University of British Columbia (UBC) Pharmacy Class of 2018 Applicants

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I just wanna be sure.... ONLY PREREQ GRADES are considered? I have terrible grades after 2nd year... hahaha ^^;; But if you look at my prereq GPA it's easily in the high 80s maybe 90s...

Edit: I just talked to my friend and she said she knows a lot of people in first year pharm right now with a prereq gpa in the 70s. So don't be scared people. ^^

Yes, only courses that are part of the pre-reqs (e.g., MATH100/101, CHEM121/123, etc.) or courses that pharmacy students would be required to take while in the program (e.g., MICB202, STAT200/203, etc.) count towards your admission average.

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Does anyone have links to practice MMI questions (preferably with answers/feedback!)
 
Does anyone have links to practice MMI questions (preferably with answers/feedback!)

A Google search may be your best bet. The majority of sample questions you'll stumble onto won't necessarily have an "answer". From my understanding, the MMIs generally try to assess your problem solving, communication and ethical dilemma (resolution) skills. One should appreciate the fact there isn't always going to be an "exact" answer, rather, it will be the method(s) in which you present and then support your argument/solution/answer that will be vital. It may help if you treat each station as a "chat" instead of it being graded on a marking rubric.
 
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Have all interview invites been sent out yet? I still.... Have no email from them.. Even tho they said all applicants will be contacted =_=.
 
Have all interview invites been sent out yet? I still.... Have no email from them.. Even tho they said all applicants will be contacted =_=.
You're not the only one... I'm still waiting as well.

Are you by any chance closer to the end of the alphabet in regards to your last name?
 
Well... Im under "N" where are u at? If i get a rejection... Itll at least be nice to know soon than dreading because of this long wait... Ugh.
 
Well... Im under "N" where are u at? If i get a rejection... Itll at least be nice to know soon than dreading because of this long wait... Ugh.
My last name starts with "P," so seems we're in the same boat... I wonder why they're taking such a long time with everything. :|
 
Ugh i feel like ive been refreshing my email on my phone and computer all week like some maniac LOOL. I am seriously losing my patience :/
 
Ugh i feel like ive been refreshing my email on my phone and computer all week like some maniac LOOL. I am seriously losing my patience :/
"We have sent out interview invitations and are receiving replies to these at this time. Any students who have not heard from us yet will soon, likely early next week. We know that it is hard to wait but we appreciate your patience as this process continues. If you have not heard from us by the end of next week, please feel free to contact:[email protected]". This is straight off of the UBC pharm blog, hopefully you hear something early next week.
 
I think they are waiting for interviews declines before they send out more interview invites. But that's just me speculating. My last name is K and I got mine last friday.
 
For those who have received a interview invitation email, do you guys receive another email about confirming your exact time for the interview? Cuz they asked us to send an email to them for our time preference abt the interview before April 10th and I am wondering if any of you receive another email abt the time confirmation?
 
For those who have received a interview invitation email, do you guys receive another email about confirming your exact time for the interview? Cuz they asked us to send an email to them for our time preference abt the interview before April 10th and I am wondering if any of you receive another email abt the time confirmation?
Nope, I haven't yet. I think they will be sending those out later when they've finalized which applicants they will be interviewing.
 
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For those who are still wondering, confirmation of interview times have been sent out. I got mine at 1:57 pm today (April 15). :)
 
Check your email folks, I got mine too!!
BTW I was thinking about wearing a black suit for my interview or would I be considered over-dressed??
 
Check your email folks, I got mine too!!
BTW I was thinking about wearing a black suit for my interview or would I be considered over-dressed??
Definitely go for it! It's better to look over-dressed/too professional than look like you don't care whether you get in. :)
 
Hey guys, I got my interview for the afternoon of May 4th. Anyone want to get together and practice for the interview? I live in East Vancouver and I'm willing to meet up anywhere. If anyone's interested just text me @ 1-778-549-0591.
 
Is there anyone in Victoria currently? It'd be nice to practice with people but it seems like most of you live in Vancouver.
 
Is anyone else having mini anxiety attacks in anticipation of the interviews/getting an offer/waitlist/rejection?
 
Hey guys, I got a question...
So once you get the interview, do the admission committee still look at your gpa and ECs because I heard that they will only look at the interview scores.
I just wanted to make sure if this is true or not because my gpa isn't as good as others that have posted here.
 
They have never really given a concrete answer, but from the PIE (Pharmacy Information Evening) event, they did mention that GPA is only a factor in receiving an interview invite (I believe she was talking about the 2014 cycle, but she may have been talking about the 2015 cycle, my apologies if this is the case). This would be in line with other professional faculties of UBC (dentistry and medicine).

When making the final selection, the application is considered as a whole (minus grades), and they will double-back to your ECs. If you do have an interview, don't sweat your GPA in either case- there's nothing you can do about that now. Make the best impression you can during your interview, and do what is in your power- practice as much as you can!

Last year, I PMed people heavily about practicing and it paid off- if you can't find people to practice with on SDN (this thread is a lot deader than last year, maybe because of the incoming PharmD program, maybe because FB is an easier medium to communicate through) then use Facebook. For those of you who are non-FB users, I'd suggest you at least consider making a token FB account. There's usually a "UBC Pharmacy Class of 20__" FB group that develops where students keep each other updated, and it does help to stay in the loop.
 
Hi guy's I'm new to this thread and just wanted to help clarify any questions people had. I've also applied to pharm this year I'm a third year ubc student. I have a lot of friends that are currently in the ubc pharm program and this is essentially what they told me. In terms of GPA a lot of people in their class had around a 70-80 average with around 70-80 on the pcat as an overall score. Of course this depends on the cohort that 's applying but they've told me it's around the same for other years to. If you are considered for an interview your GPA is no longer taken into consideration they'll only focus on the interview and how you did on that. For some individuals who did bad first year and don't have great marks, they look at the entire transcript so if you've done good in your third year and the courses that they use to look at your gpa it does help you out a little bit. And in terms of your application your resume, work experience, and other things help out greatly so even if your grades aren't great you still have a chance if they see that you are really involved in the community etc... And for the 2015 program they will no longer require the pcat and physics just because they're shifting towards the pharm D. I have been told that they will cut down the number of seats in 2015 to around 100ish and people will generally have to finish biochem and other courses in order to apply. Those first two years essentially count towards courses that would be in the pharm D program. And lastly for people who do get in in 2014 they will be offered a chance to spend two more years to get their pharm D through a program that they currently have. Hopefully this helps answer some questions anyone may have and this is all just from my friends in the program and hasn't been confirmed by anyone who is part of the selection committe so take it in stride. Good-luck to everyone who applied.

Current first year Pharm student at UBC. Most peoples GPA's coming in were over 80%. Most PCAT scores were within 5% of 90. The stats you posted are significantly lower than what it actually takes to get in on average after speaking with my classmates, and with what is posted on the website. Your GPA is still considered after the interview as far as we were told. As explicitly stated on the site, all the grades come from the pre-reqs, you can't really redeem yourself with good third year grades. EC's are INCREDIBLY important. We've heard nothing about them cutting down the number of seats, as far as we know it will remain at 224 or whatever it currently is (as part of the governments mandate for funding the new building the was to produce more students.) The pharmD two more years this is incredibly incorrect and they don't even know how they're doing it yet. In prelim meetings (which they've been having throughout the year) what they've told us is that they will accept ~20 students a year from all classes/graduates into the first upgrade course.

Just going to reconcile some of the conflicting information in these posts:

GPA: Wide range. Anywhere from 70+ you have a chance, overall average is probably a bit higher (75-80).
PCAT: Honestly, I would say the least important part of your application (there's a reason why it's being dropped in 2015). At least 70, but if you have a comparatively low GPA, it probably does help if you score above 90.
Interview: I covered it in my previous post.

Transcript: Both are a little bit off the mark. No, they do not look at the entire transcript. But not only your pre-reqs count- if you take electives that are part of the pharmacy program, they will also be counted towards your average.
ECs: Both on the ball, these are important.

To be fair, UBC Pharmacy doesn't release admission statistics, so this is just conjecture on anybody's part (including mine).

PharmD 2015: Perfectian is right about # of students and the future of PharmD for BScPharm students. lhora is correct about no longer requiring PCAT and physics. Also, this is where the "looking at your transcript" comes more into play- they will be looking at your past X credits instead of the PCAT, and the pre-req list will most likely expand to encompass some of the current first year pharmacy electives.

What lhora was probably referring to was the current post-graduate PharmD, which is currently a 2-year program. This is entirely different from the PharmD being offered to 2015 applicants (which is entry-to-practice). There is a possibility that the post-graduate PharmD will co-exist with the entry-to-practice PharmD and the so-called "Flexible PharmD" program being developed for BScPharm graduates. What does that mean for current and future students? The research-based "post-graduate PharmD" will likely be phased out by the time it matters to you. If you're graduating in or before 2018, then the Flexible PharmD is primarily what you're concerned with. Everyone graduating in or after 2019, congrats, you've avoided a massive headache.
 
Does anyone know how approximately long we have to wait before they send out acceptance or rejection emails after the interviews?
 
Does anyone know how approximately long we have to wait before they send out acceptance or rejection emails after the interviews?
I believe it takes about 10 days for the acceptance letter and extra few days for rejection/waitlist. So you will know the result from around May 14th or 15th.
 
Once the interview is over, does anyone know if they just consider the interview rankings when choosing applicants or do they go back and look at your GPA/PCAT scores as well? My GPA is pretty low, but my PCAT score was relatively high. So I'm afraid that if they still consider your GPA as a huge portion of your application after the interview, then my chances of getting in are very low. :( Can someone please clarify this for me?
My GPA is 68.8% and my PCAT score was 93%. What are my chances of getting in if I do well on the interview?
 
Once the interview is over, does anyone know if they just consider the interview rankings when choosing applicants or do they go back and look at your GPA/PCAT scores as well? My GPA is pretty low, but my PCAT score was relatively high. So I'm afraid that if they still consider your GPA as a huge portion of your application after the interview, then my chances of getting in are very low. :( Can someone please clarify this for me?
My GPA is 68.8% and my PCAT score was 93%. What are my chances of getting in if I do well on the interview?
I read it from previous year's post saying that it will be most likely to be 50 interview 40 gpa 10 supp+pcat. But dont worry as I read some posts that people with high 60s got offered after the interview. Just do well on the interview, and you will be fine.

I just finished mine today morning and it wasn't that bad. I wish I had more time to talk tho!
 
Does anyone know how approximately long we have to wait before they send out acceptance or rejection emails after the interviews?

Today at the interviews they said they will be making their decision by the end of May.
 
Today at the interviews they said they will be making their decision by the end of May.

Are we not finding it out in 10 days? That's what read from threads from previous years.
 
Are we not finding it out in 10 days? That's what read from threads from previous years.

Yeah I thought it would be in 10 days too.... but yesterday they said end of May. So maybe in 3-4 weeks =/
 
Does anyone know why their decision process takes longer this year? I think i noticed that the grade sheets were bubble sheets. (I could be wrong tho) Since all the scores are graded already, they just need to add them up.
 
Last year, they interviewed 360 people in 2 weeks, but this time they have done it in one week. I expect a little bit longer than last year, since it was still 10 days after the last interview date for the last year anyway. So I would expect to have it done in ~17 days or so (after the long weekend).

Yeah, they marked on the bubble sheets with different evaluation categories (communication skills, strength of arguments, suitability for career, overall performance etc. from what I have seen from other universities). But they have to look at our GPA, PCAT and EC/Supplements besides the interview score, so it should take some time.
 
Congrats to everybody who got interviews this year, and hopefully the wait for a decision isn't too unbearable!
Our interviews were also only done in one weekend last year, but it was in June. I figure the reason why your group might have to wait longer is because UBC is still waiting on final grades and academic standing from classes, and Pharmacy will want to confirm for some applicants their eligibility for the program after those grades do come in (i.e. they're still above the 65% avg required).
Oh and also if you also have any questions about the program or whatnot, feel free to ask. I'm sure myself or any of my classmates is free to oblige.
 
Congrats to everybody who got interviews this year, and hopefully the wait for a decision isn't too unbearable!
Our interviews were also only done in one weekend last year, but it was in June. I figure the reason why your group might have to wait longer is because UBC is still waiting on final grades and academic standing from classes, and Pharmacy will want to confirm for some applicants their eligibility for the program after those grades do come in (i.e. they're still above the 65% avg required).
Oh and also if you also have any questions about the program or whatnot, feel free to ask. I'm sure myself or any of my classmates is free to oblige.
Thank you for correcting me! I misinformed about the last year's interview. Sorry about that.

I just looked through the emails that Ms. Chatterton has sent me, and one of the emails says:

" - Academic Transcripts for NON-UBC students
**must be submitted to Enrolment Services
Interim Transcript Deadline: As soon as available from your current institution(January/February, but no earlier than Jan 15th).
Final Transcript Deadline: May 15, 2014"

So, I guess the results should be up after May 15th and possibly in the week of Victoria Day I guess. I am at work, and yet, my mind is floating in the interview room still! I felt okay on the interview day, but as I keep thinking about it, I feel more and more unconfident :(

Anyway, thanks for the heads-up!
 
Hey everyone! Got my admissions e-mail! Anyone else here back?
 
Congratulations to everyone who have already received acceptances and to those who will be slowly joining this thread when they get their e=mails! :)
If you have any questions about the program, feel free to message me - I just finished first year! :)
 
Congratulations to everyone who have already received acceptances and to those who will be slowly joining this thread when they get their e=mails! :)
If you have any questions about the program, feel free to message me - I just finished first year! :)
How do we and how long do we have to confirm our offer?
 
Got my offer of admission! Congrats to everyone else who got in! See you all in September
 
got my acceptance email..yay..it was my second attempt..
 
For the people that didn't get an email today, is it safe to assume we're waitlisted? Or do they not send out all 224 emails out at once? :/
 
From last years experience, they don't send out all 224 at once. Should be a round 2, then waitlists and rejections go out ~the same time.
keep the hope.


no tears, only sad songs now.
 
From last years experience, they don't send out all 224 at once. Should be a round 2, then waitlists and rejections go out ~the same time.
keep the hope.


no tears, only sad songs now.

Thanks. Was round 2 the day after round 1? or was the wait longer? :(
 
not quite sure, but probably a few days after. They probably give time to see if people reject acceptances right away.
 
I don't think anyone received a rejection letter yet. Right?
 
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