UCA's pre-pharmacy program prepares students to succeed

Tessa Wiley knew when she graduated high school that she wanted to go to pharmacy school. She looked at other colleges, but the University of Central Arkansas had a pre-pharmacy program that offers students faculty advisors and rigourous courses.

Whenever I came to UCA, there was actually somebody there who knew about pre-pharmacy, Wiley said. They were so knowledgeable about all of it. It just blew me away.

Last year, UCA led other Arkansas universities in the number of students accepted at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, according to UAMS records. The local university beat out bigger schools including the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville by sending 34 students to UAMS.

The states flagship university in Fayetteville had 24 students accepted, followed by 11 from Arkansas State University.

This August, after just three years at UCA, Wiley will start school at the pharmacy college at UAMS. She is already packing up and moving from Alma to Little Rock, she said.

Wiley is among 24 students who applied to the pharmacy college this year, but no numbers are yet available for how many UCA students got into the school, said Stephanie Gardner, dean of the pharmacy college at UAMS. Gardner said Arkansas generally produced quality pharmacy students.

I feel like schools like UCA do a great job in preparing students, Gardner said.

At Harding University, the only other pharmacy college in Arkansas, UCA students are making inroads into the program, wrote spokeswoman Hannah Beall in email. Last year, the university accepted six of 11 applicants from UCA. This year, Harding had nine applicants and accepted one. Another is on a waiting list, she said.

We always have some UCA students that apply to the college, Beall said.

Getting into pharmacy programs can be difficult, officials said.

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UCA's pre-pharmacy program prepares students to succeed