Early Assurance for High School Students
Our Early Assurance Program offers high school students the heightened advantage of securing a seat in our four-year PharmD degree after completing two years of prescribed undergraduate course work at UB and an interview.
Admission Requirements
Early Assurance offers a simplified application process—PCAT, recommendation letters, personal statement and experiences are NOT required.
Admission to the EA program is based on the University at Buffalo's First Year/Freshman Admission Criteria. There are no additional high school GPA or SAT/ACT requirements.
All accepted University at Buffalo first-year/freshman pharmacy students for fall, entering directly from high school, are automatically enrolled directly into our SPPS PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree through our prestigious EA program. This admission assures progression into the PharmD professional sequence as long as students maintain our prerequisite course GPA requirement, successfully complete an interview, and adhere to all program requirements.
Early Assurance offers a simplified application process—PCAT, recommendation letters, personal statement and experiences are NOT required.
EA is not the sole route into our PharmD program and ineligibility for EA does not imply that a student is not qualified for admission. All other applicants are considered through PharmCAS.
Please note: Calculus 2 is no longer a required prerequisite course
Benefits of our Early Assurance Program
- A dedicated pre-pharmacy advisor to help keep you on track with the program requirements
- Exclusive access to PHM 101 Pharmacy Is Right for Me
- Ongoing support from PharmD Peer Mentors
- Pre-Pharmacy Living and Learning Community
Find out if pharmacy is right for you!
Early Assurance Application Steps
Qualified students submit a simplified Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) application in the first semester of sophomore year (July-October 1) but will not compete with the other PharmCAS applicants and it will not be used in admission decision-making for our Early Assurance Program. The PCAT, personal essay, letters of recommendation and experiences are NOT required.
A limited number of PharmCAS Application Fee waivers are available to financially disadvantaged applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis (apply before September 1).
Students who do not meet the EA requirements after the fall semester of sophomore year may be considered through the non-EA PharmCAS process during the same application period without submitting any additional materials.
Those who are concerned about not meeting the EA requirements are advised to meet with their pre-pharmacy advisor to discuss additional strategies to maintain their seat and stay on track.
Former EA candidates may apply via the non-EA PharmCAS process during a future application period, at which time a complete PharmCAS application is required, including the personal essay, letters of recommendation and experiences.
The UB SPPS admissions committee values intellectual competence, communication skills, leadership ability, community service, healthcare-related or research experience and motivation for pursuing a career in pharmacy.
The school completes a holistic review of Early Assurance (EA) candidates who miss the minimum academic requirements and submit an appeal for continued consideration, to assess candidates’ potential for success in UB SPPS degree programs. An important part of this review is performance in college math and science coursework as well as the overall academic record and standardized test scores (when recommended or required). Additional important components of the holistic review include personal statements, letters of recommendation, and noncognitive attributes. UB SPPS considers an applicant’s full capabilities by carefully reviewing personal initiative, experiential factors, ability to overcome challenges, and other evidence of achievement. To assist in this review, we strongly encourage applicants to complete their admissions application thoughtfully and thoroughly.