FAQs: Application Information

Who should I ask to write letters of recommendation?

It is important for at least one letter to come from a residency preceptor who is able to speak to your clinical knowledge and ability to interact with patients or the healthcare team. Other letters are candidate specific and may include residency program director, long term employers, or pharmacy mentors. Please do not include letters from those who only know you on a personal level.

What transcripts should I include?

We need to see full transcripts for pharmacy school and for your pre-pharmacy requirements if applicable. Please include any additional information for higher education/degrees completed in PhORCAS.

Do I have to fill out all of the fields in PhORCAS when the information is already on my CV?

The PhORCAS fields are standard and included in every applicant’s packet. As such, they serve as a quick reference for our application screening committee and assist our interviewers. In addition, the fields in PhORCAS allow narrative descriptions of activities and experiences that may not be included in the CV. We will review the CV in detail as well.

How do I include my research experience?

Published research and presentations should involve full citations, and if the citation isn’t clear, they should also include type of presentation (poster, platform, virtual, CE, etc.), audience, and your role in the project. We are interested in your pharmacy school experiences and if you had a chance to assist with or complete any research projects or data analysis. Please include information on your role in the project so we can better evaluate your experience!

What is required for the application supplement?

As we customize our program for each resident, we want to know what kind of project experience you have as a PGY1! For us to best evaluate this, we require that you include your residency research project protocol as your application supplement. This allows us to know if you completed a practice expansion, quality improvement, or research-based project, so we can build on that experience during your PGY2 rather than repeating it.

What information should I include about my IPPEs and APPEs?

Unless your IPPE experience was very unique, we just need to see the basic information about your IPPE schedule. Please include all of your APPE schedule. Be sure to include type, dates, site, location (city, state) and preceptor for each one. For your unique APPE experiences, we also want to see a summary of what each completed APPE entailed and your accomplishments for each one. It is not necessary to repeat info in the summary that is included elsewhere in the CV.

What information should I include about my residency rotations?

Please include all of your residency schedule, even the rotations you have scheduled but have not completed yet. For each rotation, we would like to see a summary of what each completed rotation entailed, how many patients you cared for (if applicable), and your accomplishments for each rotation. It is not necessary to repeat information in the summary that is included elsewhere in the CV.

What should not be included in my CV?

In general, we do not need to see activities completed or achievements that happened before pharmacy school. Exceptions may include pharmacy work, shadowing experiences, or previous research.

What are the most common application mistakes candidates make?

Not including everything, making spelling or grammatical errors, and not expressing clear goals and interest areas are the most common mistakes we see. We strongly encourage candidates to have their CV and letter of intent reviewed and critiqued by at least one pharmacy faculty member or pharmacy mentor. ACCP has an excellent CV review service and also provides CV examples on the student section of their website.