Applying to Canadian Pharmacy Schools

[rosiepie]

Dear Fellow Pre-Pharmacy/Pharmacy Students,

I've been thinking about applying to pharmacy schools in Canada (I live in Ontario) ever since Grade 10. This year I am entering third year at McMaster University, and I have been researching intensively on the schools here that I may be able to apply to for admission in Sept. 2009.

I looked at University of Waterloo's website and found that there are a tremendous amount of prereq's that are required. They want Genetics, Biochem, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, and the list goes on...

Since I'm in a very exclusive program at Mac, I have had very few electives over the years and if I want to take those courses listed above, I would have to take them all this year... which would make my year an extremely difficult experience, especially when I am trying to achieve a competitive GPA.

I'm also planning to apply to University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and University of Alberta. I have all the prereq's required for these schools. Also, I've been studying for the PCAT and will be taking it in October 2008. Finally, my GPA is pretty decent so far - 3.80.

So... should I take those courses and face a brutal year just to be qualified to apply to U of W or should I just maintain (or improve) my GPA this year and apply to U of T, UBC, and U of A??? What do you think my chances are of getting into a pharmacy school in 2009???

Thanks so much in advance for your suggestions/comments!

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[UBCmicrobi]

I would also consider applying to the Maritime schools (Dalhousie in Halifax and MUN in Newfoundland). Despite the small class sizes at Dal and MUN and the limited number of seats for OOP students*, if you are "competitive" you will likely get an interview. I'm an applicant from Vancouver and was offered interviews at both Dal and MUN, and was offered admission at MUN after a very brief time on the wait-list. I also got into UBC, so that's where I'm going though. Do not discount Dal and MUN because of the small odds for OOP students, or maybe that you don't really want to live in the Maritimes for the next 4 years (you go where you get in if you really want this).

* 9/90 at Dal and 4/40 at Mun

But to answer your question though, I wouldn't totally screw up your semester/GPA/potential graduation in your current program just for Waterloo.

Feel free to ask me any other questions, I'm happy to help

 

[mshiz21]

hey! i'm a mac student as well. which program are you in?

 

[shunsistoesis]

which pre-reqs for waterloo are you missing? but i agree w/ UBCmicrobio, if you are still a long way from completing them (i.e. more than 2 missing pre-reqs) waterloo may not be the best choice for you for 2009 admissions. you have a great gpa so just head on to the other schools you listed.

 

[rosiepie]

hey! i'm a mac student as well. which program are you in?

I'm in Arts & Science. The problem with this program is that it has tons of courses that I have to take, so I end up with very few electives. Another problem is that no one knows what Artsci is unless you're at Mac, and they think it's an easy program. For example, I had to take Artsci Calculus for 1 full year, and it's equivalent to the regular Calc (full year), but I have to get it approve and stuff... it's pretty frustrating.

 

[rosiepie]

which pre-reqs for waterloo are you missing? but i agree w/ UBCmicrobio, if you are still a long way from completing them (i.e. more than 2 missing pre-reqs) waterloo may not be the best choice for you for 2009 admissions. you have a great gpa so just head on to the other schools you listed.

Hi. Thanks so much for the advice. I'm missing biochem, organic chemistry, genetics.. and yeah, a few more. I've put a lot of thought in this and realized that I really don't want my year to be this brutal. I'd rather try my best in applying to other schools.

 

[stroodle]

apply to u of a FOR sure.

They don't have provincial quotos so being from Ontario won't work against you. Also, I'm pretty sure all they care about is your GPA because its addmission is basically your transcript and a letter of intent...

with a 3.8 ur a shoe-in

 

[xeodragon]

Dear Fellow Pre-Pharmacy/Pharmacy Students,

I've been thinking about applying to pharmacy schools in Canada (I live in Ontario) ever since Grade 10. This year I am entering third year at McMaster University, and I have been researching intensively on the schools here that I may be able to apply to for admission in Sept. 2009.

I looked at University of Waterloo's website and found that there are a tremendous amount of prereq's that are required. They want Genetics, Biochem, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, and the list goes on...

Since I'm in a very exclusive program at Mac, I have had very few electives over the years and if I want to take those courses listed above, I would have to take them all this year... which would make my year an extremely difficult experience, especially when I am trying to achieve a competitive GPA.

I'm also planning to apply to University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and University of Alberta. I have all the prereq's required for these schools. Also, I've been studying for the PCAT and will be taking it in October 2008. Finally, my GPA is pretty decent so far - 3.80.

So... should I take those courses and face a brutal year just to be qualified to apply to U of W or should I just maintain (or improve) my GPA this year and apply to U of T, UBC, and U of A??? What do you think my chances are of getting into a pharmacy school in 2009???

Thanks so much in advance for your suggestions/comments!

That's a very decent GPA and I'm sure you'll done fine on the PCAT. If you do apply to UW, note that the first two classes admitted did not need to have all their prereqs when they applied, as long as they completed them prior to when classes start in January (it may be an exception for the first two classes so check that). Also, those courses you listed (Biochem, Organic Chem, Genetics, etc.) aren't really "brutal" courses but should be fairly straightforward if you study hard. Some of them are probably required for your degree as well. Good luck!