Hello. First year here to answer your questions as well!
Hello. First year here to answer your questions as well!
Do you know when we receive a notification from the school as to whether we get an interview or not?
Maryland does not have rolling admissions, therefore, even if your file has been received and deemed complete by the admissions committee, it will not be reviewed until all applications are received - something which typically occurs in mid-January.
As I often say, students need to be cognizant of the fact that some schools of pharmacy prefer to evaluate entire applications - not simply the numbers. In that light, tell me, considering the hours of effort you put into writing the application, how long would you like an admissions committee to review your application? 10 minutes? 30? Now multiply by 1500 because EVERY applicant is equally deserving of that effort. Then you will begin to have an appreciation for the energy that Maryland expends in selecting the best candidates (not merely the highest scoring ones) for interviews.
I urge patience.
Do you know when we receive a notification from the school as to whether we get an interview or not?
is there a email for the admissions at UM? They don't seem to have one available for applicants....
Although Dr. Drugs is correct they do not do rolling admissions as far as early applicants getting an advantage, it seems to me that if they are not getting the applicants they want in interviews, they will open up later rounds of interviews. I know of some students who had these later interviews. Presumably that also means they were notified of this invite at a later time.
I applied to Maryland and I really like their program... but I have been reading about Baltimore and whatever I read it seems to mention how high the crime rate is and how the surrounding area of the school is not that safe. Is there anyone here who could comment on this? I would greatly appreciate it. I'm coming from Houston, and the area I live in is quite sketchy I need to admit, but I can still go out and walk after 6-7 pm and feel safe...
Also, what do people think of the low Naplex pass rates of this school? (compared to other schools I mean, I guess 90% in general may be considered good)
Please do not get me wrong, I'm just trying to gather some information, not claim that Maryland isn't good because of this. I'm jus curious on how people take this into their consideration when deciding on what schools to apply to...
(Also, I am an international student, so I apologize for my English in advance)
The school isn't in the safest of areas, but its not the absolute worst. I have lived in some pretty scary parts of cities in the past - places where gang or drug-related shootings are common.... and UMB is NOTHING compared to that. Act smart, think smart, be patient and wait ten minutes for the caravan late at night instead of being impatient and walking. Just do the smart thing and you're fine. I have walked around west Baltimore as late as 4 or even 6 am.... never once been hassled.
As far as the NAPLEX bit goes... the failure has several reasons. 1) The school doesn't teach to the exam. 2) The school has a short review course but nothing intensive. Both are things which other schools do. And three, most of the failures are not actually the substantive portion of the naplex, its failure of the law exam (maryland's law course is in the middle of a re-vamp because its so poorly taught)... maryland grads don't fail the naplex because they don't know pharmacy. That they know really darn well.
I applied to Maryland and I really like their program... but I have been reading about Baltimore and whatever I read it seems to mention how high the crime rate is and how the surrounding area of the school is not that safe. Is there anyone here who could comment on this? I would greatly appreciate it. I'm coming from Houston, and the area I live in is quite sketchy I need to admit, but I can still go out and walk after 6-7 pm and feel safe...
I just wanted to comment on the NAPLEX score. They just released the scores for the last year graduating class and it was 96%, with our student scoring better than national average in every section. I wanted to point out it is not because of the curriculum that some of the students fail...it is actually because those students that did not prepare themselves for the NAPLEX, having only studied 1-2 weeks in advance. Our school is well award of the NAPLEX and is constantly working to improve it. Some of the students have taken this issue into their own hands and have formed the NAPLEX committee (in conjunction with the Dean's office). So if you make an effort, you won't be those 3-4 students who failed. Also it was noted that our school is very clinical base and that's why some student have problems with the material on the NAPLEX (more community based - top 200 drugs brand/generic, calculations...etc). However now in the new curriculum, we have Abilities Lab for 3 years to drill our heads brand/generic and calculations.
Sorry if there are [grammatical] mistakes, I wrote this on the tiny screen on my iPhone.
Unlike all of the other dual degree programs, the dual degree for PharmD/PhD is not 'dual' in the conventional sense. Its actually sequential. But if you know going in that is what you want to do, you can take your coursework for the PhD as the electives for the PharmD and then after graduation from the PharmD go straight into your doctoral thesis research.
As far as the specifics on admission to the dual degree, I know that for all dual degrees you can only apply once you have completed your first year of the PharmD. I do not know about whether you need a GRE or anything about acceptance statistics. Your best bet for that is to call student affairs and ask for the faculty member responsible for administering the dual degree program.
have they started sending out interview invitations yet?
Thanks a lot for the response DrDrugs. Definitely cleared up a couple things for me.
Another question..lol...Last year when everyone applied, did UMB receive your fall grades by thr when UMB started reviewing the applications? Also, did PharmCAS
recalculate the GPA with Academic update in a timely manner when the school started reviewing apps? My school's office of registrar is closed until Jan 3 so I can't send the transcript before that. I am just worried that UMB will not see my Fall 2012 grades.
I heard on Monday morning that I was accepted for University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, class of 2016!! So excited!!!!
Anyone else who applied early decision hear back yet?!
I got mine last year around January 19th for a selection of the first round of interviews (weekend of january 28/29/30), so you guys should hear back soon Good luck!
Hi Kyang89:
Do you know if they let us reschedule our interview dates (if we do get interviews invites in the end of January?)
Thank you!
I have a question for current UMD students regarding the benefits of Baltimore vs. Shady Grove. Specifically what I am curious about are research opportunities available to students at the Shady Grove campus. I had selected that i was only interested in Baltimore on the supplemental but, upon reflection, have come to realize that regarding my living arrangements, Shady Grove may be more convenient for me. However, I have been actively involved in research for several years and would love the opportunity to continue this involvement as I go on to pharmacy school.
Are there opportunities for conducting research at Shady Grove? Do you have to travel to the main campus to do such? Are there opportunities to develop relationships with faculty members if you are based on the satellite campus?
I am not an expert on topic but here's what I know. It all depends on what type of research you want to do. If you want to work in a lab, all the research labs are in the Baltimore campus. There are opportunities to do research at Shady Grove but it would not be in a lab. The Assistant Dean (based at SG) lets student do research with her at her clinical practice site (around SG area) and the two other professors deal more with community and educational policies research. The other three professors at SG do not do research (as far as I know), they mainly teach the pharmacy practice lab and one of them does all of our wet labs (compounding). They are in the process of hiring two more professors.
It really all depends on what type of research you do. For instance, I will be working with a professor in Baltimore (I go to SG) on pharmacoepidemiology, and that doesn't require me to be at the Baltimore campus. I know of students from SG who go to Baltimore once a week to do research. Just find out what you want to do and work with the faculty member on your schedule.
Hi Luckyphooey:
Since you are a student there, I have some quick questions!
1.) How long is the commute from Baltimore to Shady Grove?
2.) Do you know (from past year experiences) if the Admission Committee send out ALL there invitations from Jan-March, or only batches for Jan and Feb interviews first?
Thank you!! I really appreciate it.
I also have some questions on top of these. Do they let you know which school you are interviewing for when you receive the interview invite? And if not, will they let you choose which school you would like to attend if you become accepted?
Hi Luckyphooey:
Since you are a student there, I have some quick questions!
1.) How long is the commute from Baltimore to Shady Grove?
2.) Do you know (from past year experiences) if the Admission Committee send out ALL there invitations from Jan-March, or only batches for Jan and Feb interviews first?
Thank you!! I really appreciate it.
You are interviewing for the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. If you're accepted, you indicate which campus you would like to attend, and as long as it isn't full, you've got your seat. (at least this is how it worked last year).
To clear up some of the misconceptions, Shady Grove and Baltimore aren't different schools, just different campuses. Both take the same tests, and receive the same exact lectures. A Shady Grove student can attend lectures and meetings in Baltimore, and vice versa. You have to attend Exams and labs at your home campus though.
Just got an interview invite!!!!
Thanks! I was contacted through email.Congrats! Could you tell me if they called you or sent you an email please?
Just got my interview invite too!! Got an email 20 mins ago! Offered dates as for jan 27, 28 and feb 3 (unfortunately already booked with other interviews!)
Anybody know if their interviews are considered rolling? Or do they wait until they interview everyone and then choose applicants? Thanks!
To answer your question...yes and no...it is not rolling...BUT those who interview earlier will probably hear back earlier (I was the first batch interviewed and heard back two weeks later). That does not mean that if you interview early and do not hear back that you are denied admission. To be honest, I do not know how it works, there were some people in my group that heard back later than I did. But technically, it is non-rolling.
For anyone out-of-state who's interviewed with UMDB or is a current student there...how did you get from the airport to the school? And where did you stay before the interview?
I'm in the same situation. I wonder if they have any other interview dates than the ones that are listed.Just got my interview invite too!! Got an email 20 mins ago! Offered dates as for jan 27, 28 and feb 3 (unfortunately already booked with other interviews!)
Anybody know if their interviews are considered rolling? Or do they wait until they interview everyone and then choose applicants? Thanks!
I'm in the same situation. I wonder if they have any other interview dates than the ones that are listed.
Thank you for this very hopeful piece of information. It's definitely a relief to hear that they're not operating under rolling admissions.They have more, if you can not make those dates you should call to ask for later dates. This is just the first batch of interviews. Interviews ran into March last year.
Also, when you interview does not have any effect on your chances of getting it.
what's this essay portion we have to do?