Next up was talking about the website.
-- First up, was showing how to confirm what classes counted towards the prerequisites. That can easily be found at the Course Equivalencies link.
-- Next was talking about the actual application. That can usually be found in the How to Apply link. It's down at the moment, but will be back up when the application cycle for the entering class of 2011 begins (which should be sometime in early June.) Applications have to be turned in by November 1st.
Before starting the USC application, start the PharmCAS application first. At minimum, sign up for the process, because you need to get a PharmCAS ID to start the USC application. This way the info can be properly synched up.
It was suggested to start the application process early. It takes about 2-5 week for the PharmCAS application to be processed, and USC won't look at your USC application until that gets finished, so it's helpful to take care of PharmCAS first to make sure it's all done as soon as possible.
USC has rolling admissions and do interviews in November, January, February, and March. The specific dates will be published in June or July. USC is the only school (in California) that publishes the exact dates when interviews will be conducted, so make sure you know when those dates are (which are always on a Saturday), and don't have plans during any of those dates. About 1/3 of the applicants get interviewed.
About 50% of the applicants send in their completed applications one month before the deadline. The earlier you send in your applications, the earlier you have a chance of getting interviewed. (Try for July/August)
If you need to ask "Is (the deadline) midnight Eastern or Pacific (standard time)?" then you're probably too late. You'll still be considered of course, but it's a sign you might not be prepared.
IMPORTANT: There is a second part to the application. You do the first part, you'll get an email congratulating you for completing part one, but then it says to proceed to part two. A lot of people don't read the full email and don't proceed to part 2. Be sure to read all the instructions.
-- The Interview
It's good to have:
Knowledge and Experience in Healthcare
Leadership Extra curricular Activities
Oral Communication Skills
Reading Comprehension and Writing Skills
It's about 20 minutes. No phone interviews.
Know how to answer Why Pharmacy? And Why Here? Be able to communicate those answers. People have had 3.8/3.9 GPAs and thought they were locked in to get accepted, didn't prepare for the interview, and were rejected.
It is very beneficial to be involved in organizations. You don't necessarily need to be president, but being involved in general helps. In pharmacy, you'll be interacting with patients and doctors, and communication skills are essential.
And of course, there is a writing test.
-- FAQs
- Do I need to send in my transcripts to USC? Yes. Send them into the pharmacy office and not the general graduate office.
- Do you accept AP scores? Yes. For a one semester class (Not for prerequisites that require two semesters)… general bio will satisfy the first class in a one year series. AP report do not have to sent in as an official report. Prefer personal copy.
- Do you waive any pre-reqs? No. If you have a degree but are still missing a class, that doesn't count.
- Do you prefer a specific major? No requirement. English Business, Piano Performance, Psychology… we accept all kinds. However. If we see that you’re not academically strong, that's a bad sign. Even if you get all A's in the prerequisite classes, but they're all taken at a community college, they won't be sure you can handle the program. It's recommended that you take as many classes at a four year college as possible. It's fine to take some at a community college for time/money/whatever reasons, but take at least more than half of the classes at a four year school.
- What is the average GPA? The min is 3.0, the average has been going up every year. 5-6 years ago, it was 3.3. Last year, it was 3.5. If you’re above 3.0, you all have a chance. You’ll want to finish your remaining classes as strong as possible.
- Where do I send in Letters of Recommendation? Go to PharmCAS. If someone wants to mail it to the pharmacy office, as long as they have their name on it. That’s fine. One from must be from faculty. Another ideally from someone who can describe your potential to be a pharmacist. If three letters come in, we’ll read all of them. (But don't send in 4 or 5, we likely won't read them all, because of how many we need to read through.)
- When do I expect to hear from you? When you submit your application, you’ll get an email right away saying you completed the application. Everyone with a completed application will get an email first regardless if you get an interview or not. It will tell you if your application is complete (or incomplete) Everyone will get this checklist email.
Do not ask them to check if they got it if you sent it in a week ago. If two months pass…. That’s another question. Sometimes people list their names wrong (mix up first and last), PharmCAS ID, etc, so be careful. Double check. Can’t merge the USC and PharmCAS applications if they're different. It happens every year.
Must reply to invitation. If you're not invited for Nov, you may still be invited for Jan/Feb/March.
(Additional questions beyond the FAQ)
What is the class size? 185, the classroom (that we were in) sits 190.
How many people get interviewed? We interview about 450 to 550 applicants. About 1/3rd of interviewees are accepted. Sometimes half. For the November interviews, we accepted just over 50 of 145 applicants. The others are on active consideration list. Then January interviews happen, some will get accepted, then look over consideration list again (of both the January and November applicants who didn't get accepted right away), and so on.
- Do people get accepted in the summer? (Due to people declining their acceptance because they decided to go to another school, decided they didn't want to move that far, etc.) One year we did not accept anyone in summer. But usually accept 5 to 40, varies quite a bit.
- What kind of extracurricular activities are favored? Anything really. On the USC campus, you'll be entering competitions, participating in Kids Day, giving flu shots, etc. We want to see that you want to do that kind of stuff too.
- Is it in your favor if you come from a UC or CSU? It doesn't matter. A little over 60% of our students are from UCs, but most of our applicants are from UCs.
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