Had low grades first year, When should I apply?

Started by lifeguardman
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lifeguardman

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My average first year was around 65% absolutely terrible I know. However this is my second year at a different university and it is going much better. I figure I will have a mid - low 80 avg this year. Should I bother studying for the PCATS this summer and applying in December 2010 to U of T and dalhousie? Or should I wait until my average is higher and write the PCATS once I have taken organic chemistry?

Any help on this would be great, thanks.
 
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lifeguardman said:
My average first year was around 65% absolutely terrible I know. However this is my second year at a different university and it is going much better. I figure I will have a mid - low 80 avg this year. Should I bother studying for the PCATS this summer and applying in December 2010 to U of T and dalhousie? Or should I wait until my average is higher and write the PCATS once I have taken organic chemistry?

Any help on this would be great, thanks.
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I would suggest that you at least start or complete OChem I and Calculus I.
 
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lifeguardman said:
I have already completed calculus I and II, or a full year credit. If I wait another year to apply then I will have been in school for 4 years already, another year I do not want to waste.
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It's gonna take me 3 years to complete. You need to have Organic Chemistry I & II completed before you can apply. Check to see what the requirements are for your intended schools.
 
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delano2000 said:
It's gonna take me 3 years to complete. You need to have Organic Chemistry I & II completed before you can apply. Check to see what the requirements are for your intended schools.
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I have checked and only one school in Canada has organic chem as a pre req, and thats Waterloo, although I know U of T is changing theirs for the 2011 cycle. I guess I will stick it out another year instead of wasting money. Thanks for the help guys
 
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lifeguardman said:
I have checked and only one school in Canada has organic chem as a pre req, and thats Waterloo, although I know U of T is changing theirs for the 2011 cycle. I guess I will stick it out another year instead of wasting money. Thanks for the help guys
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I highly highly doubt a pharmacy school would let you in without taking O Chem. O Chem is the basis of pharmacy in itself
 
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phathead said:
I highly highly doubt a pharmacy school would let you in without taking O Chem. O Chem is the basis of pharmacy in itself
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Well I dont know how they run stuff in the states. But its not required here, believe me I checked I didn't just make this thread to bother people with invalid information.
 
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phathead said:
that just seems very very strange to me. Unless its called something different or its covered the first year in pharmacy school there
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At the University of Toronto they don't force applicants to have organic chemistry to apply but they have to take the full year of orgo in first year pharmacy if they did not have it. So it ends up being a very taxing schedule. Well this is how it is until they change things for 2011..

OP, you can't get away with not taking orgo, there is no choice for you if you're planning to apply in December 2010. You MUST have courses like orgo I and II (chm138/247 course codes at UTSG) and physical chemistry. Check their website, they already outlined the proposed changes. http://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/undergrad/admis/sec2aa.jsp
 
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mug3n said:
At the University of Toronto they don't force applicants to have organic chemistry to apply but they have to take the full year of orgo in first year pharmacy if they did not have it. So it ends up being a very taxing schedule. Well this is how it is until they change things for 2011..

OP, you can't get away with not taking orgo, there is no choice for you if you're planning to apply in December 2010. You MUST have courses like orgo I and II (chm138/247 course codes at UTSG) and physical chemistry. Check their website, they already outlined the proposed changes. http://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/undergrad/admis/sec2aa.jsp
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Its not that I wasnt going to ever take organic chem. It was that I was wondering if I needed to take it before writing the PCATS next summer, or fall. I will still be taking organic chem I & II next year. I guess I will be applying to U of T for the 2011 cycle. which I wont be able to anyways since I wont have BIOCHEM ORR Thermochem. which is bull**** that you have to take thermochem. I guess I will only be applying to dal next year.
 
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lifeguardman said:
Its not that I wasnt going to ever take organic chem. It was that I was wondering if I needed to take it before writing the PCATS next summer, or fall. I will still be taking organic chem I & II next year. I guess I will be applying to U of T for the 2011 cycle. which I wont be able to anyways since I wont have BIOCHEM ORR Thermochem. which is bull**** that you have to take thermochem. I guess I will only be applying to dal next year.
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I would recommend taking O Chem prior to taking the PCAT. The first semester should be sufficient enough to grasp enough for the chem portion.

Plus O Chem is usually what makes or breaks people wanting to go on in the sciences and medical fields. I have known many that after attempting or getting through O Chem changed their minds about what they wanted to do. The amount of work and material you cover is something that will prepare you for classes in your later years.
 
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phathead said:
I would recommend taking O Chem prior to taking the PCAT. The first semester should be sufficient enough to grasp enough for the chem portion.

Plus O Chem is usually what makes or breaks people wanting to go on in the sciences and medical fields. I have known many that after attempting or getting through O Chem changed their minds about what they wanted to do. The amount of work and material you cover is something that will prepare you for classes in your later years.
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I will be working very very hard in this class!! I have to maintain an 85 avg over the next two years to bring my avg back up to an 80. which I think will be impossible with calculus !
 
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Hi Lifeguardman!

Don't mean to be discouraging or anything, but just wanted to give you some info about Dal's Pharmacy program, just in case you don't already know it. I assume you are from Ontario since you are mostly looking at U of T & Waterloo. Dal only reserves up to 9 seats for out of Maritime students out of the 90 that they offer each year. It is very competitive. Of the many many who apply, only around 200 are interviewed, and 90 (or less!) are chosen from the 200. From personal experience, I can tell you that you have to work your buns off to redeem yourself for your first year!! When looking at your grades, they look at the marks in the prerequisite courses and the marks in your last full year. You do not have to write the PCAT for Dal. I had a B average my first year, and an A average since then and was told after my last interview that my marks weren't high enough (cumulative GPA was around 3.5 at the time).

Oh, and as for the O chem debate haha - I'm pretty sure you take organic chemistry as part of the cirriculum in first year pharmacy at Dal
 
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I would take O-chem before you take your PCAT...you will be better prepared for the PCAT (at least for the organic chem section) if you did instead of having to learn O-chem on you own...and applying in December is kind of late since you did not do good academically your first year...you want to give yourself the best chance to get into pharmacy school so apply early...early is usually considered from June to September...im selling prep for cheap...pm if your interested
 
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