St. John Fisher’s School of Pharmacy to offer “guaranteed acceptance” to 2 OCC students annually

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Two Onondaga Community College (OCC) students will receive “guaranteed acceptance” into the Wegmans School of Pharmacy at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, near Rochester.

Under its pharmacy early-assurance partnership program, St. John Fisher will offer admission to two eligible students from eight community colleges every academic year, totaling 16 guaranteed spots.

In addition to OCC, participating colleges include Broome, Erie, Finger Lakes, Genesee, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, and Monroe community colleges.

St. John Fisher and OCC already have a 2+2 agreement at the undergraduate level, but this agreement represents the first time that St. John Fisher is offering a “direct pathway” to a doctoral-degree program, St. John Fisher said in a news release.

A 2+2 agreement allows students to pursue their associate degree at OCC and then transfer to a four-year school under certain degree programs.

Each college will identify students who have completed the appropriate prerequisite coursework and, based on their ability to satisfy the standard requirements for admission, the school will select two students for the guaranteed acceptance offer.

The School of Pharmacy offers a doctor of pharmacy program, and in partnership with the college’s School of Business, also offers a Pharm.D./master of business administration joint degree program.

St. John Fisher currently offers the pharmacy early-assurance program to a “select group” of incoming freshmen who enter directly from high school

Those students are guaranteed admission to the program after a minimum of two years of pre-pharmacy course work, provided they meet program requirements, St. John Fisher said.

The new agreement with community colleges extends that offer to students interested in transferring to the school.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com