Despite my high GPA and PCAT score, they didn't give me an offer. So I guess it must be the interview (although I felt like I did well on 6/7 stations). I'm feeling really down and frustrated.
University of Toronto Pharmacy '2018
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Despite my high GPA and PCAT score, they didn't give me an offer. So I guess it must be the interview (although I felt like I did well on 6/7 stations). I'm feeling really down and frustrated.
Prior to the interviews, did you have any practice? If so, how did you practice? Did you finish speaking before time's up on any of the stations?
For myself, I read up on a lot of news, with emphasis on health care (ethics, laws, new bills, etc). I also picked a topic to discuss with my roommates every night, such as obesity, racism, etc. That got my brain used to looking at issues from different perspectives, which as kein said, is good to hit up on both sides of an issue. My school also ran practice MMI sessions and I attended 2 of those. Do you have any friends who are in? Perhaps they can give you some more advice.
Don't feel down. Learn from your mistakes to become stronger and try again next year. Be confident, because this is what you want.
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Despite my high GPA and PCAT score, they didn't give me an offer. So I guess it must be the interview (although I felt like I did well on 6/7 stations). I'm feeling really down and frustrated.
I am in the same situation; UBC rejected me (again). But don't lose hope. If this is what you want to do, try again and again; of course learn to change if what you did has not worked out. Remember to try again. The bottomline is "Do not make yourself regret".
Good Luck.
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I got into both U of T and UW wohoooooo
CONGRATS!!! What were your stats if you don't mind me asking…. i'm applying in a year or so and want to see what to expect lol
Thanks!
I've just started realizing that I did in fact, have some difficulty in some of the stations and that I could have said a much better answer to some of the questions. Good luck to you too!This is my first post though I've been periodically monitoring its activity over the past few months. I got accepted and my stats are as follows:
GPA ~84%
PCAT 99 percentile
Interview: aced 2 stations, average 6 stations, bombed 2 stations
As for the process itself, I believe GPA and the interview are the two most important aspects of admission. Improving GPA is pretty self-explanatory; pick courses you are genuinely interested in and/or courses that have favourable reviews from peers and professor ratings. The interview's MMI format may be daunting for those who usually prepare ahead of time for generic questions. Personally, I did not prepare for the interview but I do have a good understanding of myself, my experiences in the past, and my sense of morality. While practice is always good, I recommend taking a moment to reflect on your experiences since high school to get a better understanding of yourself, your strengths and weakness, how you handled situations in the past and how you can improve. There is a good chance personal experience will be relevant to a few stations and even if they are not, this introspection is valuable in all facets of life. As for the PCAT, you should be aware that there is a minimum threshold, above which the usefulness of the score is used to determine tie-breakers between comparable applicants. It is used as an initial screen and not a hard determining criteria. As you take the required courses for pharmacy, you are indirectly studying for the PCAT as much of the content is merely recycled. Once again, a good understanding of your studying habits will allow you to study most efficiently. This is personal opinion but I believe the Biology, Chemistry and Math components can show visible improvement while the other sections are harder to improve in a short duration. For example, I used a vocabulary builder app (smartphone) for a month whenever I am on the bus or waiting but unfortunately none of the words appeared on the actual PCAT.
Concerning the debate between UofT and Waterloo, I chose UofT for the following reasons. While Waterloo is "harder" to get into and their Co-op program is highly sought after, I hear that the positions can range drastically from urban to rural areas. To get the better positions, one has to be quite competitive as they are limited in number. Toronto does not offer co-op but it does have more opportunities locally. I have volunteered/worked at this one pharmacy for three summers and built a good rapport with the head pharmacist. He told me that he is willing to provide me with internship opportunities whenever I find the time. I also find the city more lively though it does come at a steeper cost.
Hope this helps!
GPA ~84%
PCAT 99 percentile
Interview: aced 2 stations, average 6 stations, bombed 2 stations
As for the process itself, I believe GPA and the interview are the two most important aspects of admission. Improving GPA is pretty self-explanatory; pick courses you are genuinely interested in and/or courses that have favourable reviews from peers and professor ratings. The interview's MMI format may be daunting for those who usually prepare ahead of time for generic questions. Personally, I did not prepare for the interview but I do have a good understanding of myself, my experiences in the past, and my sense of morality. While practice is always good, I recommend taking a moment to reflect on your experiences since high school to get a better understanding of yourself, your strengths and weakness, how you handled situations in the past and how you can improve. There is a good chance personal experience will be relevant to a few stations and even if they are not, this introspection is valuable in all facets of life. As for the PCAT, you should be aware that there is a minimum threshold, above which the usefulness of the score is used to determine tie-breakers between comparable applicants. It is used as an initial screen and not a hard determining criteria. As you take the required courses for pharmacy, you are indirectly studying for the PCAT as much of the content is merely recycled. Once again, a good understanding of your studying habits will allow you to study most efficiently. This is personal opinion but I believe the Biology, Chemistry and Math components can show visible improvement while the other sections are harder to improve in a short duration. For example, I used a vocabulary builder app (smartphone) for a month whenever I am on the bus or waiting but unfortunately none of the words appeared on the actual PCAT.
Concerning the debate between UofT and Waterloo, I chose UofT for the following reasons. While Waterloo is "harder" to get into and their Co-op program is highly sought after, I hear that the positions can range drastically from urban to rural areas. To get the better positions, one has to be quite competitive as they are limited in number. Toronto does not offer co-op but it does have more opportunities locally. I have volunteered/worked at this one pharmacy for three summers and built a good rapport with the head pharmacist. He told me that he is willing to provide me with internship opportunities whenever I find the time. I also find the city more lively though it does come at a steeper cost.
Hope this helps!
I tried twice to get into the school of my choice. There are books specific to MMI training. I find getting the main point across and exploring the unknowns important. Also, allow time in your answer for prompts.
For the new grads of 2014, is it as hard is it to find a job as people make it sound? I've been recently worrying about this because many people say they've accumulated so much debt and can't find a job in pharmacy. I am keeping optimistic though and brushing those things off, can anyone who knows anything about this shed some light on this issue. Thanks
That seems like a highly unlikely method of testing as it would be really unfair to both the interviewer and the applicant if that were the case. If the interviewer gets a stellar applicant in the first round they might be hesitant to award the 10 they deserve, simply because they have no point of comparison. I think its improbable that UofT uses the MMI to compare applicants only within their mini interview groups. How could you ever use the interview score to compare students across different groups/interview times/days? The data would be unreliable and it would be a nightmare trying to make sense of it.
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Looking to Buy Dr Collin's PCAT Study Material. Msg please.
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Hey, I'm selling my Dr. Collin's, PCAT Destroyer, and Kaplans textbook.
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message me for pricing pleaseee
Did those people pass the board exam? I know a couple people who got job offers right after graduation but job offer was conditional on passing the dreaded licensing exam.
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email me at [email protected]
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That's what I've heard too. I have confidence that U of T will prepare us well for it, though. c:
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Curious...has anyone gotten off the wait-list yet? The last day to accept offers was the 27th.
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I was also wondering the same thing. As a fellow wait-lister, it would be nice to know. thank you
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On the facebook group, I read one person's comment saying they got off the waiting list (saw it last week).
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Something like 97% of U of T Pharm students pass the boards. It's really not as tough as you might think; the majority of the stuff tested is extremely basic stuff that you'll know by the end of second year!
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The faculty doesn't record any lectures but students often take the initiative to record the lectures and then post them online so everyone has access. The 1T7 execs have set up dropbox accounts and everything for the class of 1T8 so you guys should be golden!
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Thank god for this. I basically relied on lecture recordings at McGill so I don't know what I'd do without them. ._.
this. mcgill recorded lectures were my life. (actually)
How often are waitlisted people notified that they've gotten in? Do they just do it whenever a spot opens up? Cus the deadline to accept them was a while ago, and was curious as to how Admissions handles this process.
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Well, as soon as a space opens up, they contact the next person on the wait-list. I think they've contacted all the waitlisters that have made it since the deadline date. I guess if students admitted decline their offer later on this month, or if they haven't paid their tuition then more waitlisters will be contacted.
I'm in the same boat as you...upper-end waitlisted -.- sucks b/c I don't know if I'm number 1-5 on the list or 15+
I wish I was upper waitlist, I'm in the lower half, so realistically, the chances of 20+ people rejecting their offers is slim to none, to be quite honest, so I already have plans lined up to go back for a fifth year of school to try and pull my grades up the best that I can.
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That sucks! yeah, I'm not too confident in my chances either
but honestly...I don't think pulling up your GPA will help. My GPA and PCAT score was really high...I messed up on two of the interview stations and that's what landed me my wait-list position -.-What was your GPA and PCAT if you don't mind me asking. I had a really high GPA (highest GPA in my program if I may add) and fairly high PCAT and didn't get wait-listed at all. I still am disappointed about the results. Anyways, hope you get in soon.That sucks! yeah, I'm not too confident in my chances either
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I'm lower half wait-listed as well. It sucks, its like they're giving us slight hope but we all know that a miracle won't happen
thanks!
I believe it should work the same way as medicine....you have until september (or early october?) to get off the wait list. dont lose hope
The deadline to accept the offer was June 27. To me, its likely that the 240 spots have been filled and unless someone has decided to take back their acceptance, I can't think of a scenario where offers would still be given out. I've heard that waitlisted people have a week to make their decision though, so I could be wrong. We have to be realistic though, the waitlist will not extend past the program start date. There won't be waitlisted people joining the program 3 weeks in.
Medical school offers are handed out until september rolls around (this is why grad school supervisors are wary about accepting students that have already applied to medschool and are waitlisted....because medschool students are accepted until september). Now...Lets be honest, there are medical school waitlisters in the accepted pharmacy group. If they get accepted from now to september they will definitely give up their spot, and one will open for someone on the waitlist.
Yeah I thought I was clear with the exception I gave (which would cover your waitlisted med applicant scenario). You're right though, I checked last year's thread and someone got off the waitlist on July 25th, though last year's class had a full week more for the initial 240 to make their decision (June 27 v July 5).
What I'm more doubtful of is offers going out into and past september. Try and think of the logistical problems UofT would face letting people into the program a month in. Tuition fees are due at the end end of August, OSAP will be super late, those post admission requirements need to be completed, new students are behind on material and thrown into the program right with midterms looming. Just my opinion but I think UofT has a date where even if someone rescinds their acceptance, they won't add anymore from the waitlist. I think that's the more realistic option.
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Long time lurker and first time poster. I am currently on the upper-half of the wait list and the last date for wait listers to receive an offer of acceptance is September 5. My hope right now is that they're just taking their time in processing the acceptances and as mentioned above, people giving up spots for med school or any other schools. My reasoning for the former is that my letter said they probably can't accept wait listers until late July or early August. I'm positive that UofT will allow the tuition fee and post-admission requirements deadlines to be extended for people from the waitlist and I doubt OSAP money will be THAT late, given the fact that you can still apply for it in April. Even if OSAP money comes late, there are other options to explore.
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edit --> totally didnt read the post after this. sept 5 it is then.
Hey everyone. For anybody that was accepted, what was your writing score on the PCAT and how can I achieve a 3+ on my upcoming pcat. This is the one section I'm worried about because it can ruin my whole score if I get a 2.5 and a 99% composite.
What's the preferred format? Thanks
What's the preferred format? Thanks
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Is their anyone that got accepted
without any full course load per semester?
without any full course load per semester?
I got accepted without taking a full course. UoT said they preferred students with a full course load for a year (in UoT's calculation that comes to 5 full credits a year). Because of the way my school was organized, my maximum course load I ever took converted to 4.5 course credits/year. I'll list my other stats if you're curious about that too
PCAT:
92 composite
99 chem
88 qunatitative
92 bio
68 reading comp
38 verbal (lol)
score of 5 on writing
my GPA was a 7.5/10 when I applied
Felt I did well on 7/10 stations
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Thanks a lot. I guess I should work on my pcat (68). I got an interview but was straight out rejected.
Ah okay, good to know! Best of luck!
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To get at least a 3 on the writing, you need to make sure that you have an intro, 2-3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Also make sure that you have time to proof read your essay before time ends. My essays that I wrote were never long, and I still managed to get a 4 in this section. You just need to make sure it makes sense grammatically, and to limit the amount of spelling mistakes you make. Hope this helps!
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I only had a full course load one year, but the rest of my years I only had 4/4.5 courses.
