UBC 2008 Applicants

[TW Darkmaster]

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Just checked my e-mail and got my invite. I hope I get in this year. Last year I was so not prepared for the questions they asked and did horrible while some people I knew cheated by getting the past questions from other people. 😡

 

[Tabletopia]

Congrats on getting the invite.

Were the questions asked similar to the previous year's?

 

[summerfun]

INTERVIEW 😀 😀
boooyaaahhh hahaha
congrats everyone!
hope to see you at the interview, and god-willing at the white coat 🙂

 

[kimdan]

I got an interview as well! Congrats everyone.. man I am so happy I'm crying!

 

[FungManX]

I got an interview as well! Congrats everyone.. man I am so happy I'm crying!

Congrats to getting the interview guys, 👍, Dont' worry too much about the competition this year.. I was shocked to hear that the number of applicants has went down to only around 400-450 (from around 700!!!!) by one of the faculty advisors.

Just work hard on the interview and you guys will make it in for sure!

 

[tealish]

Fungman: Really? That little applicants? Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for the confidence boost - true or otherwise! I actually had the feeling that the #of applications thie year would be even larger than average because it seems like I've met so many ppl applying for pharmacy.

Anyway, from what I gather through reading this forum, it seems like there's a lot to prepare but I don't see how that could be. I'm planning on taking a couple hours for 2-3 days going over the basic obvious questions like: Why this profession interests me; Why I think I'd be successful at it; What are my goals, etc.

I don't know, I just don't see how big it can be. Could you please guide me -- without violating any of those sacred vows you took haha-- in the right direction in terms of prepping for this interview? Perhaps there were certain useful sites you found or just a correct mindset heading into the interview.

Much appreciated

 

[JETOY]

I just received the interview offer today.

I heard that UBC pharmacy interview doesn't ask any situational based questions. Do you know whether this is true?
Then what types of questions do we have to prepare answers for?

Is it also true that only 450~500 applicants applied this year? Because so many of my friends applied...

 

[UBCmicrobi]

Sweet got my invite!! But for now I'm off to St. John's for an interview there

 

[UBCmicrobi]

Does anybody else have to spend 500 bucks on a flight to attend the interview?

Thankfully UBC is literally 10 mins from my house, so 2.50$ by bus, but I've already spent 777$ on airfare to Halifax, and 993$ to St. John's (not to mention another 1200$ on hotels), so it could be worse!! Definitely worth the cost if you get accepted though!

Good luck

 

[summerfun]

only 400-450 :O
really?? i find that hard to believe :S
i definitely thought that at least 700 people would have applied this year 😛

 

[tuxedopenguin]

Maybe we could get together and practice for the interview. I'm scared about the situational/ethics questions..

 

[spudly]

I don't think the ethics question would be all that bad, i heard they had one a few years back that went like this:

If someone came in and they were getting pills for a sti or std, and you knew there gf or bf, would you tell them?

Obviously you have to say no, because of pharmacist-patient confidentiality. Basically I'm thinking the questions will be common sense.

 

[spudly]

Are most of the people on this forum who have been accepted from the Lower Mainland??

 

[radiostar]

thats quite a sum, they better let you in if you're spending that 😛

um, i really don't know what to expect for the interview... are there any resources online or anything?

 

[spudly]

The best thing would be to get the low down from someone who is already in the program, I have a friend who is gonna help me out for it.

 

[Tabletopia]

darn,,, I wish I knew someone already in the program to help me out..
I'm already stressed out about the interview!

 

[kridge]

darn,,, I wish I knew someone already in the program to help me out..
I'm already stressed out about the interview!

I've heard that the interview is pretty general and it doesn't require much preperation. I talked to someone that got in two years ago and they said the interview was a breeze and you just have to be confident in your answers/have good people skills.

 

[mantaray]

Did everyone choose the "anytime" option or did you pick your times?

 

[seaweed]

a question for kimdan..

did you work as a pharmacy assistant with LD? just wondering if you had a pharmacy assistant certification or anything like that? cuz I want to know if they do hire people with no past experience/certification.

thanks!

 

[summerfun]

i agree with kridge
i hear it's pretty chill, you just have to be confident in your answers and nott look nervous

 

[spudly]

yeah I doubt it will be too difficult, they just want to get to know the applicants. I chose the anytime option, but I didn't really have a preference for an interview time.

 

[spudly]

So what school did everyone attend for their first (or more) years of pre-pharmacy. I did two years at Uvic and took courses that could transfer to pharmacy or work towards a microbiology degree as a backup.

 

[Princess87]

Hey everyone 🙂 I'm new to this site- just got my offer for an interview yesterday. Here's what I was wondering:

The UBC Pharm website says interviews are 25-30 mins long.
Interviews run from 9am-4:30pm. Assuming no lunch breaks are taken, that's 15 half-hour interview slots per day.

Multiply that by four days of interviews is only 60 half hour time slots? Unless they are group interviews (which I doubt), there's only 60 of us?!

Either I have tons of reason to be excited or my thinking is really messed up?

 

[shunsistoesis]

Hey everyone 🙂 I'm new to this site- just got my offer for an interview yesterday. Here's what I was wondering:

The UBC Pharm website says interviews are 25-30 mins long.
Interviews run from 9am-4:30pm. Assuming no lunch breaks are taken, that's 15 half-hour interview slots per day.

Multiply that by four days of interviews is only 60 half hour time slots? Unless they are group interviews (which I doubt), there's only 60 of us?!

Either I have tons of reason to be excited or my thinking is really messed up?

lmao..likely they will have multiple interview panels interviewing many students at a single time slot - that's how the waterloo ones were done

 

[Tabletopia]

lmao..likely they will have multiple interview panels interviewing many students at a single time slot - that's how the waterloo ones were done

yeah I'm pretty sure that's how it's done..

I still can't get over the news of there being only 400-450 applicants this year. Heard last year was in the 800s!

 

[Princess87]

Oh wow that sounds pretty good. No wonder I got it with my GPA...

And considering the amt. of people to decline offers because of acceptances to other schools/programs...

How is everyone prepping? Just the typical job-interview style questions?

 

[HaroTaro]

lol~ I was still lingering over at the 2007 applicants thread. Didn't realized the 2008 thread is opened until today. >.< lol~ How do you guys plan to prep for the interview? Just a thought in mind, perhaps we could get together and practice if time allows lol~ 😳 I totally have no idea where to start.

Have you guys decided on a time yet?

 

[spudly]

Oh wow that sounds pretty good. No wonder I got it with my GPA...

And considering the amt. of people to decline offers because of acceptances to other schools/programs...

How is everyone prepping? Just the typical job-interview style questions?

What exactly was your GPA?

 

[Princess87]

Pretty much just above the cutoff. And my PCAT wasn't stellar either. It was my extracurrics that did it for me...which are going to count for about all of 10% after the interview 🙁

Oh well, just going to try my best 🙂 And I get to buy myself a new suit too- always good when there's an excuse to shop

And I went for Tues/Thurs afternoons.

 

[Tabletopia]

lol~ I was still lingering over at the 2007 applicants thread. Didn't realized the 2008 thread is opened until today. >.<

Congrats on getting the interview! Can you give me the link to the 2007 thread? I think reading up on past stuff might be helpful for me 🙂 Thanks!

Edit: found it! 🙂

 

[soupnazi]

did you guys just reply to the email sent or mail it specifically to margaret to confirm your time slot?
thanks.

 

[Tabletopia]

I just replied.. Was there a specific instruction as to how to reply to them?

 

[Princess87]

I just replied. They didn't have any other instructions...

 

[pinkprincess]

OMG reading this post is making me nervous and slightly nauseous 😀
Congratz you guys.

 

[Princess87]

haha why nauseous? did you get an invite too?

 

[OGO33]

Hey Hey,

I'm new to this forum. Just got my Pharmacy interview invitation on wednesday. Pretty stoked for it. LoL I wonder how I ever got an interview. 72% average with a 68% pcat score. When I replied the email I just hit the Reply button. Mine was from Shirley Wong so I guess I just sent the email straight back to her.

Gratz to everyone who got the interview. Just speak english and speak it well I guess.

 

[kridge]

That makes me pretty confident. I have a Gpa of 75.5% and a Pcat score of 88. The interview shouldnt be too hard. It seems like they would offer less interview spots this year than usual because of such a low number of applicants. Possibly 200 ish? Which means theres an even higher chance of aceptance for all of us. But thats just speculation!!!

 

[summerfun]

that makes me even more confident, with my 84% GPA 😛, and since the PCAT will be worth 5% after this interview, maybe i won't die for this next wait 😛

 

[summerfun]

and does anyone know if there's any way we can confirm that there have been 400-450 applicants? , other than by phoning haha

 

[HaroTaro]

Reply button. Mine was from Shirley Wong so I guess I just sent the email straight back to her.

I think that should be fine. Afterall that's all I did.

Hey~ my marks are just like yours >.< And yes, still wondering how I even make it. LOL~ I was so sure that I wouldn't get in that I totally ignored/forgot to practice for the interview. But now that we're both given a chance for interview, let's just work hard then k? x)

Did anyone apply to other pharmacy school as well?

 

[tealish]

Nope, just UBC b/c I'm maybe not as set onto Pharmacy as some of you. Hopefully I'll get in so I have more options, but unfortunately, I'm not totally sure as to what career to get into.

To the people who are flying around the country for interview, I sure hope you guys get accepted somewhere cause the dedication is obvious!

Any likely questions you guys think we should expect besides the obvious 1)Why do you like Pharmacy?
2)Why do you think you'll be successful?

 

[OGO33]

Yeah, those of us with lower averages would definitely have to work harder for the interview. However, on the other hand, it must have been the excellent letters of intent that we wrote in our applications which influenced their decision to invite us for the interview! I guess they saw some potential or something but nonetheless we still have to give an above average performance on our interview. I heard that this interview is a behavioral/situational type. So there will be questions that asks us to describe and tell. You guys can probably google the types of interviews and have a look.

I also applied to UofA and UToronto and neither of those have the interview portion like UBC. I guess my ideal school would be UBC since I am from the Okanagan Valley.

Anyone apply for housing yet? I just applied last night and I am like 300 ish on the waitlist for year round at Marine Drive. 🙁

 

[Princess87]

OGO33 where did you do your prereqs?

 

[OGO33]

UBC-Okanagan in Kelowna

 

[kimdan]

a question for kimdan..

did you work as a pharmacy assistant with LD? just wondering if you had a pharmacy assistant certification or anything like that? cuz I want to know if they do hire people with no past experience/certification.

thanks!

Sorry for the late reply! I am a pharmacy assitant with london drugs yes. I was hired without any tech experience, and without attending any form of pharmacy technician school. I think it doesn't hurt to take the tech course, but you can for sure get hired without it as well.

 

[kimdan]

Also just wondering... what are you guys wearing to the interview?? Especially the ladies... I was originally going to wear a suit, but I heard a lot of people saying not to. That and the fact that it has been impossible to find a younger looking suit that fits me, urgh! If anyone has some links to pictures of outfits that would be appropriate.. that would be lovely!

 

[HaroTaro]

kimdan: Why is it bad to wear a suit? Doesn't a lot of ppl wear that to job interviews?

Hmmm I plan to go in dress pants/skirt and collar shirt. Don't get pressure out by that lol~ Just wear something clean and neat x). I guess the safest to wear would probably be white top and black bottom. For guys, definitely a tie.

I'm actually really worry about my height. I'm short for my age... so I'm worried that I don't look too convincing O..O lol~

 

[Princess87]

Also just wondering... what are you guys wearing to the interview?? Especially the ladies... I was originally going to wear a suit, but I heard a lot of people saying not to. That and the fact that it has been impossible to find a younger looking suit that fits me, urgh! If anyone has some links to pictures of outfits that would be appropriate.. that would be lovely!

I think I'm going to get a grey skirt, paired up with a pink-striped blouse I have. Not sure about the shoes though, seeing as I only have pumps and I dont know how appropriate that would be...

 

[pinkprincess]

yeah,

as for what to wear, i'm going to wear a suit cause i have one but you should definitely wear something you're comfortable with.
last year, most of the guys wore suits.
it's suppose to be a "job interview" and it really is when you compare it with Commerce-corporate interviews such as E and Y, deloitte...so forth
I bought my suit at mexx fyi and fortunately i didn't have to alter it but buy it ahead of time so you don't stress over it.

 

[tealish]

Is it really that formal? I was planning on dark jeans or khakis and an open collar dress shirt, untucked! Maybe dress shoes... I mean that's how I went for my job interview at Shoppers. Is a tie really necessary? Seems uncomfortable...