Health Professions: Pre-Pharmacy
http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Dr. Judith A. Wubah
Office of Health Professions
Smith Career Center (0128)
Advising
231-6241 jawubah@vt.edu
(OHPA)
Dr. Gary Long (Chemistry majors) 230 Davidson Hall long@vt.edu
Pre-Pharmacy Coordinator
Meet with your departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis in addition to the individuals listed above.
MAJORS INFORMATION
Majors: Any major is acceptable as long as certain specific admission requirements are met.
Common Majors:
Exercise (HNFE)
Biochemistry (BIOCHEM), Biology (BIOL), Chemistry (CHEM), Human, Nutrition, Food and
SPECIFIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Course Number
Title
CHEM 1035, 1045 (lab)
CHEM 1036, 1046 (lab)
BIOL 1005, 1015
BIOL 1006, 1016
OR
BIOL 1105, 1115
BIOL 1106, 1116
CHEM 2535, 2545
CHEM 2536, 2546
PHYS 2205, 2215
PHYS 2206, 2216
BIOL 2601, 2614
General Chemistry, General Chemistry Lab
8
General Biology, General Biology Lab
OR
8
Principles of Biology, Principles of Biology
Lab
Organic Chemistry
General Physics, General Physics Lab
some schools require 2 semesters
General Microbiology, General
Microbiology Lab
ENGL 1105, 1106
MATH 1015, 1016 or
other calculus sequence
Freshman English
Elementary Calculus with Trigonometry
OR
Other calculus sequence
COMM 2004
Public Speaking
PHIL
Ethics / Logic
REQUIRED BY SEVERAL SCHOOLS
BMSP 2135, 2136
Human Anatomy & Physiology
BCHM
Biochemistry
STAT
Statistics
ECON
Economics
OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES
CHEM 2114
Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 4554
Drug Chemistry
(recommended by Chemistry department)
Health Professions: Pre-Pharmacy
August 2010
Credits
6
4-8
4
Prerequisites
Must be taken in
sequence.
CHEM 1036,
CHEM 1046
MATH 1016
BIOL 1005-1006 or
BIOL 1105-1106;
CHEM 1015-1016 or
CHEM 1035-1036
6
6
3
3
BIOL 1005-1006 or
BIOL 1105-1106;
3
3
CHEM 1036
CHEM 2536
rev: JAW
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) or INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) INFORMATION
***NOTE*** Most pharmacy schools do not accept AP or IB credit. At this point dual enrollment
credit is generally accepted but the student should check with the schools they are applying to for specific information.
Students should contact the pharmacy programs of choice to determine whether the admissions office distinguishes
between classes taken at a community college versus a four-year institution.
GET INVOLVED!! VT Student Organizations, Courses, and Opportunities
Course: UH 2004: Careers in Medicine 1 credit, sophomore or higher (Fall only)
Office of Health Professions Advising http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Pre-Pharmacy Club: usually meets 1st Tuesday of the month. Contact Brooke Bullock babul07@vt.edu for details.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Health Professions Group Information Sessions: Twice per week in the Smith Career Center
Online registration required, there will be specific sessions for Freshmen/Sophomores and Juniors/Seniors.
Check the OHPA website frequently for dates and times.
APPLICATION & ADMISSION INFORMATION

Pharmacy School Visits: Deans of Admissions from the four Virginia schools visit in the fall, usually in October.

Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT): The test is computer-based and consists of six sections (Verbal
Ability, Biology, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, and Chemistry and a written essay). It is
recommended that students take the PCAT in the fall of their senior year, a year before planning to enter pharmacy
school. The minimal percentile rank is 40-50 but check with the schools of interest for their acceptable range. The
average composite PCAT percentile score for accepted applicants for the academic year 2009-2010 was 56 percent.

GPA: 3.4 or higher to be a competitive candidate. The GPA is calculated several ways; overall, and science.
Students should check on-line for the mean and range of GPA for their pharmacy schools of choice. The schools
usually concentrate on the junior or senior years.

Experience: It is highly recommended that students participate in volunteer service and/or paid service as a
pharmacy technician or in a health-related setting (hospital, nursing home, free clinics). Some pharmacies may pay
for certification and training. The Office for Pre-Health Advising will work collaboratively with students to assist
them gain the necessary practical experience.

Application: Apply through PharmCAS - Pharmacy College Application Service (http://www.pharmcas.org/),
an online application process. Filling out of the pharmacy school application is time consuming thus students
should plan accordingly.

Campus Interviews: Conducted by the Health Professions Evaluation Committee in the spring of each academic
year (March - May)

Pharmacy School Interview: Yes. In Virginia, the four pharmacy schools interview in October when they come
for an all day recruitment/information day.
OTHER RESOURCES





www.ExploreHEALTHCareers.org, an exceptional resource for students
National Institutes of Health Career Finder, http://science-education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm
American Medical Association Health Care Careers Directory, www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/educationcareers/careers-health-care/directory.shtml
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) http://www.aacp.org/Pages/Default.aspx
AACP Student Center http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/Pages/default.aspx
Health Professions: Pre-Pharmacy
August 2010
rev: JAW
Hampton
Estimated
incoming class size
64
GPA
PCAT
NOTES
2.75 minimum to apply
Required. Scores not
specified.
Students can apply
directly from high
school.
May not accept AP
credit for Biology,
Chemistry, and
Physics.
Shenandoah
90; expected to
interview 200
3.5 average of accepted
2.8 minimum to apply
2.8 minimum in required
courses
Minimum score
considered: 60th
percentile; 45%
minimum individual
category PCAT score
University of
Appalachia
65; expected to
interview 300+
3.36 average of accepted.
2.5 minimum to apply
2.5 minimum in required
courses
50: Minimum
composite PCAT
scaled score
considered
VCU
130; expected to
interview 250
3.4.
No minimum specified
Not specified
May not accept AP
credit for Biology,
Chemistry, and
Physics
The Office of Health Professions Advising at Virginia Tech assists students and alumni pursuing a health care career
in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, chiropractic, occupational therapy, nursing, physician's assistant,
veterinary medicine, or other graduate health professions.
Any student or alumnus/alumna of Virginia Tech, regardless of major, can use the services of OHPA. Although the
majority of health professions students major in a science field, it is not required.
Students should meet with their departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis to ensure requirements are being met
for graduation. The Office of Health Professions Advising is an important complement to academic advising.
Health Professions: Pre-Pharmacy
August 2010
rev: JAW