Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) Admissions Information
To be considered for admission you must submit a completed application file, have had some pharmacy experience, and either have completed or have a plan to complete a minimum of three years of Pre-Pharmacy Requirements.
Use a quick link to these subject areas:
Application Deadline -
PharmCAS -
Gaining Pharmacy Experience -
PCAT Scores -
The Competition -
Expected GPA's -
The Interview -
Out-of-State Residents -
WICHE -
Transfer Admission Policy -
International Students -
Tuition Costs -
Criminal Background Checks -
National Ranking -
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
October 1 - application period opens
January 5 - application deadline
January and February - interviews are conducted
Second Week of March - all letters of admission and non-admission are sent. No other indication of status is given via phone or e-mail.
Calendar - Semesters. We admit students to the fall semester only; there is no spring or summer term admission.
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THE COMPETITION
For the fall of 2009, we received 826 applications for admission, so we invited 160 applicants to interview for the class of 94 students. Over 70% of the admitted students had already completed their baccalaureate degrees. The average age is over 25. Over 60% of the new PharmD students are residents of the State of Washington, and no international students were admitted. Over half of the admitted group completed their prerequisites at Washington State University.
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GRADE POINT AVERAGES
In order to be considered for admission your overall GPA as reported by PharmCAS must be 3.0 or higher. If your grades are lower than this but you feel there are extenuating circumstances that should be considered, you may write a cover letter to explain your situation.
Last year the average cumulative GPA of the admitted students was 3.5, based solely on college-level courses. The average GPA of the students on the alternate list was 3.2 and the average GPA of the denied group was 3.1.
While the PharmCAS GPA is used to make the first cut, it does not represent the entire determinant of admission. We also look at the whole application file: the goals statement, recommendations, courses taken, the length and depth of pharmacy experience, the interview, the writing sample, and your extracurricular activities. We want to hear about your quality experience in a pharmacy or medical field; we look for motivation, volunteerism, maturity, professionalism, leadership, and a compassionate concern for patients. We will admit those who, by our judgment, reflect the potential to become the best pharmacists.
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PharmCAS
We use PharmCAS (www.PharmCAS.org) to initiate our application process. In addition you will need to submit WSU supplemental forms. Find these (instructions and application forms) by scrolling to the top of this page and clicking on "How to Apply." Simply print the blank forms, fill them out and send them to the address listed on the Application Instructions page.
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GAINING PHARMACY EXPERIENCE
Several regional pharmacy schools require a minimum of 60 hours of documented pharmacy experience in order to apply. While Washington State University does not require a minimum number of hours, we feel you should know what your competition is. Those 149 students who were invited for an interview in 2007 had accrued an average of 196 hours of pharmacy experience, besides having an average 3.5 GPA. Their pharmacy experience ranged from zero hours (with thousands of hours of experience as a nurse) to a person who had been working full-time as a pharmtech for 7 years.
The admissions committee looks at other medically-related experience outside of pharmacy as something good. However, if you have not had any direct pharmacy experience whatsoever, they will question whether or not you are prepared enough to make a career decision like this. We strongly encourage everyone who applies to have an ample amount of pharmacy experience, since several of the questions during the interview could only be answered based on your experience. The pharmacist for whom you work should get to know you well enough be able to comfortably assess your strengths and weaknesses for your recommendation. Those who have experience as doctors, dentists, nurses, or any health field that interacts directly with patients should not need any additional pharmacy experience.
To gain pharmacy experience in the state of Washington you might consider first applying for a Pharmacist Assistant License through the Washington State Board of Pharmacy. The application can be found at the Washington State Board of Pharmacy's web site; click on "Forms/Applications" then on "Persons" and then on "Assistant - Application." You will also need to go through four hours of HIV/AIDS training to obtain this license; the same web site lists course sites, but if you live on the Palouse, contact Marsha Turnbull (marshat@wsu.edu) at WSU’s Health and Wellness Office to find out when the next HIV/AIDS course will be offered.
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PCAT
We do not require the PCAT.
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THE INTERVIEW
While the students we admit demonstrate very high academic achievements, we are not looking for students with high grades alone. We are looking for well-rounded, highly motivated people who would make good practitioners: warm, considerate, responsible people whom you feel you could trust with your own personal health.
We will invite candidates for interviews after an intensive scrutiny of the application files, which takes some time. From the over 900 applications we receive, we will invite between 160 and 200 candidates for an interview. We will call the candidates in January and February; students should not try to call us to schedule an interview. Of those we interview, we will select between 100 and 115 for admission and about 30 to 40 for the alternate list. (These quantities fluctuate every year according to the competition that presents itself.) Letters of admission, alternate and denial will be mailed in the second week of March.
If you are invited for an interview, you will visit with two of our faculty for about a half an hour. During this time we will observe your interpersonal and communication skills, and as best we can, we will judge your maturity, compassion, motivation, integrity, mental acuity and trustworthiness. We will talk about your pharmacy experience at length. Be prepared to discuss your own personality with a great deal of candidness and honesty. But please don’t be nervous – most students report having enjoyed the experience once they’re finished.
At the end of the interview we will ask you for a 15-minute writing sample to further assess your communication skills. Then we'd like you to meet with some of our faculty in a more casual setting. Plan to use two hours for the entire experience.
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OUT-OF-STATE RESIDENTS and WICHE
typically less than twenty percent of each class are admitted from out-of-state, and only about 5% are from non-WICHE states. Since the WSU Doctor of Pharmacy program is financially supported by the taxpayers of the State of Washington, priority admission is given to highly qualified residents of the state.
Participating WICHE states are: Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada. If you are a resident of one of these states, it may be worth your while to contact WICHE to see if you would like to participate. The advantage is that you would pay only 150% of in-state tuition rather than out-of-state tuition at WSU. However there are certain restricitions and/or committments unique to each state.
Contact WICHE at:
WICHE Student Exchange Program
3035 Center Green Drive
Boulder, CO 80301-2204
(303) 541-0214
info-sep@wiche.edu
http://www.wiche.edu/sep
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TRANFSER ADMISSION POLICY
Students requesting to transfer from their original school/college of pharmacy into the professional program at the WSU College of Pharmacy must submit the following materials by April 1 of the year they wish to transfer. Materials should be submitted to the Associate Dean of Student Services. If materials are not received by this date, the student will not be considered for transfer into the WSU College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy professional program until the following year.
- Completed WSU College of Pharmacy supplemental application, including the professional goals statement, which is available online at the links above. This web site will also direct the student to the pharmacy prerequisite courses that must be satisfied. Potential transfer students do NOT need to fill out a PharmCAS application.
- Three letters of recommendation, including one from a counterpart to the WSU College of Pharmacy Associate Dean of Student Services (e.g. the Associate Dean of Student Services or Academic Affairs) from the student’s current college of pharmacy, and at least one from a pharmacist who has first hand knowledge of the student’s capabilities, must be provided.
- Official transcripts from the student’s current school/college of pharmacy. The student must also submit transcripts from the institutions where the prepharmacy coursework was completed.
- Course syllabi from the previous program to help determine which Washington State University courses will be waived.
- Dates and hours of the student’s pharmacy experience (e.g., retail or hospital-based clinical experience—volunteer, shadow, paid—outside of the professional curriculum) must be listed. Any applicable Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) that have been completed must be listed and documented.
- Evidence that any current intern license remains valid.
- Information about any participation in student pharmacy organizations.
- A letter detailing the reasons why the student wants to transfer into our program.
The PCAT is not required.
The College will consider requests from students from other professional programs to transfer into our program on a case-by-case basis. A student wishing to transfer into our program must be in good standing at his/her current college/school, academically strong and competitive with those students who are admitted to our program through the regular process. However, a strong academic record, pharmacy experience, and professional involvement do not guarantee admission into our program. Applicants for transfer must also undergo a criminal background check as described above.
Because of differences in professional pharmacy programs, if a student is approved for transfer into our program, there is no guarantee that the student will be granted the same year of standing as in the pharmacy school of origin. This will be determined by the Associate Dean for Student Services following a careful analysis of the student’s transcript, course syllabi, documentation of IPPE activities, and E-portfolio (if this latter item exists).
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
We do not consider international students for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. A person holding an F1 Visa is not eligible for a Washington pharmacy intern license, which is needed to take part in core practicums in the PharmD curriculum. Additionally, the PharmD program is financially supported by the taxpayers of the State of Washington, so priority admission is given to highly qualified residents of the state.
Students from foreign countries who have become US citizens, permanent residents, or who have a green card or resident alien number are welcome to apply, and will be considered for admission if they have a critical mass (two years or more) of credits earned from post-secondary schools in the United States.
Anyone who holds international transcripts should have them evaluated prior to the application period by ECE (ece.org) or WES (wes.org), or any similar translating service.
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TUITION & FEES
The Doctor of Pharmacy tuition and fees per semester (so double this amount for the year) for 2008-09 are:
.......Resident - $7,725
.......Non-Resident - $14,642
Tuition costs usually increase every year; in fact the projection for 2009-10 will be a 10% increase, and for 2010-2011 another 10% increase.
Non-resident students may apply for state residency after living in the State of Washington for 12 months.
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CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
In the event that you are admitted to the PharmD program, we will conduct a criminal background check on you before you begin classes in Pullman. Since this is a nation-wide background check, it will require a $45 fee beyond the application and tuition fees.
Please know that if you have a criminal conviction on your record you may not be able to complete your degree, irrespective of whether WSU grants you admission to the PharmD program. While public institutions may or may not deny you admission based on a criminal record, you may not receive board approval based on such criminal record and thus not be able to complete the experiential portions of the professional curriculum since board-approved internship licensure is required. Without the ability to complete the experiential portions of the professional curriculum, you would not be able to academically progress successfully beyond the second professional year. Be apprised that the Washington State Board of Pharmacy can refuse to issue you a license to practice in the state of Washington due to a felony conviction.
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NATIONAL RANKING
Are you wondering where the WSU PharmD program is ranked nationally? We have an outstanding, strong program with national accreditation; however pharmacy schools in the U.S. are not ranked.
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) does not rank institutions with pharmacy programs in the U.S., nor do they endorse any publications that do. They further state, “The subjective factors that should go into any ranking system are not adequately addressed by any of the known publications that currently rank colleges and schools. Students should choose a pharmacy college or school carefully based upon factors that are important to their own learning needs. Students should consider program content, geographic location, class size, extra-curricular opportunities, cost, etc., in their decision to apply or enroll in a program at any institution.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please check our web site frequently for any updates regarding our admission information. For more information or to have an admission packet mailed to you, please dial (509) 335-1402 to leave your name and address, or e-mail admissions@pharmacy.wsu.edu
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