2008 (Fall 2009) SUNY Buffalo Interview/Acceptance Thread

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Out of curiosity alenadoma, what did they calculate your pre-pharm GPA as? Higher or lower than 3.3?
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apteryx said:
Out of curiosity alenadoma, what did they calculate your pre-pharm GPA as? Higher or lower than 3.3?
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Well..my situation is a little bit complicated. My undergrad science GPA is lower.
But..when I was talking to UB about my graduate coursework, I was informed that due to how PharmCAS calculates GPAs, only 4 credits of my graduate work were included in the calculations, because they weren't one of Pharmcas' categories for science. Well..this made no sense to me because all of my graduate work is science based..I've taken numerous oncology courses, pharmacology, adv cell & developmental bio, the list goes on. So to make a long story short, I'm not sure. My cumulative grad GPA should be the same as my grad sci/prepharm GPA because I haven't taken any non-science courses since undergrad. I've tried talking to UB about it..but they're not that helpful.
 
alenadoma said:
Well..my situation is a little bit complicated. My undergrad science GPA is lower.
But..when I was talking to UB about my graduate coursework, I was informed that due to how PharmCAS calculates GPAs, only 4 credits of my graduate work were included in the calculations, because they weren't one of Pharmcas' categories for science. Well..this made no sense to me because all of my graduate work is science based..I've taken numerous oncology courses, pharmacology, adv cell & developmental bio, the list goes on. So to make a long story short, I'm not sure. My cumulative grad GPA should be the same as my grad sci/prepharm GPA because I haven't taken any non-science courses since undergrad. I've tried talking to UB about it..but they're not that helpful.
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hey there! I took your advice about the supplementals and submitted UB's today. I don't think Pharmcas has sent out my stuff yet. I submitted it on 10-22 and under my designations it still says "not mailed". I hate playing this waiting game!! I'm also confused about how they will calculate my GPA as well for UB. They never really gave me a straight answer when I asked them in the spring. I also noticed that almost all of my prereqs are older than 5 yrs old which I guess UB doesn't allow according to the supplemental. But when I met with admissions they didn't mention it. I still submitted them so who knows? Did you have a similar situation or was all of your stuff up to date? :oops:
 
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KristaMPH said:
hey there! I took your advice about the supplementals and submitted UB's today. I don't think Pharmcas has sent out my stuff yet. I submitted it on 10-22 and under my designations it still says "not mailed". I hate playing this waiting game!! I'm also confused about how they will calculate my GPA as well for UB. They never really gave me a straight answer when I asked them in the spring. I also noticed that almost all of my prereqs are older than 5 yrs old which I guess UB doesn't allow according to the supplemental. But when I met with admissions they didn't mention it. I still submitted them so who knows? Did you have a similar situation or was all of your stuff up to date? :oops:
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Good job on submitting supplemental, hopefully you'll have better luck than I did :)
Some of my prereqs are older than 5 years old too (I took evolutionary bio, calc, cell bio in 2003..I don't even know what they consider 5 years), but regardless, they didn't say anything about it. What I would recommend is to go talk to Jennifer Hess when PharmCAS does mail out your info..just to make sure that they have your correct grad GPA, and they factor it in into the application. She had to recalculate my grad GPA because of what I wrote about above. Also make sure they'll accept your pre-reqs..how much older are they?
 
alenadoma said:
Good job on submitting supplemental, hopefully you'll have better luck than I did :)
Some of my prereqs are older than 5 years old too (I took evolutionary bio, calc, cell bio in 2003..I don't even know what they consider 5 years), but regardless, they didn't say anything about it. What I would recommend is to go talk to Jennifer Hess when PharmCAS does mail out your info..just to make sure that they have your correct grad GPA, and they factor it in into the application. She had to recalculate my grad GPA because of what I wrote about above. Also make sure they'll accept your pre-reqs..how much older are they?
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Thanks for the advice, I will go see her, I went to see her last spring and she was the one who told me I probably wouldn't get it in. I think that my oldest ones are from 2002 so hopefully that will be ok. I'm really not anticipating much from UB, so I know how you feel! Try and stay positive!! If UB doesn't want us then they are missing out and we will find schools that do want us!! :oops:
 
alenadoma said:
Well..my situation is a little bit complicated. My undergrad science GPA is lower.
But..when I was talking to UB about my graduate coursework, I was informed that due to how PharmCAS calculates GPAs, only 4 credits of my graduate work were included in the calculations, because they weren't one of Pharmcas' categories for science. Well..this made no sense to me because all of my graduate work is science based..I've taken numerous oncology courses, pharmacology, adv cell & developmental bio, the list goes on. So to make a long story short, I'm not sure. My cumulative grad GPA should be the same as my grad sci/prepharm GPA because I haven't taken any non-science courses since undergrad. I've tried talking to UB about it..but they're not that helpful.
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so does UB calculate pharmcas GPA or they have their own way to do it?
 
TpharmD said:
so does UB calculate pharmcas GPA or they have their own way to do it?
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They definitely use the PharmCAS GPA. In my situation they had to recalculate some things. I think for most applicants, however, they use the PharmCAS GPA as the measure.
 
Actually, I emailed them about the PharmCAS GPA calculation thing, and they said that they use their own method of calculating GPA. Whether it's just looking at the PharmCAS GPA and deriving the pre-pharm GPA from it, I don't know.
 
I need some advise..i have my application and everything set up but i have not sent it in yet because I'm worried about the letters of recommendations. I have two recs already and need a third one for Ub as well as the PCAT scores, since i'm going to take it in jan.

Should i send the app now? I mean pharmcas sends everything out after receiving the pcat scores anyways. Also, any suggestions regarding the third LoR? I have a cal 2 prof and my superviser at work and i can't seem to find a third one....

many thanks!
 
Ask another science professor of yours. It's part of their job, just provide them with some background info about yourself.
 
apteryx said:
Ask another science professor of yours. It's part of their job, just provide them with some background info about yourself.
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but i thought, they have to get to know you and ect...
 
icekitsune said:
but i thought, they have to get to know you and ect...
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One of my LOR's came from a professor I barely knew. If your other LOR's are from professors/bosses who know you well, one mediocre LOR is not going to kill you. In fact, it will get your application completed! Just make sure it's from a professor who gave you a good grade so they can say positive things.
 
Be careful- I know professors that won't necessarily say no to a student's request, but will be bluntly honest especially when filling out reference questionnaires. "Not applicable" "Somewhat agree" "No basis to judge".
 
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On Oct 16 I received an interview invite for Feb 13! I am psyched!


GPA: 3.94
Science/Math GPA: 3.92
PCAT composite: 99th
 
Sometimes I have to wonder why I even bother applying compared to everyone else. Don't get me wrong, you super gpa people obviously deserve it. It's disheartening to the rest of us though, lol.
 
Don't stress about it too much. All the people with those buzzkill GPA's usually don't mention where they went to school. I feel like that has a tremendous impact on GPA. I'm not trying to degrade those that have high GPA's and furthermore, I'm not suggesting they did not earn it, but getting a 4.0 at community college vs 4.0 at a 4 year institution are two very different things. As for pcats scores, there is nothing subjective about those.

For all those that will be there on 2/6, see you there!
 
for anyone interested there is an informational meeting tomorrow (tues nov. 18th) at UB for the new PharmD/MPH joint program beginning next fall. In cooke hall room 239 from 4-5. see ya there!
 
Has anyone heard anything yet?
 
still sitting on the waitlist..but I'm not surprised..probably won't find anything out until summer :rolleyes:
I heard interviews started a couple weeks ago, so I'm surprised no one has notified SDN of an acceptance yet!
 
I believe the early assurance students are the only ones that have heard back yet. We all got our acceptances/rejections on feb. 2. There were 65 early assurance students given interviews, but I don't have an exact number of how many of us got accepted. I think last friday was the first day of interviews for regular applicants and usually they should hear back by the following wednesday(??), maybe. So hopefully we will be hearing lots soon!
 
Coming in for the February 13th interview (Offered 10/20). I've only heard positive things about this school, so I'm really excited. The only other school that I've heard this many positive things about is Minnesota. I'm staying at the Ramada Amherst Conference center and someone else is getting driven to the school and to the airport with me! I'm excited to have a hotel buddy. :)

Good luck everyone :luck: on interviews and getting into your choice school.
 
Yeah I do believe this past Fri was first day of Pharmcas interviews...I saw all the signs up and the piles of people in suits doing tours. Good luck to all of you, I just have to say, it sounds like it's getting more and more competative every year...some of your numbers are silly good. I THINK I remember hearing last year there were 400 early assurance applicants and 1200 pharmcas people for a total of 1600 apps!! I sure there will be 2000 or more this year!

phrmstudent2539 said:
I believe the early assurance students are the only ones that have heard back yet. We all got our acceptances/rejections on feb. 2. There were 65 early assurance students given interviews, but I don't have an exact number of how many of us got accepted. I think last friday was the first day of interviews for regular applicants and usually they should hear back by the following wednesday(??), maybe. So hopefully we will be hearing lots soon!
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good luck to you guys having your interview on "friday the 13th"
 
Just letting people know, I interviewed on 02/06 and received my acceptance letter today. Somewhat of a melancholy affair, though, considering the horrific plane crash that occurred last night - hopefully no candidates were on board. Good luck to everyone, hope to see you there in August.
 
ditto, just got my acceptance this morning, which I will almost definitely be accepting...see you all in august.
 
xinduetimex said:
Just letting people know, I interviewed on 02/06 and received my acceptance letter today. Somewhat of a melancholy affair, though, considering the horrific plane crash that occurred last night - hopefully no candidates were on board. Good luck to everyone, hope to see you there in August.
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JABBAWOCKEE said:
ditto, just got my acceptance this morning, which I will almost definitely be accepting...see you all in august.
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Congratulations!
 
For those that are already at UB, I was wondering how on campus housing works since we are viewed as undergraduates for the first professional year. Are we able to apply for graduate apartment housing with that status?
 
webbiest said:
good luck to you guys having your interview on "friday the 13th"
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xinduetimex said:
Just letting people know, I interviewed on 02/06 and received my acceptance letter today. Somewhat of a melancholy affair, though, considering the horrific plane crash that occurred last night - hopefully no candidates were on board. Good luck to everyone, hope to see you there in August.
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Congrats...how did u guys prepare for the interview? what were the questions like?
 
Hey congrats on the acceptances! I gave tours on 2/06, so I probably met you guys, awesome that you got in.

As for campus housing I'm pretty sure you can apply for the graduate living areas right away although I'm not 100% positive.

Congrats again, i'll see you guys in the fall!

-Taylor
 
TpharmD said:
Congrats...how did u guys prepare for the interview? what were the questions like?
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I formulated a list of basic questions I should be able to answer if asked - i.e. why pharmacy, why UB, strengths/weaknesses, etc., but made sure not to memorize the answers, just a general outline of what I'd like to say if asked. As for the questions, the interviewers take them from a printed list - really, my best advice would be to read the interview information and tips on the school website, the literature tells you what the interviewers are there to assess. The other thing I would suggest is to chillax: some questions ask about personal experiences, thus you can't really prepare for them (the interviewers give you a few minutes to think beforing answering). I think presenting yourself in a calm, confident manner says a lot about how you'll be able to deal with not only the stressors of pharmacy school, but those of pharmacy practice as well. Best of luck...


Taylor: thanks - I feel that you and the rest of the students that day did an excellent job of personifying the collegial atmosphere of the program.
 
Congrats to everyone who got accepted :laugh:!
 
Ditto again. :D Didn't check my e-mail until this morning, so it was a great Valentine's day present.

As for how I prepped for the interview, I looked at the interview feedback, looked through UB's website, looked through my application (because I've totally forgotten what I'd put down months ago--not that I got questions about my app), and wrote outlines for some common questions (why pharm, why UB, what strengths/weaknesses, etc) in a notebook to organize my thoughts and so I could look it over before my interview to calm myself down.

I wasn't sure how I did in the interview, since I talked quickly and babbled (though I thought my tone was very confident), my interviewers arrived late and then dismissed me early, and I felt like one of them might have thought I was lying about parts of my app. Oh, and I got very emotional and teared up a little at one point (combination of nerves and reviving an uncomfortable memory). But I must have done much better than I thought, so yay!

Congrats to xinduetimex, jabbawockee, and everyone else who's gotten an acceptance! :thumbup: Maybe I'll see you guys next year.
 
congrats to you all who got accepted!

still waiting to hear from UB!
 
When I interviewed at the school, I had both negative and positive impressions of the school. But I think it's possible that it might have been a misinterpretation.

- I thought the interview day was really disorganized. I wanted to know if the program was really ontop of their things or if they did not function as a single cohesive unit that does not communicate well.
- Do all students have class in Cooke hall or is it really just a pharmacy school building? It seemed like there were a lot of students around pre-lunch and that there was a lot of intermingling between undergraduate students and the professional students. Not to be snooty about this type of thing or anything but I really liked it when I visited the University of Minnesota and the building we were in was almost exclusively professional students.
- What kind of intra murals are there? The school didn't really cover this topic nearly as much as I would like.
- Is there a lot of intermingling between different professional students?
- The pharmacy student lounge seemed kind of small. Is that ever an issue?

Don't get the wrong idea, I really enjoyed the visit and the people, I was just expecting something a little bit different.
 
DKSchrute6 said:
When I interviewed at the school, I had both negative and positive impressions of the school. But I think it's possible that it might have been a misinterpretation.

- I thought the interview day was really disorganized. I wanted to know if the program was really ontop of their things or if they did not function as a single cohesive unit that does not communicate well.
- Do all students have class in Cooke hall or is it really just a pharmacy school building? It seemed like there were a lot of students around pre-lunch and that there was a lot of intermingling between undergraduate students and the professional students. Not to be snooty about this type of thing or anything but I really liked it when I visited the University of Minnesota and the building we were in was almost exclusively professional students.
- What kind of intra murals are there? The school didn't really cover this topic nearly as much as I would like.
- Is there a lot of intermingling between different professional students?
- The pharmacy student lounge seemed kind of small. Is that ever an issue?

Don't get the wrong idea, I really enjoyed the visit and the people, I was just expecting something a little bit different.
Click to expand...

A lot of students have class in Cooke Hall. It happens to be where the pharmacy school is housed, but I also had Cell Bio in that building as a freshman. There is definitely a lot of intermingling between pharmacy students and undergrads on North Campus (the campus you had the interview). I know that the school is eventually going to be moved to South Campus, which is where the Medical and Dental schools are. I'm not sure there will be too much intermingling between professional students since every professional program has their own set of classes that the students take. Again, on South Campus there are undergrads as well. I don't know a lot about the intramurals..hopefully one of the current UB pharm students can address that for you.
 
DKSchrute6 said:
When I interviewed at the school, I had both negative and positive impressions of the school. But I think it's possible that it might have been a misinterpretation.

- I thought the interview day was really disorganized. I wanted to know if the program was really ontop of their things or if they did not function as a single cohesive unit that does not communicate well.
- Do all students have class in Cooke hall or is it really just a pharmacy school building? It seemed like there were a lot of students around pre-lunch and that there was a lot of intermingling between undergraduate students and the professional students. Not to be snooty about this type of thing or anything but I really liked it when I visited the University of Minnesota and the building we were in was almost exclusively professional students.
- What kind of intra murals are there? The school didn't really cover this topic nearly as much as I would like.
- Is there a lot of intermingling between different professional students?
- The pharmacy student lounge seemed kind of small. Is that ever an issue?

Don't get the wrong idea, I really enjoyed the visit and the people, I was just expecting something a little bit different.
Click to expand...



When did you interview? I attended the interview this past Friday (3/13) and I found that the interview day was very organized, as it sort of must be for larger interview groups like we had.

I am no expert on the answers to the questions you have asked, but I am confused as to why you are asking them here... Throughout every part of my interview day, both students and faculty members were continuously asking if anyone had any questions about anything. Why didn't you ask these questions to someone who would know while you were still at the school if you are so concerned about these issues?

UB is very different from some of the other schools that I have applied to, as well, due to the fact that UB is a huge public university with almost 30k students! The atmosphere there is definitely very different, and it is not for everyone. If you prefer a smaller school with a more isolated professional program, UB may not be a good choice, at least that is definitely the impression that I got based on my interviewing experiences this year.
 
I interviewed there this past Friday too (2/13), and I also think it was very organized. There was always somebody, a student or an official you could talk to if you had questions. I actually enjoyed it, especially the group activity.
 
DKSchrute6:

Your other questions were answered above. As far as intramurals, I have played on a number of teams here, softball, flag football... the list is actually quite extensive as far as what is available. They are held continuously in different leagues based on competitiveness.

Check out this website: UB Athletics for more information.
 
I like to ask the questions to students who aren't exclusively there to give a good impression of the school to see both sides of it. I really just want an honest answer either way.

I guess all candidates receive a different impression of it, I just thought it was disorganized as my interviewers weren't on the same page and had to send me out into the hallway. As well as that the tour guides didn't seem to know the timeframe that they were supposed to give us the tour in but I think that bothered me more because I was hungry and antsy haha.

The size of the school doesn't really bother me, I actually go to a larger school now.

I'm really just trying to get a good idea of the school that I am considering attending for the next four years.

Alright last question, I said intra murals in my previous list but I really meant to say extra curricula's. What kind of extra-curriculas do they have for Pharmacy or health students specifically aside from the honors fraternity?

Thanks!
 
Cooke Hall houses the pharmacy school as well as, I believe, much of the Bio dept. Most of your classes are in Cook, Hochstetter, NSC and even Knox and Norton...all in the general area. Many other people have classes in these buildings as well so there is a lot of crossover. Much of your core stuff such as labs and other pharmacy specific stuff is all in cooke. Like someone mentioned, the entire school is being moved to the other campus (set to open in a couple years) and it'll have the entire thing in one brand new building. And, yes, the lounge is rather small but I've never really noticed an issue with it.


DKSchrute6 said:
When I interviewed at the school, I had both negative and positive impressions of the school. But I think it's possible that it might have been a misinterpretation.

- I thought the interview day was really disorganized. I wanted to know if the program was really ontop of their things or if they did not function as a single cohesive unit that does not communicate well.
- Do all students have class in Cooke hall or is it really just a pharmacy school building? It seemed like there were a lot of students around pre-lunch and that there was a lot of intermingling between undergraduate students and the professional students. Not to be snooty about this type of thing or anything but I really liked it when I visited the University of Minnesota and the building we were in was almost exclusively professional students.
- What kind of intra murals are there? The school didn't really cover this topic nearly as much as I would like.
- Is there a lot of intermingling between different professional students?
- The pharmacy student lounge seemed kind of small. Is that ever an issue?

Don't get the wrong idea, I really enjoyed the visit and the people, I was just expecting something a little bit different.
Click to expand...
 
I got an interview on Feb 27th. Anyone else?
 
DKSchrute6 said:
Alright last question, I said intra murals in my previous list but I really meant to say extra curricula's. What kind of extra-curriculas do they have for Pharmacy or health students specifically aside from the honors fraternity?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm currently a P2 at UB, and I take part in a lot of the extra-curriculars at the School.

There are three different groups of extra-curriculars:

1) honors fraternities (Rho Chi and Phi Lambda Sigma)
2) social/professional fraternities (Phi Delta Chi, Kappa Psi and Lambda Kappa Sigma)
3) academic interest groups (a whole bunch, think hospital vs. community pharmacy, Canadian/international students)

You're also more than welcome to join up with any of the different groups that are organized around UB, of which there are far too many to name (they the gamut from Cricket SA to Dance Dance Revolution SA).

The Pharmacy School itself has a pretty collegiate atmosphere, so even if there isn't a group dedicated specifically to what you're interested in, I can guarantee you'll find someone who shares your interest.

And just to let you know, I'm not one of the tour guides, so I haven't been told to give everyone a rosy image of the School. I really do love it, I'm having the best time of my life here.
 
Yayyyyyyy! I received my offer of acceptance this afternoon via email! I interviewed last Friday (2/13). Now I don't have to spend 3 horrendously miserable years of acceleration in Erie! Not that UB is any easier, but at least we get the summers off!

I am so so so so psyched, sorry I am somewhat uncharacteristically rambling, but I just checked my email a little while ago and I am at work by myself for another two hours and I want to scream and dance around and tell all the customers that come in, but instead I am typing it all out right here.


Anybody else hear back yet?
 
Hey does anyone know much about acceptance statistics with respect to Canadian students?

I sent in my supp in mid January I believe, have tons of EC's and 4 years pharmacy experience. My "WES" gpa is 3.41, but could have been higher if not for the tragic personal circumstances I was placed in for the first 2 years of uni (I outlined these events in the special considerations box).

I STILL haven't received any news and I live just across the river, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Is anyone else in a similar situation? Can anyone give me any advice or tips - I was kind of really hoping to get an offer ASAP since UB is one of my top choices, if not my #1.

thanks!:rolleyes:
 
congrats on acceptance.
hey how did you prepare for the interview? what were the question like? any unusual ones?
DKSchrute6 said:
I got my acceptance letter too :)
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sandoz said:
Yayyyyyyy! I received my offer of acceptance this afternoon via email! I interviewed last Friday (2/13). Now I don't have to spend 3 horrendously miserable years of acceleration in Erie! Not that UB is any easier, but at least we get the summers off!

I am so so so so psyched, sorry I am somewhat uncharacteristically rambling, but I just checked my email a little while ago and I am at work by myself for another two hours and I want to scream and dance around and tell all the customers that come in, but instead I am typing it all out right here.


Anybody else hear back yet?
Click to expand...
 
Offer of acceptance in here too, interviewed 2/13
 
did they ask a lot of healthcare issues? i'm kind of nervous because i don't have much pharm experience (3 mos at CVS and a month in Africa).. so when i saw the interview feedback questions (what ethical violation did u face.. healthcare current events) i'm not 100% confident... can someone please give me some examples.. i hope the essays questions are like this either.. am i worrying too much??
 
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