UBC Pre-pharmacy 2010!

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I'm also wondering if they have your application with them, so they have "background knowledge" of you. I guess this could really help if you can "mention what i wrote on my essays" to avoid wasting time explaining a certain topic
 
so yeah just confirming what should guys wear? a suit (not too formal)? or is it better to leave the jacket? What do most guys wear?

let me know haha I dont want to stick out like a sore thumb...
 
lawviz said:
I'm also wondering if they have your application with them, so they have "background knowledge" of you. I guess this could really help if you can "mention what i wrote on my essays" to avoid wasting time explaining a certain topic
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The interviewers won't know anything about your application. Or at least this was the case for prior interview years. I doubt it would change for MMI though. I believe they do this to prevent any bias, etc.
 
Will we be interviewed by the same interviewers throughout all four days just to put us on equal ground? Hope they won't get tired of listening to similar answers over and over again.

By the way, I'm new to this forum and my interview is tomorrow!!! I'm really nervous right now :scared: Anyone with me tomorrow morning?
 
Congrats everyone on getting the interview ! mines next sunday...
Check in at like 7:30 AM so... early
 
I have no idea what to expect gosh... can anyone share any experiences perhaps? lol
 
Mine was yesterday at 12:30. Not allowed to talk about it specifically, but we all made it out alive. Good luck everyone!
 
Could you let us know how you felt? Was it as intense as you thought it would be?
 
1s23 said:
Could you let us know how you felt? Was it as intense as you thought it would be?
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Reading the question for the first station was definitely most nerve-wracking, I had a 'brain fart' for the entire 2 minutes. But trust me, after the first station, everything seems to flow naturally and you'll get used to the process. Overall, the interviewers were really nice, not intimidating at all.

Omg..I survived and that's all I care! Best wishes to everyone!
 
Pandamanda said:
Reading the question for the first station was definitely most nerve-wracking, I had a 'brain fart' for the entire 2 minutes. But trust me, after the first station, everything seems to flow naturally and you'll get used to the process. Overall, the interviewers were really nice, not intimidating at all.

Omg..I survived and that's all I care! Best wishes to everyone!
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were the questions very broad or specific to the pharmacy profession?
 
For those of us who have already had our interviews lets keep this fair and not give out anymore information than we have so far. So ksksks, prepare as you think you should 🙂. Good luck!
 
Just to get a few numbers out here, how many people who got in to pharmacy school or applied this cycle and got an interview, actually had some pharmacy experience?
 
How the heck are you guys just doing interviews?

When do you find out your admission decision?
 
byork said:
How the heck are you guys just doing interviews?

When do you find out your admission decision?
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Why is that so odd? UBC interviews are always around this time, and they'll probably find out before July 1st.
 
Quick question, did they take pictures of the candidates during the interview this year? I think they usually take pictures so that they remember you, but I didn't get a picture taken and I didn't notice other people get it taken either.

Please reply!!
 
did people go in and introduce yourself and give a handshake to the interviewers?
and it says the whole thing lasts 3.5 hours. Do you start off with the orientation or the interview?
 
i'm debating whether or not to bring my reading glasses...
for all the stuff we had to read, was the font well sized or somewhat really small?
and also, for the people who went this weekend, was there a place to put ur stuff? such as wallet, purse, etc
 
advair250 said:
"just to get a few numbers out here, how many people who got in to pharmacy school or applied this cycle and got an interview, actually had some pharmacy experience?"

Not many people at all. Its pretty sad actually 👎
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I have called at least 50 pharmacies and none are willing to take on volunteers because of their insurance policies, what alternative EC's are there to demonstrate a passion for the field of pharmacy
 
To those who are concerned about the interview etiquette and procedure, Sandra, Margaret, and the volunteers will go through them thoroughly with you and they do ensure that you understand everything before you start your interview. So there's no need to get too caught up.
 
i have a general question... correct me if i'm wrong but it said its 2 minute transition period and 7 minutes to answer... is it bad if you can't fill up that time? did people find that it was easy to speak for 7 minutes on the question?
 
farmC said:
i have a general question... correct me if i'm wrong but it said its 2 minute transition period and 7 minutes to answer... is it bad if you can't fill up that time? did people find that it was easy to speak for 7 minutes on the question?
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If you really can't fill up the 7 mins, you may feel a bit awkward waiting for the bell. Usually 7 mins is the right amount of time since for me some questions, I had alot to talk about and others, not so much, but really it depends how you answer the question :xf:
 
This is a little off topic from interviews but does any one know if contacts/verifiers for our EC/Awards/etc were called prior to the interview offer or after?

I'm thinking it may make sense to call before, but that's a lot of work; so perhaps they call after when they are choosing applicants out of the interviewees? I'm asking cause some of my contacts have not heard anything from UBC.... and I'm wondering if they missed the call or no one called yet?
 
RxRx said:
This is a little off topic from interviews but does any one know if contacts/verifiers for our EC/Awards/etc were called prior to the interview offer or after?

I'm thinking it may make sense to call before, but that's a lot of work; so perhaps they call after when they are choosing applicants out of the interviewees? I'm asking cause some of my contacts have not heard anything from UBC.... and I'm wondering if they missed the call or no one called yet?
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My two references were never contacted, FYI.
 
UBCmicrobi said:
My two references were never contacted, FYI.
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Oh I mean besides the references. (but thanks!) The contacts you put down to verify that you were in this club or received this award
 
I doubt they bother, unless there is reason to suspect the info is inaccurate. Either way, I don't think I'd take the fact that they haven't been contacted as a bad sign 🙂
 
Degree said:
I have called at least 50 pharmacies and none are willing to take on volunteers because of their insurance policies, what alternative EC's are there to demonstrate a passion for the field of pharmacy
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Have you tried private pharmacies? I know for sure chain and coporate ones like London Drugs or Shoppers or supermarket pharmacies like Safeway will NOT take volunteers. But many times private pharmacies will take someone.

But you should know that having pharmacy experience is absolutely not a MAJOR + on your resume, it simply gives you the advantage in that you know what to expect from and gain more understanding of the profession. And this may inturn play an effect during your interview so you can demonstrate you know what you're talking about. But on the resume it really doesn't play a role. Many people from my class never had any pharmacy experience prior to starting school.
 
huhwut said:
Have you tried private pharmacies? I know for sure chain and coporate ones like London Drugs or Shoppers or supermarket pharmacies like Safeway will NOT take volunteers. But many times private pharmacies will take someone.

But you should know that having pharmacy experience is absolutely not a MAJOR + on your resume, it simply gives you the advantage in that you know what to expect from and gain more understanding of the profession. And this may inturn play an effect during your interview so you can demonstrate you know what you're talking about. But on the resume it really doesn't play a role. Many people from my class never had any pharmacy experience prior to starting school.
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Really?! I thought Shopper's usually accept volunteers because most people I know started volunteering at Shopper's (and then they eventually got a paid position).

If you really can't find a place that would take you in as a volunteer, you can always ask for an informational interview at any pharmacy. Most pharmacies are really willing to answer any questions you may have. (However, you should know that the purpose of informational interviews is not to ask for a job/volunteer position. But if you build that connection by the end of the informational interview, and you feel comfortable asking them for a volunteer place, then go ahead and ask them it.) Ultimately, the most valuable is WHAT you know - I think the faculty just wants to see that you have a pretty solid understanding of what the profession is.

Hope that helps! =)
 
I totally agree with advair. Volunteering and getting involved with the pharmacy professions shows interest and determination, which I think are both far more important than an 80% average. You can always study harder but you cannot learn passion. And I also think that experience will be a bigger asset to you if you have lackluster grades, as was my case (although I had an awesome PCAT).
And at the very least you can do a job shadow.
But yeah I had no problem with shopper's at all... and now have a paid position and I absolutely love my job.
 
For those who had their interview, do you feel you were better prepared for the interview because you had pharmacy experience?
 
should i be worried about role playing? I'm afraid I might not be able to take it seriously. I hope they are all just scenario discussion based questions and traditional interview questions. I doubt that will be the case though?
 
akalic said:
should i be worried about role playing? I'm afraid I might not be able to take it seriously. I hope they are all just scenario discussion based questions and traditional interview questions. I doubt that will be the case though?
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Don't be worried. Only a few of the role playing costumes they make you wear are silly.
 
"Don't be worried. Only a few of the role playing costumes they make you wear are silly."

what?? sorry is this a joke? (i cant tell xD) they make you wear COSTUMES....? o__o...
 
farmC said:
"Don't be worried. Only a few of the role playing costumes they make you wear are silly."

what?? sorry is this a joke? (i cant tell xD) they make you wear COSTUMES....? o__o...
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Lol byork. I think it's quite possible that the questions may be slightly different, since it's easier to alter them with the mmi style interview. Be prepared for anything?
 
just wondering because i was reading some practice mmi questions and at the end it would say "discuss with the interviewer", and there was one where there was a scenario and the last sentence stated that you are about to talk to person X in the story.

eh well i don't know. i might just be overly concerned for no reason
 
People, just relax about the interview and don't stress out about the fine details of the process. Remember that the first set of interviewees survived without necessarily knowing the exact procedure for the exercise and that everyone deserves to be interviewed on the same footing.

That being said, I am wishing I had requested an interview for the last weekend because I am already having flashbacks to some parts of last weekend that I wish I had performed better on. I can't believe that in (potentially) a week we could know our fate! I can't wait until i can breathe again!

Also, I totally agree about the fact that pharmacy experience should be a requirement. How anyone can chose a profession when they have not experienced the day-to-day trials and tribulations of the profession is beyond me. Shadowing for one day is not enough in my opinion, but experiencing it and being an active part of the process for an extended period of time. And yes, experience does help you prepare for the interview.
 
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1s23 said:
For those who had their interview, do you feel you were better prepared for the interview because you had pharmacy experience?
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I was wondering this as well.
 
Hi,
Sorry if I am going a bit off topic but I'm planning on applying to UBC pharm next year (2011) during my first year and I wanted to know how likely it is for retail stores to hire first-year university students as part timers for pharmacy in Vancouver?

Like many people said before, I found it really difficult to find volunteering opportunities to expose myself more to pharmacy so volunteering isn't really a valid option.

If I spend a lot of time job-hunting in Fall, would my efforts just be in vain? (I am a 18year old with no previous experience -.-")

Thanks.
 
Hi!

I'm a 1st year (going onto 2nd year) student, hoping to apply to pharmacy for the 2011 cycle, but am already having some trouble with choosing courses and and electives to prepare for pharmacy.

Can the people who have taken microbiology (MICB 202) tell me how difficult it is to taking during the school year? More importantly, how difficult is it to take during the summer (because I may be doing that this summer, term 2)? I found that the course is based on 90% final exam + 10% assigments, etc. in the summer (but there's a midterm if you take it during the school year, and less emphasis on the final). Was this the same case for people who took it previous summers or is it a recent change? ... The 90% final is very intimidating. :scared:

Also, does anyone know whether non-pharmacy electives (such as BIOL 200, or like... arts courses) are considered in the admission? I assume not, but just wanted to check. Could I use a course like BIOL 201 as a non-pharmacy elective (because it's not in the pharmacy curriculum, but is supposedly used to calculate admission GPA?).

Sorry for the long post. I'm just getting super anxious... especially as registering for courses is coming up fast. Thank you for any help! 🙂
 
omg i am so nervous for the interview right now... (mine is tmr...)
 
to everyone that has their interview this weekend, don't worry so much about it! my biggest regret about it is how nervous i made myself in the days leading up to my interview. everything gets explained to you there, just be calm and confident and you'll do fine!
 
thank you so much carly for your supporting words 🙂

hopefully we will all do well on the interviews! Good luck all!
 
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