PrePharmacy Society Second General Body Meeting

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• Pre-Pharmacy Society Second General Body Meeting
• October 13, 2008
• umdprepharm_at_gmail.com

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Agenda

• Welcome!
• Current Pharmaceutical Issue
• Upcoming Events Picnic, T-shirt Sales, Community
  Service
• 24 Year Program and 44 Year Program
• Pre-Requisite Courses
• PCAT
• Schools
• PharmCAS
• Tips
• Question and Answer Session

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Stimulant Use Among Professional Students

• Smart Study Aid or Unfair Advantage?
• Amphetamines (Adderall)
• Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta)
• Medications obtained by
• Legal prescription through a diagnosis of ADHD
• From classmates
• By buying them illegally
• How do YOU feel about this?

Information pulled from studentdoctor.net
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Upcoming Events

• Oct 27 UMB Admissions
• Nov 10 Personal Statement Workshop
• November 24 UMB Student Panel
• Dec 8 Interview Essay/Interview Workshop
• Next Semester
• Resume Workshop
• Pharmacy Tech
• Several Guest Speakers Pharmacists
• Mock Interview
• Panel of UMB Faculty

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T-Shirt Sales

• Only 10 per shirt!

Designed by Tina Nguyen
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Newsletters
Make sure to pick up a newsletter! First come
first serve! Designed by Tina Nguyen
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Remember

• Make sure you are on the Pre-Pharmacy Society
  list-serve
• Email umdprepharm_at_gmail.com to be added
• Join Pre-Pharmacy Societys Facebook group to
  receive updates about meetings/events
• Visit our website http//studentorg.umd.edu/prepha
  rm
• September 22 Presentation has been posted and
  todays presentation will be posted either
  tonight or tomorrow

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Picnic

• October 23, 2008 (Thursday) 5-7 pm at LaPlata
  Beach
• Great way to meet the OFFICERS and other MEMBERS
• Meet our sponsor!
• Great way to make new friends!
• 6 PER PERSON
• If interested,
• sign your name
• on the sheet

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Picnic

• Types of Sandwiches
• Turkey Breast (with Swiss Cheese)
• Italian (Capricola, mortadella, pepperoni,
  salami, provolone cheese)
• Vegetarian (Fresh mushrooms, Swiss, provolone
  American Cheese
• Chicken salad (with Provolone cheese)

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Active Membership Requirement

• 3 Meetings and 3 hours of community service per
  semester
• Attending more meetings and events are HIGHLY
  encouraged!

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Community Service Events

• Oct 29, 30 Bake Sale
• Nov 21 Have Dinner with Pre-Pharmacy Society and
  help raise money for charity!

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2 Year and 4 Year Programs

• Pharmacy Schools DO NOT require a Bachelor's
  Degree for admission
• 24 year program
• 44 year program
• (34 year program also possible)
• Students are offered admission before completing
  prerequisite coursework
• Acceptance is conditional
• Each school has different requirements

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24 Year Program

• Freshman Year
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations
  that interest you
• Make a resume with all your current skills and
  activities
• Find work experience if your schedule permits
• Volunteer/ Shadow
• If you have work/study- choose to work with a
  science professors research
• Go to professor office hours, make/maintain
  relationships with professors after the semester
  for recommendations

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24 Year Program contd

• Summer
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors (esp science) that
  you want recommendations from
• Another recommendation from a volunteer/work
  experience is strongly recommended
• Begin your application on PharmCAS

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24 Year Program contd

• Sophomore Year
• Keep maintaining a good GPA
• Update your resume as needed
• Have many people look over your personal
  statement for your application
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as
  soon as possible
• Interviews occur in the spring
• Maintain memberships in organizations that you
  joined
• Apply for leadership positions within the
  organizations
• THEN RELAX!!

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44 Year Program

• Freshman Year
• Maintain a good GPA
• Join many extracurricular activities/organizations
  that interest you
• Make a resume with all your current skills and
  activities
• Find work experience if your schedule permits
• Make/maintain relationships with professors after
  the semester for recommendations

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44 Year Program contd

• Sophomore Year
• Maintain a good GPA
• Update your resume as needed
• Maintain memberships in organizations that you
  joined
• Apply for leadership positions within the
  organizations

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44 Year Program contd

• Junior Year
• Maintain a good GPA and memberships in
  organizations
• Update your resume as needed
• By this time you should have some
  volunteer/shadow/work experience
• Summer
• Take the June PCAT
• Get in contact with professors that you want
  recommendations from
• A recommendation from a science professor is
  strongly needed
• Begin your application on PharmCAS

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44 Year Program contd

• Senior Year
• Maintain a good GPA and memberships in
  organizations
• Update your resume as needed
• Have many people look over your personal
  statement for your application
• Retake the PCAT in October if necessary
• Submit PharmCAS and supplemental applications as
  soon as possible
• Interviews occur in the spring
• Maintain memberships in organizations that you
  joined
• Apply for leadership positions within the
  organizations

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Pharmacy School Pre-Requisite Courses
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Pharmacy School Pre-Requisite Courses
BSCI201 is ONLY offered in FALL and BSCI202 is
ONLY offered in SPRING 65 credits minimum for
pre-requisite courses
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PCAT Breakdown

• Writing Sample (30 mins for 1 topic)
• Conventions of Language- grammar
• Problem Solving- convincing
• Verbal ability (30 minutes for 48 questions)
• Analogies 60
• Sentence completion- 40
• Biology (30 minutes for 48 questions)
• General biology- 60
• Microbiology- 20
• Human anatomy and physiology- 20
• Chemistry (30 minutes for 48 questions)
• General chemistry- 60
• Organic chemistry 40

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PCAT Breakdown

• ----------------------------------REST
  BREAK-------------------------------------
• Writing sample (30 minutes for 1 topic)
• Conventions of language grammar
• Problem solving convincing
• Reading comprehension (50 minutes for 48
  questions on 6 passages)
• Comprehension- 30
• Analysis- 40
• Evaluation- 30
• Quantitative Ability (40 minutes for 48
  questions)
• Basic math- 15
• Algebra- 20
• Probability and statistics- 20
• Precalculus- 22
• Calculus- 22

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PCAT Test Dates
NOT ACCEPTED FOR FALL 2009 REGISTRATION
DEADLINE IS 859 PM
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Registering for PCATs
www.pcatweb.info ?LOGIN
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Registering for PCATs
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Registering for PCATs
MAKE SURE PHARMCAS (CODE 104) IS ONE OF YOUR
SCORE RECIPIENTS!
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Schools

• Schools may consider the following factors during
  the application process
• Academic rigor
• Extra curricular activities
• Enthusiasm
• GPA (overall, science, math)
• Interview quality
• Leadership
• PCAT score
• Personal motivation for pharmacy
• Pharmacy experience
• Recommendations
• Research opportunities
• Special achievements
• Volunteer work

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Schools

• Schools, tuition, acceptance rates can be found
  at
• http//www.aacp.org
• 2008 Pharmacy School rankings as featured in U.S.
  News
• http//grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/
  grad/pha/search

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Top 10 Schools

• 1. University of California--San Francisco
• 2. University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill
• 3. University of Minnesota
• 4. University of TexasAustin
• 5. Ohio State University
• 5. University of Kentucky
• 5. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
• 5. University of Washington
• 9. Purdue University
• 9. University of Arizona
• 9. University of Florida
• 9. University of IllinoisChicago
• 9. University of MarylandBaltimore
• 9. University of Wisconsin--Madison

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Schools

• The following schools offer 3 year Pharm.D.
  programs. (Completion of college level
  prerequisites is required.)
• Albany College of Pharmacy
• Duquesne University
• Ferris State University (a 3.5 year option is
  available to 4 year students)
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Massachusetts - Worcester
• Midwestern - Glendale
• Pacific University
• South University
• University of Appalachia
• University of the Pacific
• University of Southern Nevada (formerly Nevada
  College of Pharmacy)

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Schools

• The following schools offer 6 year Pharm.D.
  programs. No prior college coursework is
  required
• Albany College of Pharmacy
• Duquesne University
• Florida A M University
• Hampton University
• Massachusetts - Boston
• Northeastern University
• Ohio Northern University
• Philadelphia
• Rutgers University
• St. John's University
• St. Louis College of Pharmacy
• University of Connecticut
• University of Findlay
• University of Missouri at Kansas City
• University of Rhode Island

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Schools

• University of the Pacific offers a 5-year, or
  "23," Pharm.D. program to qualified first-time
  freshmen. They also offer a 6-year, or "33,"
  Pharm.D. program to freshmen who do not meet the
  requirements for the "23" program.
• The University of Pittsburgh offers a conditional
  admission to a limited number of high school
  seniors, and if the student proceeds to meet set
  criteria for the first two years of the
  pre-pharmacy program, he or she will advance
  directly into the professional program.

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• PharmCAS is a centralized application service
  provided by the American Association of College
  of Pharmacy (AACP)
• www.pharmcas.org
• Participating schools (60) can be found
  http//www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/directorya
  lphastate.htm
• Statistics about the last entering class,
  application criteria, program prerequisites,
  supplemental application information, deadlines,
  and other info can also be found on PharmCAS.
• Schools not using PharmCAS must be contacted
  individually for application information.

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• Submission of documents
• Application
• Transcripts
• Letter of recommendations
• PCATs
• Fee
• 135 for one school
• 40 for each additional
• Supplemental application
• Supplemental fee

PharmCAS
Pharmacy school
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• Letters of recommendation
• Paper and electronic references accepted
• Electronic (eLOR) is preferred
• 3 recommendations per applicant
• Check types of evaluators accepted by each school
• Maryland does not accept recommendations from
  TAs, friends, and family
• Information for other pharmacy schools can be
  found on PharmCAS website http//www.pharmcas.org
  /docs/ReqTypebySchool.pdf

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• Deadlines
• All applications and documents must be received
  by PharmCAS by the deadline for the school
• Cannot e-submit once deadline is reached
• Early decision
• Applicant can only apply to one ED school
• Denied ED applicant may apply to more schools
• Accepted ED applicant cannot apply to other
  PharmCAS schools

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How Does PharmCAS calculate your GPA?
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Some Tips

• Work Experience
• It is not a requirement but does increase the
  competitiveness of your application.
• For hospital pharmacies
• Calling the hospital personnel department about
  any open positions
• Volunteering is a good start
• For retail pharmacies
• Call or drop by stores that you are interested
  in.
• Avoid calling during busy times
• Be sure to dress as you would for a job interview
  and bring your resume.

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Some More Tips

• Mention that you are interested in attending
  pharmacy school can give you an advantage over
  other candidates.
• Be upfront, especially if you plan on asking your
  employer for a letter of reference during the
  application process.

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More Tips

• Extracurricular activities may include health
  related, but with a strive to a leadership
  position
•  Job shadowing
• Help you decide whether or not pharmacy is the
  right career path for you
• You should contact pharmacists in your area,
  explain that you are thinking about pharmacy
  school and ask if they would be open to having
  you shadow them for a few hours or longer.
• Know your schedule before you call, set a date
  over the phone if asked to.
• Be ready to answer questions about your goals and
  interests.

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What If I Dont Get in?!

• Apply Again! Increase Your Chances by
• Reapplying early! Especially for the schools that
  have rolling admission.
• Contact the school(s) to which you applied.
• Take more classes.
• If you have any C's, D's, or F's on your record,
  retake those classes.
• Try to gain pharmacy experience if you are
  lacking it.
• Apply to more schools.
• If your PCAT score is not where you would like
  for it to be, retake the test.
• Increase your volunteering activities.
• Practice writing essays.

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Emails/Websites

• Main Pre-Pharmacy Society Website
• http//studentorg.umd.edu/prepharm/
• Pre-Pharmacy Society Email
• umdprepharm_at_gmail.com

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Question and Answer Session

• The Executive Board is here to answer any
  questions you may have regarding
• Pre-requisite courses
• PCAT
• PharmCAS/ Application Process
• Schools
• Personal statements
• Experience
• Pharmacy Technician/ Certification
• Interviews
• Anything we covered either in this powerpoint or
  last meetings powerpoint
• Or anything else you can think of!