Online Individual Assessment

Online Individual Assessment 

 The Online Individual Assessment is an important component of the PharmD admissions process in that it provides an assessment of non-academic qualities essential for applicants to effectively undertake the PharmD curriculum and subsequently become valued front-line healthcare professionals. The date is scheduled for Friday, March 28, 2025 (specific time TBA – will be approximately 3.0 h, beginning at a specified time between 0600 and 1800 h Eastern Time Zone). This will be the only date – no alternative dates or times will be offered under any circumstances. Please hold this date in anticipation of being an eligible applicant.

You would prepare for this step of our admission process as you would for an interview although this assessment does not involve one-on-one interaction with a live interviewer.   The online Individual Assessment is conducted through a video-enabled platform using cloud-based technology to store data. You will be shown video questions, pre-recorded by our Faculty, and you will reply with timed video responses.  You should expect that some of the video-based questions may be situational-judgement type questions although various formats may be used. There will also be a section of multiple-choice questions, used to assess non-academic attributes and reading comprehension.  

Our online Individual Assessment will focus on verbal and non-verbal skills within the context of important non-academic attributes.  These may include but will not necessarily be limited to: communication skills, accountability, responsibility, problem solving, critical thinking, professionalism, collaboration, motivation/leadership, resilience, emotional intelligence  and conscientiousness. 

Life experiences in general ( e.g. school, work, sports, volunteer etc.) will help you develop the desired attributes and may provide you with insights to draw on for purposes of answering questions. We recommend  that you have an understanding of the profession of Pharmacy  and how it integrates with other health care professions in a modern North American society. Those who have direct Pharmacy exposure may have a better understanding of the professional and whether they are suited to it. However, if you do not have direct Pharmacy exposure, you can learn about the profession in a variety of ways.  You should be familiar with how the health system works, and the place of pharmacists within that system, as well as how you are suited to be an effective pharmacist in the future. 

Note:  Although all applicants must complete the Casper test in the year for which application is made, applicants are limited to a maximum of 2 attempts in the online Individual Assessment.  Therefore, if you have applied in previous cycles (i.e. for the 2021 or later cycles), and you have already attempted the Assessment at least twice, your best score from previous attempts in the online Individual Assessment will be carried forward to the current cycle.  Applicants who have not already had at least two attempts in the online Individual Assessment from previous admission cycles (from 2021 onward) must complete the Assessment in the year which they are applying.

Only eligible applicants (i.e. who meet minimum academic requirements and Casper test thresholds) will be invited to complete the online Individual Assessment.  All applicants will be notified approximately 4 weeks ahead of the scheduled date regarding their eligibility for the online Individual Assessment. At that time additional details will be made available to eligible applicants including the specific scheduled time and the details related to technical requirements.

To take the Online Individual Assessment, you will be responsible for securing access to a laptop or desktop computer with webcam and audio capabilities and a reliable internet connection with and internet speed of at least 1.5 Mbps and upload speed of at least 2 Mbps.  You may complete this Assessment anywhere that you can satisfy these requirements.  No exceptions will be provided for applicants unable to take online Individual Assessment on the one specified date and time, or who are unable to complete the test for any reason (including technical or other factors).

A minimum threshold in the online Individual Assessment must be met for applicants to proceed to final selections. However, no feedback or information is provided to individual applicants regarding their rating or performance.

Note that we do not require work or volunteer experience in a Pharmacy setting.  Personal statements, reference letters or other such criteria are not used in our admissions process.