Pre-Pharmacy Lecture Series

Sarah Lindsay Notes

10-10-2007


Attendance: 16

 

I.         Program Description:

 

            A.        The pre-pharmacy school is part of health care complex that includes the medical school.

 

            B.        First 3 years are composed of course work, followed by a 1 year clerkship

 

                        1.         8 different clerkships from which to choose.



 

II.        Admissions:

 

            A.        From approximately 200 applicants, 97 receive interviews and 50 students are accepted into the program each year, all of which are Utah residents.

 

            B.        General education requirements must be met before admitted into the program.

 

                        1.         Applicants having a bachelor degree do not receive any advantage over those not having adegree. However, pre-pharmacy students are encouraged to work for a bachelor degree as a back up and also since more and more pharmacy schools are requiring one. Admission into the University of Utah pharmacy school will require a bachelor degree in the near future.

 

            C.        Criteria for acceptance is based on:

 

                        1.         Pre-professional GPA (GPA of just the pre-requisite courses). Note: if a class is taken multiple times, the most current score is the only one that is factored into the GPA). The minimum GPA for consideration is 2.75 and the average GPA of those accepted is 3.5. Any courses taken more than 7 years ago must be repeated.

 

                        2.         PCAT score. Practice tests are available in various study guides and one practice test available on the PCAT website. Register for the exam a month in advance. The PCAT is offered 4 times / year, but applicants need to take the exam by October to be considered for acceptance the following year. The application deadline is Jan. 4th. If the PCAT is taken multiple times, there should be an upward trend in test scores. Average acceptance is the 90+ percentile.

 

                        3.         Statement of Purpose. Students would do well to focus on the 5 questions they are to address in their personal statement and build those area. Any questionable areas in your application should be expounded upon in the essay. The committee will assume the worst if there is no clarification, and they appreciate openness and honesty. Remember what you wrote in your statement of purpose. You will likely be asked about it in an interview. Make sure it is well written, free of grammar and spelling errors. Keep it simple and organized. Overall this is the most important piece of the application.

 

                        4.         Pharmacy Experience. The number of hours of pharmacy experience has been reduced from 50 to 8 since most pharmacies are not allowing volunteers without a license to volunteer. It is recommended that students gain at least two very diversified pharmacy experiences (retail vs hospital). Pharmacy experience also allows applicants time to counsel with an active pharmacist about their jobs.

 

                        5.         Volunteerism / Community Service. The committee would prefer to see a long trend of community service than a large quantity in a short period of time. This demonstrates a life style of service as opposed to fulfilling a requirement for service. Choose service activities that involve working with a wide variety of people. What did you learn from the experience?

 

                        6.         Leadership. Leadership can be demonstrated in various ways. One can work as a tutor, a teaching / lab assistant or in the presidency of an organization.

 

                        7.         Resident of Utah. Only residents of Utah are consider for acceptance to the University of Utah pharmacy school.



 

            D.        The interview:

 

                        1.         The interview period has been extended. Rather than waiting until the application deadline, applications are reviewed as they are received.

 

                        2.         The interview team consists of 3 individuals (faculty member, admission committee member and 4th year pharmacy student)

 

                        3.         The committee seeks to put candidates at ease.

 

                        4.         They view you as a potential colleague. Are you the type of person they would like to work with and represent their school.

 

                        5.         The scores of each interview team are normalized to balance those that rate candidates liberally compared to those that are conservative.     

 

            E.        Miscellaneous:

 

                        1.         Students not officially accepted into the U of U pharmacy program may no longer take 1st year pharmacy school courses at the U of U.

 

                        2.         Names are removed during the application review. The admission committee doesn’t know the applicants gender, race, academic institution, etc....

 

                        3.         Applicants are required to have and pay for background checks periodically.

 

            F.        Applicants need 3 letters of recommendation. One from a science faculty, one from a work supervisor, and one from a volunteer superviser.