The Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) is a central web service used by many PharmD programs to collect application materials. The website allows applicants to upload all materials to a central location. After PharmCAS verifies the materials, the appropriate ones are directly transmitted to each program you are applying to, reducing the amount of time and work it takes to prepare applications for multiple schools. Not only does the service streamline the technical aspects of preparing an application, but it also provides detailed information and direct links to relevant websites for each program.
The PharmCAS service benefits PharmD admissions offices as well. It provides a robust source of applicant information, including knowledge of whether an applicant has already accepted an offer to another program. The common portal makes it so easy to apply that schools are likely to receive higher numbers of applications and a more diverse applicant pool than they otherwise would. In addition, PharmCAS provides tools that allow each program to process and sift through many applications quickly, in order to find their best matches.
This article explains which pharmacy programs use PharmCAS, summarizes fee structures, and troubleshoots common questions.
Which schools use PharmCAS?
For many PharmD programs, submitting an application through PharmCAS, rather than directly, is required. There are approximately 150 schools offering a PharmD degree in the United States. While not all schools use PharmCAS, the vast majority do . Note that some schools require supplemental application materials that are not part of the core PharmCAS application, and these materials may be submitted either through PharmCAS or separately per the detailed application instructions from the school.
For schools that use PharmCAS, a wealth of information about the program’s application requirements, deadlines, and fees is published on our site.
What are the non-PharmCAS schools?
Some schools have decided to manage their application process outside of PharmCAS.
Some schools have decided to manage their application process outside of PharmCAS. If you are applying to one or more of these schools, you will be required to submit all materials to the school directly and cannot transmit information you may have already provided to PharmCAS.
Even for schools that use PharmCAS, it may not be appropriate to submit an application by PharmCAS. The service is intended to be used primarily by applicants who will be entering their first year of a PharmD program. Students who will be entering from a high school, have completed a BS in Pharmacy, or will be transferring from another PharmD program should contact institutions directly for application instructions. In these cases, the programs may prefer an application process outside of PharmCAS.
When should you apply?
The PharmCAS cycle opens in mid-July for programs that start the following fall. Apply as soon as your materials are ready, because waiting costs more than it saves.
There is no single national deadline. Each school sets its own, and they fall anywhere between November and June. If you are applying to several programs, the earliest date on your list is the one that governs your schedule.
A deadline is the date your materials must reach PharmCAS, not the date PharmCAS finishes verifying them. Verification can take up to four weeks. An application submitted the night before a deadline can sit unverified while decisions are already being made. PharmCAS asks for everything at least two weeks early.
Most applicants submit in the final days before a deadline, which creates a queue. Getting ahead of it is the cheapest advantage available to you.
Two situations pull your date forward. Early decision applicants need everything in by September. Schools with rolling admissions fill seats as they go, so there is no point at which applying late is still safe.
How the pharmacy school year works
PharmD programs start in the fall and follow the same rhythm as the rest of higher education. Individual schools run on semesters, quarters or trimesters, which changes how quickly you move through the professional years.
From finishing high school to holding a PharmD takes most students six to seven years. That breaks into two to four years of pre-pharmacy coursework followed by three to four years of professional study. The AACP publishes a table of program structures if you want to compare specific schools.
What to do in each year of college
Freshman year
Meet an academic advisor early and map out the prerequisites. Your major does not have to be a science. What matters is finishing the required courses, and most programs want one to two semesters each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry, all with labs. Calculus, statistics and English usually appear as well. Requirements vary by program, so check each school rather than assuming they match.
Grades count from your first semester. Every pharmacy school looks at GPA, and some calculate a second GPA from prerequisite courses alone. That makes a weak semester in general chemistry much harder to bury than a weak semester in an elective.
Sophomore and junior years
If your first year was uneven, there is still time. Admissions committees read an upward trend as evidence that someone adjusted, particularly when it happens while the coursework is getting harder.
Start building experience. Working as a pharmacy technician, volunteering in a hospital or clinic, or assisting in a research lab all give you something concrete to write about later. They also give you a realistic picture of the job before you commit six years to it.
Senior year
Ask for letters of recommendation well before you need them. Writers need weeks, and a rushed letter reads like one.
Check whether any program on your list still requires an admissions test. Almost none do. The PCAT was retired in January 2024, and most schools had dropped it before then. Admissions now lean on holistic review, which puts more weight on your experience, your essay and your interview than on any single score.
Draft your personal statement early enough that you can leave it alone for a week and read it again with fresh eyes. Then submit as soon as your transcripts and evaluations are in.
How much does PharmCAS cost for applications?
PharmCAS charges an application fee of $175 for the first program application. The charge for each additional program is $55, and you can apply to as many programs as you would like. Fees are collected online by credit card only, and there is no refund for withdrawn applications or missed deadlines.
Note that some schools charge a supplemental application fee on top of the standard PharmCAS fee. These fees are sent directly to the program.
Is there a PharmCAS fee waiver?
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has established a fee waiver fund. Each year, 457 applicants receive a waiver of the $175 application fee for one PharmCAS institution. Waivers are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis to financially disadvantaged candidates. Proof of income (prior year’s tax return) is required to show that the applicant or their parent/guardian (if a dependent) was below the US Department of Health and Human Services’ low income level guidelines.
Applicants who are granted a waiver have 14 calendar days to submit their completed application to PharmCAS. If the applicant chooses to apply to more than 1 program, they will be responsible for a $55 fee for each additional program. The waiver applies only to the $175 for the first program.
If an applicant qualified for a waiver but it was not granted because waiver funds were exhausted, PharmCAS will notify the applicant’s desired program. Each program decides if they will waive the $55 fee.
Learn More about PharmCAS by State
PharmCAS customer service
PharmCAS customer service offers multiple contact points.
Phone: 617-612-2050
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PharmCAS/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PharmCAS or @PharmCAS
Website: www.pharmcas.org
In addition, many questions can be answered by visiting the AACP's PharmCAS manual.
How do I send my transcripts to PharmCAS
One of the benefits of PharmCAS is that applicants only need to have their transcripts sent to one location, rather than all programs individually.
One of the benefits of PharmCAS is that applicants only need to have their transcripts sent to one location, rather than all programs individually. The earliest application deadline for the programs you are applying to determines when you should ensure your transcripts are available.
Applicants are required to arrange for submission of official transcripts from all U.S And Canadian English accredited institutions that they have attended, even if they transferred to another school. Official transcripts must be sent directly from the college registrar to PharmCAS. Electronic transcripts are preferred, but paper transcripts are accepted. PharmCAS provides a transcript request form to facilitate this process. PharmCAS recommends allowing up to 10 days for transcripts to be processed.
Transcript processing may be delayed if the applicant has not started a PharmCAS application for the current cycle or has failed to enter the institution in their application form. In addition, transcripts must be addressed directly to PharmCAS, not the applicant.
Additional details for the different unique situations that can arise when requesting transcripts, including how to manage transcripts from foreign institutions, are covered by PharmCAS.
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation (LOR), called "evaluations" in PharmCAS, are not standardized across programs. Before you begin requesting letters of recommendation, you should check the our school directory to determine the program-specific evaluation requirements. The number and type of LOR required vary by program, and some programs may not consider extra references, although they will receive access to all that were submitted. Some programs prefer that evaluations are sent directly to them rather than through PharmCAS.
If you are required to provide evaluations in PharmCAS, this will be completed by your evaluator electronically through the PharmCAS Evaluator Portal. After entering up to 4 evaluator names on your PharmCAS application, the evaluator will receive an invitation to provide their evaluation electronically. Paper references are not accepted. The evaluation consists of 2 parts: (1) completing a series of questions and evaluation ratings and (2) uploading a letter of reference.
Does work experience matter?
It matters more than it used to, now that no admissions test separates candidates. Committees want evidence that you understand what pharmacists actually do and that you went out of your way to find out.
Work as a pharmacy technician counts. So does volunteering in a healthcare setting, assisting on science research, or sustained community service. What turns any of it into an advantage is what you make of it afterwards: your essay and your interview are where you explain what the work taught you and why it pointed you toward pharmacy.