UNC - Pharmacy School Ambassador QA 2009 application

[uncpharmacy]

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Hi future pharmacist,

I am currently a first year pharmacy student at the UNC - Eshelman School of Pharmacy. At this time last year, I was both nervous and excited as you are about where you will be in the next few months in term of interviewing and where you will be in the next four years. As I have migrated from the pre-pharm to actually become a pharmacy student, I have realized the needs of guidance for the pre-pharm students. As part of the ambassador program of the school of pharmacy at UNC, I would like to invite you to ask any questions that you might have about the pharmacy profession and the program at the UNC - Eshelman school of Pharmacy. As I am still very new to the school and the profession itself, I will try mybest to answer your question in any possible way or if I can't answer it myself, I will try to direct you to the right source.

With the application deadline is approaching (Nov 3rd), I would strongly encourage you apply to the UNC- Eshelman School of Pharmacy. As I am going through my first year, the school has been anything but impressive. And I am happy to share with you any experiences that I have.

You can find more information about our program at http://pharmacy.unc.edu/

Thanks and good luck in your application! 🙂

 

[mddr1day]

As I am going through my first year, the school has been anything but impressive.

I'm sure you meant that the school has been indeed impressive and not anything but, but I think everybody gets what you are saying 😉.

I think it's pretty cool they named the school after the CEO of the company I work for, PPD. I'm a R&D Scientist in the Immunochemistry Department in the Richmond facility. I actually plan on doing the 2-year fellowship joint program with UNC-PDD after my 4 years at (Hopefully) VCU so that I may continue to work as much as I can. If you could give me any sort of insider info on that fellowship program, that would be amazing.

 

[SHC1984]

I am an NC resident. I am going to apply to UNC Pharmacy school next year for fall 2010.
1) what else can you do to make yourself standout?? (besides good gpa, good pcat scores and working as a tech in retail) Can you list a few things you did that helped you get into unc?
2) are most of the pharmacy students also students that did a 6 year program at UNC? meaning are most of the pharmacy students also students that did their 2 year preq at UNC? I already have my bachelors degree but its from a DIFFERENT college in north carolina (GPA overall 3.84, Sci GPA 3.85). However, are my chances lowered b/c I did not apply to UNC's 6 year program from High school????
3) Does UNC offer any scholarships for pharmacy school? If they do can you tell us more about it? do you have any scholarships that you got and would like to share how you got it etc?
Thank you very much! 🙂

 

[uncpharmacy]

I'm sure you meant that the school has been indeed impressive and not anything but, but I think everybody gets what you are saying 😉.

I think it's pretty cool they named the school after the CEO of the company I work for, PPD. I'm a R&D Scientist in the Immunochemistry Department in the Richmond facility. I actually plan on doing the 2-year fellowship joint program with UNC-PDD after my 4 years at (Hopefully) VCU so that I may continue to work as much as I can. If you could give me any sort of insider info on that fellowship program, that would be amazing.

Hi mddr1day,

In the beginning of the school year, we were introduced to the aspect of being in the industry after graduation. A panel of pharmacists working in the industry came to our school and discussed the possibility. If you would like to work in the industry after graduation, it is advised that you should do a fellowship (regardless of location) and UNC happens to have one. It is said to be a competitive process but rewarding because you will get to see the process of drug development. You will be working with faculty of the school of pharmacy in your first year. In your second year, you will be working with the preceptors at PPD in RTP, NC.

If you would like to have more information, we have it here. http://pharmacy.unc.edu/programs/po...ip-brochure_06.pdf/view?searchterm=fellowship

🙂

good luck !

 

[uncpharmacy]

I am an NC resident. I am going to apply to UNC Pharmacy school next year for fall 2010.
1) what else can you do to make yourself standout?? (besides good gpa, good pcat scores and working as a tech in retail) Can you list a few things you did that helped you get into unc?

I think being who you are in the application and express your desire of being a pharmacist are the key points for me. Having a good GPA, PCAT and work experiences definitely will help you a lot in the application process. 2) are most of the pharmacy students also students that did a 6 year program at UNC? meaning are most of the pharmacy students also students that did their 2 year preq at UNC? I already have my bachelors degree but its from a DIFFERENT college in north carolina (GPA overall 3.84, Sci GPA 3.85). However, are my chances lowered b/c I did not apply to UNC's 6 year program from High school????

UNC does not have 6 years program. Although a lot of students at UNC apply to the pharmacy school in their second year. I have seen quite a few. It is not uncommon but UNC does not have a 6 year program. It is true that a lot of pharmacy students are from UNC, and a lot of them get a 4 year degree. Having said that, many students are from different school as well. I have seen people coming from out of states as well as schools across the states. So I wouldn't be worried too much about going to a different school than UNC to complete your prere. 3) Does UNC offer any scholarships for pharmacy school? If they do can you tell us more about it? do you have any scholarships that you got and would like to share how you got it etc?

For first year, UNC does not offer any scholarship. But from what I heard, they do give out scholarship in your second year. But it is not a full package. However, every little bit helps and you have to file an application for it. 🙂Feel free to ask any more questions. I will try my best to answer them. 🙂

Good luck !

 

[SHC1984]

Thanks alot for the replies....now more questions...hehe...I just switched to pharmacy about 2 weeks ago so I have lots of questions. 😀

1) about how many people in UNC-Pharmacy are from UNC? The website says 18% out of state, so out of the 82% instaters how many are from UNC undergrad??

2) Does most people in UNC-Pharmacy have a bachelor degree? or do most of them have only two year degrees?

3) Does most of the people have 90+ on the PCAT? (I am taking the PCAT on Jan 24 and I am very nervous!!!) I know a guy in my undergrad that got an 84% on his PCAT and got rejected! 🙁 So UNC must only accept super high scores. He is at Campbell now though. 😀

4) Does most people at UNC have research experisence? does having research experisence help a great deal in acceptance? (it helps in med/dental but not sure about pharmacy.) Do you recommend that I do some research before I apply to UNC?

Thanks again! 🙂

 

[labgal]

As a proud tarheel, I was actually quite upset to hear that UNC renamed the pharmacy school after Eshelman. I understand that he is a very successful alumnus and great donor to the school, but he is also the leading donor behind the anti-Obama 527 rightchange.com. This group distorts Obama's tax plans and exists solely to campaign against him. Google Eshelman and rightchange if you want to read for yourself. I realize a lot of people might think I am overreacting, but I would rather attend the "UNC School of Pharmacy" than the Eshelman school of pharmacy. I actually prefer for schools and buildings not to be renamed after individual or corporate donors, and there have been op-eds in the Daily Tarheel on this topic. I am excited to become a pharmacist, but I think there might be a lot about big pharma that makes me uncomfortable.
That said, I went to open houses at UNC and the faculty and students were incredibly nice. Seems like a great program and it was my second choice...I just liked it better when it was plain old UNC SOP 🙂

 

[uncpharmacy]

Thanks alot for the replies....now more questions...hehe...I just switched to pharmacy about 2 weeks ago so I have lots of questions. 😀

1) about how many people in UNC-Pharmacy are from UNC? The website says 18% out of state, so out of the 82% instaters how many are from UNC undergrad??

I am not quite sure about the number but from what I have seen about 50% or more are from UNC. Many students are from different parts of state.

2) Does most people in UNC-Pharmacy have a bachelor degree? or do most of them have only two year degrees?

A good number of students have bachelor degrees but I have seen quite a few without.

3) Does most of the people have 90+ on the PCAT? (I am taking the PCAT on Jan 24 and I am very nervous!!!) I know a guy in my undergrad that got an 84% on his PCAT and got rejected! 🙁 So UNC must only accept super high scores. He is at Campbell now though. 😀

From what I have heard, the average PCAT last year was around 86-87%. Having said that, it's an average. People got in with higher and lower PCAT.

4) Does most people at UNC have research experisence? does having research experisence help a great deal in acceptance? (it helps in med/dental but not sure about pharmacy.) Do you recommend that I do some research before I apply to UNC?

A good number of people have worked or shadowed a pharmacist in the pharmacy but I am not sure about research experience. I don't believe having research experience help a great deal in acceptance but if you are interested in research, we have a dual-degree program (PharmD and PhD). If you like to do research, you can give it a try and see if you like it. 🙂

Hope it helps 🙂

 

[evilolive]

UNC changed its name? I almost went there! Phew. 🙂 I'm sure things are still amazing as ever. I do miss the southern twang which was most awesome.

 

[uncpharmacy]

UNC changed its name? I almost went there! Phew. 🙂 I'm sure things are still amazing as ever. I do miss the southern twang which was most awesome.

Yeah, the school has changed name but the quality is still the same and many things are changing as well. We're almost schoolmates then. 🙂

For new applicants, just in case the school has not informed you, we have many organizations that you can join and contribute your skills to the community. In addition, there is also SHAC, an interdisciplinary organization between med, dental, nursing, school of public health, social work, pharmacy (maybe more that I might not be aware of). SHAC offers you an opportunity to work in a clinic. In addition, there are many outreach programs within SHAC that you can join and learn new skills.

We also have various interest groups ranging from pediatric, industry, geriatric, clinical and community. The list can go on. And to be honest with you, I didn't know anything about this before I accepted invitation. But as I entered the school, all the emails keep on coming and I couldn't be happier. 🙂

I hope you do consider apply to our school as we strive for to increase diversity and our academic excellency. 😉

🙂

 

[SHC1984]

Not interested in Phd at all. However an MBA/PharmD degree sounds great to me. Anyone at UNC interested in MBA/PharmD degrees?

Do you apply for the scholarship after your first year then?? what are the creditentials? high GPA? and?

UNC's website says they received 850 applications for pharmacy school. Was that recently? I thought it would be a bit more then that....but the fewer the better of course! hehe...

 

[cdpiano27]

I have a friend with 80% PCAT and high GPA (~3.85) as chemistry undergraduate major but he is an international student studying in another state. All of his college was done in the US. He has very strong personal statement, and I told him that I actually thought UNC was the best program
and gave the most opportunities in different areas of pharmacy after graduation. I know that a few years ago there was only one international student accepted from Canada. Should he apply here? That is, does UNC consider international students whose college education is entirely in the US?

 

[Baller4]

Hello UNC Ambassador,

This is my first time posting! I read the thread and couldn't resist.

UNC is my #1 choice. I did my undergrad degree in Va. I majored in Health Sci, with a minor in Bio and graduated with a 3.42 gpa. I attended on a div 1 basketball scholarship. I was team captain, all conference, all academic and my team was nationally recognized. I dedicated an enormous amount of time to my athletics, and i hope that admissions committee's will see my dedication, and leadership qualities.

I have spent the last year working as a pharmacy tech and just wrote the pcat in october. However, I am a Canadian citizen.

UNC has everything I could want in a school. Academically its nationally recognized, and it has that Southern charm I have grown to love. Plus, I have bled baby blue ever since the day I was introduced to the game of basketball! 😍

Any advice/ insight you have on what specifically UNC is looking for in its candidates would be greatly appreciated! 👍

 

[SHC1984]

WOW UNC seems so popular. I want to go there b/c its my state school so its going to be very cheap for me. What are other people's reasoning for UNC?

 

[cd87]

it's ranked as a top pharmacy school... ideal location.... prestige..... lots of reasons 😛

 

[inquirer89]

WOW UNC seems so popular. I want to go there b/c its my state school so its going to be very cheap for me. What are other people's reasoning for UNC?

Close to Duke. Lol sorry but blue devil fan here 😀

But I've always heard great things from UNC SOP. If you want to come from one of "the best" pharmacy schools, UNC ranks up there. I'll be applying there if I don't get into my choices this year... did not have enough of their prereqs to apply this round.

 

[SHC1984]

Close to Duke. Lol sorry but blue devil fan here 😀

But I've always heard great things from UNC SOP. If you want to come from one of "the best" pharmacy schools, UNC ranks up there. I'll be applying there if I don't get into my choices this year... did not have enough of their prereqs to apply this round.

I am also a major Duke fan...thats why I don't understand why everyone wants to attend UNC so badly...LOL...But I really want in state tuition so I really hope I get in for Fall 2010. And my little sister goes to undergrad at UNC, so we can share the townhouse (meaning I live there for free b/c my parents have already pay for it 😀).

UNC Dental strongly favors in state students and accepts very veery few out of staters...Is it the same way for UNC pharmacy school?????

The best pharmacy school is UCSF isn't it? Thats what US News say at least. 🙂

I thought you didn't have to have all your prereqs finished before you apply? as long as you finish it before you start school you should be find I believe.

 

[SHC1984]

it's ranked as a top pharmacy school... ideal location.... prestige..... lots of reasons 😛

Ideal location??? NC is really boring. I think an ideal location would be LA, San fransciso, Hawaii, Florida or New York City.

 

[inquirer89]

Ideal location??? NC is really boring. I think an ideal location would be LA, San fransciso, Hawaii, Florida or New York City.

Nice to see a fellow fan...hopefully we won't be banned from this thread lol.

Not sure where you're from in the state, but I think Chapel Hill is a very nice college town with lots to do. And the RDU area is already a great place for young, educated people. NC may not be as hip as SoCal or NY, but the mountains and the coast are only 2 hours either direction, and major cities like DC and Atlanta aren't that far either. But I'm biased because I love my hometown of Durham.

As for the prereqs, I just won't have time to finish a lot of the science courses (missing Mircrobio, Stat, A&P) by Fall 2009. I am currently a sophomore, and if I don't get into the schools I'm applying to now (that don't require said classes), then I'll have my junior year to finish them and have a chance to apply to UNC.

 

[SHC1984]

Nice to see a fellow fan...hopefully we won't be banned from this thread lol.

Not sure where you're from in the state, but I think Chapel Hill is a very nice college town with lots to do. And the RDU area is already a great place for young, educated people. NC may not be as hip as SoCal or NY, but the mountains and the coast are only 2 hours either direction, and major cities like DC and Atlanta aren't that far either. But I'm biased because I love my hometown of Durham.

As for the prereqs, I just won't have time to finish a lot of the science courses (missing Mircrobio, Stat, A&P) by Fall 2009. I am currently a sophomore, and if I don't get into the schools I'm applying to now (that don't require said classes), then I'll have my junior year to finish them and have a chance to apply to UNC.

I am from Charlotte NC. I always thought people would like New York and SoCal better so the competition for schools like UNC would go down. 😉😀

So you are instate too? I am guessing that you are applying to Wingate and Campbell then...right?

May I ask what your stats are? I am taking the PCAT in Jan and I am soooo stress out.

Does UNC favor in state applications????

 

[inquirer89]

I am from Charlotte NC. I always thought people would like New York and SoCal better so the competition for schools like UNC would go down. 😉😀

So you are instate too? I am guessing that you are applying to Wingate and Campbell then...right?

May I ask what your stats are? I am taking the PCAT in Jan and I am soooo stress out.

Does UNC favor in state applications????

I am instate, but only applying to Campbell (don't have enough prereqs for Wingate either....I wish there was a unifying list for all pharm schools!...). My stats are decent- 3 years volunteer experience, 3.5 overall, but my PCAT score sucks and I too am taking it again in January.

UNC does favor instate heavily. They only accepted 18% out of state for the 2008 entering class.

http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/schoolUNCpage.htm

 

[uncpharmacy]

Not interested in Phd at all. However an MBA/PharmD degree sounds great to me. Anyone at UNC interested in MBA/PharmD degrees?

Do you apply for the scholarship after your first year then?? what are the creditentials? high GPA? and?

UNC's website says they received 850 applications for pharmacy school. Was that recently? I thought it would be a bit more then that....but the fewer the better of course! hehe...

Hi,

I just want to clarify that, UNC does not offer a combo MBA/PharmD program. 🙂

Yes, you often apply for scholarship after first year. There are some academic scholarship as well as service scholarship (like community services etc.)

The statistic is given by the school. 🙂

I hope it helps! 🙂

 

[uncpharmacy]

I have a friend with 80% PCAT and high GPA (~3.85) as chemistry undergraduate major but he is an international student studying in another state. All of his college was done in the US. He has very strong personal statement, and I told him that I actually thought UNC was the best program
and gave the most opportunities in different areas of pharmacy after graduation. I know that a few years ago there was only one international student accepted from Canada. Should he apply here? That is, does UNC consider international students whose college education is entirely in the US?

Hi there,

I have known at least one international student who completed her college work in a different country and had a master in the State in our class. I do know that they accept international student although I don't know the percentage. If he has strong credentials, I do encourage him to apply because if you don't, you're automatically disqualified yourself. And it's true, UNC gave you plenty of opportunities to further your practice because of the networking.

In addition, he will get a lot of training before the graduation. After the first year, we will have one month hospital rotation. After second year, we will have one month community rotation. Then after our third year, we will have one year of rotation.

Not only so, the State of North Carolina will provide us housing as we go outside of Chapel Hill area. So if you want to go outside of Chapel Hill, you won't have to pay for housing for the entire year as long as your rotation site is in NC. It's big incentive.

I hope the information is helpful for him to seek the admission at UNC. Sorry I couldn't answer this earlier. 🙂

 

[uncpharmacy]

Hello UNC Ambassador,

This is my first time posting! I read the thread and couldn't resist.

UNC is my #1 choice. I did my undergrad degree in Va. I majored in Health Sci, with a minor in Bio and graduated with a 3.42 gpa. I attended on a div 1 basketball scholarship. I was team captain, all conference, all academic and my team was nationally recognized. I dedicated an enormous amount of time to my athletics, and i hope that admissions committee's will see my dedication, and leadership qualities.

I have spent the last year working as a pharmacy tech and just wrote the pcat in october. However, I am a Canadian citizen.

UNC has everything I could want in a school. Academically its nationally recognized, and it has that Southern charm I have grown to love. Plus, I have bled baby blue ever since the day I was introduced to the game of basketball! 😍

Any advice/ insight you have on what specifically UNC is looking for in its candidates would be greatly appreciated! 👍

UNC is looking for candidates who has a passion to work in the pharmacy field. I'm not working in the admission process so I don't exactly what they are looking for. But I encourage you to apply because I really think it has opened up many opportunities (locally and internationally).

Thanks for loving our school. A lot of our class members are atheletics and I am sure you will find our school sport team great! You will experience it during game day even when you don't watch the game... you will still feel it!

Hope to see you in school! 🙂

 

[SHC1984]

I am instate, but only applying to Campbell (don't have enough prereqs for Wingate either....I wish there was a unifying list for all pharm schools!...). My stats are decent- 3 years volunteer experience, 3.5 overall, but my PCAT score sucks and I too am taking it again in January.

UNC does favor instate heavily. They only accepted 18% out of state for the 2008 entering class.

http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/schoolUNCpage.htm

I know people with 80s and 70s on the PCAT that got into Campbell so you should be fine! 🙂

Campbell requires a bible base class....what class did you take for that requirement??

The only thing I need to take is public speaking, statistics, and economics...but I am proberly also a few years older then you, so you are still waaaay ahead of me! 😉

Thanks for the info. I am glad UNC favors instaters! 👍

 

[SHC1984]

Hi,

I just want to clarify that, UNC does not offer a combo MBA/PharmD program. 🙂

Yes, you often apply for scholarship after first year. There are some academic scholarship as well as service scholarship (like community services etc.)

The statistic is given by the school. 🙂

I hope it helps! 🙂

I love UNC too....I am just bitter that I didn't get into UNC dental school last year (my STATE school) but got into four other dental schools from out of state...🙄 I hope UNC will 😍 me enough to accept me for pharmacy school though. 😀

1) how many essays are required for the scholarship? (hopfully none...)
2) what is the mini GPA?
3) how many different kinds of scholarships total?
4) How much money does the scholarships offer? (aprox how much each? 1000? 2000? 1/2 the tuition?)

Thanks!

 

[uncpharmacy]

WOW UNC seems so popular. I want to go there b/c its my state school so its going to be very cheap for me. What are other people's reasoning for UNC?

I personally chose UNC because it's a good school in a good area. Not only so, I found the faculties are very nice as well. Whenever I have questions, I can always come and talk to them. Also, the interviewers were very nice and informative. The interview was very relax and the interview was trying to get to know you as a person.

Also, the ranking has a lot to do with it as well.

So I hope it helps 🙂

 

[uncpharmacy]

I love UNC too....I am just bitter that I didn't get into UNC dental school last year (my STATE school) but got into four other dental schools from out of state...🙄 I hope UNC will 😍 me enough to accept me for pharmacy school though. 😀

1) how many essays are required for the scholarship? (hopfully none...)
2) what is the mini GPA?
3) how many different kinds of scholarships total?
4) How much money does the scholarships offer? (aprox how much each? 1000? 2000? 1/2 the tuition?)

Thanks!

Sorry I haven't gone through the process yet but from what I heard you do need to write. I don't know how many kinds of scholarship but last year they awarded a lot of money to the students.

I think the amount varies and can go up to a few hundreds.

Hope it helps

 

[uncpharmacy]

I am from Charlotte NC. I always thought people would like New York and SoCal better so the competition for schools like UNC would go down. 😉😀

So you are instate too? I am guessing that you are applying to Wingate and Campbell then...right?

May I ask what your stats are? I am taking the PCAT in Jan and I am soooo stress out.

Does UNC favor in state applications????

UNC is a public school so a lot of people from UNC will apply to UNC. As a result, many of the acceptances are coming to in state applicants.

 

[uncpharmacy]

I am instate, but only applying to Campbell (don't have enough prereqs for Wingate either....I wish there was a unifying list for all pharm schools!...). My stats are decent- 3 years volunteer experience, 3.5 overall, but my PCAT score sucks and I too am taking it again in January.

UNC does favor instate heavily. They only accepted 18% out of state for the 2008 entering class.

http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/schoolUNCpage.htm

A lot of schools accept a lot more in-state applicants. Actually, 18% is a lot compared to other schools. So even though many students are from NC, many are also from other states and countries.

 

[SHC1984]

UNC is a public school so a lot of people from UNC will apply to UNC. As a result, many of the acceptances are coming to in state applicants.

I know what you mean. For example I called UCSF and ask them if they prefer in state students b/c they are a public school...and the guy that answered the phone say they have NO preference at all. The only reason why there is only a few from out of state is b/c there isn't as many applicants from out of state.

However UNC dental school, accepts around 65-70 instaters and accepts only 8-14 out of staters. For a class of 81 total. The school and all the applicants KNOW that UNC Dental school strongly favors in state students. UNC dental has made it verrrry clear that the chances of getting in as in state is A LOT higher then from out of state. Most applicants also know its pretty much impossible to get into UNC dental from out of state. I know people that got into Harvard/Columbia dental that didn't get into UNC dental from out of state...🙄

I am just wondering if UNC pharmacy operates more like UCSF or UNC Dental with respect to accepting in state vs out of state students...I guess I can just call them and ask...but I don't want to bother anyone...LOL....

 

[NCSUPrincess]

^ NC law requires public universities to have ~80 % of their students as NC residents. UNC accepts as many out of state as possible from what I understand... more out of state = more $$.