Applicants for the 2012 cycle can now post their profiles on PharmApplicants.com! Good luck to all the pharmacy school applicants!
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Pharmacy School Organizations
As a pre-pharmacy student, it would behoove you to become familiar with the professional pharmacy organizations that represent different aspects of pharmacy practice. Even as a pharmacy school student, getting involved in organizations will allow you to meet working pharmacists, hold leadership positions, and network with students (your future colleagues) at local/national conferences. In pharmacy school, it is usually who you know NOT what you know that will open doors to internships and jobs. Recently, a fellow classmate told me he joined a national organization PRIOR to applying to pharmacy school to demonstrate his interest in pharmacy to the admissions committee. He went to local association meetings to meet pharmacists and learn about the key issues in pharmacy. If I were to apply to pharmacy school again, I would have done the same, and I recommend that you do the same (joining not just to join but really to see what a pharmacy career is all about). Don’t forget to join your undergraduate university’s pre-pharmacy club!
Here are some organizations that you should research. Please note that the pharmacy school that you attend may or may not have a student chapter. This is not an all-inclusive list.
- American Pharmacists Association – APhA
- State Pharmacist Associations – California has CPhA (California Pharmacists Association)
- Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy – AMCP
- National Community Pharmacists Association – NCPA
- American Society of Health-System Pharmacists – ASHP
- State Society of Health-System Pharmacists Association – Calfornia has CSHP
- American Society of Consultant Pharmacists – ASCP
- Student National Pharmaceutical Association – SNPhA
PharmCAS Open for 2012
PharmCAS has opened up their applications for the new application cycle!
http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/start.htm
Don’t forget to check whether or not the pharmacy schools that you are applying for require a supplemental application in addition to your PharmCAS!
PharmApplicants will open up the new application cycle in a few days. Stay tuned.
Books that will get you into Pharmacy School
Here are the top resources for each step of the application process for pharmacy schools. I have only highlighted the most popular and top-rated products (at least 4 stars) from Amazon. Rather than scrambling around the Internet or asking a bunch of people, these resources comprehensively cover all aspects of the entire process.
Admissions Book
These two admissions books were written to elucidate the entire application process all the way from PCAT exam preparation to the interview.
Pharmacy Technician Exam Books
Books for preparation for the pharmacy technician (PTCB) exam. The practice exams are a great way to get used to the type or problems presented on the real exam.
PCAT
PCAT preparation courses will set you back at least a thousand dollars, so I highly recommend students to utilize the more cost-effective method of self-studying. The Kaplan PCAT book is the most popular and highest rated preparation material The AudioLearn product is a great supplement as you can listen to the material while driving around or lounging at home.
Interview Preparation
The interview is the scariest part of the application process for most applicants. These two books will prepare you mentally for any type of question you may encounter at all of your interviews.
Top 200 Drugs Review
This is usually tested during your first year of pharmacy school, and if you want to get started early, you will want to purchase these products. The Sigler cards are the ones we used for our two drug exams (top 100 exam as well as the top 101-200 exam).
How to Tell if Your Pharmacy School Is Accredited
There’s just no sense in going to a pharmacy school that’s not accredited. Sure, it might seem like the right financial move to attend a school that tries to balance its lack of accreditation with claims of lower tuition and guaranteed fast-tracking, but take a look at schools like the Hawaii College of Pharmacy. The unaccredited Pharm.D. school didn’t comply with state regulations and was shut down after allegations that the school wasn’t honest in its unaccredited status. The owners are now prohibited from running a business in Hawaii. The best way to avoid shady organizations like that one and to get a real education is to be certain beforehand that your school is accredited.
For starters, check with the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (The latter is non-governmental.) Both groups monitor the accreditation process and offer free databases to the public with searchable school information that can help you learn more about the pharmacy school you’re interested in attending. There are more than 7,000 schools recognized by one or both agencies, so don’t pass this up.
There’s also the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The ACPE was established in 1932 and is the national agency devoted to the investigation and accreditation of schools offering pharmacy programs and degrees. They can tell you more about pharmacy schools that might not be mentioned by other agencies. Their Web site includes information for students and professionals, as well as detailed lists of accredited schools with historical breakdowns of their application process. It’s an invaluable resource for someone looking to study pharmacy. This way you can make sure you aren’t getting ripped off by a disreputable pseudo-school.
Related to accreditation, it’s not a bad idea to get a sense of a school’s reputation by emailing the counselors or checking with the Better Business Bureau to see if anyone’s issued any complaints against the school. User experience can often be just as important as accreditation. The bottom line, though, is to make sure the school’s been checked out and given the green-light by a legitimate educational agency. Only then can you be sure the pharmacy school you’re enrolling in is worth the cost.
This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of Online Nursing Schools. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: kitty.holman20@gmail.com.
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 2010-2011 Admissions Documents
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy has updated their PDF files for the 2010-2011 cycle. The following tables, charts, and information is linked below:
PSAR Table 1: Pharm.D. Programs – Pharm.D. Degree Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 2: Post-B.S. Programs – Post-B.S. Pharm.D. Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 3: Graduate Programs – Institutional Information and Graduate Degree Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 4: Dual-Degrees – Dual-Degree Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 5: Characteristics of Post-B.S. – Characteristics of Nontraditional Pharm.D. Programs.
PSAR Table 6: Didactic of Post-B.S. – Didactic Features of Nontraditional Pharm.D. Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 7: Experiential of Post-B.S. – Experiential Features of Nontraditional Pharm.D. Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 8: First Year Pharm.D. Class – Characteristics of fall 2008 First Year Class for Pharm.D. Degree Programs.
PSAR Table 9: Admissions Policies – Admission Policies and Practices for Pharm.D. Degree Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 10: Post-B.S. Admissions – Admission Policies and Practices for Post-B.S. Pharm.D. Degree Programs Anticipated for 2010-11.
PSAR Table 11: Tuition – First Year Tuition and Fees for Pharm.D. Degree Programs in 2009-10.
PSAR Table 12: Post-Grad Tuition – First Year Tuition and Fees for Postgraduate Degree (Traditional and Nontraditional) Programs in 2009-10.
PSAR Table 13: M.S./Ph.D. Tuition – First Year Tuition and Fees for Postgraduate Degree (M.S. and Ph.D.) Programs in 2009-10.
School Admission Requirements – Two-page narrative that includes General Information, Curriculum, Admission Requirements, and Further Information for each AACP member institution.
Course Prerequisites by Pharmacy School – Summary of pre-professional course requirements by pharmacy degree institution.
School of Pharmacy Dual Degree Programs
With an increasing amount of new Pharm.D. graduates every year, many pharmacy school students have chosen to receive more education and set themselves apart from the traditional Pharm.D. graduate to pursue careers in pharmacy law, regulation, geriatrics, research, drug development, pharmaceutical industry, the government (FDA, CDC, etc.).
School of Pharmacy Table of Offered Dual Degree Programs
Some examples of dual degrees:
Doctor of Pharmacy/Master of Business Administration (Pharm.D./M.B.A.)
Doctor of Pharmacy/Juris Doctor(Pharm.D./J.D.)
Doctor of Pharmacy/Master of Public Health (Pharm.D./M.P.H.)
Doctor of Pharmacy/Master of Science in Regulatory Science (Pharm.D./M.S. Regulatory Science)
Doctor of Pharmacy/ Master of Science in Gerontology (Pharm.D./M.S.G.)
Doctor of Pharmacy/Graduate Certificate in Gerontology (Pharm.D./Gerontology Certificate)
Doctor of Pharmacy/Doctor of Philosophy (Pharm.D./Ph.D.)
Some of these degrees will require that you take additional standardized tests (GMAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.), an extra application, and more time in school. You should check these requirements early in the application process so that you will be ready when the time comes. At USC, many dual degree options are offered and some of them require only one or two extra summers with pharmacy school courses overlapping in requirements (saving you tuition and time).
The Pharmacy School Interview
Every applicant worries about it, but every applicant must interview to gain admission into pharmacy school. The interview is a crucial piece of your application that will determine whether or not you receive admission. To prepare for the interview, I first suggest that applicants make use of the Student Doctor Interview Feedback to get a feel for the interview day and to see what type of questions will be asked. To practice these questions, rather than forming a script of answers (you will sound rehearsed, which is not good), you should hand a list of ‘high-probability’ questions (Why pharmacy?, etc.) to a friend or family member and simulate the interview. Prior to doing this, it would be a good idea to review your essays, resume, and supplemental application as this is what the interviewer will have in front of him or her during your interview.
Here are some of the criteria they use to grade your interview:
- Enthusiasm (How badly do you want to become a pharmacist?)
- Knowledge of Profession (When they ask you what you know about pharmacy, don’t answer, “counting pills”!)
- Communication Ability (Eye contact, etc.)
- Professionalism (Correct formal dress code, etc.)
Here are a few books that I used to help me through the interview experience. Although the books are for medical school interviews, the material completely corresponds with the pharmacy school interview. These books will help you view the questions from the point of view of the interviewer and formulate a well-articulated answer to any question they may throw at you.
Pharmacy School Prerequisites Table
Here is a chart of prerequisites (from AACP.org) for pharmacy schools for the 2009-2010. This will give you a general idea of what courses each Pharm.D. program requires you to complete, but for exact course equivalencies, you will need to do some research. (If Calculus is a requirement, a school may only accept a specific course number such as a “Math 2A”). Course requirements vary greatly from institution to institution, so it is important for you to plan out the completion of all your prerequisites as early as possible.
A simple search on Google, for “(pharmacy school name) course equivalencies” will usually direct you to a page that will clarify which classes are accepted from your university.
Here are a few equivalency pages:
Non-traditional Pharmacy Work Experience and How I met the President of Allergan Medical
Have you been looking for a pharmacy related job to beef up your application for pharmacy school? The most common form of work experience that pre-pharmacy students pursue is as pharmacy technicians in a retail setting. Outside of the more common work experience in retail positions and at hospitals, you can obtain unique pharmacy work experience through an internship for the government or a pharmaceutical company.
As an example, the FDA Office of Policy and Planning Internship Program “give(s) students an opportunity to learn about federal programs, policies, and practices first-hand. By the end of the internship, each student will have the skills and knowledge necessary to allow him or her to make a significant contribution to public health.” Pre-pharmacy students have completed this internship in the past to become familiar with policy and other relevant public health issues.
In my opinion, applying for jobs online (through mainstream job sites such as Monster.com) is one of the least efficient ways to find a job (the number of applications you send versus how many interviews you secure). These companies receive several applications a day and yours may be filtered out or forgotten before anyone ever looks at them. Although I have used these services along with my undergraduate online job board, many great job opportunities are never listed. When I recently attended an innovation seminar in Orange County called Octane OC, I was able to meet the President of Allergan Medical, Robert Grant, along with many other CEOs of local pharmaceutical and medical device companies. After giving his speech, I had a small chat with Robert Grant and asked for his contact information to inquire about job openings. He obliged, and his staff was more than helpful for me to locate an internship. (Sadly, I had to decline, as I was accepted off the waitlist at USC). At the same time, I compiled a list of pharmaceutical companies in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and contacted every single one of them to secure a few interviews. The moral of the story is to put yourself out there and look for jobs “outside of the box.”
These internships are a perfect way for you to gain relevant pharmacy work experience and set you apart from other applicants. If you plan on pursuing a PharmD/MBA or a career in the corporate or government setting, it will be very beneficial for you to obtain one of these positions.