Pharm.D. Admissions

Requirements

Admission to the South Carolina College of Pharmacy is competitive and is based on the applicant’s completion of pre-pharmacy requirements, GPA, academic record, 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. Applicants must take the PCAT and have official scores reported prior to the end of the application period, on or before Thursday, December 20, 2012. In order to apply, a candidate must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.

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. Those currently enrolled at either USC Columbia or MUSC may have their USC/MUSC transcripts generated internally at no cost for pharmacy admissions.

As a state-assisted institution, preference will be given to in-state applicants. In-state students 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.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted electronically through the Application Portal below. You must designate your preferred campus (USC-Columbia or MUSC-Charleston). 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.

Once evaluated, applicants are ranked and then placed in the campus of their preference. 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.

The online processing fee is payable by electronic check or credit card (Visa or MasterCard) only. The non-refundable application fee for the South Carolina College of Pharmacy is $95.00 (US dollars).

*Applicants must take the PCAT and have official scores reported prior to the end of the application period.

Priority Admission Guidelines

The South Carolina College of Pharmacy program has a priority admission program for the academically superior students that complete applications in a timely fashion. To qualify for the priority admission program, applicants must submit a completed application with references, PCAT scores, and official transcripts to the Office of Enrollment Management at the applicants’ earliest convenience.

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.

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 to review completed transcripts from the Fall semester prior to making an admission decision. Admission through the priority admission program is on a space available basis. Students who are not accepted will be considered for regular admission at the appropriate time.

Tuition and Fees

Before You Apply

For consideration for admission to the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, applicants are required to submit OFFICIAL transcripts from ALL prior institutions before an application is considered complete. Transcripts for coursework in progress at the time of application must be sent to Enrollment Services upon matriculation into the program.

Prior or Current USC/MUSC Students

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.

Sending Transcripts

If applicable, use the "Transcript Request Form," available within the application, or send your own request to the registrar of each institution. DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE that contains the document. If the registrar will not give you an official copy, explain this in a letter to the Enrollment Management office and have the transcript(s) sent under separate cover.

Should you not be accepted, transcripts submitted to SCCP are retained for a period of one year to assist you in reapplying. After one year, transcripts are destroyed and official copies must be resubmitted.

Mail transcripts to:

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

International Transcripts

The South Carolina College of Pharmacy is welcoming to international students; however, we require

(1) At least 42 hours of our prerequisites be taken at an accredited college or university in the United States (no on-line courses allowed),

(2) all English courses must be taken at an accredited college or university in the United States (no on-line courses allowed),

(3) Additionally, an international student at the University must be proficient in English. Proficiency is measured through the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A score of at least 550 on the paper based exam, 77 on the internet based TOEFL, or 210 on the computer based TOEFL, is required.

(4) 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.

(5) 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 report. A course-by-course report should be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment Management from the evaluation service.

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.

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

(6) 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. 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 admitted students, including international students, will be required to submit proper documentation indicating sufficient funds to cover a full year of tuition and living expenses. All international students will be considered out-of-state during the admissions processes and for tuition purposes.

Information for Previous Applicants

Information from previous applications will be kept on file for a period of one year. Complete transcripts and PCAT scores are the only information that will be accepted for carryover into a future application. 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. Transcripts submitted to SCCP are retained for a period of one year to assist you in reapplying. After one year, transcripts are destroyed and official copies must be resubmitted. 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.