The application deadline for students wishing to apply to the high school pathway for the Fall 2013 is December 14, 2012.
To be considered for admission as a high school applicant to the Cooperative Pharmacy Program, the high school applicant must be a current high school senior anticipating graduation from one of the 8 Far West Texas Border counties supported by the UTEP Cooperative Pharmacy Program.
In addition to graduating from a high school located in El Paso County or one of the other counties identified above, a competitive academic record is required.
The applicant must have a minimum high school GPA of 70. Ideally, the high school applicant will have a high school GPA of at least 90.
- Typically, more than 95% of our high school applicants have high school GPAs greater than 90 and the average GPA of all admitted high school applicants since 1999 is 95.76. The average high school GPA for our 2012 high school class was 97.11.
The applicant must have a competitive math, science and English GPA in their high school coursework.
- Typically, more than 95% of our high school applicants have high school math, science and English GPAs greater than 3.2. The average math, science and English GPA of admitted high school students since 2003 is 3.73. The average math, science, English GPA for the 2012 high school class was 3.75. The applicant must have competitive standardized test scores, either SAT or ACT. The Cooperative Pharmacy Program only utilizes the verbal and math SAT scores or the composite ACT score for this criteria.
- Typically, more than 95% of our high school applicants have combined verbal and math SAT scores greater than 1000 or ACT composite above 21. The average combined verbal and math SAT scores of all admitted high school students is 1124. The SAT scores for the 2012 high school entry class were 1081.
The applicant must have competitive writing essay scores from either SAT or ACT tests.
- Typically, 100% of our high school applicants have a SAT or ACT essay scores greater than 6. The average essay score since 2007 is 7.8. The average essay score for the 2012 entry class was 7.7
Students in the high school pathway of the CPP must maintain full-time student status (or provide evidence of substantive family or financial obligations). The program requires specific courses in biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, mathematics, English, and other legislatively mandated requirements for all University students. A grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or better must be attained in the mathematics, sciences, and English courses that are required for admission to the University of Texas at Austin, with a grade of at least a B in each of these courses. The overall GPA must be at or above 3.2.
Students in the high school pathway of the CPP must complete all of the mathematics, science, and English pharmacy prerequisite coursework required by the UT Austin College of Pharmacy by the end of the spring semester prior to the fall matriculation to the UT Austin College of Pharmacy.
There is NO requirement for the CPP student to progress to the College of Pharmacy in two years. The completion of all minimum coursework required for the prepharmacy prerequisites, core curriculum courses, and signature flags along with the attainment of competitive PCAT scores may not be possible for all students in two years. As long as a student continues to comply with all criteria listed in their Memorandum of Agreement, the student will not be subject to removal from the CPP.
Students in the high school pathway of the CPP should complete the UTEP core curriculum requirements prior to their matriculation to UT Austin. Students transferring from UTEP as "core complete" will be considered "core complete" by UT Austin.
Any CPP student who has not completed core curriculum requirements prior to matriculation to UT Austin will be required to complete all core curriculum and course flag requirements of the University of Texas at Austin prior to graduation. It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that all CPP students complete core curriculum and flag course requirements prior to matriculation to UT Austin. The intensity and the number classroom hours in the professional curriculum presents an extremely adverse situation to students attempting to take additional courses concurrently with their professional coursework while in the College of Pharmacy.
Students in the high school pathway CPP must acquire competitive scores on The Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) for admission to the College of Pharmacy. The PCAT test is an admission requirement for the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. All CPP students will be required to take the PCAT test. If a high school pathway student wishes to begin their professional studies in Austin after just 2 years at UTEP, the high school pathway student will have to take the PCAT test by the end of the fall semester of their sophomore year at UTEP. The admission committee will not accept PCAT scores after the admission deadline. High school pathway students in the CPP will be required to achieve a competitive PCAT composite score of >75% with all sub scores > 50% and writing scores > 3.
Students in the high school pathway of the CPP who complete all prepharmacy prerequisite coursework, core curriculum, and signature flag coursework according to the GPA and PCAT criteria and who have met all other CPP professional criteria will allowed to progress to the College of Pharmacy in Austin and begin their professional studies. These students only need to complete the application process in PharmCAS found on the College of Pharmacy's website (http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/admissions/app_instructions.html) before the established College of Pharmacy's application deadline.
Any high school pathway CPP student that has completed all prepharmacy prerequisite, core curriculum, and signature flag coursework according to the GPA criteria and who have met all other CPP professional criteria but with PCAT composite scores < 75 or with any sub scores < 50% may elect to apply to the College of Pharmacy as a transitional student without being subject to removal from the program providing the student is in compliance with all other CPP criteria and meets all application deadlines.
Currently, there is no penalty for retaking the PCAT exam. Current PCAT policies and College of Pharmacy School admission policies allow retaking of the PCAT test. Current information on the PCAT retesting policies may be found on the PCAT website. (http://www.pcatweb.info/)
All CPP students whether in the high school pathway or transitional pathway will be required to apply for admission to the University of Texas at Austin when they are ready to transfer to the College of Pharmacy following the PharmCAS procedures found on the College of Pharmacy's website (http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/admissions/app_instructions.html) by the established deadline.