Transcript PILLS 8th General Meeting

PILLS 8th General Meeting
Pharmacy Application Workshop
April 7, 2010
Membership Update
Marissa Hom
PILLS Membership
• How to be an ACTIVE PILLS member
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Turn in PILLS membership form and fee
Attend at least 2 general meetings
Attend at least 1 social
Contribute at least 4 hours of community service
Volunteering Update
Marissa Hom
PILLS Social Update
Huy Nguyen
PILLS 6th Social: Up and Ice cream
• When: Friday, April 23rd. 6:00 -7:30pm
• What: Movie and Game Night + ICE
CREAM
▫ Games: Taboo, Apples to Apples, Cranium,
Jenga, Dirty Minds, and much more
▫ Movie: Up!!!!
• Where: TBD
i will do my slide tomorrow.. i gotta study for 105 but ill do it after 10am
Hot Topic
Hot Topic: The Danger of Taking Aspirin Daily
• Aspirin acts as a blood thinner
• Many middle-aged people take baby
aspirin because it is believed to protect
against heart attack and strokes
• Now, experts are changing the guidelines
for taking daily aspirin to target a
narrower group of patients who are at risk
of a heart attack or stroke.
• The concern is side-effects such as
stomach ulcers and possibly bleeding in
the brain.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511304575075701363436686.html?mod=yhoofront
NCPPS
Michelle Lew
Pharmacy School Application Workshop
Letters
Of Rec
PCAT
Supplemental
Apps
PharmCAS
Admission
decisions
Interviews
PCAT
Lisa Lam
• 2010-2011 Test Dates
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June 19, 2010
August 21, 2010
October 16, 2010
January 22, 2011
• Register online at pcatweb.info
• Cost: $150
• 240 multiple-choice items: Verbal Ability, Biology,
Chemistry, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative
Ability
• 2 essay questions
• Essential classes: General & Organic Chemistry , General
Biology
Letters of Recommendation
Katya Kurdyukova
Letters of Recommendation
• Who to ask for a letter?
▫ Someone that knows you well academically, at work or community
service
 Professor, pharmacist, volunteer coordinator
 No friends, classmates or family members
• When to ask for a letter?
▫ Figure out by what time you want to submit PharmCAS application and
give recommenders 1.5-2 months notice
• What to give your recommender?
▫ Resume, personal statement, cover letter, transcript if applicable
• Requirements
▫ for almost every school you need 3 letters
▫ 1 from a professor
▫ 1 from a pharmacist
Letters of Recommendation
School
# of LORs required Academic required Is GSI ok? Pharmacist required
CNCP
2
yes
UOP
2
UCSF
3
yes
Loma Linda
3
recommended
UCSD
3
yes
no
Western
3
recommended
yes
Touro
3
yes
USC
2
Clergy
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
no
yes
no
recommended
yes
no
recommended
Letters of Recommendation
• PharmCAS submits the same letters to all schools
▫ A maximum of 4 letters can be submitted
▫ eLORs vs. paper references
▫ http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/evalquestions.htm
• Letter service
▫ Will keep your letters on file for up to 5 years
▫ Cost of having a file is $20 while enrolled
▫ Recommenders will have to fill out a ranking grid
PharmCAS
Michelle Lew
PharmCAS: Pharmacy College Application Service
• Application begins June 3rd
• Academic History
• Additional information
▫ Extracurriculars, work
experience, professional
licenses, honors & scholarships,
publications
• 1 Personal essay
• References
Coursework
• Requires all taken, in progress, and planned classes
• Copy grades and course titles directly off transcript
• Send transcripts ASAP
• Include PharmCAS transcript request form!
• PharmCAS calculates its own cumulative GPA
• Calculates science, non-science, math, total, and pre-requisite
GPAs
Additional Information
•Very brief descriptions of extracurricular activities, work
experience, honors & scholarships, publications (“resumelike”)
Personal Essay
Prompt:
“Your Personal Essay should address why you selected pharmacy as a career
and how the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and longterm professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and
professional background will help you achieve your goals. The personal essay
is an important part of your application for admission and provides you with an
opportunity for you to clearly and effectively express your ideas.”
4500 maximum character count (including spaces!)
References/Letters of Recommendation (LoRs)
- 3 minimum, 4 maximum
- Same letters sent to every school; make sure they are not tailored
to any particular school
- Must fulfill the requirements of all schools you are applying to
- Must ALL be submitted by first deadline of all the pharmacy school
you will be applying to (UOP Tier 1 Deadline: August 1st)
***Once submitted, you cannot change anything on the application***
Supplemental Applications
Calvin Huynh
Supplemental Applications
• Separate from PharmCAS: MANDATORY!
• Input: grades, resume, essays
▫ Use the allotted space wisely!
• Electronic or paper
• Supplemental application fee
• Why is it important?
▫ Allows schools to get to know you better
▫ Open interviews: access to supplemental apps
▫ Gauges how well you match with the school
Supplemental Applications
• What does this all mean?
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Start early!
Multiple drafts & proofread
Review for your interview(s)
Do NOT fabricate stories or lies about yourself
• Sample essay prompts:
▫ How have your personal experiences informed
your understanding of the human condition?
▫ Which of your personal characteristics will make
you stand out as an individual?
Revise, revise, revise!
Interviews
Lisa Lam
Interviews
• Professional attire
• Study your application
• Preparation
▫ Mock interview
▫ Student Doctor Network
• Know the basics
▫ Why do you want to go to that school?
▫ Why pharmacy?
▫ Tell me about yourself…
▫ Situational questions
• Interview expenses
▫ Flight
▫ Hotel
▫ Transportation to and from hotel
Admission Decisions
Huy Nguyen
Admission Decisions
• Decision time varies by school
▫ Generally 3-5 weeks after the interview
• Deposit (ranges from $100 to $2000)
▫ Non-refundable once you pay
• Waitlist or On-hold
▫ Some schools will put you on a waitlist until late
summer, a few weeks before classes start =(
• Finish prerequisite coursework
Other
Huy Nguyen
Other
• Reapplying
▫ Only 2 month gap from previous application cycle
▫ Some schools keep application on file
 Ex. UCSF holds onto your file for 2 years and
continues to review and compare with the next one
• Taking time off
▫ Work Experience – pharmacy jobs/volunteering
▫ Something involved with pharmacy to show that
you are still interested
• Continuing education – To replace or finish
courses
▫ Post-Bac
 @ a UC or CC: Most pharmacy schools accept both
▫ Retaking classes for better grades
 PharmCAS will average out your grades
 Ex. C in Ochem at Berkeley, and A at community
college averages to a B on PharmCAS (Both grades
will still be on your application file)
▫ All schools will look at these grades differently
 Some schools will average them out and some will
even replace with the newer grade
Advice & Questions