Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Does attending a top tier university help gain admission to pharmacy school?



Question: I recently stumbled upon your blog while avidly google-ing pharmacy school questions, and I am so glad I've found your blog! I will undoubtedly be re-visiting this site in the future.

My question is about whether pharmacy schools take into consideration at what type of institution I complete my pre-requisites. I recently completed my freshman year at top-tier university with a 3.28 GPA. I know my workload will only get tougher, but I'm prepared to take on the challenge. My parents, on the other hand, worry that at the rate I'm going, I will not have an adequate GPA to be considered  for pharmacy school. They prefer me to transfer to a local university to finish out my pre-requisites and hopefully better my GPA. That plan does not appeal to me as I really enjoy my current university. I was wondering if pharmacy schools will take into consideration that my lower GPA is due to more rigorous courses at an accredited university when comparing me to say another applicant with a 4.0 at a local university or community college, or will they disregard which university I come from and only look at GPA?

Thank you so much for your time.


Answer: Thanks for your email.  This is one of the more commonly asked questions and I understand why as schools typically don't want to turn off students by saying it does matter.  I touched on this briefly in a blog entry some time ago:

In general, we do consider the school attended and it does impact AdComs.  If you are able to remain at your current school, I would probably recommend continuing there.  It is impossible to know how it will impact your admission chances, but I must admit that I am impressed by students from elite schools and usually do give them a bit of latitude as far as GPA goes.

Two other questions to consider that will have a major impact on your chances: Where do you plan to apply?  Have you taken the PCAT, if it is required?

Best of luck and please keep us posted.

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