Undergraduate Admissions Criteria
Admission to Purdue is based on a holistic evaluation of each student’s application in the context of the overall applicant pool for a particular Purdue college or specific major. For example, admission to nursing is highly competitive because it is a small program with a large applicant pool. Minimum admission criteria are available on the Office of Admissions website. However, students who exceed these minimums are stronger candidates for admission to Purdue.
Purdue is a Common App school. Future freshmen applying to be degree seeking on our West Lafayette campus apply with the Common App; all other students (transfer, non-degree seeking, etc.) use the Purdue application.
For more detailed information about Purdue University Admissions, programs, and available majors please visit http://www.purdue.edu/purdue/admissions/index.html.
Freshman Admission Criteria
Applications are reviewed on an individual and holistic basis. First and foremost, applicants must be prepared academically for the rigors of college and the academic demands specific to the Purdue college, school, or program to which they are seeking admission.
Applications will be evaluated when the application itself and all required materials are received. For most freshmen applicants, required material includes the Common App online (including essay), the Common App’s Purdue-specific questions, official high school transcript, SAT or ACT test score and the application fee. Additional information for international student applicants is available on the International Students and Scholars website.
In its individual review of each applicant, Purdue considers the following factors:
- High school course expectations
- Overall grades in academic coursework
- Grades related to intended major
- Strength of student’s overall high school curriculum
- Trends in achievement
- Class rank
- Overall grade point average
- Core grade point average (English, academic math, laboratory science, foreign language, social studies)
- SAT or ACT score sent from the testing agency. Test scores must be sent electronically from the testing agency. When registering to take one of these tests, take advantage of the free reporting option to have the testing agency send your scores directly to Purdue (SAT School Code: 1631; ACT School Code: 1230). A writing score from one of these tests is not required.
- Ability to be successful in intended major
- Essay
- Personal background and experiences
- Information provided by high school guidance counselor (or other school administrator)
- Time of year the student applies
- Space availability in the intended program
Although not required, a letter of recommendation is strongly recommended, especially for students who want to be considered for scholarships, the Honors College or who are applying for highly competitive programs.
All applicants must graduate from high school or have successfully completed their state’s high school equivalency requirements and Indiana residents are given preference.
High School Preparation
Most students who are admitted to Purdue exceed Purdue’s high school course expectations. Therefore, all students who plan to apply to Purdue are encouraged to exceed these expectations as well.
Courses that qualify for the subject categories include the following:
- Math - Purdue requires eight semesters (four years) of college- math. View comprehensive list of college-prep math courses.
- Laboratory Science* - biology, chemistry, physics, earth/space science, physiology/anatomy, etc.
- English - grammar, composition, literature, speech, and vocabulary, but not journalism, newspaper, yearbook, or theatre arts.
Indiana Residents Only
Purdue strongly encourages Indiana students to pursue the Academic Honors Diploma.
Graduate Admissions Criteria
You will find Graduate Admissions information on the Graduate School website, https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/admissions/how/index.html, under the Admissions tab. Additional admissions criteria can be found in this catalog by going to Graduate Studies, then Graduate Programs .
Pharm.D Admission
Prior to admission into the Purdue University professional pharmacy program, students must have completed all Pre-Pharmacy program requirements, and no more than one pre-pharmacy course can be scheduled for completion in the immediately preceding summer school semester. An exception to this is Pharmacy Orientation I and II (PHRM 10000 and PHRM 20000), which are not required for admission for students who did not attend Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.
Application Process
Students applying for admission into the PharmD program must complete an application through the Pharmacy College Application Service, known as PharmCAS. The deadline is December 1st, for admission into the class starting in the following Fall. Students must provide PharmCAS with an updated official transcript that includes your fall semester grades as soon as they are available. PharmCAS will not release your application to us until this is done. In addition, any applicant completing coursework in the Fall but not attending Purdue University (West Lafayette, Calumet, Fort Wayne, or North Central) should submit a copy of their Fall semester grade report immediately upon receipt to the Purdue College of Pharmacy. These should be mailed to:
Chair, Committee on Admissions
College of Pharmacy
Purdue University
575 Stadium Mall Drive
Room 104A
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2091
All applicants must also complete a Purdue Pharmacy Supplemental application. The supplemental application is due by December 1st and is available through this web site. A non-refundable application fee of $55.00 must be submitted by any applicant that has never attended Purdue University (West Lafayette, Calumet, Fort Wayne, or North Central campuses). This application fee will not be waived under any circumstances, and must be paid online by credit card. If you have any questions about the supplemental application, please contact admissions@pharmacy.purdue.edu (link sends e-mail).
Two letters of reference are required in each applicant’s PharmCAS application and recommended contact information must be submitted to PharmCAS by December 1st.
Applicants must submit all materials by the December 1st deadline to be guaranteed consideration for admission. In general, late applications are not considered.
Note: PCAT scores are neither required nor used in the admissions process.
Action on Applicants
The Admissions Committee will select the best qualified applicants for the PharmD program based on a composite assessment of the characteristics stated above.
All applications will initially be reviewed for evidence of basic qualifications for admission to the professional program, and those most qualified will be invited for a personal interview. All interviews will be conducted on the West Lafayette campus in the College of Pharmacy, near the end of February through the beginning of March. Letters of invitation for an interview will specify the date and time. It will be the student’s responsibility to arrange his or her other commitments in order to be available at the assigned time. Each applicant will also be asked to participate in two brief exercises to provide evidence of extemporaneous writing and verbal communication ability.
The Admissions Committee will then thoroughly evaluate the application materials pertaining to each applicant in arriving at a rank ordering of applicants based on overall qualifications. Admissions will be granted to the 150 most highly qualified applicants at the end of March. The next most highly qualified applicants will have their names placed on a rank-ordered waiting list to compete for residual spaces available at the end of the spring semester or quarter.
Some students will not be admitted. They will be referred to appropriate advising offices for assistance in choosing other areas of study.
All admitted students will again be reviewed at the end of the spring semester or quarter. Those students whose academic performance has slipped below the acceptable level established by the Admissions Committee will most likely have their admission offer withdrawn.
Confirmation of Admission
If you receive a letter containing an offer of admission to the College, it must be accepted within 14 days of the date of the letter.
All students must make an advance, non-refundable deposit of $400 by May 1st. Students admitted after May 1st will have 14 days from the date on the letter of offer to pay the deposit.
Off-campus students who are admitted must submit the following to Purdue:
- One unofficial copy of your Spring semester grade report as soon as it is available. Fax it to (765) 494-7880 or e-mail it to: admissions@pharmacy.purdue.edu (link sends e-mail).
- One official copy of your college transcript(s) showing all courses completed with grades (including Spring 2016 semester or quarter grades). Mail to:
Chair, Committee on Admissions
College of Pharmacy
Purdue University
575 Stadium Mall Drive, Room 104A
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2091
There will be an orientation program during the week just prior to the beginning of classes that all admitted off-campus students are expected to attend. Additional orientation activities will occur during the first week of classes. Admitted students will receive information on this program during the month of July.
Prior to beginning the professional program, it is necessary for students to be inoculated against and have evidence of the absence of tuberculosis, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, and varicella (chicken pox). The hepatitis B vaccine series takes 6 months and, therefore, the student may not have it completed until the middle to end of the first professional year. Students may elect to sign a waiver in lieu of receiving the hepatitis B series. Students are responsible for the arrangement and payment of any medical inoculations.
Students are required to produce a satisfactory criminal background check conducted by Certiphi Screening at a charge of $25.00 to accepted PharmCAS applicants.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Admission
Students interested in a veterinary medical education at Purdue must complete 2 - 3 years of required course work in order to be eligible to apply to our program. Required courses must be completed with a “C - ” grade (1.7 on a 4.0 scale) or better in each course and applications must maintain a competitive cumulative gradepoint average. Applicants with questions regarding the available courses to meet pre-requisites offered at their undergraduate institution should email vetadmissions@purdue.edu for pre-requisite course determination. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA (including all course repeats) of no less than 3.00 to receive consideration.
For additional requirements please visit the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine website : https://vet.purdue.edu/dvm/.
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