University of Toronto, class of 2016

www.westernu.edu/pharmacy/
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futurpharmacis said:
that's what phrosh is for
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Come on, dude. That'll be two months away. And theres only so much you can do at official frosh parties ;)

kovey said:
First round of drinks is on me!!!
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We sure as hell won't be forgetting this message :laugh:
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hahaha. yah ur right. been so negative since exams are around and i dont attend lectures and study the day of the exam for 9 hours and still manage to survive somehow...

a parent told me one time that not everyone can love their jobs. its like less than 1% of society... to be honest i dont know what i would want to do for the rest of my life. its just a job. and i cant waste more time and money pondering about what i would like to do like so many uni students right now who have no idea what they wana do and just taking a bunch of random courses and wasting thousands of their parents money.

so... just gotta keep stepping...
 
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If ANYONE has a chance to go to another pharmacy school such as Waterloo or UBC etc. I suggest you take it and not go to UofT. This university is such a terrible school in terms of its professors who teach the curriculum and especially the tuition. If I could go back in time and decide which pharmacy school to go to I would just accept the offer given by UBC.
 
yah i wanted to go to UBC cuz the tuition there is like 6000 less... and i applied to dalhousie... got interview, but did not get accepted last year... yah i know... the tuition is insane... i cant apply to ubc cuz my pcat was below 65 composite =S
and i cant apply to waterloo cuz i dont have all the prereqs =S

so im stuck with Toronto... banking on Toronto... to go really broke :(
 
PharmacyBoy said:
yah i wanted to go to UBC cuz the tuition there is like 6000 less... and i applied to dalhousie... got interview, but did not get accepted last year... yah i know... the tuition is insane... i cant apply to ubc cuz my pcat was below 65 composite =S
and i cant apply to waterloo cuz i dont have all the prereqs =S

so im stuck with Toronto... banking on Toronto... to go really broke :(
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Writing the pcat the second time isnt too hard. I got a 74 composite the first time and still wrote it again thinking it wasnt enough lol. Is UBC tuition really like 6 grand less :| jelous.
 
FPCPineapple said:
If ANYONE has a chance to go to another pharmacy school such as Waterloo or UBC etc. I suggest you take it and not go to UofT. This university is such a terrible school in terms of its professors who teach the curriculum and especially the tuition. If I could go back in time and decide which pharmacy school to go to I would just accept the offer given by UBC.
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Give me some descriptions of some profs you don't like (what is their teaching method like?). It helps us make decisions. Just stating that the profs are ineffective is not enough.
 
some profs are good, some are bad. whatever... its their job. they may do it well, they may do it bad. u might think they are bad, but maybe someone thinks they are awesome. personal preference.
 
Hi guys. I'm new to SDN. I also applied for UofT pharm this year. Looking at the stats some of you posted worries me! I'm starting to doubt whether I'm even competitive enough.
I'm completing my 3rd year so far my GPA is around 77%. My pcat was in mid 60's (met all cut offs), and I'm having my interview in May. So do you guys think I'll have a chance (if I do decent in the interview) to get in with my low pcat and gpa?

Any input will be appreciated! thanks.
 
DudePharm said:
Hi guys. I'm new to SDN. I also applied for UofT pharm this year. Looking at the stats some of you posted worries me! I'm starting to doubt whether I'm even competitive enough.
I'm completing my 3rd year so far my GPA is around 77%. My pcat was in mid 60's (met all cut offs), and I'm having my interview in May. So do you guys think I'll have a chance (if I do decent in the interview) to get in with my low pcat and gpa?

Any input will be appreciated! thanks.
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Don't worry. Just rock out the interview. As many people have said, the interview really is make or break it. So it's better to do good on the interview and have average stats than to have a bad interview and really good stats :S
 
PharmacyBoy said:
just be yourself. people can tell if ur fake.
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True. I think it's also hard to be fake with the MMI format, because you can't rehearse answers. It's all about being able to think critically and being able to communicate effectively.
 
DudePharm said:
Hi guys. I'm new to SDN. I also applied for UofT pharm this year. Looking at the stats some of you posted worries me! I'm starting to doubt whether I'm even competitive enough.
I'm completing my 3rd year so far my GPA is around 77%. My pcat was in mid 60's (met all cut offs), and I'm having my interview in May. So do you guys think I'll have a chance (if I do decent in the interview) to get in with my low pcat and gpa?

Any input will be appreciated! thanks.
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You definitely have a chance. A friend of mine got in 2 years ago with a low 70's PCAT and a mid 70's GPA. They look at everything, but once you pass the cut-offs I think a good interview is the most important thing.

My advice would be to practice any mock MMI scenarios you can find. Get a friend or family member to be your interviewer, and just go through 10 scenarios in a row, in a timed format similar to the real thing.

Practicing like that definitely helps you get used to switching from one topic to another so quickly. You can also get feedback from your friend on how you're answering the questions (e.g. rambling too much, not answering the question directly, etc.).

It's more nerve wracking on the day of the actual interview, but practicing scenarios in advance is the best way to prepare for the interview IMO.
 
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do the interviewers interrupt you at any time you make your argument in each station? my best guess is yes, but i just wanted to check to make sure.
 
twenty7 said:
do the interviewers interrupt you at any time you make your argument in each station? my best guess is yes, but i just wanted to check to make sure.
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I never got interrupted. In my experience, they let you answer the question, and after you answer they may ask you to clarify something you said, or they may ask another question.
 
I've never tried speed dating, but it would've been something like that. lol (except for maybe you have to pretend you're interested at every station..lol)
 
Wht do u guys think about the oversaturation of pharmacists in north america in general. Alot of ppl in the states say there are too many pgarmacy schools anthat too many ppl without jobs.
 
is it true that its hard to find a job for new grads and that they want to cut the salary of pharmacists by half?
 
Oversaturation? Look at those general degrees with 300 students graduating per year per university and you'll see a huge difference. DX

I got an offer for Waterloo, but I think I'd prefer U of T because I'm maso like that.
 
PharmacyBoy said:
Wht do u guys think about the oversaturation of pharmacists in north america in general. Alot of ppl in the states say there are too many pgarmacy schools anthat too many ppl without jobs.
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I keep hearing about the saturation as well and someone says there's still a shortage in rural areas. So I guess that's okay if to work retail/hospital with a bit of a drive.

Congrats ryanco64 and agreed there are many generalized undergrad degree in which you wont be making much, but the tuition for those is a lot less than pharm. too and not as competitive. The pharmacist I work with told me how the government doesn't subside programs like pharmacy as much since you're expected to make good money coming right out. That being said, with Waterloo opened up, there's a lot of grads coming out so as competition increases, wages might not go up as much either (maybe drop?) Making those 6 digits def. seems to get harder and as most of you probably know there isn't a lot of room for promotion.

Plus, anyone like me that would want to open up their own pharmacy as I would want to be my own boss, that seems to be getting harder and harder. Then if you do open one up, being profitable is difficult, all those new laws and stuff and price decreases. So after that rant, I think its a lot worse in the states than here, but it still frustrates me everyday hearing this stuff and being torn on whether I want to pursue this for the next 4 years if I'm only going to run into such problems.

Plus, just another point, the fact we only have a bachelors of pharm makes it impossible to transfer to the states cuz they're required to have a PharmD, right? I just don't understand why we cannot also have the pharmD instead of BSc, especially since we need to do 2 years of undergrad before applying anyways -_- Do at least 6 years of schooling to get 1 BSc. of pharmacy, not cool.
 
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If the new UofT curriculum gets approved, we're getting PharmDs.
 
Are people going into pharmacy are really thinking about the money? What's your motivation for pharmacy?
 
futurpharmacis said:
Are people going into pharmacy are really thinking about the money? What's your motivation for pharmacy?
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I took biochem as an entry program to a profession in health science fields. Along the way, I found out in various chem and pharmacology classes that I am very interested in designing drugs and how they affect the body, as well as their methods of action and chemical structure/function homologies.

Basically I wanna learn about drugs. Lolol.
 
ryanco64 said:
I took biochem as an entry program to a profession in health science fields. Along the way, I found out in various chem and pharmacology classes that I am very interested in designing drugs and how they affect the body, as well as their methods of action and chemical structure/function homologies.

Basically I wanna learn about drugs. Lolol.
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Cool. You should be a pharmacist/researcher. I'm interested in the practice of pharmacy. It is relevant to me. long story
 
That is what I was aiming for. I would like a job in a pharmacy due to the flexibility of scheduling, so that I can continue further studies and grab a PhD along the way. Maybe a -real- PharmD or something in Organic Synthesis or Pharmacology.
 
organic synthesis is long and boring. done it last summer, doing it again this summer ;)
bunch of separation and long labour.

i dont think ppl want to be pharmacists to really help ppl. even if u do want to help, u can only "advise" people. and pharmacists dont have the "authority" like docs due. but its much harder to get into med school than pharm school. and it may be hard to get in... with 7 half credits that are 70s out of 25 half credits.. the rest above 80.... sad sh****TTT!!! dammit.... should have applied to med school... but the MCAT is BOSS.... and its really COMPETITIVE compared to the PCAT. PCAT needed a 20 COMPOSITE.... and i got 56!??????! and people even got 90+!?????!!!!!!! lolol!!!! unno i job shadowed a few surgeons and the work was so boring... but i guess they make big money so its shouldnt be that bad... they were talking about buying which car cuz it was 20k on sale in the operating room!!! dammit! might as well have been a doc... if only i had more support and parents who can push me to the top.... but cant blame anybody but myself for not achieving my full potential... sigh.... whatever... work 10 years in pharmacy, along with good investment techniques, then retire. :cool:
 
Well i'm glad to see some ppl are honest with their feelings. LOL
 
Honestly, I don't even know why you are applying to pharmacy school! Not everyone goes into pharmacy school for the money; some people are actually passionate about this profession. You keep saying I should've applied to med school but clearly you don't even have the grades for it. I'm not really sure that you know what you want in life. Besides getting acceptance into pharmacy school is a great accomplishment but you still do need to maintain a 60% in each course to pass and that's not too easy to get at UofT especially with this new curriculum. It would really be a shame if you got accepted to pharmacy school and took the place of another deserving candidate who actually cared about this profession!

PharmacyBoy said:
organic synthesis is long and boring. done it last summer, doing it again this summer ;)
bunch of separation and long labour.

i dont think ppl want to be pharmacists to really help ppl. even if u do want to help, u can only "advise" people. and pharmacists dont have the "authority" like docs due. but its much harder to get into med school than pharm school. and it may be hard to get in... with 7 half credits that are 70s out of 25 half credits.. the rest above 80.... sad sh****TTT!!! dammit.... should have applied to med school... but the MCAT is BOSS.... and its really COMPETITIVE compared to the PCAT. PCAT needed a 20 COMPOSITE.... and i got 56!??????! and people even got 90+!?????!!!!!!! lolol!!!! unno i job shadowed a few surgeons and the work was so boring... but i guess they make big money so its shouldnt be that bad... they were talking about buying which car cuz it was 20k on sale in the operating room!!! dammit! might as well have been a doc... if only i had more support and parents who can push me to the top.... but cant blame anybody but myself for not achieving my full potential... sigh.... whatever... work 10 years in pharmacy, along with good investment techniques, then retire. :cool:
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To everyone else who is applying, I wish you all the best in your interviews in may (if you didn't have yours in March) and hope to see you all next year :)
 
PhArMaCiSt1 said:
Honestly, I don't even know why you are applying to pharmacy school! Not everyone goes into pharmacy school for the money; some people are actually passionate about this profession. You keep saying I should've applied to med school but clearly you don't even have the grades for it. I'm not really sure that you know what you want in life. Besides getting acceptance into pharmacy school is a great accomplishment but you still do need to maintain a 60% in each course to pass and that's not too easy to get at UofT especially with this new curriculum. It would really be a shame if you got accepted to pharmacy school and took the place of another deserving candidate who actually cared about this profession!

To everyone else who is applying, I wish you all the best in your interviews in may (if you didn't have yours in March) and hope to see you all next year :)
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What can you do; some people just think that way. I've given up. :) Just patiently waiting to see if I got in!! How are you finding it so far?
 
For those who want to make big cash, please chose a business career. There are many people like this in business....what they like is to be rich. If your interest is money, you get to talk alot about money once you are in a business career and know the money system well. You can to be surrounded by many like-minded people. Besides, Canada is in need of managers in the near future....once managers retire, there's a lot of opening.
PLEASE THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOSING A CAREER. LOOK FOR INSPIRATION. DO A LOT OF CAREER RESEARCHING. JOB SHADOW AND LEARN ABOUT AS MANY CAREERS AS POSSIBLE. DO THIS FOR YOURSELF! KNOW YOURSELF VERY WELL AND KNOW WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE! YOUR HAPPINESS IN LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

My cousin was in pharmacy but he hated it so he did bad and dropped out. He's passionate in money and now completed a business program and got scholarship. He's planning to do a masters in business. He's very happy about this path.
 
futurpharmacis said:
Are people going into pharmacy are really thinking about the money? What's your motivation for pharmacy?
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Would you still be intersted in pharmacy if they only made around like 40k-50K a year? You still might be. I mean, I don't want to sound shallow, but really to spend all that time and money in school to make a relatively average salary which you could have done with all that investment? Pharm tuition is so much more than regular undergrad tuition, they deserve to be rewarded for it in the end.

Don't get me wrong, money is definately not everything. Money was not the reason why I choose to apply to pharm, I like learning about drug interactions and their effects on the body. And actually like being able to educate people and make a little difference in their lives. This passion and motivation for learning will get me through schooling, but money is still on my mind for after I graduate. Passion for your profession only lasts for so long and then work just becomes routine. I've spoken with many pharmacists and get the same vibe from them. If someone really loves their job, ask them if they'd do for free, not many will agree to do so. I don't want to make big money, or talk about money all day, but I want to be able to make enough so I can take time off and enjoy life as well.
 
Man, PharmacyBoy is such a downer. Really, go to business. You'll make more money there if you're creative enough.

I know people who have amazing GPAs but did not want to go to med school. I myself currently have a 4.0 at UofT to put things in your perspective. I just really love chemistry over biology, so it was logical for me to go pharm and not med.
 
simplicity1love said:
What can you do; some people just think that way. I've given up. :) Just patiently waiting to see if I got in!! How are you finding it so far?
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True, we can't change the way some people think! Personally I really like the new curriculum because you do get right into pharmacy and you learn alot. Some of the courses we are taking now use to be taught in 2nd/3rd year in the old curriculum so its pretty neat. However, there is a high course load associated with it but as long as you plan ahead (something I never do) you will do good :) Best of luck; hopefully you'll get in :)
 
cuteeenerd said:
Would you still be intersted in pharmacy if they only made around like 40k-50K a year? You still might be. I mean, I don't want to sound shallow, but really to spend all that time and money in school to make a relatively average salary which you could have done with all that investment? Pharm tuition is so much more than regular undergrad tuition, they deserve to be rewarded for it in the end.

Don't get me wrong, money is definately not everything. Money was not the reason why I choose to apply to pharm, I like learning about drug interactions and their effects on the body. And actually like being able to educate people and make a little difference in their lives. This passion and motivation for learning will get me through schooling, but money is still on my mind for after I graduate. Passion for your profession only lasts for so long and then work just becomes routine. I've spoken with many pharmacists and get the same vibe from them. If someone really loves their job, ask them if they'd do for free, not many will agree to do so. I don't want to make big money, or talk about money all day, but I want to be able to make enough so I can take time off and enjoy life as well.
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You make sense. I don't want to be exploited and be paid less than I deserve too. But, the discussion was giving me an impression that people who go to pharmacy are only there for the money. Look at the media. The pharmacists and healtcare professionals who want to become rich are unethical and don't really care so much about patients' health. It's unfair if those who are like this and get into pharmacy. :mad:
 
It is quite sad, yes. But there is always the bad egg(s) in every profession. It's just pharmacy is one of the most prominent ones because people need the drugs to maintain their health.
 
ryanco64 said:
It is quite sad, yes. But there is always the bad egg(s) in every profession. It's just pharmacy is one of the most prominent ones because people need the drugs to maintain their health.
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I don't understand that, are you referring to bad eggs as in bad/unethical pharmacists?
 
What I meant to say that the issue of drugs is a big one, something comparable to let's say politics. Because the issue is large, the bad eggs are more visible because more people are looking at the entire situation as opposed to something small, like...(I can't really think of any small matters: fill in the blank!)

But yeah, I guess most people just see pharmacists as guys who make money selling the meds they need instead of a person to go to in case they have questions. A lot of people I know have said that pharmacists' salaries should go down because "they don't really do much".
 
My feelings are exactly like cuteeenerd. I know passion is important, but my passion for things die really fast. and in the end, i dont want to pay 75k for post high school education and not get a decent, excessive lifestyle that is so of americans and canadians vs deprived 3rd world countries !!!

i wasnt trying to say that money is everything, but it is honestly top 3. if not money, resources to do things that one wishes to do.

but... one can only devote so much passion for a job, and like cuteeenerd said, it becomes routine... and pharmacists dont seem like they are respected like other health professionals... lets say... compared to doctors. but dont let the bring u down, ur an expert on drugs! and doctors can take your advice or not =) if the patient dies. its the doctors mistake !

there are bad eggs everywhere, even in law. my friend got into detention for something, and his father hired up to 3 lawyers, and all they did was milk him for thousands of dollars without even trying to bail him out.

this is biology, the strongest survive and the weak have to adapt or lose.
 
so is everyone done exams now?
I am, and i feel only a little relieved cuz i still have to wait for this offer.
if i dont get accepted, i really dont know what im gonna do.
i screwed up my uni courses cuz im just taking whatever is required for pharmacy school.
sigh...
and today i failed my G- license driving test... dammit... but at least i can retry in 10 days, whereas pharmacy u gotta wait a year... i might just take the year off and apply again next year if i dont get accepted...

who knows...
 
PharmacyBoy said:
My feelings are exactly like cuteeenerd. I know passion is important, but my passion for things die really fast. and in the end, i dont want to pay 75k for post high school education and not get a decent, excessive lifestyle that is so of americans and canadians vs deprived 3rd world countries !!!

i wasnt trying to say that money is everything, but it is honestly top 3. if not money, resources to do things that one wishes to do.

but... one can only devote so much passion for a job, and like cuteeenerd said, it becomes routine... and pharmacists dont seem like they are respected like other health professionals... lets say... compared to doctors. but dont let the bring u down, ur an expert on drugs! and doctors can take your advice or not =) if the patient dies. its the doctors mistake !

there are bad eggs everywhere, even in law. my friend got into detention for something, and his father hired up to 3 lawyers, and all they did was milk him for thousands of dollars without even trying to bail him out.

this is biology, the strongest survive and the weak have to adapt or lose.
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I'm not saying that pharmacist should make an average salary after paying high tuition fees. I'm saying, be careful! The ones who are motivated by only money should chose a different career. Money could corrupt people in ways you can't imagine. If health care professionals are corrupted, it's terrible because of what could happen to people's lives. These people could be someone you know!

Now I'm not going to provide specific examples of corrupted healthcare professionals. I don't want to cause controversies on this forum. I want you to research and see for your self.
 
yah this is common. but anyways, whats everyone doing to kill time before they receive their offers?

feels good without having to do school or any tests or assignments =D
 
I still have one exam Thursday :(. CANNOT wait till it is over so then I will only have to worry about offers...
 
futurpharmacis said:
Give me some descriptions of some profs you don't like (what is their teaching method like?). It helps us make decisions. Just stating that the profs are ineffective is not enough.
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We had one biochem professor who is probably 70 years old. He can barely see the powerpoint screen and skips slides which he cant see. In his notes he uses the wrong protein names and continues to lecture wrong information on the slides until another student with some previous knowledge would point it out. Im not too sure what the new cirriculum is like but I know several students who arent happy with how the program is designed so its hard for me to comment on it since Im not part of the new program. But overall you are definitely not gettin an education that is worth $6000 more in value conpared to another university. On top of that there are other minor fees throughout the year and program that you are going to have to pay for ie signing up as pharmacy student with the college of ontario pharmacists (~$400). The ONLY thing I can give UofT credit for is their name, which MAY be a factor if you decide to work internationally or even for a pharmaceutical company. A lot of the major pharmaceutical company Canadian headquarters are based in Ontario. Hope that helps.


I also see a lot of posts on here about people havin friends with mediocre GPA and PCAT. On average people have generally a 80 composite and close to an 80 average. There FEW out of 240 students (maybe like 20-30) students who get in with a 70% average an 70 PCAT and an amazing interview score. Also keep in mind the number of applicants last year was VERY low, about almost 30-40% lower than usual, and the applicant pool was not as competitive as previous years. Generally speaking the interview is worth normally about 40% of your overall application and the Pcat from 10-20% and your average makes up for the rest.
 
PharmacyBoy said:
some profs are good, some are bad. whatever... its their job. they may do it well, they may do it bad. u might think they are bad, but maybe someone thinks they are awesome. personal preference.
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This is true and there are lots of examples of students who say a prof sucks because they got a low grade. This is not me I got an 85 on the midterm, there are some really good profs who can lecture well at UofT. However my problem is when I pay 14,000 for an education and have a professor who publicly acknowledges to the class and says he has a fear of speakin to large crowds and says "uh.. Umm.. No wait I take back what I said" 5-8 times per sentence. He probably doesnt want to lecture and is only doing it as an obligation in order to do research. But when the school collects over 3 million dollars from the class the least they could do is care a little bit more about our education. This isnt undergrad with 4000 students in one faculty. This is a professional program with 240 students...
If you get into the program and drop me a line about the medchem and biochem professors were. I pretty much learned the course based on wikipedia and other primary sources.
 
I have a full time job for the summer. The days will fly by really quickly.
 
FPCPineapple said:
This is true and there are lots of examples of students who say a prof sucks because they got a low grade. This is not me I got an 85 on the midterm, there are some really good profs who can lecture well at UofT. However my problem is when I pay 14,000 for an education and have a professor who publicly acknowledges to the class and says he has a fear of speakin to large crowds and says "uh.. Umm.. No wait I take back what I said" 5-8 times per sentence. He probably doesnt want to lecture and is only doing it as an obligation in order to do research. But when the school collects over 3 million dollars from the class the least they could do is care a little bit more about our education. This isnt undergrad with 4000 students in one faculty. This is a professional program with 240 students...
If you get into the program and drop me a line about the medchem and biochem professors were. I pretty much learned the course based on wikipedia and other primary sources.
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-->U of T reality guys!!!:eek:

What do you get for studying at a research intensive university? Profs who care more about their research than student's learning. Research is where profs get a lot money (and fame in their academic world). Do you see why money is not always such a good motivator? How many students are affected from poor teaching?

The same is true for U.S. universities and colleges. If you can, study at a university that will help you reach YOUR goal (hope it's not getting very rich).
 
im nervous. i have a 56 composite on my pcat LOL!
so ffffffffffffff'd.
 
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