LECOM School of Pharmacy FAQ

The LECOM School of Pharmacy offers three pathways to pursue the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

• The Erie, PA campus offers an innovative, three-year, year-round pathway. The students at the Erie Campus attend school year-round, including summers, and have about 1-2 weeks off between each term.
• At the Bradenton, FL Campus, students attend for four years and have a summer break; however, some of the experiential rotations take place in the summer (specifically after P1 year and P3 year).
• In the Distance Education pathway, the students complete a majority of the coursework online.  They come to the Erie campus each summer for laboratory sessions, professional development, group projects, discussions, and graduation activities.  While most of the course work is completed remotely, students must be available at designated hours during the day to take exams and participate and synchronous learning sessions with faculty and classmates.

Please review the LECOM School of Pharmacy Entrance Requirements to see the admissions requirements.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy has affiliation agreements offering Early Acceptance Programs (EAP) that allow qualified undergraduate students to complete the Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) in as little as five years. The number of years (2, 3, or 4) required to attend the undergraduate school is determined by each affiliate. At each institution, undergraduate students will complete a specially designed pre-pharmacy curriculum required to satisfy the pre-requisite coursework for admission into the professional component of the Pharm.D. program. LECOM will reserve a seat for all students enrolled in the program and who meet the affiliation program’s requirements for acceptance to the LECOM School of Pharmacy. For more information on the affiliation programs please click the link above, or contact the pre-health advisor at one of the affiliated institutions.

Applicants must electronically submit to PharmCAS by midnight on June 1 of the application year. The two letters of recommendation (One letter must be from a science professor and other letter can be from anyone else except a friend, family member, or co-worker. A letter of recommendation from a pharmacist is recommended), and college transcripts must be submitted by June 1 of the application year by midnight in order for PharmCAS to deliver this information to LECOM.

No.

All applicants are required to fill out a PharmCAS application and a LECOM supplemental application. Once LECOM receives your PharmCAS application, we will send you an e-mail within 7-10 business days notifying you it has arrived and to provide you a username and password which will allow you to log onto the admissions portal site to complete the supplemental application. All pre-requisite coursework must be completed by July 1^st for the application cycle. Students can e-mail the Admissions Office of any changes or updates to their file at pharmacy@lecom.edu (Accelerated program in Erie, PA and Distance Education Program) or pharmacyfla@lecom.edu  (4-year program in Bradenton, FL).

You may submit a PharmCAS application for any LECOM School of Pharmacy program. If you apply to (and are accepted to) multiple programs, you may only submit a deposit for one program. Once you have submitted a deposit, your application will be withdrawn from the other LECOM School of Pharmacy programs.

All pre-requisite coursework must be completed by July 1^st of the application cycle. We will not accept any classes after the deadline.

PharmCAS charges a fee to students using their application service. This fee is incurred by the student.

It is suggested that LECOM applicants have a minimum 2.7 overall GPA as calculated by PharmCAS.  LECOM looks at the PharmCAS overall GPA, which also includes repeated coursework, not the breakdown of the GPA by institution.

LECOM no longer requires applicants to have taken the PCAT.

Advancement placement credits will only be accepted for pre-requisite coursework with a score of “3” or higher.  International baccalaureate credits from a U.S. high school will be accepted for pre-requisite coursework with a score of “4” or higher.

No. LECOM does not accept CLEP credits.

Students with F-1 Visas are eligible to apply to LECOM’s School of Pharmacy.  Visit our Entrance Requirements page to see the specific admissions requirements for international students.

LECOM does not accept credits from international institutions. All coursework must be completed in the United States from an accredited college/university in the United States.

Because all coursework must be completed in the United States, applicants are not required to take the TOEFL exam.

Yes, applicants being considered for admission will be invited for an on-site ore virtual interview on a rolling basis between September and May. Applicants are notified in advance via e-mail of their interview date.

LECOM School of Pharmacy requires two letters of recommendation. One of the letters must be from a science professor. The other letter can be from anyone else except a friend, family member or co-worker. A letter of recommendation from a pharmacist is recommended. All letters of recommendation are submitted through PharmCAS. PharmCAS allows students to submit up to four letters of recommendation. PharmCAS will send the letters to the schools you apply to once they receive them from your recommender.

Experience working in a pharmacy practice environment is not required; however it can be a valuable asset in determining the appropriateness of the career path. Prospective Pharm. D. students are encouraged to learn more about the profession by talking with pharmacists and finding varied shadowing or volunteer experiences that will provide insight into what pharmacists do, the various settings in which pharmacists work, and how pharmacists interact with patients and health care professionals.

No. All transcripts should be sent directly to PharmCAS. If you are accepted into the Pharmacy Program, then we will require you to send to LECOM an official transcript from each school you have attended.

No. LECOM does not need nor look at high school transcripts or SAT scores.

The admissions committee will start to meet in September and continue meeting through May to make decisions on files. LECOM makes decisions on a rolling basis. All admissions decisions will be sent via U.S. mail. LECOM cannot release any information on your file by phone or e-mail.

LECOM SOP is looking for students with a demonstrated ability to succeed academically in the program. Accepted students also have good communication skills, both oral and written, a desire for a career in health care and excellent people skills. We are looking for students who have a desire for a career in pharmacy and have knowledge of the profession.

Our rolling admissions policy offers students the opportunity to secure their spot in the LECOM School of Pharmacy as early as October.  We address the competitive nature of applying to our pharmacy school by providing students with four separate options to pursue their Doctor of Pharmacy goals:  the 4-year Florida pathway, the 3-year Accelerated pathway, the Distance Education pathway, and our Health Sciences Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, which can lead to acceptance into the Pharm.D. program.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy does not require a specific overall minimum GPA, however it is highly preferred that students carry a 2.7 GPA or higher throughout their pre-professional coursework.

Yes, approximately 50% of our current student population is from out of state. Since LECOM is a private institution, this allows us to expand our applicant pool to all over the United States rather than focus within Florida and Pennsylvania. There are some limitations in the Distance Education Program due to state authorizations (email Pharmacy@lecom.edu for specific information).

Each December, you can log into your PharmCAS account and submit your fall transcripts to PharmCAS and update your application. Once PharmCAS verifies the changes they will send LECOM the revisions. It is important for all students to complete an academic update so the admissions office receives the most accurate file.

In December, you can log into your PharmCAS account and update your coursework. PharmCAS has a section (called the Planned Section) that allows you to add the coursework you are planning to take in the spring. PharmCAS will send the updates to the schools you apply to.

No, all coursework must be completed at an undergraduate institution by July 1 prior to matriculation. LECOM is a graduate level institution; we only offer the professional program in pharmacy. Coursework must be completed at any accredited college/university in the United States.

Yes! Millcreek Community Hospital, an affiliate of LECOM Health, offers three PGY1 Pharmacy Residency positions, as well as a PGY2 Pharmacy Residency specialized in geriatrics.  In addition, LECOM offers Masters of Science Degree programs in Biomedical Sciences, Medical Education, Public Health, Medical Cannabinoid Therapeutics, and Health Services Administration.

Approximately 15-20% of our graduates continue on to a residency and about 50% work in a community setting.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy offers both the Health Sciences Post-Baccalaureate program and the Pre-Pharm. D. Enrichment Program (PEP) to help strengthen your application.

Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences for the Accelerated pathway are available within a 250-mile radius of the Erie campus.  Students have the opportunity to fulfill their experiential education requirements at major cities like Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit, in addition to sites in other communities.  Florida students have the opportunity to pursue their experiential rotations anywhere within the state of Florida.  Distance Education students have the ability to complete their rotations wherever they reside.

Students in the Distance Education pathway complete a majority of the coursework virtually.  They come to one of the campuses each summer for 1-3 weeks for orientation, laboratory sessions, professional development, group projects, discussions, and graduation activities.  Students must be available at designated hours during the day to take exams and participate in live synchronous learning sessions with faculty and classmates.  Lectures are delivered through narrated Power Points (Brainshark) and video conferencing may be used to record guest speakers and panel discussions.    Testing software and the use of web cameras allow exams to be proctored live.

LECOM School of Pharmacy will be holding Open Houses for prospective students interested in viewing our campuses occurring in the months of June and November. Visit our Open House page for more information. If you would like to schedule an individual tour, you may also contact our Erie and Distance Education admissions office at pharmacy@lecom.edu or our Florida admissions office at pharmacyfla@lecom.edu to set up a time to visit our campus.

When the student’s application is processed, LECOM automatically sends an e-mail assigning a username and password to the applicant allowing access to portal.lecom.edu . This is a secure site available only to LECOM students, faculty and staff. After the admissions office processes the file, the applicant receives an e-mail informing them that their application has been processed and they can visit the portal to view their missing requirements. The portal also allows the applicant to keep checking on their application status throughout the process.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). If you have additional questions, please visit their website at www.acpe-accredit.org/

If you are having problems, please e-mail our IT department at: issupport@lecom.edu. They will be able to assist you with any technical problems you are having.