Hi all. Thought I'd make this for everybody planning on applying to UBC this year to discuss applications and interviews and any questions people might have
Post away!
Post away!
University of British Columbia (UBC) Pharmacy 2016 Applicants - Class of 2020
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Thanks this thread will be helpful!
Btw, any advice or tips as to what we should include in the "additional information" section of the application?
Btw, any advice or tips as to what we should include in the "additional information" section of the application?
I read on a forum from last year or the year before that, their interview invites were sent out 2-3 weeks before the interview dates. If it's like that for us, then I'm guessing early April?
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i think they sent interview invited on April 1 last year.. haha on April fools
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I think some rejections went out today
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Hi,
You meant rejections from the Admissions Office or from the PharmD Office?
I thought they would send out interview notices all at once!
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oh no sorry they just contacted someone about not fulfilling prereqs. so yeah, you're right!
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Has anyone not heard back from them yet?
I all honesty to those of you who are applying as someone in the new Pharm D program I would recommend that you guys look at your options and go to other schools if you can. My year has lost about 11 individuals for various reasons, some academic, some personal. But still more than any professional program ever would. They discipline us in an unfair manner people have shown up to class and forgotten to sign in or the sky train has been down and the faculty still made them write essays that have gone on their permanent academic records.
The faculty is full of people who want to push the field/profession forward yet are conditioning students to be scared of being late, sorry the profession won't be changing anytime soon when your students are scared of a tiny bit of disciplinary action. Day after day we do survey after survey (which is understandable since its a new program), but they have yet to listen to what we have to say, nothing has really changed since term one. The worst part is you fail a lab exam (less than 60 in one section of the lab exam you have to redo the entire term and you also fail a 15 credit course even though you could have been getting 90% in the modules).
Everything is unorganized and nothing seems well put together you're taught a module in a week, at which point the end of module exam is 3-4 weeks later. You have no time to consistently review as you're trying to just go through your notes for the new material. They even push to the very last day of classes and expect you to know the material for the next exam. Unlike other degrees where previously taken courses will be credited this program doesn't off that. Even if you've taken electives that would be considered equivalent you're still going to have to take 15 credits of electives and you'll be paying the 400 per credit. They literally dump work on you day after day, you're in class from 8-5pm and then at that point study what you can before you do the same thing tomorrow, there are weekly quizzes for material you usually are catching up to learn. If you guys actually want to be proficient pharmacists and have other options take those instead remember you're spending 20k each year but more importantly you're spending 4 years of your life in this. Even though pharmacy in general will be hard it may at least be enjoyable at other universities. This isn't just how I feel a lot of individuals have expressed the concern/frustration about this program.
The faculty is full of people who want to push the field/profession forward yet are conditioning students to be scared of being late, sorry the profession won't be changing anytime soon when your students are scared of a tiny bit of disciplinary action. Day after day we do survey after survey (which is understandable since its a new program), but they have yet to listen to what we have to say, nothing has really changed since term one. The worst part is you fail a lab exam (less than 60 in one section of the lab exam you have to redo the entire term and you also fail a 15 credit course even though you could have been getting 90% in the modules).
Everything is unorganized and nothing seems well put together you're taught a module in a week, at which point the end of module exam is 3-4 weeks later. You have no time to consistently review as you're trying to just go through your notes for the new material. They even push to the very last day of classes and expect you to know the material for the next exam. Unlike other degrees where previously taken courses will be credited this program doesn't off that. Even if you've taken electives that would be considered equivalent you're still going to have to take 15 credits of electives and you'll be paying the 400 per credit. They literally dump work on you day after day, you're in class from 8-5pm and then at that point study what you can before you do the same thing tomorrow, there are weekly quizzes for material you usually are catching up to learn. If you guys actually want to be proficient pharmacists and have other options take those instead remember you're spending 20k each year but more importantly you're spending 4 years of your life in this. Even though pharmacy in general will be hard it may at least be enjoyable at other universities. This isn't just how I feel a lot of individuals have expressed the concern/frustration about this program.
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oh jeez thank you for the warning.. will definitely take that into consideration when making my decision
Hey, I heard back from them last week. I live in the Richmond area and would love to have a partner to practice for these interviews. I also drive so i can pretty much meet anywhere around the Richmond, DT, Vancouver, and Burnaby area. Please let me know if you'd like to practice together or do other exercises to help with the interview!
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Anybody applied to UBC as an out-of-Province and received interview invitation?
I did!! did you?
No problem to make things worse. For about a month one of our professors has continually been saying that we would be given a one pager that pretty much allowed you to work through the cases by understanding them (if you didn't know what to do the one pager won't help you). Our final exam is on Wednesday, we found out this morning that the person controlling the module said no. Not through an actual email sent by the module leader but through a student who asked. The module leader was there the day the prof had said we would be given the one pager and from day one there was no intent to let us use it on our exam but we found out today. I'm transferring out after this year to another pharm school looking at alberta, sask, memorial, and U of T. Absolutely ridiculous there is lecture footage of the prof saying we'll be given the paper and the module lead is sitting there and didn't say a word until today.
Hi everyone,
I noticed that UBC has a non-refundable deposit of $2,000. If an offer of admission is accepted, when would we have to pay this deposit?
I'm wondering because I know UBC notifies applicants if they have been accepted around the middle of May while other schools (U of T, Waterloo,etc) don't notify applicants until early/mid June. Would a successful UBC applicant have to pay the deposit before hearing from other schools?
I noticed that UBC has a non-refundable deposit of $2,000. If an offer of admission is accepted, when would we have to pay this deposit?
I'm wondering because I know UBC notifies applicants if they have been accepted around the middle of May while other schools (U of T, Waterloo,etc) don't notify applicants until early/mid June. Would a successful UBC applicant have to pay the deposit before hearing from other schools?
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Love this program. 100%
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Are you talking about the pharmD program at UBC? Are you a 2015 start student? Any comments on lhora's persepctive?
@pomkat Hey! I'm wondering where did you find out that UBC sends out acceptance letters in mid-May? I was looking at their website and couldn't find anything
I found it out by reading the forums for the applicants in 2015, 2014, 2013, etc. They seemed to get their acceptance emails in mid to late May!
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JK I posted something pretty mean but I had to change in case the faculty is circulating on these forums. What Ihora says is 100% true though! Most of it is opinion, but it is based on facts of the program. What he or she says its true. Yeah I made this account just to comment on this. Though in my opinion it is NOT worth it to redo pharmacy school but this faculty can fail you pretty easily for very minor issues...or even if you fail like a few quizzes here and there or 1 test. Be careful for what you wish for
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http://students.ubc.ca/campus/navigation
Best option is probably just to take a taxi. Public transit is pretty straightforward as well though. It mostly depends on which day you're coming here and at what time.
If you're arriving on the weekend and/or at night time, take a taxi because the transit service slows down then. Oh and there are a ton of Translink attendants around the Skytrain station if you need directions.
Also I asked around and found out that they give us a week after being accepted into the program to confirm our acceptance; and when I asked Carol, she said that they're aiming to send admission letters out around late May.
Did you apply to Toronto or Waterloo? Because their admission status release date is June 19 and 9, respectively (if I remember correctly...). Doesn't that mean we won't be able to hear back before we have to pay the 2k deposit for UBC? D:
I applied to Toronto!
So yeah I think we'd have to pay the 2k deposit at UBC before we get a chance to hear back from Toronto. (Personally I lose 2k$ either way though because with the cost of applying to Toronto + flying there + hotel + taxi + PCAT it worked out to around 2k T-T)
My friend was saying that they had only charged a 250$ deposit last year so I'm at a loss as to why they jacked it up to 8x that...
JK I posted something pretty mean but I had to change in case the faculty is circulating on these forums. What Ihora says is 100% true though! Most of it is opinion, but it is based on facts of the program. What he or she says its true. Yeah I made this account just to comment on this. Though in my opinion it is NOT worth it to redo pharmacy school but this faculty can fail you pretty easily for very minor issues...or even if you fail like a few quizzes here and there or 1 test. Be careful for what you wish for
Hmm sounds pretty harsh for just pharmacy.
Not sounding like a professional program. You say not worth it to redo, and by that I take it redo it if you fail enough quizzes to redo the semester/year.
Wish I had more interviews from other schools as I'll be on the public transpo everyday if accepted. And we all know public transpo in Van is unreliable.
On a different note, any word on the job prospects of pharmacy in Van or greater Van for full-time jobs?
I hear mixed reviews with most pointing towards starting PT and trying to slide into a FT eventually. Wages I hear are around 75k full time to start. Now that you're first year pharm, what are the rumors for wages and job prospects?
I also heard some Pharmacy companies may pay incentives to sign up for 5 years worth of work. Any rumors of this from people in the program?
I'm new to SDN, not sure if this is the right place for additional discussion topics, as this "applicant class of 2020" is officially done with interviews tomorrow.
JK I posted something pretty mean but I had to change in case the faculty is circulating on these forums. What Ihora says is 100% true though! Most of it is opinion, but it is based on facts of the program. What he or she says its true. Yeah I made this account just to comment on this. Though in my opinion it is NOT worth it to redo pharmacy school but this faculty can fail you pretty easily for very minor issues...or even if you fail like a few quizzes here and there or 1 test. Be careful for what you wish for
Is there a discussion group for 2015 UBC pharmD students online? Looking to get updated on the relevant topics as a heads up of what I'm getting myself into coming this fall, advice, complaints, tips, described expectations vs. actual expectations of students etc. Thanks in advance
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Whatever you heard about the job market seems pretty optimistic. I think over 60K is very rare, seeing that it is PT and Floating are the mainly what's available in Lower Mainland.
Hard to see why anyone would risk 4 years and $80k debt for at best $60k/year.
What are your plans post Grad? Move to a smaller city or stay lower mainland with pt job(s)?
omg are you serious ... why would they do that to us. and yeah same here I lost around 2k to Vancouver for the interview... -_-
I have no idea T-T
I'm hoping it's just a typo and that they meant 200$, but I guess we'll find out later on.
Honestly not 100% sure of that yet.
I'm leaning towards UBC because I live here so I wouldn't have to pay rent, plus I have a really chill part time job here in Vancouver so I don't really want to give that up.
Toronto is really appealing though. Everyone was super nice there and their program has been running for a few years now so there should be less technical issues compared to UBC.
How about yourself?
Same here, but my reason is the opposite aha... I want to experience living at the west coast since I find Ontario quite boring
I've heard UofT's program is harder though from friends, but I'm not sure ...Same here, but my reason is the opposite aha... I want to experience living at the west coast since I find Ontario quite boring
Well the west coast is really nice. Just be aware that UBC is undergoing construction 99% of the time, so detours everywhereeeeee. Thankfully it seems like almost all the classes take place in the pharmacy building, so you don't really have to deal with the construction (much) unless the bus you take home is at the main bus loop.
It's probably hard to gauge how difficult one program is compared to another haha~ They're both pretty intense.
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$2000 is probably not a mistake. They really want you to commit before you find out acceptances to other schools.
Yeah it's probably just wishful thinking on my part LOL
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Hello all!
I need some advice here. I am currently graduating with a business degree and was planning on applying to UBC'S pharmacy program next year. I have completed all the prerequisites required since I was a science student for 2 years prior to transferring into third year of the business program. Knowing what the job market is really like for pharmacy, is it even worth to pursue pharmacy? Is UBC's pharmacy program really that bad? Also as a note, I have volunteered in a pharmacy for about 1.5 years and am currently a pharmacy assistant while in school. I have debated many times in my life if I should just walk away and pursue a career in business instead since just about every pharmacy forum I've encountered has been doom and gloom.
I need some advice here. I am currently graduating with a business degree and was planning on applying to UBC'S pharmacy program next year. I have completed all the prerequisites required since I was a science student for 2 years prior to transferring into third year of the business program. Knowing what the job market is really like for pharmacy, is it even worth to pursue pharmacy? Is UBC's pharmacy program really that bad? Also as a note, I have volunteered in a pharmacy for about 1.5 years and am currently a pharmacy assistant while in school. I have debated many times in my life if I should just walk away and pursue a career in business instead since just about every pharmacy forum I've encountered has been doom and gloom.
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May is coming to an end so the acceptance emails for the incoming class of 2020 should be coming out soon. Feel free to join the Facebook group for the incoming class once you receive your confirmation letters!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/748296345312630/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/748296345312630/
