Univ. of Colorado Summer Honors Program

[anaid]

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Is anyone attending or have attended Colorado’s Pharmacy Summer Honors Program? I was just offered an invite for this summer and I have a week to decide.

I know it’s a great one-time opportunity to help enhance my application for the fall. The program is funded by Coca Cola, but I must take care of my own housing. If I decide to attend, I have less than 3 weeks to find a place to live, arrange everything and move over there. I wish had more time to prepare because I don’t know anything about the area, which makes me kind of nervous to make a sudden move.

My current dilemma is that I can’t decide if I should give up my current summer plans and just go for the opportunity? But at the same time, will the program be beneficial enough to invest the extra time, money, and stress?

Does anyone know how the weather is in the summer? And is public transportation easy? Should I bring my own car?

I really appreciate any input and tips from anyone that is familiar with the school and the area of Denver. Thanks in advance!

 

[MichaelJames]

Yes, I received one of those emails myself. I really wish I could go but reality prohibits it. 😡 It sounds like a really excellent preparatory course. If one could do really well and PASS or get HONORS they would probably be a shoe-in for getting accepted into the next class. 😀 I wish I could do it but I don't have any place to stay in Denver. 🙁

Mike

 

[suppaman808]

I got that email too. I was in Fort Collins, CO last summer and if it's the same as Denver, it gets really hot. I'm not too happy with them after they completely threw out my app since I'm an out of state student and had a GPA of under 3.7. Since their taking the PCAT into consideration next year, I thought maybe if worst comes to worst, I could apply once more for the fall of 08 but they're focusing on the verbal and reading portion which is crap. I've decided to just hope to be pulled off of the waitlists at other, better schools. I really don't think the program is worth attending.

 

[patmcd]

Sounds like someone is a little bitter. You should have known when you applied to uchsc as an out of state student that it would be very difficult. Why is it crap they they are focusing on verbral/reading? Last time I checked it is a very important part of being a pharmacist. A quick look at the stats from last years application process and you would have learned somethings:
Number interviewed - 280
Estimated number accepted - 150
Estimated entering class size - 130
Estimated male - 35%
Estimated female - 65 %
Number out-of-state - 23
The total number of applicants was ~1500. And there were even more this year.
Since you have to take very few english classes to get in, using those parts of the pcat will round out the application process. They've added it to make it easier to pick out applicants to interview. With 1700 applications this year, only using gpa can only get you so far.

 

[siammidnitedrem]

Well i also recieved a letter of acceptance also and i'm currently trying to find a place. This is a good opportunity and i am for sure going to go. My friend did this same program last year and this year he was accepted into their pharmacy school.

My main issue is the housing, and my mom isn't very pleased that they don't offer any on campus housing. I am still looking for a place to stay and i found one place but the problem is my mom prefers me to stay with a female. 🙁


There is also the listings of sublets that they emailed the people accepted into the program. Take a look at that list because there are some places really close to the school.

I also just looked at the public transportation which is the Denver RTD and in general i was told not to rely on the public transportation. The school does offer housing but it is at the campus village which is about 15 mins from the campus. If you took a bus that would take almost an hour to get to 9th and colorado and there are so many buses you have to take. Just looking at the schedule and the bus changes looked like a pain. It is SOOO much trouble so keep trying and perhaps you'll find a place close by campus.

So even though the situation is tough, i'm still going to do it because it can potentially improve my application for next year!

 

[twester]

Well i also recieved a letter of acceptance also and i'm currently trying to find a place. This is a good opportunity and i am for sure going to go. My friend did this same program last year and this year he was accepted into their pharmacy school.

My main issue is the housing, and my mom isn't very pleased that they don't
offer any on campus housing. I am still looking for a place to stay and i found one place but the problem is my mom prefers me to stay with a female. 🙁


There is also the listings of sublets that they emailed the people accepted into the program. Take a look at that list because there are some places really close to the school.

I also just looked at the public transportation which is the Denver RTD and in general i was told not to rely on the public transportation. The school does offer housing but it is at the campus village which is about 15 mins from the campus. If you took a bus that would take almost an hour to get to 9th and colorado and there are so many buses you have to take. Just looking at the schedule and the bus changes looked like a pain. It is SOOO much trouble so keep trying and perhaps you'll find a place close by campus.

So even though the situation is tough, i'm still going to do it because it can potentially improve my application for next year!

I use RTD almost exclusively for transportation. It can be a pain sometimes, but that's alleviated with practice, advanced planning and a willingness to walk up to five or six block in any direction (come on, it's good for you). 🙂

RTD is easier to use if a housing search is limited to an area between Colfax and 6th Av and about Monaco Pkwy and Broadway. That's a really big area with lots of housing and it's served by several crosstown bus lines. Transfers should be at a minimum if staying in that area.

I walk to and from school on nice days (which is most of them). It's about 30 east-west blocks (about 2.8 miles) from my house to school and it takes me about 35-40 minutes. (I would never walk 30 north-south blocks, that's a longer kind of walking.) Another option is bringing a bike. You can put bikes on buses as well (they have racks on the front, it's very convenient).

Good luck with your search and with the summer program.

 

[futureRXdealer]

I got that email too. I was in Fort Collins, CO last summer and if it's the same as Denver, it gets really hot. I'm not too happy with them after they completely threw out my app since I'm an out of state student and had a GPA of under 3.7. Since their taking the PCAT into consideration next year, I thought maybe if worst comes to worst, I could apply once more for the fall of 08 but they're focusing on the verbal and reading portion which is crap. I've decided to just hope to be pulled off of the waitlists at other, better schools. I really don't think the program is worth attending.

I am out of state, had under a 3.7 and got in. They had around 1700 applications this year, not everyone can get in. To others interested in the program.....it can only help your chances to get in next year. Any slight advantage helps. Good luck. Oh.....and if you think Fort Collins is hot, come down to phoenix this summer.

 

[patmcd]

I am out of state, had under a 3.7 and got in. They had around 1700 applications this year, not everyone can get in. To others interested in the program.....it can only help your chances to get in next year. Any slight advantage helps. Good luck. Oh.....and if you think Fort Collins is hot, come down to phoenix this summer.

Further proving that its not just gpa that gets you into pharm school. You need to offer a "total package".

 

[cw_ek9]

Further proving that its not just gpa that gets you into pharm school. You need to offer a "total package".

I had below a 3.7 as well and Im also from out of state👍

 

[anaid]

Does anyone know how many people usually get accepted after attending this summer program?

 

[MichaelJames]

I really wish I could have attended the summer program. 🙁 There have already been some applicants that have stated that although they have been accepted that they won't be enrolling at UCHSC this Fall 2007. 😳 If you were someone who participated in the summer program and did well, there might be the possibility that they would approach you at the last minute that there were a few vacancies and tell you that if you were still interested that you had been accepted and ask you if you still want to attend this fall. You just never know!😱

Mike

 

[suppaman808]

My mistake, the GPA req for an out of state student was 3.6. That's what Beverly told me when I called. I know that pharm schools are looking at the "total package" but from what she said, it sounds like they turn away anyone that's out of state and scored under that and that's why I'm bitter. Anyone applying as an out of state student knows it's tough but after 4 years at CSU, I thought they'd at least offer me an interview. My application wasn't perfect but it was competitive.

Obviously pharmacists should be able to communicate well but the verbal/reading portion of the PCAT is hardly a good indicator of whether or not someone can communicate well. If anything, it should be taken into account but not focused on over the other sections. An excessive amount of vocabulary or deciding the what the best title of an aricle should be isn't something that's important for a pharmacist.

 

[patmcd]

I'm sure they don't automatically reject you. But you also have to figure if you gpa is below average that you'd better have something good to make you standout among the other applicants.

 

[suppaman808]

My GPA is 3.5 and I don't think that's below average. But then again, it may be for an out of state school that doesn't look at the PCAT scores. In most cases, the PCAT will help me a lot but not if they concentrate on verbal and reading comp.

 

[patmcd]

I think the out of state average was 3.6-3.7 for my class. Even the in state average was 3.4+ as I recall.

 

[MichaelJames]

My mistake, the GPA req for an out of state student was 3.6. That's what Beverly told me when I called. I know that pharm schools are looking at the "total package" but from what she said, it sounds like they turn away anyone that's out of state and scored under that and that's why I'm bitter. Anyone applying as an out of state student knows it's tough but after 4 years at CSU, I thought they'd at least offer me an interview. My application wasn't perfect but it was competitive.

Obviously pharmacists should be able to communicate well but the verbal/reading portion of the PCAT is hardly a good indicator of whether or not someone can communicate well. If anything, it should be taken into account but not focused on over the other sections. An excessive amount of vocabulary or deciding the what the best title of an aricle should be isn't something that's important for a pharmacist.

Hi,
Unforuntately, what you have been told is correct. 😳 I spoke with Beverly myself. She is very nice women and does a good job of representing UCHSC. I gave her a lot of credit for the work she does for student services there. She said that the average gpa for an in-state canidate to get invited for an interview was ~3.2 😛 while the average out-of-state applicant would need to have ~3.6. 😱 Pity, both my science and cumulative are 3.2 but I'm from out of state. 😡 If I would have be in-state, I probably would have gotten and interview and accepted. 🙁 I thought I had submitted a really good package too! 🙂 Transcripts with all As and Bs. Even had all my prerequisites completed. Three good solid letters of recommendation. Plus, I already have plenty Rx tech experience. So, I thought I was a really good canidate. Not only did I not get invited but I wasn't even able to get placed on the waitlist.😕 So yeah, I can relate to the sense of frustration we go through in order to get into our profession. Beverly said that they would probably start using the PCAT, low and behold now UCHSC now requires it. For what its worth, I'm not so sure that I could come up with the 30K out of state tuition for the first year. Its more than it sounds. I getting ready to move to Denver in either late July or early August and live there for a year to establish in-state residency and reapply. In the meantime, I'll be working, preparing for and taking the PCAT. See you Fall 2008😀

Good Luck,
Mike

 

[suppaman808]

I've decided to completely turn my head away from CU right after finding out about why they turned me away and hearing about my chances with my PCAT reading score. It's University of Washington all the way...I JUST GOT IN WOOOOOOOO

 

[nextgenpharm]

I got offered an invitation to this and I am #1 out of state and #2 have a very low gpa and a very high PCAT

So, i don't know what to tell you guys....


I didn't take it though as I allready got into a school in Chicago....

decisions decisions......

 

[anaid]

Are there any current students who is subletting for the summer? I am in need of a place to stay near 9th and colarado from the beginning of june until the end of july. I am out of state and have been searching without much luck...If anyone has any info, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance!

 

[siammidnitedrem]

Have you checked the email that they sent to those that were invited- the email has some listings of ppl offering to sublet for the summer. It's an attachment to the email.