Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Program Procedures and Requirements for Admission

Sequence of events for applying to the WVU School of Pharmacy (SOP):

• Apply to SOP via PharmCAS beginning June 1, 2008.  Deadline for submission of PharmCAS application is December 1, 2008. 
• Take Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) in either June (preferred), October or January. 
• Once SOP receives completed PharmCAS Application, those considered eligible for admission will receive a supplemental application.  NOTE: Review of completed and received PharmCAS applications will begin in late Fall 2007. Only Applicants deemed qualified by the Committee on Admissions will receive a supplemental application. Deadline for submitting completed supplemental application is 30 days after application sent from SOP. 
• Interviews of qualified applicants take place between January and March.

See below for more details on the admissions process.

Applications:
All applications for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program must be submitted electronically via PharmCAS (http://www.PharmCAS.org).  Applications are available for the Fall 2009 process beginning on June 1, 2008.  The deadline for receipt of materials at PharmCAS is December 1, 2008.

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Prerequisite Course Requirements:
All prerequisite coursework must be completed at a U.S. accredited institution of higher education. Click here for more information.

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Testing Requirements:
All applicants must have taken the PCAT during the 2006/2007 cycle or after because the test now has a scored writing section. The Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) is required. To insure that test scores are received in time for consideration by the Committee on Admissions, applicants are advised to take the test during the summer or fall administrations of the exam. Results of the winter (January)  exam are not received until relatively late in the admissions process and may delay a candidate's consideration for the current admissions cycle.  Applicants are encouraged to take the exam at one of the earliest test dates. PCAT scores are to be sent to PharmCAS (be sure to use PCAT code 104).  A composite PCAT score above the 60th percentile is preferred. Typical scores for admitted applicants have been above the 70th percentile.

www.PCATweb.info

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Supplemental Application - NOT SUBMITTED UNTIL REQUESTED:
Initial screening of all applicants will be based on academic performance as determined by overall and prerequisite GPA's.  Those applicants deemed competitive academically will then be sent a supplemental application.  Supplemental applications will be mailed after January 1 and will be due 10 days after the application is mailed out.  The application must be accompanied by a non-refundable $50 application fee, check made payable to WVU.

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Letters of Recommendation:
Three (3) letters are required, two of which must be from individuals who have instructed the applicant. Specifically, applicants must have letters representing two different sciences as follows: (Biological Sciences, General Biology or Microbiology; Chemistry, General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry; Physics, Math; Statistics or Calculus; are considered "science references for WVU). the third recommendation letter may be from an instructor in any subject area, an academic advisor, pharmacist, or other health care provider. Due to the PharmCAS limit of four LORs accepted from each applicant, the applicant may need to send additional LORs directly to WVU in order to meet WVU LOR requirements. Those applicants are required to send them to
Jennifer Clutter at the address below by December 1, 2008 deadline.

Jennifer Clutter
1133B HSN
PO Box 9500
Morgantown, WV 26506-9500

CONDITIONALLY REQUIRES* letters from:
Teaching Assistants
Faculty Advisor
Math Professor
Liberal Arts Professor
Employer
Supervisor
Clergy
Pre-Health Advisor
Pharmacist OR
Healthcare Professional

DOES NOT accept evaluations from the following:
Politicians
Friend
Family Members
Co-worker

An unsatisfactory recommendation is sufficient grounds for denial of admission.

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Personal Interview:
Applicants deemed eligible by the Committee on Admissions will be scheduled for a personal interview.  Interviews are held January through March.  Interviewees are judged on the quality of their answers and on their overall oral communication skills. Click here for content areas for interviews.

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Post Interview Information: 
Within 4-6 weeks after the interview a candidate will receive a letter designating his/her assignment to one of three possible categories:

• Provisional Admission- The applicant will be admitted into the class PROVIDED that any and all outstanding pre-requisite coursework is completed satisfactorily by the conclusion of the spring semester.  Also, the applicant MUST remain free of any violations of the Code of Conduct of the SOP and WVU or any law that would prevent his/her licensure. Applicants offered admission must send a deposit ($200 WV residents, $400 non-residents) to hold their place in the class.
• Deferred Action- A final decision will not be made on the applicant until all interviews are completed or all spring grades have been received.  Typically, it is anticipated that the majority of applicants will be placed in this category initially.
• Rejection-The candidate is not competitive for admission.

If a candidate is admitted, he/she must accept or decline the offer of admission within the time period stated in the letter offering admission.

After Spring grades arrive, and by approximately June 1; candidates who have been previously designated as provisional admits and who have successfully completed all required coursework will be offered full admission.  Candidates previously designated as “deferred” will either be granted full admission or rejected.  In addition, a small number of applicants will be designated as “alternates.”  Alternates will be called upon to fill openings in the class if and when they occur.

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Most Recently Admitted Class Statistics:
Below are the class statistics for the class that was admitted for Fall 2008.  There were 584 applicants and the final class size accepted was 83.

*This GPA refers to the required pre-pharmacy coursework not including the LSP Electives.

Questions? Contact:
sopadmit@lists.hsc.wvu.edu

Ms. Jennifer Clutter
West Virginia University
School of Pharmacy
Office of Student Services 
PO Box 9500
Morgantown, WV  26506-9500
Phone:  304-293-1552
Fax:  304-293-5483

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