The Dos & Don’ts of
Pharmacy School Admissions
Todd Worsham
Campus Manager
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions
302-519-7331
Todd.Worsham@kaplan.com
www.kaptest.com
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Pharmacy School Admissions Trends
According to the data compiled by the American
Association of Colleges of Pharmacy:
 95,000 applicants for 2007
11,557 new students for 2007
And that’s including…
Pharmacy Colleges adding over 3,000 seats to accommodate the growing
need
Tip #1:
Know the competition.
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Pharm School Admissions Timeline
Get it Ready!
PCAT
Jan
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Early Decision
Period
Rolling Admissions Period
PCAT is administered 9 times: July, Fall (in 2011 all fall dates were in September and
January
Tip #2:
Submit your application early.
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Feb
Pharmacy School Admissions Factors
 PCAT Score
 Undergraduate GPA
 Prerequisite Coursework
 Personal Profile & Statements
 Extracurricular & Experiences
 Interviews
 Letters of Recommendation
Tip #3:
Presumably Admit
Presumably Deny
Absolutely Deny
Control the process.
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
Prerequisite Coursework
 Do your research

Assume that one-size fits all
 Consult your Advisor

Try to get all the answers yourself
 Call admissions

Go by only what you have heard from
other pre-health students
Tip #4:
Get all the information.
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
Personal Statement
 Use past/present stories and a theme.

Write “why I want to go to pharm school”.
 Showcase lessons learned from

Speak negatively of anyone or anything.
 Write effectively and follow directions

Go at it alone.
experience
Interviews
 Consider every interview mandatory

Discount them
 Schedule interviews strategically

Judge schools based on ranking alone
 Become acquainted with admissions staff

Inundate admissions staff with requests
Tip #5:
Distinguish yourself by showing your passion.
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
Letters of Recommendation
 Select professors who know you well

Worry about clout
 Give recommenders content to work from

Allow your recommenders to fly blind
 Ask specifically for strong, detailed letter

Write the letter yourself
Tip #6:
Help your recommenders help you.
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
GPA
 Choose major that interests/challenges

Choose Chem major "just because" prehealth
 Squeeze out every point you can.

Game your GPA with easy classes or P/F
 “Trend-up” and do well in major.

Over-estimate importance of GPA.
you
Tip #7:
Your academic potential is measurable.
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
The PCAT
 What are most schools requiring?
 What are most matriculates getting?
The sections of PCAT are:
verbal ability
 quantitative ability
 reading comprehension
 knowledge of basic principles and concepts of biology
general and elementary organic chemistry
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
The PCAT
 Give the test the attention/time it

Consider it just an obstacle to admission
 Learn critical thinking skills (and science)

Tackle the exam as a whole, all at once
 Learn/practice to gain efficiency for each

Take test after test w/o changing
behavior
 Focus on your opportunities for

Prepare with college text books
 Understand you can do it.

Consider it just an obstacle to admission
deserves
skill
improvement
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The Dos & Don’ts of Pharm School Admissions
The PCAT
What is on it?
2 Writing Sections 30 minutes each
Verbal Ability 30 minutes/48 items (60% analogies)
Biology 30 minutes/48 items (60% Gen Bio)
Chemistry 30 minutes/48 items (60% Gen, 40% O Chem)
Reading Comp 50 minutes/48 items
Quantitative 40 minutes/48 questions (40% Precalc and Calc)
 The PCAT is the common measuring stick.
Average Applicant: 50th Percentile (399.44)
Average Acceptant: 69th Percentile (412)
Tip #8:
You can raise your PCAT score.
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Why prep for the PCAT?
 The PCAT is the most important factor in your application.
 Pharmacy schools are very competitive.
 Small gains on the PCAT can translate into massive
“leapfrogging” of other test-takers.
 The PCAT is an important predictor of Pharmacy school
success.
Tip #9:
The PCAT matters.
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A Sample PCAT Question…
Tip #10:
Kaplan can help.
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The Kaplan Advantage
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Prep

Greatest number of course options because one size does
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The Most Personalized Prep: Smart Reports
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Track progress by
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See how scores trend
over time
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The Most Personalized Prep: Smart Reports
Analyze performance
by Section to
determine your
areas of greatest
opportunity
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The Most Personalized Prep: Smart Reports
Dig deeper to
uncover content
strengths and
weaknesses
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The Kaplan Advantage
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