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The Impact of Language Status on Pharmacy Admissions: A Comparative Study of English Language Learners and Native
Jeremy Fox1, Katelyn Sanders1, Sean Hyungwoo Kim1
1Shenandoah University School of Pharmacy, Winchester, VA, USA.
Objective:
English language learner (ELL) students comprise an important demographic within health professions programs. Although ELL students in higher education have been studied, data describing ELL students who apply to the PharmD program are lacking. The objective of this study is to describe the ELL applicant population within pharmacy education from 2017 to 2023, and to compare them to native English speaking (NES) student applicants.
Methods:
We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using national PharmD application data from Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) between 2017 and 2023.
Results:
Out of the 83,446 applicants, 16.1% identified as ELL. Analysis demonstrated notable differences between ELL and NES students, including that ELL applicants were found to be older, more likely to be Asian or of multiple races, and more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds. ELL applicants were also less likely to matriculate into a PharmD program.
Conclusion:
Significant differences between ELL and NES applicants to PharmD programs were identified. These differences set the stage for further study into recruitment strategies and support programs for ELL pharmacy applicants.
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