You mentioned the extra points in the past... Were you told about this during your interview?
Extra points were not mentioned during the interview, but you can score "extra" points during the interview. The maximum possible score is still 25 points for the interview, but if you are deficient in one area but have a quality that seems to be particularly appealing, then you can make up for some other deficiency. Sources of bonus points include things such as
"a) has advanced degree (masters and/or doctorate), b) resides in South Texas (from a county as defined by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, c) attends/attended and/or completed pre-pharmacy requirements at Texas A&M University-Kingsville d) has pharmacy knowledge experience or exposure or has desire to become a pharmacy practitioner."
(p.87,
http://pharmacy.tamhsc.edu/about/tamhsc-cop-selfstudy.pdf .)
Personally, I've always tended to think about the unpleasant scenarios in life, and in this case about what happens if I don't get into pharmacy school. There's the whole emotional aspect of it, that if you're somewhat expecting bad news, that it won't be as crushing when you hear about it. In the more practical sense, though, it also forces me to consider contingency plans, and to draw up details as to what I should specifically do if I don't get into pharmacy school this year.
On the flip side, though, if a lot of us are going to make presumptions on bad news, we might as well plan in advance for the good news. Dr. Robertson mentioned that we'll be getting mailings and an orientation that should walk us through the official school stuff, but when it comes to living in Kingsville, I don't think many of us have the slightest clue as to what's happening. And, so, it's entertaining and a bit reassuring to read about what everyone else is thinking about what they'll be doing in Kingsville, even if it's presumptuous.
As for Financial Aid, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot on the website about the topic. Many thanks, RobertZimmerman, for finding that FAFSA school code link. That was exactly what I was looking for. A lot of schools require FAFSA information before awarding scholarships to any student, though there's not much for us to do for scholarships. Of the four scholarships available from the school, three of them require being a resident of South Texas. One of those three is directed specifically towards Texas A&M - Kingsville students. The fourth scholarship is available for senior students with an interest in retail pharmacy. Still, filling out the FAFSA form is pretty easy and is a good idea for anyone entering any kind of school.
Well, we've got less than a week left (supposedly) before we start hearing about how well we truly did on our interviews.
--Garfield3d
P.S. I always felt that the later seasons of the West Wing were pretty weak. They were still entertaining to watch, but the flow, dialogue, and tempo of the show really changed after the first couple of seasons.
