Pharm.D. Admissions

Requirements

Admission to the South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP) is competitive and is based on the applicant’s completion of pre-pharmacy requirements, GPA, academic record, three letters of recommendation, interview evaluations, PCAT scores, honors/awards, extracurricular activities, work experience, and student personal statement concerning their goals for a career in pharmacy.

In order to apply, a candidate must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. It is the candidate’s responsibility to verify that minimum GPA requirements are met. An application fee refund will not be issued if application requirements are not met.

Applicants must provide an official copy of all college transcripts, including all grades for courses taken through the last semester prior to application submission. Applicants still completing coursework in the fall semester prior to the application deadline will be required to submit a transcript including this coursework before an admissions decision will be made.

As a state-assisted institution, preference will be given to in-state applicants. In-state applicants are defined as South Carolina residents and any non-South Carolina residents attending a South Carolina college or university. In-state status as defined here only applies to the admission process. Residency for the purpose of tuition will be based upon the South Carolina Code of Laws.

PCAT Score Policy

To be considered for full admission, applicants should attempt the PCAT exam prior to the application deadline, on or before Tuesday, January 07, 2014. The January PCAT scores will be accepted by the SCCP Admissions Committee (please see below for policy on utilization of these scores). Applicants must take the PCAT and have official scores reported to PharmCAS prior to February 1, 2013. PCAT exam scores are valid for 5 years. Any exams scores older than 5 years will not be accepted and the exam will need to be repeated.

The January PCAT scores will be utilized in the the following manner:

• If you take the January 2013 PCAT exam and this is a repeat attempt with a higher composite score than previous attempts, then January PCAT scores will be updated on the final admissions application.
• If the January 2013 PCAT exam is the first attempt, then the applicant may be considered for an interview and accepted to a position on the waitlist only. This is due to the wait time required to receive and process PCAT scores from PharmCAS. In most cases, the January PCAT scores will be received at approximately the same time final spots for admission are being decided.
  

International Applicants

The South Carolina College of Pharmacy is welcoming to international students within the policy shown below. Individual doctor of pharmacy program applicants who meet these requirements may apply.

The SCCP also considers a limited number of international applicants to the doctor of pharmacy program who have completed at least a 5-year bachelor of science in pharmacy degree and when there is a prior written agreement between the SCCP
and an international sponsoring university, government, or agency (International Partnership Program).

Individual International Applicant Requirements

1. At least 42 hours of our prerequisite courses must have been completed at a college or university accredited in the United States (no on-line courses allowed), all English language courses must be completed at a college or university accredited in the United States (no on-line courses allowed).
   
   
2. An international student admitted to the College must be proficient in English with a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper based exam, 77 on the internet-based TOEFL, or 210 on the computer-based TOEFL.
   
   
3. Applicants must be eligible to receive a Pharmacy Intern Certificate based on the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy requirements. The Pharmacy Intern Certificate
   is a requirement for students to complete Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences portion of the PharmD curriculum.
   
   
4. Students who have attended post-secondary educational institutions, colleges or universities outside of the United States are required to submit a professional credential evaluation of all work completed. This is generally referred to as a course-by-course transcript evaluation. A course-by-course transcript evaluation should be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment Management from the evaluation service.
   
   
5. If you are currently enrolled in a term or semester, you should contact the evaluation service about getting a partial evaluation done. A final evaluation will be required prior to enrollment. A fee from the student is required for the evaluation of credentials. The payment and all contact regarding this process is done directly with the evaluation service of your choice. We will consider an evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). The web address is www.naces.org.
   
   
6. Official documents (photocopies are acceptable) certifying that the student will have sufficient funding to attend the South Carolina College of Pharmacy for one
   academic year are required. This evidence will be used to issue the student an immigration document (I-20 or DS-2019) which will be required to obtain the F-1 or J-1 student visa at a US embassy or consulate. If you are a permanent resident, you do not need to provide this information. International students may not be eligible for student loans through the FAFSA process. All international students will be considered out-of-state during the admissions processes and for tuition purposes.
   
   
7. The applicant is responsible for obtaining a proper VISA, if accepted.
   
   
8. Applicants admitted to the doctor of pharmacy program must comply with all student policies and requirements as detailed in the SCCP Bulletin (www.sccp.sc.edu) and all admission procedure requirements including a background check and heath / immunization policies.
   

Below is the contact information of two companies that frequently provide us with evaluations.

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
International Educational Consultants
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Web: www.jsilny.com
Phone: 305-273-1616

World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 5087
Bowling Green Station
New York, NY 10274-5087
Web: www.wes.org
Phone: 212-966-6311

International Partnership Program Applicant Requirements

International Partnership Applicants to the SCCP doctor of pharmacy program may apply only after a written agreement between the SCCP and the international sponsoring university, government, or agency has been completed. The number of
international partnership applicants admitted each year will be determined by SCCP, and a signed partnership agreement does not guarantee admission of individual applicants. For admission of international BS degree pharmacists, applicants must meet admission criteria shown below. The SCCP may grant advanced status, depending on the individual’s academic record or practice experience. International applicants must have graduated within 10 years of the date of application.

1. An international partnership program student admitted to the College must be proficient in English with a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper based exam, 77 on the internet-based TOEFL, or 210 on the computer-based TOEFL.
   
   
2. Applicants must be eligible to receive a Pharmacy Intern Certificate based on the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy requirements. The Pharmacy Intern Certificate
   is a requirement for students to complete Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences portion of the PharmD curriculum.
   
   
3. Students who have attended post-secondary educational institutions, colleges or universities outside of the United States are required to submit a professional credential evaluation of all work completed. This is generally referred to as a course-by-course transcript evaluation. A course-by-course transcript evaluation should be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment Management from the evaluation service. A fee from the student is required for the evaluation of credentials. The payment and all contact regarding this process is done directly with the evaluation service of your choice. We will consider an evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). The web address is www.naces.org.
   
   
4. Official documents (photocopies are acceptable) which certify that the student will have sufficient funding to attend the South Carolina College of Pharmacy for
   one academic year is required. This evidence will be used to issue the student an immigration document (I-20 or DS-2019) which will be required to obtain the F-1 or J-1 student visa at a US embassy or consulate. If you are a permanent resident, you do not need to provide this information.
   
   
5. The applicant is responsible for obtaining a proper VISA, if accepted.
   
   
6. Applicants admitted to the doctor of pharmacy program must comply with all student policies and requirements as detailed in the SCCP Bulletin (www.sccp.sc.edu) and all admission procedure requirements including a background check and heath / immunization policies.

Below is the contact information of two companies that frequently provide us with evaluations.

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
International Educational Consultants
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Web: www.jsilny.com
Phone: 305-273-1616

World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 5087
Bowling Green Station
New York, NY 10274-5087
Web: www.wes.org
Phone: 212-966-6311

Application Process

Applications must be submitted electronically through PharmCAS. A PharmCAS application checklist can be found at http://www.pharmcas.org/advisors/start.htm . In addition, the SCCP also requires applicants to submit a supplemental application directly to the SCCP Admissions Office of Enrollment Management. Three SCCP reference forms are required through the SCCP supplemental application. You must designate your preferred campus (USC-Columbia or MUSC-Charleston) on the SCCP supplemental application. The SCCP Admissions Committee will evaluate all applications and each is rated based on criteria (such as GPA, PCAT, extracurricular activity, pharmacy work history, letters of reference, prior degree and personal statement) established by the Committee.

The PharmCAS application fee is paid directly to PharmCAS. For more information on PharmCAS fees, please see http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/fees.htm . The non-refundable supplemental application fee for the SCCP is $95.00 (US dollars). The online processing fee for the supplemental application is payable by electronic check or credit card (Visa or MasterCard) only.

The PharmCAS and SCCP Supplemental application deadline is Tuesday, January 07, 2014.

PharmCAS will process your application once you submit your completed application, required fee, and all official transcript(s) to the Service. PharmCAS processing may take up to five weeks once all required materials are received therefore we recommend that you apply early.

Admissions Interviews

PharmCAS will begin sending complete application information to SCCP beginning in August. In order to be eligible for an interview, a completed PharmCAS admissions application and SCCP Supplemental Application must be received.

Once the complete application has been evaluated, selected applicants are interviewed on the preferred campus listed on the supplemental application. The SCCP Admissions Committee will begin selecting candidates for interviews starting in mid September and will continue to review submitted applications and conduct interviews through early December. Candidates are encouraged to submit applications early so that a majority of the interviews can be conducted in the Fall semester. A limited number of interviews will be conducted in the early spring semester in order to fill the remaining spots to the admissions class. Candidates are encouraged to bring an updated resume (2 copies) to their interview if wishing to submit updated information to the previously submitted application.

Admissions Decision Process

Admission to each campus is made on a space-available basis (i.e. 110 students at the USC campus and 80 students at the MUSC campus). If one campus reaches capacity prior to all students being placed, students are considered candidates for the other campus if this option is indicated in the application.

Early admissions decisions will be provided to students eligible for the Early Decision program within PharmCAS. SCCP will follow the application and announcement deadlines outlined by PharmCAS. Candidates participating in the Early Decisions program may be offered early admission, denied admission, or deferred to regular applicant status. Applicants must have taken the PCAT in July (or earlier) and have 16 hours or less of prerequisites remaining to be eligible for early decision program. For more information on the Early Decision program, please see http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/edp.htm.

Regular admission decisions may go out in the Fall semester if the applicant has completed the pre-pharmacy curriculum and transcripts are available for Admissions Committee review. For candidates still completing pre-pharmacy curriculum, admission decisions will go out starting in January once Fall semester transcripts have been received and reviewed. This will allow the committee time to review completed transcripts from the Fall semester prior to making an admission decision.

All interviewed candidates will be eligible for admissions to the PharmD program. Following the candidate interview, the SCCP Admissions Committee will periodically review final applications and interview evaluations. Candidates may receive an offer shortly after their interview pending SCCP Admissions Committee evaluation. The Admissions Committee typically convenes on a 2-3 week cycle and reviews applicant files as timely as possible. If a candidate does not receive an offer within 2-3 weeks following the interview, the individual is still eligible for admissions and a decision will be deferred until additional interviews are completed. All applicants will be notified of their admission status on or before March 31, 2013. Accepted applicants will be contacted by phone, email, and/or written letter. Waitlist and denied applicants will be notified by written letter and/or email.

You may check your admission status in PharmCAS. We politely request that you not contact SCCP prior to March 31, 2013 to inquire about your application status. The Admissions Committee will strive to complete the admissions process in a timely fashion and notify all applicants as soon as a decision has been made.

Accepted Students

A seat confirmation fee of $485 is required to secure admission. An official transcript for all prerequisite coursework will be required when admitted and prerequisite coursework is completed. This will be a separate transcript request from those submitted to PharmCAS. These transcripts will be sent to the SCCP Enrollment Services. All prerequisite coursework must be completed prior to the start of PharmD classes (Fall semester). If you are a prior or current USC or MUSC student, your USC transcripts are printed internally, and a transcript request to USC or MUSC is not required.

Mail transcripts to:
SCCP Admissions
Office of Enrollment Management
41 Bee Street
MSC 203
Charleston, SC 29425-2030

Tuition and Fees

Information for Previous Applicants

PharmCAS will maintain some application information from the previous year.
For more information, please see PharmCAS information at http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/reapplicants.htm.

SCCP supplemental application information will not be kept on file from previous years. You will need to submit new information in future application cycles. Letters of recommendation can not be reused from one application year to another. Previous evaluators are allowed to complete and submit a new reference form for the current application cycle. PCAT scores are valid for up to 5 years from the date test was taken. Any PCAT scores older than this time frame will not be accepted and the PCAT exam will need to be repeated prior to the application deadline.

To Begin the Application Process please visit http://www.pharmcas.org/applicants/start.htm

SCCP Supplemental Application

Read the steps below before proceeding with completing the application:

Step 1. Create a free CollegeNet account - you do not have to pay the application fee until you have completed and submitted the application form - If you have already created an account with CollegeNet by applying to another university, you may use the same account for SCCP. If you have not done so create a CollegeNet account and come back here to choose your preferred campus. All applicants to the SCCP are required to select a preferred campus (University of South Carolina Campus – Columbia or Medical University of South Carolina – Charleston).

Forgotten your CollegeNet ID? Click Here
Forgotten your CollegeNet Password? Click Here

Step 2. In order to make this selection, please complete the appropriate application link below. If you wish to be considered for admission at both campuses, you will have the option to select this status in the links below. You only need to complete one supplemental application.

Your personal statement for our supplemental application should match the personal statement in your PharmCas Application.