(181) Use of Pharmacy Faculty and Student-Led Recruiting Initiatives to Increase Pre-Pharmacy Admissions

Objective : To determine the impact of pharmacy faculty and student-led recruitment initiatives on pre-pharmacy freshmen admission rates.

Methods: At Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy (SWCOP), a faculty and student-led task force was developed in February 2023 to design, coordinate, and implement various high school recruiting activities to increase freshmen pre-pharmacy admission rates. Pharmacy student volunteers were provided materials regarding both the profession and the SWCOP program and were tasked with presenting this information to area high schools. Various faculty members staffed SWCOP interactive booths at high school career fairs across the state of Oklahoma. On campus, pharmacy students and faculty participated in multiple high school-related events and hosted two pharmacy workshops. Pre-pharmacy freshmen admission data was analyzed and compared between February 2023 and February 2024.

Results: Over one year, SWCOP students visited 20 high schools and presented information to more than 1200 Oklahoma high school students. Faculty members attended 35 career fairs and directly interacted with over 500 students. On campus, SWCOP students and faculty hosted more than 100 high school students in two, hands-on pharmacy workshops. From February 2023 to 2024, the number of pre-pharmacy freshmen admissions rose from 69 to 98 students, which represented a 42% increase.

Conclusions: As pharmacy applicant numbers continue to decline while the number of pharmacy programs expands, it is important to increase the number of high school students who consider pharmacy as a potential career. Since effective recruitment strategies often require additional staff and a significant amount of time and resources, many institutions are limited in their ability to expand their efforts. These results suggest that student and faculty-led recruiting initiatives can be effective in increasing pre-pharmacy admission numbers.