Supplemental Application
The University of Minnesota's supplemental application is embedded in the PharmCAS application in the Program Materials section. To apply to our program, applicants must select the University of Minnesota within PharmCAS and complete this section of the application. One part of the supplemental application consists of additional applicant information and short answer questions that we use in the review of applications, and other information is collected for assessment purposes in order to improve our admissions services.
Application processing fee
The University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy is committed to reducing barriers to the application process and profession. To that end, we have eliminated our supplemental application fee for Fall 2023 admission!
Required essays
Our Fall 2023 short-answer essay prompts are as follows. Each essay has a 150 word limit.
- Describe a situation where you overcame a challenge. What steps did you take to overcome this challenge? How did your individual strengths and weaknesses contribute to the way you handled the situation?
- Describe a situation where you experienced or witnessed discrimination. What did you do at the time, and why? If you encountered the situation again today, would you respond differently? Why or why not?
- Describe a group, organization, or community in which you have been heavily involved or consider yourself a member. What has been your individual contribution or role in the group? What have you gotten out of your participation in the group?
- Describe an interest, skill, or passion that you have developed outside of school and work. What steps have you taken to learn about this topic, develop your skills, gain expertise, etc.? What lessons have you learned from this interest or skill that could be applied to other aspects of your life?
Reapplicant essay (required)
This essay is required for reapplicants to the University of Minnesota PharmD program only:
- Please indicate the outcome of your previous application (whether you withdrew, were not offered admission, etc.) as well as information about the ways in which your application has changed since you last applied. Please comment specifically on steps you have taken to improve your application, such as seeking reapplicant counseling from admissions staff, retaking coursework or the PCAT, gaining additional experiences, etc.
Optional essay
This essay is optional and provides an opportunity for you to share any additional information that you feel is not captured elswhere in the application. Please note: applicants are encouraged to provide an explanation of any areas of our selection criteria that may fall below the averages of previously admitted applicants. For example, if your GPA and/or PCAT fall significantly below the averages of our previously admitted applicants, you are strongly encouraged to write this essay providing an explanation of the factors that contributed to your GPA and/or PCAT, and the steps you have taken to ensure you have the academic foundation necessary for success in our PharmD curriculum.
Application essay tips
- Be authentic - we want to get to know you, not hear what you think we want to hear!
- Utilize your resources, such as career services, writing center, etc.
- Draft your essays, then take a break before revisiting them; you'll return with a fresh perspective.
- Edit and proofread! No typos, spelling errors, etc.
- Ensure you fully answered the questions - friends and family are often willing to help review essays! Ask them to read your essays, but don't tell them what you were asked to write about. When they're done reading, what do they think your writing assignment was? If they can answer that question, then you've answered our questions!
- Type your essay into a plain-text program like Notepad and then copy and paste into PharmCAS. Be sure to scroll to the end of the PharmCAS text field to ensure the end of your essay wasn't cut off!
Need help getting started on your personal statement or want a one-on-one consultation on a draft of your essay? Use the online workshop Personal Statements for a Health Program.