Inclusion of Socioeconomic Status (SES) as an Additional Criterion in Holistic Pharmacy School Admission Processes

Objective: To investigate the impact of socio-economic status as an admissions criterion for pharmacy school admissions.Methods: Using de-identified data from two PharmCAS application cycles (2012-2013 and 2015-2016), a new socio-economic status indicator was crafted from complex parental education and occupation applicant information. The indicator was calibrated on federal standards to ensure uniform composition regardless of applicant location. The indicator was used to describe acceptance patterns within each application cycle, explore correlations with other demographic and academic indicators, and develop a regression model to understand the impact of this indicator on acceptance to pharmacy school.Results: The value of the new Education Occupation (EO) indicator for an applicant’s parent(s) provided another lens into the complex applicant demographic information not seen before. Applicants were identified as low socioeconomic status for parent one and two (n = 435 and 408) during the 2015-2016 admi...