Highlights from Western University
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Western is a university for the health sciences, but has not undergraduate programs
There are nine different colleges that make up Western. Podiatry medicine is the easiest to get
into while veterinary medicine and pharmacy are the hardest to get into
 Students from Western University have high pass rates on exams
 Western offers good rotation sites to work in
 Over 80 clubs on campus
P1
P2
P3
P4
Basic science courses
Understand drug
Same as P2
Advanced electives for
information in clinical
students to specialize
practice
 Students starts intern hours as a P1 to finish 1500 hours of internship hours needed to graduate
 1 out of 15 people who get an interview get in. As of Fall 2011, the entering class is 120
 Finishing applications early ensures an earlier interview date
 If students do not have a 3.0 GPA, admissions will not look though the profile. Need at least a
3.2 GPA for a good chance to have an interview
 One letter of recommendation should be from a pharmacist
 Financial aid is offered to students in the form of loans. Students apply for these loans the same
exact way as undergraduates (through FAFSA)
 Scholarships are offered that students can apply for
Questions
1. What is the writing portion of the interview? 45 minutes is given to complete the prompt. This
prompt allows admissions to see how well students can communicate on paper. The questions
are not complex and not related to pharmacy topics so students should be able to write an essay
in 45 minutes. These prompts are graded by English professors and not but PharmD professors.
2. Is it possible to update student records after submitting the application? Yes, but all submissions
have to be in before the deadlines. Admissions will only look at the profile once. If students
submit updates to their profile after it has been looked at it, then those updates will not be
checked.
3. What if students were not competitive applicants compared to everyone else having an
interview? Interviews are only with one faculty member and one current student. Comparisons
can not and should not be made because everyone brings something different to interviews.
4. Is the interview open file? Interviews used to be open file, but are not anymore. Interviewers
like to focus on the communication skills students have.
5. How do students become non-boring? Extracurricular activities, work experience, volunteer
opportunities, officer position in clubs, and research are just some ideas for students to become
involved.
6. If students take a couple of years off, will they still be a strong applicant? Students are suggested
to retake courses in which they did not receive a “c” or higher at community college to improve
their GPA. Every year a student takes off, they need to do something to make their application
stronger than the last. The average age for applicants is 25/26.
7. When are students rejected of put on hold? These conditions occurs only have every students’
files has been seen.
8. Do prerequisites need to be done before applying? Students can still apply if they have no
finished their prerequisites, but the prerequisites should be finished as soon as possible (before
interviews)
9. What is the teaching style in classrooms? Students are in classes from 8am – 3pm. Unlike classes
at UCI where students move from class to class, students at WesternU stay in the same room
while professors change locations. There is a lot of teamwork activities and exams in every class.
10. What was something you wish you knew before entering pharmacy school?
 Classes are structurally different from UCI
 Time management
11. Is housing available? There are no dorms on campus, but apartments around campus are
offered to students (still expensive). Some students commute from home to save even more
money (even if that means a 2 hour drive every day).
12. What is the minimum GPA students can get before they are kicked out? Students need to
maintain a GPA of 2.75. Students who receive below a 2.75 for one semester are given one
more semester to improve grades.
13. Are there research opportunities at WesternU? There are no research opportunities, like UCI
research opportunities, but professors suggest students assisting them in their research.