One of the true strengths of the College of Pharmacy can be found by looking at the quality and character of our students. As we noted when doing the environmental scan for our strategic plan, we have a 5:1 applicant to enrolled student ratio in our PharmD program. We are attracting some of the brightest and most promising students to study at Ohio State.
To continue attracting and retaining high ability, engaged students, we have been focusing on improving our Doctor of Pharmacy admissions process. Specifically, we are implementing new ideas to help us attract well-prepared, diverse and enthusiastic students who are committed to providing excellent patient care and being leaders in the pharmacy profession in years to come.
As we recruited students for the Class of 2019, we implemented several changes to our admissions process and offered a new event— Welcome Day— to communicate to incoming students that we’re excited about them joining the college and choosing to pursue their professional education at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy.
This week, I have asked the Office of Student Services to share an update about the admissions process this year and the success of our first annual Welcome Day.
The College of Pharmacy is excited to welcome our Doctor of Pharmacy Class of 2019 to campus. Currently, we are on track to meet our target class size of 125. The class of 2019 includes 12 Early Admission Pathway (EAP) students. Plans are underway for orientation, which will begin the week of August 17.
This season’s interview process benefitted from contributions of many dedicated faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters, who gave generously of their time and talent. The college hosted seven Saturday interview events between January and April. We implemented several changes to the interview process this year, including a change of venue, moving interviews to conference rooms in the Biomedical Research Tower, located next door to Parks Hall. This change allowed us to offer a convenient, centralized interview day while allowing us to increase the number of prospective students invited to each day.
Another exciting update to the process was the addition of a web page specifically designed for our incoming PharmD students. This resource uses informative video blogs and interviews to help students find answers to their questions about the college. You can check out the new website here: http://pharmacy.osu.edu/future-students/pharmd-class-2019-admitted-students
The Student Services office hosted our first Welcome Day for admitted students on June 13. We opened our doors to the PharmD Class of 2019 for a full day of events. Seventy students participated and had the opportunity to sit in on an introductory lecture, ask questions, connect with classmates, and tour the campus and The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Lunch was served on the top floor of Thompson Library, while recent alumni spoke about their careers as pharmacists. 
Welcome Day was a great success and we look forward to hosting it again next year. Photos from the event can be found on our student blog: https://u.osu.edu/pharmdambassadors/.
While we help the Class of 2019 get ready for fall, we are starting to plan for next year’s admissions cycle. Tentative dates are scheduled for interviews and updates to the process are under review.
This season, we plan to start interviews early by participating in the Early Decision option provided by PharmCAS. The Early Decision option offers students who have decided that Ohio State is their number one choice the opportunity to submit their application materials for early review. In exchange for a binding commitment to attend if admitted, students are reviewed and given an admissions decision very early in the process. This potentially saves students the time, money, and effort of applying to multiple programs. Candidates who are interested in participating in the Early Decision option are required to submit all of their application materials to PharmCAS by September 8, 2015.
We’re looking forward to seeing the Class of 2019 begin its journey through the PharmD program, and are excited to start talking to potential members of the Class of 2020. Thanks again to all of the alumni, faculty, staff and students who help to support the PharmD admissions process.
If you have any questions about admission to Ohio State’s PharmD program, please visit http://www.pharmacy.ohio-state.edu/future-students/doctor-pharmacy-admissions or contact us at admissions@pharmacy.ohio-state.edu.
Thank you to Jessica, Joe, Julie, Kelly and all of the members of the Office of Student Affairs and the College of Pharmacy Admissions Committee for their hard work this year. We’re looking forward to seeing the Class of 2019 in Parks Hall to begin their studies in August, and to meeting future members of the Class of 2020 when they arrive for interviews a few months from now.
Best regards,
Katherine Kelley