Updated October 25, 2026

UGA Pharmacy School Interview (Georgia): Format, Dates, Tips

What happens at the University of Georgia pharmacy school interview, how you get one, and how it decides your offer.

UGA's PharmD interview day includes an interview with faculty, time with current student ambassadors and a writing prompt that tests written communication. Interviews are in person or virtual and run on a rolling basis from late August 2026 to March 2027. In a typical year 250 to 300 applicants interview for a class of about 145.

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Key facts (2027 entry)

Format: Individual applicants meet with one interviewer or with two or more interviewers on the faculty, complete a writing prompt and spend time with current student ambassadors.
Online or in person: Both. In-person candidates may also do a compounding activity and tour the College of Pharmacy.
When: Rolling interviews from late August 2026 to March 2027. Invitations come by email.
Who is interviewed: About 250 to 300 applicants in a typical year, picked mainly on prerequisite GPA and progress through the prerequisites.
Deadlines: Priority: December 1, 2026. Final: February 1, 2027. Both PharmCAS and UGA's $55 supplemental application are due.
Tests: No PCAT or other standardized test is considered.
Class size: UGA plans to enroll 145 students a year. Its last entering class filled 147 seats.

What happens on the interview day

The day mixes a conversation with faculty, a short writing task and time with students. UGA says the faculty evaluate your fit for the PharmD program.

Faculty interview. You meet members of the Admissions Committee, faculty, staff and current PharmD students. Expect to talk about your academic background, why pharmacy, your plans after graduation, work, leadership and activities.
A writing prompt. Every candidate responds to a writing prompt, which UGA uses to assess written communication.
Student ambassadors. All candidates get to talk with current Student Ambassadors, so bring questions about the program.
Compounding and a tour. If you interview in person, you may also take part in a compounding activity and tour the College of Pharmacy.
Business professional dress. UGA expects business professional attire at admissions interviews.

Writing counts too. UGA evaluates both verbal and written communication. Practice writing a clear, organized answer to a short prompt under time pressure.

How offers are decided

The Admissions Committee makes final decisions from a holistic review of your whole application and the interview. Accepted applicants are told by email.

What is weighed. The interview, letters, activities, volunteer work, employment, pharmacy experience and other achievements.
What the interview assesses. Career exploration, motivation, written and verbal communication and your activities.
A $500 deposit. It holds your seat, is not refundable and goes toward first-semester tuition.
Waitlist. Seats that open up go to waitlisted applicants, and the number varies a lot from year to year.
Classes start August 16, 2027. Orientation and the White Coat Ceremony come the week before.

How you get an interview

UGA uses rolling admissions, so it reviews files, interviews and makes offers all through the cycle. Applicants are picked for interview mainly on prerequisite GPA and how far along they are in the prerequisites.

Prerequisite GPA. UGA prefers a prerequisite GPA of 2.5 or higher, and admitted students in fall 2025 averaged about 3.45. Retaken courses count as the average of all attempts.
Only core courses count. Only the pre-pharmacy core courses are used to decide interview invitations. Other coursework may count later in the process.
No degree needed. You can apply once you finish 35 of the 69 pre-pharmacy hours. Holding a bachelor's degree plays no role in who is picked for interview.
Two letters. One should come from a college instructor and one from a health care professional, ideally a pharmacist. Letters from clergy, family, friends or politicians are not accepted.
A supplemental application. UGA's own supplemental application opens July 9, 2026 and carries a $55 fee, which is waived if you apply by the priority deadline.

Apply early. The earlier you apply, the sooner you may be picked for interview. UGA warns that seats may fill before the final deadline.

Dates, campuses and other routes

These are UGA's published dates for fall 2027 entry.

Dates for 2027 entry

July 9, 2026. PharmCAS and the UGA supplemental application open.
Late August 2026. Admissions interviews begin.
December 1, 2026. Priority deadline. It waives the $55 fee and gives priority for scholarships and 2+2 campus preferences.
February 1, 2027. Final deadline for both applications. No applications are considered after it.
March 2027. Admissions interviews end.

The 2+2 campuses

Everyone spends the first two years in Athens. In the third year some students move to the extended campuses in Albany, Augusta or Savannah and stay there for their fourth-year rotations.

Early routes

UGA students in the BS/PharmD Double Dawgs program should apply by September 1, 2026. Qualified students with a UGA B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences may get a guaranteed admission interview.

UGA also has articulation agreements with several Georgia colleges, such as Augusta University and Georgia Southern, that lead into its PharmD.

How to prepare

UGA tells applicants what it asks about, so there is no excuse to be caught off guard. Prepare a short, true story for each topic.

Know why pharmacy. UGA's own tips say to be clear about your motivation. Tie it to something you did, such as shadowing or tech work.
Do a mock interview. UGA recommends one through your college's career center or an advisor.
Have a plan after graduation. Plans upon graduation are on UGA's list of topics. Know roughly where you want to practice and why.
Ask good questions. You will meet faculty and students. Bring two or three real questions about the curriculum, the 2+2 campuses or student life.

Practice questions

Questions in the style of a Faculty interview and writing prompt station, written for applicants to University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD). They are practice questions, not the school's own. Open one for what a strong answer does.

If the pay and schedule were no better than in other health jobs, why would you still want to become a pharmacist?

Name what the work itself gives you, backed by a moment from your own experience. Example answer, written by our team. The applicant is invented: What drew me to pharmacy is the chance to turn a complicated medication plan into clear steps that a worried patient can follow at home. While shadowing at a community pharmacy, I watched a pharmacist sit down with an older patient who had just left the hospital with several new heart prescriptions. The patient was confused by the bottles and ready to skip the ones he did not recognize. The pharmacist grouped each bottle by time of day, checked for interactions with his older medications, and asked him to repeat the schedule in his own words until the relief showed on his face. No other role combines that depth of drug knowledge with direct access in the neighborhood. Even if the hours and pay matched any other health job, I want to be the clinician who catches medication problems early and helps people understand their care.

Nurses spend more time with patients than pharmacists do. Why become a pharmacist rather than a nurse?

Show you know what each role does and why the pharmacist's part fits you.

During a busy shift as a pharmacy technician, you notice the automated counting machine has been filling 10 mg tablets into a cell labeled 20 mg, and several prescriptions have already been bagged and picked up. What steps do you take?

Stop the machine, tell the pharmacist right away, and help find every affected patient.

A teenager asks you for the strongest over-the-counter acne wash you have, mentioning that their face is burning and blistering from the products they already use. How do you advise them?

Notice the reaction, stop more harm, and get the pharmacist or a doctor involved instead of selling a stronger product.

A patient recovering from dental surgery asks if they can get more of their hydrocodone three days early because the pain is keeping them awake. You notice they are also buying an over-the-counter sleep aid and a bottle of wine. How do you proceed?

Stay kind, explain the danger of mixing these, and bring in the pharmacist and the prescriber.

You are working at the pharmacy counter. A well-known local politician is picking up a prescription for an antidepressant, and a group of high school students in the store start filming them on their phones. What do you do?

Protect the patient's privacy calmly, without making a scene.

Frequently asked questions

Is the UGA pharmacy interview online?

It can be. UGA offers interviews in person and virtually. In-person candidates may also do a compounding activity and a tour.

Is there a writing test at the UGA PharmD interview?

Yes. All candidates respond to a writing prompt, which UGA uses to assess written communication.

When are UGA pharmacy interviews?

On a rolling basis from late August 2026 to March 2027. UGA tells you by email if you are selected.

How many applicants does UGA interview?

The number is not fixed, but in a typical year 250 to 300 applicants interview. UGA plans to enroll 145 students a year.

Does UGA require the PCAT?

No. UGA does not accept or consider any standardized test.

Applying to more pharmacy schools? These pages cover other schools’ interviews and numbers:

Sources

Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.

University of Georgia College of Pharmacy: Prospective Pharm.D. Students · read October 25, 2026
University of Georgia College of Pharmacy: Admissions Frequently Asked Questions (Summer 2026, PDF) · read October 25, 2026
University of Georgia College of Pharmacy: Admissions Tips and Tricks (Summer 2026, PDF) · read October 25, 2026
PharmCAS: University of Georgia program profile (2027 entering class) · read October 25, 2026