through PharmCas.
 
It says clearly that the the application process is for the upcoming school year. Sense your letters of recommendations have already been written, it shouldn't be that big of a deal to have the people that wrote them resubmit their letters...surely they've saved them on their computers. Look at it this way, if you get them to resubmit it soon, you can apply for early decision. LOL.
 
Well, I calculated my pharmcas GPA, and it turned out around 3.3.👎 My GPA on my transcript is 3.68, and GPA for the recent 60 credits is around 3.7. The problem is I got two F's and one C in one semester three years ago. They were Intro Economics, Intro Biology, and a Regligion course. (all freshmen courses).I had some issue with my family at that time..anyways.. I retook them all a year later and got all A's. I'm going to ask the pharmacist that I am shadowing to explain about my situation in LOR. BUT!! pharmcas still averages them, which drops my GPA about 0.3!!
I got A's and B's in all prerequisite classes, and my science GPA is 3.78 but I don't know how much my sweet F in intro Biology will pull it down...:scared: I don't even want to know..

Supposing that I have 100 hours of shadowing, a couple of volunteer experience (about 6 months long??, and one medical mission),a couple of extra curricular activities and PCAT score around 80..what do you think my chances are to get in with Pharmcas GPA 3.3?
Is there anyone who got in with similar stats as mine?
I'm really stressed out and nervous!
Please, give me some good advice!!!
 
it depends on how many schools you apply to... your GPA is within the normal range of acceptance for schools and your experiences will help too. Apply early and you should be fine
 
lalagirl said:
Well, I calculated my pharmcas GPA, and it turned out around 3.3.👎 My GPA on my transcript is 3.68, and GPA for the recent 60 credits is around 3.7. The problem is I got two F's and one C in one semester three years ago. They were Intro Economics, Intro Biology, and a Regligion course. (all freshmen courses).I had some issue with my family at that time..anyways.. I retook them all a year later and got all A's. I'm going to ask the pharmacist that I am shadowing to explain about my situation in LOR. BUT!! pharmcas still averages them, which drops my GPA about 0.3!!I got A's and B's in all prerequisite classes, and my science GPA is 3.78 but I don't know how much my sweet F in intro Biology will pull it down...:scared: I don't even want to know..
Supposing that I have 100 hours of shadowing, a couple of volunteer experience (about 6 months long??, and one medical mission),a couple of extra curricular activities and PCAT score around 80..what do you think my chances are to get in with Pharmcas GPA 3.3?
Is there anyone who got in with similar stats as mine?
I'm really stressed out and nervous!
Please, give me some good advice!!!
Click to expand...

I'd say your chances vary depending on where you're applying, but I'd say favorable overall. Most areas you'd be either just slightly below average or on par. Certainly within 2 standard deviations :meanie: . I think you'll be fine. Especially if you can get a few good LORs are you're able to write a decent PS explaining the grades mentioned.
 
thank you for your quick answers!!
I think I need to study harder for PCAt and get a higher score than 80!

you guys are saying it depends on where I'm applying..
What schools do you think I would have higher chances?
What schools would you recommend?
I don't care where it is located or what its reputation is..
If i can get in just ONE SCHOOL.. i will be happy..
I'm thinking of applying to 15 schools..(I know.. it is a lot of money..
but I'm desperate..😱 )
please help me!
 
sorry to deviate...but how is your pharmcas gpa so much lower than your normal gpa? how does pharmcas calculate it?

edit: btw i think you've got a good chance

edit: you should research all the schools' average acceptance GPA's etc. look at the school pages on pharmcas...they help A LOT.
 
hi , i emailed pharmcas and they said that they will treat each repeat as an individual course and credit. If you repeated a class, they won't average it out at all. So yea.
 
1.)apply to schools with rolling admissions
2.) apply early like right when the application forms come out
3.) and yes applying to alot and not being picky will help you...

you sound a lot like me similar, gpa and will be happy to get in anywhere
 
i give you a 1 out of 3 chance. apply early
 
i had a 3.3 pharmcas gpa and was offered an interview at every school which i applied to -- and every school i decided to attend the interview, i was accepted to ... a 3.3 gpa is not the end of the world by any means ...
 
see my post on "what is wrong??" and you'll see that i'm in a worse situation than you. My DDDsCCCCCCCsF made my overall GPA 3.08. If I take all those out (they were due to freshman year and 2 semesters of extenuating circumstances) I would have a 3.5-3.6, the GPA I trully think reflects how well I do.
 
penguins429 said:
i had a 3.3 pharmcas gpa and was offered an interview at every school which i applied to -- and every school i decided to attend the interview, i was accepted to ... a 3.3 gpa is not the end of the world by any means ...
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Did you have other ECs or great LORs? I have the same GPA but I'm still kinda worried about getting in. What schools did you apply to and what were your PCAT scores, if you don't mind sharing?
 
As you all know that pharmcas early decision application starts in few days,I have a question in regard to that. Here is the scenario:

I have 2 schools in mind for the early decision: UNM (New mexico) and Howard but I don't know which will be my best shot.

For Howard, I have all their pre-reqs completed with 3.8 overall GPA, out-of-state and PCAT composite score of 73 👎 (you can see the reason I'm applying super-early) and for UNM I have about the same GPA but there will be 2 classes left before the final decision is made around late October.

Which do you guys think will be my best shot?
 
Trackster said:
As you all know that pharmcas early decision application starts in few days,I have a question in regard to that. Here is the scenario:

I have 2 schools in mind for the early decision: UNM (New mexico) and Howard but I don't know which will be my best shot.

For Howard, I have all their pre-reqs completed with 3.8 overall GPA, out-of-state and PCAT composite score of 73 👎 (you can see the reason I'm applying super-early) and for UNM I have about the same GPA but there will be 2 classes left before the final decision is made around late October.

Which do you guys think will be my best shot?
Click to expand...

Your stats should be good enough for both. You can always go through regular app process if you don't get your early decision. As for which school, go with the one you want to go to.
 
Your GPA is great, apply to both schools. As for your two missing classes issues, I would guess that the school will assume that you'll have those classes done prior to matriculation. I don't anticipate an issue there.🙂
 
omnione said:
Your GPA is great, apply to both schools. As for your two missing classes issues, I would guess that the school will assume that you'll have those classes done prior to matriculation. I don't anticipate an issue there.🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks Omnione,you are great.
 
omnione said:
Your GPA is great, apply to both schools. As for your two missing classes issues, I would guess that the school will assume that you'll have those classes done prior to matriculation. I don't anticipate an issue there.🙂
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I forgot to emphasie that I will be applying as early decision which if understood very well requires an applicant to apply to only one school.

And if that is the case, I can only apply to one school for the early decision period.
 
do other pharmcas schools you apply to see what school you picked for early decision?
 
Jessly56 said:
do other pharmcas schools you apply to see what school you picked for early decision?
Click to expand...

I am not sure about that but we can always find out.
 
Trackster said:
As you all know that pharmcas early decision application starts in few days,I have a question in regard to that. Here is the scenario:

I have 2 schools in mind for the early decision: UNM (New mexico) and Howard but I don't know which will be my best shot.

For Howard, I have all their pre-reqs completed with 3.8 overall GPA, out-of-state and PCAT composite score of 73 👎 (you can see the reason I'm applying super-early) and for UNM I have about the same GPA but there will be 2 classes left before the final decision is made around late October.

Which do you guys think will be my best shot?
Click to expand...


Are you a state resident of New Mexico? You do have excellent stats but if you are out of state it may still be very difficult to get accepted. Also do you truly want to go to either/both of these schools? If I remember correctly if you're accepted you're stuck and must attend there (Unless you apply somewhere else non-pharmcas).

Cost of living was a huge factor for me in my decision of state school in smaller city vs. private school in large city. (University of Florida all the way!) I don't know what the cost of living is in NM, but I do know it is outrageously expensive to live in DC. Factor that into your decision. Those two schools are at the other side of the country, if you get in to the one that's far from your family are you going to be ok with that? Best of luck to you, you have a few months to decide yet.
 
ageldred said:
Are you a state resident of New Mexico? You do have excellent stats but if you are out of state it may still be very difficult to get accepted. Also do you truly want to go to either/both of these schools? If I remember correctly if you're accepted you're stuck and must attend there (Unless you apply somewhere else non-pharmcas).

Cost of living was a huge factor for me in my decision of state school in smaller city vs. private school in large city. (University of Florida all the way!) I don't know what the cost of living is in NM, but I do know it is outrageously expensive to live in DC. Factor that into your decision. Those two schools are at the other side of the country, if you get in to the one that's far from your family are you going to be ok with that? Best of luck to you, you have a few months to decide yet.
Click to expand...


I am not a state resident of NM and nowhere in the US. I'm an international student living in Texas. So i'm trying to weigh in on my best shot at this point before deciding what is next. I applied to only one out-of-state school last year and even though I was called for an interview, I was denied admissions and I don't want that to happen again this year.

Based on all those facts given,I'm considering what my best option is. I will definitely apply to schools that best fit my options and those aforementioned schools are some of them.I know for NM it maybe hard to get accepted even with excellent stats because I've seen couple of people on this forum with good stats but still get denied. In any case,I will still continue to try and for sure good result will come out for next admission cycle.

Ageldred, I do not have a family here so that won't be a deciding factor at all.

Thanks though for your contribution.
 
Trackster said:
I forgot to emphasie that I will be applying as early decision which if understood very well requires an applicant to apply to only one school.

And if that is the case, I can only apply to one school for the early decision period.
Click to expand...

No, I just missed that part.😳 It was late........my bad

Since UNM is a state school I assume and Howard is a private I think Howard would be your best chance given that there is no in-state bias there. However, if you really, really, really like UNM, then you could always apply to UNM early decision. If you get in, great. If not, then you can always apply to both Howard and UNM through regular admissions.

Your GPA is great and should offset that slightly lower than average PCAT that isn't that bad.
 
is there really any advantage to getting your materials by June, instead of July?

I know that it IS a good idea to apply as early as you can (so the school will consider you when they have more spaces available), but according to the pharmacs website, they don't begin forwarding information to schools until august anyways
 
To be honest from a guy who got into a few schools taking the October PCAT and getting the PharmCAS application weeks before the deadline, it probably doesn't if you are going for regular admissions. Even for rolling admissions, chances are that you'll be in an early round when you apply in either June or July. Additionally, if you plan to take your first PCAT this summer, then PCAT schools won't even evaluate your application until they get the scores about six weeks later.
 
omnione said:
To be honest from a guy who got into a few schools taking the October PCAT and getting the PharmCAS application weeks before the deadline, it probably doesn't if you are going for regular admissions. Even for rolling admissions, chances are that you'll be in an early round when you apply in either June or July. Additionally, if you plan to take your first PCAT this summer, then PCAT schools won't even evaluate your application until they get the scores about six weeks later.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when most people say early, they're saying well before the 11/1 deadline (The earliest non-ED deadline for 2007/which will probably be similar for 2008 application cycle.). June/July would be pretty much the same. Now when you start getting into September/October, then you might see a difference, but even then probably only if you've got average stats or lower. The cream tends to rise to the top anyway.
 
Thanks, guys!
I guess I will just redo everything. I actually have a chance to re-select people for LORs.
 
Pharmcas is up & running for 2008 applicants. They've updated the look of it from last year.
 
gapeach427 said:
Pharmcas is up & running for 2008 applicants. They've updated the look of it from last year.
Click to expand...

Would I put shadowing and volunteering with a pharmacist under "extracurricular" or "Work experience"? Does it matter? Or is"work experience" only for paid positions? Thanks!
 
mixdown said:
Would I put shadowing and volunteering with a pharmacist under "extracurricular" or "Work experience"? Does it matter? Or is"work experience" only for paid positions? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Work experience implies "paid experience", so I would put it under extracurricular.
 
A question for those of you that have filled out the PharmCas application before:

Is there a section that requires you to indicate whether the courses you took were online? I know that most college transcripts record all courses the same way (no distinction between online/on-campus courses). If so, how do pharmacy schools know whether the courses you took was actually online or on campus?

Which schools in California accept applicants that have a mixture of both on-campus and online courses? I know USC does not, but what about the others?


Thanks!
 
Softpinkrose said:
A question for those of you that have filled out the PharmCas application before:

Is there a section that requires you to indicate whether the courses you took were online? I know that most college transcripts record all courses the same way (no distinction between online/on-campus courses). If so, how do pharmacy schools know whether the courses you took was actually online or on campus?

Which schools in California accept applicants that have a mixture of both on-campus and online courses? I know USC does not, but what about the others?


Thanks!
Click to expand...


USC doesnt take online courses? What the heck...i didn't know that....i am filling out the pharmcas school stuff right now and they do not ask whether you took it online or @ the campus
 
mixdown said:
USC doesnt take online courses? What the heck...i didn't know that....i am filling out the pharmcas school stuff right now and they do not ask whether you took it online or @ the campus
Click to expand...

Yes they do. When you put in your courses, there is a special circumstances drop down at the bottom (not sure actually what they call it) BUT online classes go under distance learning in that menu.
 
Beav@Hilo said:
Yes they do. When you put in your courses, there is a special circumstances drop down at the bottom (not sure actually what they call it) BUT online classes go under distance learning in that menu.
Click to expand...


oops nvm. i didn't know what "distance learning" was....
 
So I started looking at the PharmCAS application today and the extracurricular activity area has places for 10 activities. This concerned me a bit because I have nowhere near 10. Should I be worried?!
 
googleit said:
So I started looking at the PharmCAS application today and the extracurricular activity area has places for 10 activities. This concerned me a bit because I have nowhere near 10. Should I be worried?!
Click to expand...

No. It should never be about quantity, but quality. I am sure schools would whether see you completely involved in two or three E.C.s than many E.C.s which most you are not very active in.
 
What if you do have ten *and* you do dedicate/have dedicated yourself to each activity for a very long time (as in years, not months)? Does the list become harmful instead of helpful? ('Cause the adcom would end up having to read through a giant mess of ten different activities...)

Also, does it hurt to fill in the "Average Weekly Hours" section? For some reason I feel like I'd hurt my chances if I do fill it out, compared to some other applicant who does not, because the adcom wouldn't know how much the other applicant did. It could be 1 hour/week... It could be 40 hours/week... It's like a wild card... 😱

Finally, for the "Total Number of Hours Over Span of Experience" section, do I fill in how much I have up to this point, or how much I'll have by the end of Summer 2008/right before Fall 2008?

Thank you everyone!
 
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