Does nepotism exist when reviewing pharmacy school applications?

Question: A friend and classmate of mine was accepted into a school of pharmacy where one of her parents is a university researcher. I was waitlisted. I know for a fact that her PCAT and GPA were substantially lower than mine and I was frankly surprised that she was even given an interview based on what I know about her application. Is it unfair for me to assume she got in because of nepotism?


Answer: True story, several years ago we had rejected an applicant whose grades were just not acceptable. A rejection letter had not been sent out yet, however. Shortly after the decision was made, one of the committee members came back to the group and asked that we look at this particular application again, which we did. At this point, someone in the admissions office indicated that the applicant was the child of a professor.

There was great disagreement whether we should even reconsider the application simply based on her parent's connection with the school. I was quite unhappy when some of the same committee members who were quick to dispatch the application as a rejection now wanted to grant an interview (and subsequently admit) this individual. I give credit to the applicant and her parent, however, for neither had mentioned to anyone that there was a relationship between "Applicant Smith" and "Professor Smith". They wanted the decision to be made on merit only, but one of the committee members recognized the name and home address on the application and asked the parent, which set off the aforementioned chain of events.

So, in a politically correct world, I would tell you that nepotism does not exist. That all applicants are judged purely on their merits and nothing else. That everyone has a equal chance. At most institutions, I believe that to be true. However, I have seen firsthand that nepotism or favoritism can play a role in the decision making process and I agree that it is not fair. I do my very best (as most committee members do) to create a level playing field for all applicants, but sometimes there are flaws in the system and you may have exposed one. I hope that you are also granted admission and don't feel that his/her acceptance is the reason you were not admitted at this time.