Is it considered plagiarism if our supplemental essay for UCSF is nearly the same one we use for a supplemental essay at another school?

1. The definition of plagiarize (according to Merriam-Webster) is "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source."

2. Are the essay question/prompts so similar that you can use the same answer? Hmmm....

Would my post-baccalaureate GPA be included and calculated into my undergraduate cumulative GPA? I am worried of not making the minimum GPA requirements. The representative at my school's graduate fair suggested I contest for further review.

The minimum GPA requirement is based on cumulative undergraduate work, including post-baccalaureate work if it was at the undergraduate level.

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How should the supplement essay differ from the PharmCAS personal essay?

The prompts/questions on the supplemental application are COMPLETELY different than the PharmCAS personal essay prompt, so naturally the responses should be COMPLETELY different.

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Hello Joel, if a student's AP score appears on their official transcript, is it still necessary to mail in the AP scores?

If AP scores are being used to satisfy prerequisite requirements, we will require official scores be sent from the College Board. HOWEVER, do not send them now! Only send the scores if you are admitted to our program.

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Dear Joel, I was wondering if you recommend answering the optional essays on the supplemental application. If you do not answer them will that hurt your chances of receiving an interview?

Good question. When I started this blog back in 2008, I posted specifically about the "Statements of Educational Opportunity" portion of our application. What I blogged about then still holds true today. It would be easy for me to just cut/paste a link to that blog post here -- but I'd rather you go back and find it (because you might find some other interesting insight/posts/hints/treasures along the way!)

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