University of Washington Applicants

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Hey Careypotpie! I knew I must look good enough on paper to get an interview. Once I got the interview, the only area that I could have messed up is the interview. So, this is what I did to improve my application. Keep in mind, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so improvement is an individual basis.

Okay, this is what I did:

1. Met with Micki to go over what are my weaknesses. She said the following:
- My writing and reading comprehension score are low: 2 out of 5 and ~30%, respectively. (overall was 91%)
Suggestion: re-take the PCAT

What I did: Since, I was afraid if I retook the PCAT that I would not get my 90-95% in science and math, which I have heard rumors that they automatically reject your application if you do worse. I decided to take an online English Writing Class, and have improved my writing tremendously that the teacher used my writing as an example to other students.


- I need to practice my interview ahead of time.
Suggestion: start practicing in December (assuming you turn your application super early to garner you an early interview in Jan)

What I did: Started practicing in January(I turned in my app at the end of Dec, and knew the earliest I would be interviewed was end of Feb.) I'm a Seattle U alumni and went to the career center and had a practice interview pretty much every week. They gave me lots of tips. I also had friends, and my super honest sister to interview me. You need a super honest person to tell you what you are doing wrong. It HURTS. But it has to be done.

The problems I had with my interview skill based upon feedbacks were:
- lack of eye contact
- sounded fake (must be some defense mechanism)
- end my sentence on a high tone (bad 'cause either you sound like a valley girl or the interviewee thinks you are going to say more. The later leads to awkward silence and it's annoying to them)
- need to pause
- use concise words
- I need to answer my questions "in regards to pharmacy..." even if the question doesn't seem to be related...
- walked around greenlake and thought to myself why pharmacy
- I also compiled a list of interview questions posted on the "Interview Feedback Forum," but lost it or I would have posted here. :(


As for the WaitList, they told me last year that "it depends"; every year is different. :(

If you ever want to meet-up and talk, we can have a cup of coffee or you can meet me when I have my knitting group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GetKnitty/
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The wait is finally over. I found out this morning that I have been accepted for Fall of 2008. I am so thrilled and excited, and it probably won't sink in for awhile. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone who will begin in the fall.

For those who have not heard back yet, just stay confident and believe in yourself. I can honestly tell you that I left the interview thinking I had failed. There were times during the interview that I felt I had jumbled some responses and didn't fully answer some of the questions posed. I was even contemplating the prospect of having to re-apply for next year's admissions cycle. That's how terrible I thought I had done!
 
Does anyone know if we will receive health care benefits in the UW PharmD program next year? What about our spouses? I am assuming the answer is no..that we are on our own, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks!
 
Sea Pharm said:
Does anyone know if we will receive health care benefits in the UW PharmD program next year? What about our spouses? I am assuming the answer is no..that we are on our own, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks!
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I think as a student you must have health insurance. There is student insurance that you can buy through the school and I think there is option to have spouses included as well.

Congrats to everyone that has made it in!
 
Sea Pharm said:
Does anyone know if we will receive health care benefits in the UW PharmD program next year? What about our spouses? I am assuming the answer is no..that we are on our own, but I just thought I would ask. Thanks!
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Hey SeaPharm,

My friend who is 2nd yr pharm, mentioned she gets free basic medical services, since the classess are located in the hospital. For bigger problems, like the ER, you will have to purchase insurance.
 
I'm coming from a different school and was wondering where most of the classes will be conducted? Is it the same building the interview was held? I opted out for the tour because I had the first interview so I didn't get a chance to really see anything or ask anything.
 
YouthHealth said:
I'm coming from a different school and was wondering where most of the classes will be conducted? Is it the same building the interview was held? I opted out for the tour because I had the first interview so I didn't get a chance to really see anything or ask anything.
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Yeah, they are upstairs mostly in the same wing of the building where you had the interview.
 
I received a call yesterday inviting me to an interview in April. I live in Florida, so that travel is really going to be bad. I wonder how many spots are left because my stats are pretty bad but I do have 5 years at Walgreens. I really love Seattle but am really not sure if I'll get in. :(
 
pharmacist5870 said:
I received a call yesterday inviting me to an interview in April. I live in Florida, so that travel is really going to be bad. I wonder how many spots are left because my stats are pretty bad but I do have 5 years at Walgreens. I really love Seattle but am really not sure if I'll get in. :(
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If you are are getting an interview, they must like you a lot! So you still have a chance. Also, stats don't make you a good Pharmacist, it's your desire to help your community.

Plus, you can come and visit Seattle and see how life is like here. I'll have to warn you about the funky weather. We got SNOW yesterday!
 
Ya I definitely know stats don't mean everything, but try telling that to a pharmacy school. I hear it's cloudy the majority of the time in Seattle, but the pictures seem amazing!
 
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pharmacist5870 said:
I received a call yesterday inviting me to an interview in April. I live in Florida, so that travel is really going to be bad. I wonder how many spots are left because my stats are pretty bad but I do have 5 years at Walgreens. I really love Seattle but am really not sure if I'll get in. :(
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I definately concur with Knittyturtle. If you were offered an interview, then UWSOP has deemed you to be very competitive as an applicant. During my interview, two of my interviewers told me very candidly that every year, they interview a great number of candidates with high GPA, high PCAT scores, great essays, etc, but that they look for something more fundamental in the candidates they accept. They look for candidates who want to be of great service to others and their community and who will be agents of change. Now, considering that you have worked for Walgreens for 5 years and are thus familar with the operations of a pharmacy and customer service in general, the admissions committee obviously views you as a candidate who possesses those desirable characteristics they are looking for. All you have to do now is interview and allow them to get a feel for who you are in person. Heck, you might find yourself receiving an offer of admission for Fall 08'. Best of luck to you!
 
mweisser said:
...
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I agree as well.

One point my interviewers made is that both the school and yourself are basically shopping for the best fit. I felt as though my application was severely lacking in many areas (mainly my absolute lack of experience), but you just need to go in there and be confident.

That said, I thought I botched my interview badly, but apparently I didn't. :D
 
ya, I'm looking for flights. The travels going to be real hectic, but I think I'm going with someone, maybe catch a Mariners game too! I've been to two interviews, so I'm kind of familiar with the questions. I just want to be given a chance, and an interview is the first step I guess!
 
So I'm flying up April 14th, interviewing the 15th at 1pm....then going to the Mariners game at 330. Stayin until the 17th. So I'll be touring the city, I can't wait!
 
pharmacist5870 said:
So I'm flying up April 14th, interviewing the 15th at 1pm....then going to the Mariners game at 330. Stayin until the 17th. So I'll be touring the city, I can't wait!
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Go Mariners!! Just had to throw it in. You'll have a great time at Safeco Field, especially if they win:p
 
does anyone know when the admission committee is going to make another round of decision?

thanks
 
is it true that they accept 86 people for the class of 2012?
 
kidlove said:
does anyone know when the admission committee is going to make another round of decision?

thanks
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yesterday, I actually stopped by their office to drop my official transcript for winter quarter,, and they said they have two more weeks to invite people to the interview.. So, I'm hoping to hear from them about the interview soon.. unlike many people who posted about their acceptance or being in the waiting list or even waiting to hear after the interview, I'm still waiting to hear from them about the interview... i know now there is less chance of being accepted this year to the program,, but hey!! it's not over yet until they send you the "Go Away" letter!!!
For those of you who are still waiting for an interview like me,, there is a hope still~~ they said my application is still in the process of being reviewed... still!!:eek:
 
rjblja said:
yesterday, I actually stopped by their office to drop my official transcript for winter quarter,, and they said they have two more weeks to invite people to the interview.. So, I'm hoping to hear from them about the interview soon.. unlike many people who posted about their acceptance or being in the waiting list or even waiting to hear after the interview, I'm still waiting to hear from them about the interview... i know now there is less chance of being accepted this year to the program,, but hey!! it's not over yet until they send you the "Go Away" letter!!!
For those of you who are still waiting for an interview like me,, there is a hope still~~ they said my application is still in the process of being reviewed... still!!:eek:
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Are we supposed to turn in our transcript to them from winter quarter? You have me worried now. I had just submitted it to pharmcas a while ago.
 
I hear in-state students are interviewed in the early parts of the process, (pretty much before mid March) and out-of-state students are interviewed in late March and April. Hope that helps. I also answered my question about the seats available, it seems 86 students per class....wow...big classes!
 
Oh, disregard my previous post. Winter quarter just ended (for some reason I was thinking spring just ended and that winter quarter ended in December).
 
pharmacist5870 said:
I hear in-state students are interviewed in the early parts of the process, (pretty much before mid March) and out-of-state students are interviewed in late March and April. Hope that helps. I also answered my question about the seats available, it seems 86 students per class....wow...big classes!
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is 86 considered big for pharmacy school classes? i know colorado is ~150

@rjblja: i'm still waiting to see if i'm invited to interview too. i just got an email today saying they're evaluating my app
 
86 is small not large most of the schools I applied to were over 120 students per class
 
I got an interview invitation yesterday from UW, which was just one day after I received my "Evaluating Application" e-mail.

86 is definitely on the smaller end as pharmacy classes go. UCSF limits their class size to 122 while USC's is 200 or so. That seems huge to me. The only other pharm schools that I can think of with smaller classes than UW is Univ. of Michigan and UCSD with 75 and 65 admitted respectively.
 
o the other two schools I interviewed at only accepted like 50...University of Charleston and Appalachia
 
kattster said:
I got an interview invitation yesterday from UW, which was just one day after I received my "Evaluating Application" e-mail.

86 is definitely on the smaller end as pharmacy classes go. UCSF limits their class size to 122 while USC's is 200 or so. That seems huge to me. The only other pharm schools that I can think of with smaller classes than UW is Univ. of Michigan and UCSD with 75 and 65 admitted respectively.
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O that's weird kattster, I read on their website that only out-of-staters are interviewed around these times. Did you apply late? And are you attending?
 
I figured there might be a few other pharm. schools with smaller class sizes I missed, but they are not in as populous cities such as San Diego etc so the class size in those cases is sort of proportional to the state or city population, I imagine. In the case of UW, I'm surprised the class size isn't larger considering that Seattle is the 24th most populous city in the U.S. (wikipedia) and it doesn't seem like too much a stretch on resources to accommodate a class of 120 vs. 86 so I think it says a lot about the priorities of the school and the quality of the education if the class size is smaller. So go UW. :thumbup:
 
Yeah, I submitted my app. the last day, the thing with residency is sort of weird since I'm a native Californian but have been living in Seattle for the past 3 years so I'm a WA resident now. I declined my interview (which was tough as UW was one of my top choices) but only because I was just recently accepted into UCSF and Univ. of Michigan and they were higher up on my list.
 
pharmacist5870 said:
I will be interviewed on April 15th
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Yeah~~ congrats:hardy:!!
coincidentally, I actually got a phone call today the day after I dropped my transcript regarding of the interview!!! hooray!!
Mine is on April 10th.. at 3:15..
Are you from out of state?
I asked the lady who called me about the interview whether I can get the later date, but she said that is the only available date for the in-state applicants.
 
So I got my interview invite for the 16th. I wasn't thrilled about the dates, but am glad to get an interview at all. Beggars can't be choosers I guess.
 
FINALLY! I received an invitation to interview with UW. And, since we are at the tail end of things, I won't have to wait too long for a response, either.
 
Better Late than Never!

I found my list of Interview questions that I have put together from SDN.
 

Attachments

  • Pharm interview questions.doc
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Reminder to join the facebook group if ur going to UW :)
 
They emailed me and I joined the facebook group
 
andrewattheU said:
They emailed me and I joined the facebook group
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.. i'm still waiting to hear back from the school. I'm out of state and interviewed on the 17th of March... so I'm not sure this is a good sign:(
 
They told me that final decisions would be early May. So don't lose hope!
 
My interview was on March 20th.....urg I hate this waiting game!!
 
for those of you who haven't heard anything yet..
you should all get the acceptance or rejection letter (hopely the first one!!) by the first week of may..
if anybody wants to find out earlier, you can call the office on the first day of May..
They are having the final decision meeting on the last day of April in the afternoon.
I stopped by their office to drop my thank- you letter and asked them when I can hear back from them..

I just hate the fact that there is nothing I can do at this point. All I can do is waiting!!
 
rjblja said:
for those of you who haven't heard anything yet..
you should all get the acceptance or rejection letter (hopely the first one!!) by the first week of may..
if anybody wants to find out earlier, you can call the office on the first day of May..
They are having the final decision meeting on the last day of April in the afternoon.
I stopped by their office to drop my thank- you letter and asked them when I can hear back from them..

I just hate the fact that there is nothing I can do at this point. All I can do is waiting!!
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yup... that's what I was told. So I think a lot of phone call will flood the office on May 1st. :D But good luck to you all!!! UW is teaching us to be patient :)
 
so does anyone know about how many people have already been accepted
 
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