Texas Tech 2012 Application cycle

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thanks for the responses. hopefully i get an invite soon.

I think my numbers are good enough, but my OCD keeps trying to tell me that I might have missed something. 😳
 
My Merlin application status went from "no status" to "status not set" what's that supposed to mean? Does that mean they are reviewing my application or have briefly looked at it but not reviewed it very much?

I took the January pcat and submitted my application last month. I know I applied late in the cycle so I'm a little worried.

But I have a prepharm gpa of 3.84 and a 90% PCAT..whatever that's worth.
 
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I submitted my Merlin app late December and faxed them my preliminary pcat scores since I just took the pcat this month. Since our apps were sent around the same time can u let me know if they contact you for an interview so that I can get an idea of when they should contact me?
 
My Merlin application status went from "no status" to "status not set" what's that supposed to mean? Does that mean they are reviewing my application or have briefly looked at it but not reviewed it very much?

I took the January pcat and submitted my application last month. I know I applied late in the cycle so I'm a little worried.

But I have a prepharm gpa of 3.84 and a 90% PCAT..whatever that's worth.

I submitted my Merlin app late December and faxed them my preliminary pcat scores since I just took the pcat this month. Since our apps were sent around the same time can u let me know if they contact you for an interview so that I can get an idea of when they should contact me?

Yeah. I submitted my PharmCAS in November and my Merlin app in early/mid-December. One of my LOR's was submitted late so maybe that's part of the hold up.

My GPA is 3.45-ish with a 97% PCAT btw. I'm still at "no status" though.
 
Hi,
I am going to have an interview in February. Can you give me as much advice as you can about the personal interview? I don't know what questions I can and cannot ask you, but anything you can suggest me what I should be prepared and done during the interview. I really appreciate it. Thank you.
For the individual interview the focus is on behavioral type questions. Make sure you have looked at a list of questions online and have some good examples and situations in mind going into the room. I know before my interview I made and appointment with career services at my university and did a mock interview and that helped a lot.

Good luck
 
Hmm...I guess we just have to wait and be patient but I'm just getting a little anxious. Let me know if you hear anything from them and I'll do the same. I also submitted my pharmcas in November and Merlin in December.
 
Oh ok well I'll just stay patient. Let me know if you hear anything from them.
 
Hmm...I guess we just have to wait and be patient but I'm just getting a little anxious. Let me know if you hear anything from them and I'll do the same. I also submitted my pharmcas in November and Merlin in December.

Also submitted Pharmcas/Merlin in December and no word on interview. Add me to the list of people to keep in the loop 🙂
 
Just had my interview today, it was long but memorable, anyway they said that they will begin evaluating the people that interviewed earlier in January and our group of interviewee from today together and sent out acceptance letter next week or within 10 days.
 
Hi,
I am going to have an interview in February. Can you give me as much advice as you can about the personal interview? I don't know what questions I can and cannot ask you, but anything you can suggest me what I should be prepared and done during the interview. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

As has been mentioned, the interview is composed of behavioral questions. All of the questions are of the "Describe a time when you showed [characteristic]." You can look at the interview feedback here:
http://studentdoctor.net/schools/school/ttu-pharm/survey/26

I won't say which questions are or aren't asked, and the questions change slightly from year to year anyways, but it will give you a good idea of what will be asked. Any questions that dont follow the "Describe a time you ____" format aren't part of the questions we are required to ask, but may be something that your interviewers want to know about you. It's a good idea to have a few examples prepared ahead of time that can fit into different categories. For behavioral questions you want to set up your answers in this way: 1) Describe the situation 2) What did you do 3) What was the result. Try to be as descriptive as possible in your role in the situation. Your interviewers will also give you a little bit of time to think of an answer if you can't immediately answer a question.

To prepare, I think the best thing to do is to practice. You don't want to memorize any answers, it comes off as robotic, but still you want to practice being comfortable and confident in the way you answer questions. Your nonverbal cues play just as important a role as your answers do. While this isn't something that we score in an interview, confidence is something that has influenced me to give a higher score for an answer. If it helps, try to make your practice sessions as real as possible. That way, when you do the real thing, it wont be as foreign or nerve-racking a situation.

Lastly, have a few questions for your interviewers. This might be something that I like, but I think it shows that you're interested in the program and are comfortable in what is likely a high stress situation for you. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me any more questions or PM me if you'd like. Good luck!
 
Just had my interview today, it was long but memorable, anyway they said that they will begin evaluating the people that interviewed earlier in January and our group of interviewee from today together and sent out acceptance letter next week or within 10 days.

Sorry but the last part of your post was kinda misinformative. I interviewed on the same day. They said they will review applicants who interviewed on today and jan 11, on Feburary the 5th. They will send out emails on 2/6/13
 
For the individual interview the focus is on behavioral type questions. Make sure you have looked at a list of questions online and have some good examples and situations in mind going into the room. I know before my interview I made and appointment with career services at my university and did a mock interview and that helped a lot.

Good luck

Thank you,
 
As has been mentioned, the interview is composed of behavioral questions. All of the questions are of the "Describe a time when you showed [characteristic]." You can look at the interview feedback here:
http://studentdoctor.net/schools/school/ttu-pharm/survey/26

I won't say which questions are or aren't asked, and the questions change slightly from year to year anyways, but it will give you a good idea of what will be asked. Any questions that dont follow the "Describe a time you ____" format aren't part of the questions we are required to ask, but may be something that your interviewers want to know about you. It's a good idea to have a few examples prepared ahead of time that can fit into different categories. For behavioral questions you want to set up your answers in this way: 1) Describe the situation 2) What did you do 3) What was the result. Try to be as descriptive as possible in your role in the situation. Your interviewers will also give you a little bit of time to think of an answer if you can't immediately answer a question.

To prepare, I think the best thing to do is to practice. You don't want to memorize any answers, it comes off as robotic, but still you want to practice being comfortable and confident in the way you answer questions. Your nonverbal cues play just as important a role as your answers do. While this isn't something that we score in an interview, confidence is something that has influenced me to give a higher score for an answer. If it helps, try to make your practice sessions as real as possible. That way, when you do the real thing, it wont be as foreign or nerve-racking a situation.

Lastly, have a few questions for your interviewers. This might be something that I like, but I think it shows that you're interested in the program and are comfortable in what is likely a high stress situation for you. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask me any more questions or PM me if you'd like. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I will definitely check that link out to get some idea.
 
Hey you never know if they'll invite you still! Stay positive, either way I'm sure you'll get into a good school where you will be happy and successful 🙂
 
If you get an acceptance letter can you send me a PM? Some of the students set up a Facebook group for the Class of 2017, and I can start sending out invites. This helps to get to know one another, organize meet ups before classes start, room mates, and all that jazz. Thanks!
 
I received an interview invite!! 🙂)

Just curious, what date will you be interviewing? I still haven't heard from them 🙁.

Does anyone know when Texas Tech typically finishes sending out interview invites? I'm probably worrying too much, but I can't help it.
 
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Just curious, what date will you be interviewing? I still haven't heard from them 🙁.

Does anyone know when Texas Tech typically finishes sending out interview invites? I'm probably worrying too much, but I can't help it.

They're almost at the end of sending invites. You should just give them a call to check on your status. In the meanwhile, keep your hopes positive :luck:
 
Unfortunately Ms. Harrison has retired. Just call the general number and ask to speak to any one of the advisors.
 
They're almost at the end of sending invites. You should just give them a call to check on your status. In the meanwhile, keep your hopes positive :luck:

uh. This is incorrect. Texas tech stops sending out interview invites in April. There are 2 more months between now and April.
 
uh. This is incorrect. Texas tech stops sending out interview invites in April. There are 2 more months between now and April.


Chill. 😎 It's up to the individual to believe but that's what one of the advisors said. Maybe that advisor was wrong. :laugh: But yeah you're right, don't believe everything on SDN.

Well the last interview date they have on their website is March 15th, so they should stop sending invites before April. I'm curious if they actually fill all their interview seats for all those dates.
 
I will be interviewing on Feb 22nd since I'm out of town for the earlier dates. I'm not sure when they stop giving invites but I would just give them a call. The interview date options I had lasted all the way until March 15 so they may still be giving invites. Plus just because my interview date options were until March, doesn't mean there won't be more for others.
 
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I guess I needed to be more explicit. I wasn't talking about the Merlin website to sign up for interviews, but the actual pharmacy school website. http://www.ttuhsc.edu/sop/prospective/importantdates.aspx

The last date they listed on there is March 15th, and the PharmCAS Texas Tech directory page also lists interviews are up to March.

I wasn't trying to discourage others, just wanted to share what I know. :shrug::cry:
 
I guess I needed to be more explicit. I wasn't talking about the Merlin website to sign up for interviews, but the actual pharmacy school website. http://www.ttuhsc.edu/sop/prospective/importantdates.aspx

The last date they listed on there is March 15th, and the PharmCAS Texas Tech directory page also lists interviews are up to March.

I wasn't trying to discourage others, just wanted to share what I know. :shrug::cry:
I'm sorry I didn't mean to respond to you, I was just answering the question htxwn asked me earlier about my interview date and when it would be. I'm not sure when interview invites end to be honest.
 
I'm sorry I didn't mean to respond to you, I was just answering the question htxwn asked me earlier about my interview date and when it would be. I'm not sure when interview invites end to be honest.

Opps 😳 No need to be sorry. My fault 😀
 
I guess I needed to be more explicit. I wasn't talking about the Merlin website to sign up for interviews, but the actual pharmacy school website. http://www.ttuhsc.edu/sop/prospective/importantdates.aspx

The last date they listed on there is March 15th, and the PharmCAS Texas Tech directory page also lists interviews are up to March.

I wasn't trying to discourage others, just wanted to share what I know. :shrug::cry:

Sorry about that. My bad for the lack of research.
 
wow it's been more than 7 months since I started this thread! I can't believe I already finished my first semester and started second semester of pharmacy school.

Just wanted to stop by and say congrats to all those interviewed and accepted! Hope to see you during the fall.

For those who's about to interview, don't be nervous and make sure to be yourself. From what I hear from my classmates is that they can tell if you're trying too hard to be someone else and be impressive, which can hurt you more than help. 😀

Again, good luck to everyone! :luck:
 
How do you like Texas Tech?? How are the classes and professors? 🙂
 
wow it's been more than 7 months since I started this thread! I can't believe I already finished my first semester and started second semester of pharmacy school.

Just wanted to stop by and say congrats to all those interviewed and accepted! Hope to see you during the fall.

For those who's about to interview, don't be nervous and make sure to be yourself. From what I hear from my classmates is that they can tell if you're trying too hard to be someone else and be impressive, which can hurt you more than help. 😀

Again, good luck to everyone! :luck:

Hahah to the rest of this forum, this is the guy who got into without an interview! LOL.
 
How do you like Texas Tech?? How are the classes and professors? 🙂

Classes are great. Some are difficult and some are fairly easy. Biochem so far has been the hardest class but Dr. Stoll, who teaches the class, has been one of the best professor i've had so far so it works out =) I would say if you are good at time managing and keep up with all the work, then you shouldn't have problem with any classes. (just like anything else in life haha :laugh:)

As far as professors, only problem I have is their accents. Not all are American born so some have accents that are hard to understand. It may take some time to get used to. Other then that, all profs have been great.

Only thing I don't like about our school is the location. It maybe b/c I'm not used to living in such a small city like Amarillo.

Overall, I think Texas Tech is a great place for you to start your pharmacy career!
 
Oh, man. Just had my interview. It wasn't pretty. But that wasn't TTUHSC's fault: I was sick. I was so congested even after taking a decongestant yesterday that I couldn't go to sleep. So I only got an hour of sleep last night before. When I woke up this morning, I almost called Mr. Schwettmann to cancel, but I didn't and am glad I made it through the interview. (Thank you, pseudoephedrine!) I was really impressed with what I saw today. I think I was a little off of my A-game for the personal interview, but the rest was fine. I didn't think any part was stressful. Best of luck, everyone!
 
Just FYI the ad com hasn't met yet & everyone that interview today will be considered with the first meeting. That is what Mike Nall told us today. Good luck everyone!

Sent from my Galaxy S 3 using SDN Mobile
 
Just FYI the ad com hasn't met yet & everyone that interview today will be considered with the first meeting. That is what Mike Nall told us today. Good luck everyone!

Sent from my Galaxy S 3 using SDN Mobile

Hmm. At Amarillo we were told something different. We were told that we would be considered in the second meeting with the people who interview next weekend. I don't know why we wouldn't be considered if they haven't met yet, but I'm just sharing what we were told.
 
I also had my interview with Tech yesterday. It was a great day and everyone there is incredibly friendly.

Advice for people who are interviewing in the next month or so...
I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on West Amarillo Blvd, which is less than five minutes away from the campus and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interviewing there in the coming weeks because it was brand new (to the extent that I'm pretty sure I was one of the first people to occupy the room), very clean, and comes with breakfast. A lot of the hotels around there are kind of janky, yet they cost the exact same price per night (~$100) so I'm glad I came across the one I stayed at. (sidenote: I'm not being paid by HI Express to write this - I just want to pass this on to other interviewees because I was hardcore stressing out about booking the hotel for days..no joke.)

Another piece of advice I have to offer is to bring your own water bottle and something to snack on. They don't provide snacks or water bottles, just the lunch, and I guarantee you will start to get hungry around 11am which makes it really difficult to concentrate and truly take in everything the school has to offer.

As for the critical thinking test... Seriously, do NOT worry about it. There is literally nothing you can do to study or prepare for it. You will probably second-guess yourself on every single question. Basically, don't go into it trying to get the "correct" answer, because I highly doubt TTUHSC cares if you got it correct. If I had to guess the purpose for giving that exam, I would say it would be for the sake of data collection and finding a correlation between successful/unsuccessful pharmacy applicants and their critical thinking skills.

Also, here are the things I wrote down from Mike Schwettmann's closing remarks from Friday, February 1st at the Amarillo location:
* As of now, 45/155 seats (Amarillo + Abilene) have already been filled by early decision applicants, so 110 seats remain between the two locations.
* Ad comm will be sending out acceptance offers this upcoming week for the Jan. 11th and 25th interview dates. Those who do not get accepted carry over into the next pool of applicants.
* If you interview on Feb. 1st and 8th, you should expect to hear something back around Feb. 20th through the 25th (if you got in). After that, if you didn't hear anything, your file carries over to the next round of decisions.
* They keep spaces open for each round of acceptances, so it's not like they're going to fill all the spots before the very last interview on March 15th.
* If you get accepted somewhere else that has a huge deposit fee but would rather go to Texas Tech and you still haven't heard from Tech yet, you can call the admissions office and they can give you a ballpark estimate of where you are on the waitlist.

Those are all the things I know based off of what Mike Schwettmann said.

Good luck everyone!
 
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I also had my interview with Tech yesterday. It was a great day and everyone there is incredibly friendly.

Advice for people who are interviewing in the next month or so...
I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on West Amarillo Blvd, which is less than five minutes away from the campus and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interviewing there in the coming weeks because it was brand new (to the extent that I'm pretty sure I was one of the first people to occupy the room), very clean, and comes with breakfast. A lot of the hotels around there are kind of janky, yet they cost the exact same price per night (~$100) so I'm glad I came across the one I stayed at. (sidenote: I'm not being paid by HI Express to write this - I just want to pass this on to other interviewees because I was hardcore stressing out about booking the hotel for days..no joke.)

Another piece of advice I have to offer is to bring your own water bottle and something to snack on. They don't provide snacks or water bottles, just the lunch, and I guarantee you will start to get hungry around 11am which makes it really difficult to concentrate and truly take in everything the school has to offer.

Also, here are the things I wrote down from Mike Schwettmann's closing remarks from Friday, February 1st at the Amarillo location:
* As of now, 45/155 seats (Amarillo + Abilene) have already been filled by early decision applicants, so 110 seats remain between the two locations.
* Ad comm will be sending out acceptance offers this upcoming week for the Jan. 11th and 25th interview dates. Those who do not get accepted carry over into the next pool of applicants.
* If you interview on Feb. 1st and 8th, you should expect to hear something back around Feb. 20th through the 25th (if you got in). After that, if you didn't hear anything, your file carries over to the next round of decisions.
* They keep spaces open for each round of acceptances, so it's not like they're going to fill all the spots before the very last interview on March 15th.
* If you get accepted somewhere else that has a huge deposit fee but would rather go to Texas Tech and you still haven't heard from Tech yet, you can call the admissions office and they can give you a ballpark estimate of where you are on the waitlist.

Those are all the things I know based off of what Mike Schwettmann said.

Good luck everyone!
This was really helpful, thank you!
 
I also had my interview with Tech yesterday. It was a great day and everyone there is incredibly friendly.

Advice for people who are interviewing in the next month or so...
I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on West Amarillo Blvd, which is less than five minutes away from the campus and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interviewing there in the coming weeks because it was brand new (to the extent that I'm pretty sure I was one of the first people to occupy the room), very clean, and comes with breakfast. A lot of the hotels around there are kind of janky, yet they cost the exact same price per night (~$100) so I'm glad I came across the one I stayed at. (sidenote: I'm not being paid by HI Express to write this - I just want to pass this on to other interviewees because I was hardcore stressing out about booking the hotel for days..no joke.)

Another piece of advice I have to offer is to bring your own water bottle and something to snack on. They don't provide snacks or water bottles, just the lunch, and I guarantee you will start to get hungry around 11am which makes it really difficult to concentrate and truly take in everything the school has to offer.

Also, here are the things I wrote down from Mike Schwettmann's closing remarks from Friday, February 1st at the Amarillo location:
* As of now, 45/155 seats (Amarillo + Abilene) have already been filled by early decision applicants, so 110 seats remain between the two locations.
* Ad comm will be sending out acceptance offers this upcoming week for the Jan. 11th and 25th interview dates. Those who do not get accepted carry over into the next pool of applicants.
* If you interview on Feb. 1st and 8th, you should expect to hear something back around Feb. 20th through the 25th (if you got in). After that, if you didn't hear anything, your file carries over to the next round of decisions.
* They keep spaces open for each round of acceptances, so it's not like they're going to fill all the spots before the very last interview on March 15th.
* If you get accepted somewhere else that has a huge deposit fee but would rather go to Texas Tech and you still haven't heard from Tech yet, you can call the admissions office and they can give you a ballpark estimate of where you are on the waitlist.

Those are all the things I know based off of what Mike Schwettmann said.

Good luck everyone!

I cannot agree with this more on all accounts. The HI Express made things extremely easy. It was nice being close and having the transportation provided by the hotel.

Best of luck, everyone!
 
Even if you if don't get in the first time, there's still a chance you might get an acceptance letter sometime later on, like during the summer. I got my acceptance letter around June cause someone gave up his/her spot. So it's not the end of the world if you don't get accepted the first time🙂
 
Classes are great. Some are difficult and some are fairly easy. Biochem so far has been the hardest class but Dr. Stoll, who teaches the class, has been one of the best professor i've had so far so it works out =) I would say if you are good at time managing and keep up with all the work, then you shouldn't have problem with any classes. (just like anything else in life haha :laugh:)

As far as professors, only problem I have is their accents. Not all are American born so some have accents that are hard to understand. It may take some time to get used to. Other then that, all profs have been great.

Only thing I don't like about our school is the location. It maybe b/c I'm not used to living in such a small city like Amarillo.

Overall, I think Texas Tech is a great place for you to start your pharmacy career!

I had an A average going into the final for biochem and then the final dropped my grade down to a B. I hated that class lol.
 
Does anyone have info on the pharmd/mba program? Like for example, are the summer classes held all day Mon.-Friday only? Or is it only a few hours a day? Also, are there Saturday classes? I can't seem to find any detailed info online
 
Classes are great. Some are difficult and some are fairly easy. Biochem so far has been the hardest class but Dr. Stoll, who teaches the class, has been one of the best professor i've had so far so it works out =) I would say if you are good at time managing and keep up with all the work, then you shouldn't have problem with any classes. (just like anything else in life haha :laugh:)

As far as professors, only problem I have is their accents. Not all are American born so some have accents that are hard to understand. It may take some time to get used to. Other then that, all profs have been great.

Only thing I don't like about our school is the location. It maybe b/c I'm not used to living in such a small city like Amarillo.

Overall, I think Texas Tech is a great place for you to start your pharmacy career!
Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
 
I also had my interview with Tech yesterday. It was a great day and everyone there is incredibly friendly.

Advice for people who are interviewing in the next month or so...
I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on West Amarillo Blvd, which is less than five minutes away from the campus and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interviewing there in the coming weeks because it was brand new (to the extent that I'm pretty sure I was one of the first people to occupy the room), very clean, and comes with breakfast. A lot of the hotels around there are kind of janky, yet they cost the exact same price per night (~$100) so I'm glad I came across the one I stayed at. (sidenote: I'm not being paid by HI Express to write this - I just want to pass this on to other interviewees because I was hardcore stressing out about booking the hotel for days..no joke.)

Another piece of advice I have to offer is to bring your own water bottle and something to snack on. They don't provide snacks or water bottles, just the lunch, and I guarantee you will start to get hungry around 11am which makes it really difficult to concentrate and truly take in everything the school has to offer.

As for the critical thinking test... Seriously, do NOT worry about it. There is literally nothing you can do to study or prepare for it. You will probably second-guess yourself on every single question. Basically, don't go into it trying to get the "correct" answer, because I highly doubt TTUHSC cares if you got it correct. If I had to guess the purpose for giving that exam, I would say it would be for the sake of data collection and finding a correlation between successful/unsuccessful pharmacy applicants and their critical thinking skills.

Also, here are the things I wrote down from Mike Schwettmann's closing remarks from Friday, February 1st at the Amarillo location:
* As of now, 45/155 seats (Amarillo + Abilene) have already been filled by early decision applicants, so 110 seats remain between the two locations.
* Ad comm will be sending out acceptance offers this upcoming week for the Jan. 11th and 25th interview dates. Those who do not get accepted carry over into the next pool of applicants.
* If you interview on Feb. 1st and 8th, you should expect to hear something back around Feb. 20th through the 25th (if you got in). After that, if you didn't hear anything, your file carries over to the next round of decisions.
* They keep spaces open for each round of acceptances, so it's not like they're going to fill all the spots before the very last interview on March 15th.
* If you get accepted somewhere else that has a huge deposit fee but would rather go to Texas Tech and you still haven't heard from Tech yet, you can call the admissions office and they can give you a ballpark estimate of where you are on the waitlist.

Those are all the things I know based off of what Mike Schwettmann said.

Good luck everyone!

If u interview in Abilene they have plenty of water and snacks for you. As soon as I walked in they gave me a bottle of water. Mike Nall also came around during lunch and gave us cookies and candy for the rest of the day. I really loved the family atmosphere there! Like I said earlier we were also told something different as far as when our applications were going to be viewed but for sure the ad com hadn't met yet for those that interviewed in Jan.

I hope this helps

Sent from my Galaxy S 3 using SDN Mobile
 
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