University of Toronto Application Thread

[mochaswirl]

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what do people typically wear during interviews?

 

[RedPharmer]

what do people typically wear during interviews?

Pharmacy is professional. Think professional. So suit up. No dresses of course.

 

[MayMay123]

There's a 48% ish chance of being selected. I hope most of the applicants selected...they're aiming for those with at least a 50 composite.... cause it would be ridiculous if someone who barely studied, managed to get like a 30 composite, and half-ass'd his way in to take a position from an 80 composite student who worked hard on the pcat.

 

[pharmacy0]

your right, and also all the money we spent should at least give us an interview. In total for everything I think I have spent well over $1000, for application, 2 pcats, some pcat books and travel for the pcat in windsor.

Agreed, this application process is veryy expensive!

 

[pharmacy0]

There's a 48% ish chance of being selected. I hope most of the applicants selected...they're aiming for those with at least a 50 composite.... cause it would be ridiculous if someone who barely studied, managed to get like a 30 composite, and half-ass'd his way in to take a position from an 80 composite student who worked hard on the pcat.

This is what I think U of T is doing, since there were not as many applicants this year, they lowered the PCAT cut offs to fill up 500 spaces AND give a chance to people who may have a good composite and one section where they did poorly.

I wish they kept the minimums the same, it would have been that much easier but oh well, 48% is pretty good still.

 

[helloeveryone]

I can't believe I was sleep when they posted the invites, but oh well what matters is that I GOT ONE 😀


Date: Sunday, March 27, 2011 Time: Session B - Arrive 11:00


And I'm not surprised at all since I picked March 27th as my first choice... Kinda regret that I didn't pick May but on the bright side I'll get it done nice and early before final exam season 🙂

Anyone else in my session on that day?

 

[iicecream]

Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011
Time: Session B - Arrive 11:00A

Ah! interview! Kind of wished I picked the march one so I can get it over with and relax right after exams! But i guess may isnt so bad 🙂

 

[iicecream]

I can't believe I was sleep when they posted the invites, but oh well what matters is that I GOT ONE 😀


Date: Sunday, March 27, 2011 Time: Session B - Arrive 11:00


And I'm not surprised at all since I picked March 27th as my first choice... Kinda regret that I didn't pick May but on the bright side I'll get it done nice and early before final exam season 🙂

Anyone else in my session on that day?

helloeveryone. LETS SWITCH!! LOL. but its not possible.

 

[helloeveryone]

I just thought I would post a comparison of last years' and this year's requirements for those who are potential applicants in future, etc... so here it goes:



Minimum score requirements for 2011 are:
Conventions of Language 3.0
Problem Solving 2.5
Composite Percentile 20
Chemistry percentile 20
Biology percentile 10
Quantitative Ability percentile 10
Reading Comprehension percentile 20
Verbal Ability percentile 10

Minimum score requirements for 2009 & 2010 were:
Conventions of Language 3.0
Problem Solving 2.5
Composite Percentile 50
Chemistry percentile 50
Biology percentile 20
Quantitative Ability percentile 20
Reading Comprehension percentile 20
Verbal Ability percentile 20

Scores in red indicate a change relative to last years' requirements.

 

[PharMarley]

I wish they kept the minimums the same, it would have been that much easier but oh well, 48% is pretty good still.

Congrats to everyone who got inteviews!!!

On another note: Does anyone (hopefully current pharmacy students) know what the PharmD program tuition will be? I just want to know the actual cost from someone who knows for sure. I read somewhere that the current students paid $12,856.00 for tuition alone. Is this right? and would it mean that PharmD would double or just increase slightly to maybe 15-16k?

thanks in advance!!

 

[iicecream]

Congrats to everyone who got inteviews!!!

On another note: Does anyone (hopefully current pharmacy students) know what the PharmD program tuition will be? I just want to know the actual cost from someone who knows for sure. I read somewhere that the current students paid $12,856.00 for tuition alone. Is this right? and would it mean that PharmD would double or just increase slightly to maybe 15-16k?

thanks in advance!!

i heard the first years are paying almost 14K this year

 

[RocketJumper]

Congrats to everyone who got inteviews!!!

On another note: Does anyone (hopefully current pharmacy students) know what the PharmD program tuition will be? I just want to know the actual cost from someone who knows for sure. I read somewhere that the current students paid $12,856.00 for tuition alone. Is this right? and would it mean that PharmD would double or just increase slightly to maybe 15-16k?

thanks in advance!!

Someone on the forum said, a while back, that the 'PharmD' tuition would be closer to 20 000/year but without any official confirmation we're just guessing (blindly more or less).

The curriculum for the coming year has been changed, but without the approval of the Ministry of Education, the program is still BScPhm for the time being. What's up with that anyways? I heard that the ELPD proposal was initially rejected, but then I don't understand why UoT would take the initiative to change the curriculum if it would not meet the PharmD requirements 🙄.

 

[clathrin]

I can't believe I was sleep when they posted the invites, but oh well what matters is that I GOT ONE 😀


Date: Sunday, March 27, 2011 Time: Session B - Arrive 11:00


And I'm not surprised at all since I picked March 27th as my first choice... Kinda regret that I didn't pick May but on the bright side I'll get it done nice and early before final exam season 🙂

Anyone else in my session on that day?

Haha, got the same date AND time as you. See you there!

 

[helloeveryone]

Haha, got the same date AND time as you. See you there!

YAY, so exciting... see you there for sure 🙂

Let's hope that the interviews go well for all of us SDNers 😛

 

[PharMarley]

Someone on the forum said, a while back, that the 'PharmD' tuition would be closer to 20 000/year but without any official confirmation we're just guessing (blindly more or less).

The curriculum for the coming year has been changed, but without the approval of the Ministry of Education, the program is still BScPhm for the time being. What's up with that anyways? I heard that the ELPD proposal was initially rejected, but then I don't understand why UoT would take the initiative to change the curriculum if it would not meet the PharmD requirements 🙄.

20k is a bit steep considering UBC is around 8k tuition for BscPharm.

 

[pharmacy0]

Someone on the forum said, a while back, that the 'PharmD' tuition would be closer to 20 000/year but without any official confirmation we're just guessing (blindly more or less).

The curriculum for the coming year has been changed, but without the approval of the Ministry of Education, the program is still BScPhm for the time being. What's up with that anyways? I heard that the ELPD proposal was initially rejected, but then I don't understand why UoT would take the initiative to change the curriculum if it would not meet the PharmD requirements 🙄.

20/k year 😱, lets hope that is a gross over estimation, I still have undergrad loans to pay off.

I cant imagine having a March interview right now! Kinda glad its in May, nicer weather LOL, no traveling in snow for me and plus I only have to wait 1 and 1/2 months before offers vs. now until JUNE. long wait ahead.

 

[MotherRussia]

Does anyone know the breakdown of the importance of PCAT,interview,And GPA?


PS my interview is on March 26th at 1:45(happy its not morning 🙂)

 

[mochaswirl]

Does anyone know the breakdown of the importance of PCAT,interview,And GPA?


PS my interview is on March 26th at 1:45(happy its not morning 🙂)

From reading previous threads, this is what I think:

Interview >> GPA > PCAT

I say this because it seems you can still get accepted with a low GPA but only if the interview was good AND if the PCAT is good (i.e. above 70th percentile? - just a speculation)

Also you could have a near perfect GPA, great PCAT, and bomb the interview and not get accepted. So interviews by far seem extremely important.

Meeting the minimum PCAT scores is important too - as these may increase in the final decisions. But who knows.

 

[chemtai]

20/k year 😱, lets hope that is a gross over estimation, I still have undergrad loans to pay off.

May I know if a U of T pharmacy student will have time to work for a full time summer job?

My worry is that I do not have time to work in summer due to Experiential Programs which include summer rotation. And no pay check will be issued for all these rotations. Consequently, I cannot earn enough money to pay my next semester tuition fee. Any idea?

 

[helloeveryone]

For those interested, I emailed Heide to ask her about the number of applicants this year... she didn't tell me the exact number but she said that the applicant pool was "just over 600" people.

Honestly though, 600 sounds so little considering that just a few years ago (before introduction of PCAT,etc) applicant numbers were well over 2000 people !!!

 

[1ive2die]

For those interested, I emailed Heide to ask her about the number of applicants this year... she didn't tell me the exact number but she said that the applicant pool was "just over 600" people.

Honestly though, 600 sounds so little considering that just a few years ago (before introduction of PCAT,etc) applicant numbers were well over 2000 people !!!

Well lets also remember that since that time Pharmacy has really taken a beating as a profession in Ontario and one can argue all over North America. When 2000 people were applying there was a significant Pharmacist shortage, jobs and high salaries were plentiful, and working conditions were generally good. In the last few years things have really changed. Just yesterday, the pharmacist that I work with was telling me to really think long and hard about choosing Pharmacy because the last few pharmacy interns at the store can't even find full-time positions and are doing relief work part-time.

I'm sure PCAT and the new pre-reqs were a major factor for some people not applying but I'm sure the declining attractiveness of Pharmacy as a whole right now also had something to do with it.

 

[MotherRussia]

Well lets also remember that since that time Pharmacy has really taken a beating as a profession in Ontario and one can argue all over North America. When 2000 people were applying there was a significant Pharmacist shortage, jobs and high salaries were plentiful, and working conditions were generally good. In the last few years things have really changed. Just yesterday, the pharmacist that I work with was telling me to really think long and hard about choosing Pharmacy because the last few pharmacy interns at the store can't even find full-time positions and are doing relief work part-time.

I'm sure PCAT and the new pre-reqs were a major factor for some people not applying but I'm sure the declining attractiveness of Pharmacy as a whole right now also had something to do with it.

now i'm scared 😱

well there is always an army, they seem to need pharmacists

 

[N20TO]

Once we get that idiot McGuinty and his sidekick Matthews out of office, I think our prospective careers are safe.
I have my own small theory on low turn out. The new addition of physical chemistry requirements screwed many people out of applying. I took it at downtown U of T and the course was so mindf*ck that half the people I knew dropped the course (pharmacy was the only reason they took the course). The midterm and the finals were killers because our prof was a theoretical chemist that ambushed people with theory questions, especially on quantum mechanics. That should have taken out at least 3 dozen people from applying, because the class thinned out pretty fast.

 

[MayMay123]

Once we get that idiot McGuinty and his sidekick Matthews out of office, I think our prospective careers are safe.
I have my own small theory on low turn out. The new addition of physical chemistry requirements screwed many people out of applying. I took it at downtown U of T and the course was so mindf*ck that half the people I knew dropped the course (pharmacy was the only reason they took the course). The midterm and the finals were killers because our prof was a theoretical chemist that ambushed people with theory questions, especially on quantum mechanics. That should have taken out at least 3 dozen people from applying, because the class thinned out pretty fast.

I second that. CHM220 was BRUTAL. The tests just got harder and harder. Even the TAs has trouble figuring out the first term test!

lol@McGuinty. Cuts onto healthcare jobs are not good. What a ******.

And no one knows what can happen in 4-5 years. But one thing is for sure. Pharmacists will always be needed, because people want to live, and to do that, medicine/drugs is required. Just as well, with the baby boomers getting older and older, and the fact that below 35% of the population are young people while over 50% are those aged 45+, I can safely assume that our professions will be definitely needed.

 

[biokid88]

Question deleted

 

[RedPharmer]

Say an applicant met the 70% cGPA requirement at the time of the initial application review, was granted an interview, and did well on the interview...

If this person's cGPA is recalculated to include the final course marks from this current academic year in May/June and it falls below the published requirement of 70%, will the final outcome of the application be an automatic rejection?

Also, are current University of Toronto students required to order their final transcripts or will the admissions office have access to final marks once they are released on ROSI?

I'm not a pharmacy applicant but just asking on behalf of a friend who's worried that he's going to encounter the above situation. I don't know what his PCAT scores were but I'm assuming he met the published cut-offs because he was invited for a March interview.

Yes. If his CGPA is lower than the 70% MINIMUM then he will be automatically rejected. Thats like saying if I am taking all the prereq courses and then suddenly I drop one of them at the last term and asking if I can still be accepted.

UT students do not need to order transcripts.

 

[faso123]

I am worried...does this mean someone with a 40 percentile can get in while someone with an 80 composite doesn't...? I don't believe that everyone is equal right? They must look at pcat scores in some way...maybe they just wanted to fill the spots, but know those with below 50 won't be making it?

dont worry, I think the pcat score is still important and the new cut offs dont mean anything besides confirming the low applicant numbers.

I didnt realize this until I read all of the interview notices they posted. they mention that the MMI is only 5 years old and is still not 100% proven to be better than standard interviews. they need as many people as they can get to produce more data to support the MMI. they will be asking us to volunteer and have our grades monitored. they take the MMI score and compare it to all grades from previous courses to pharmacy courses and even the ontario pharmacy exam. this is they're way of seeing if its effective and therefore need as many people as they can get.

so the fact that the pcat mins are that low only tells us that there are around 600 applicants to begin with. Also, some of the remaining applicants for the interview will have pcat scores as low as 30 or 20.

I think this is very good news for everyone that had decent pcat scores. just get the mins in the interview and the chance of getting in will hopefully be in the 60-70%, which is very high compared to applying any other year.

 

[RocketJumper]

And no one knows what can happen in 4-5 years. But one thing is for sure. Pharmacists will always be needed, because people want to live, and to do that, medicine/drugs is required. Just as well, with the baby boomers getting older and older, and the fact that below 35% of the population are young people while over 50% are those aged 45+, I can safely assume that our professions will be definitely needed.

The thing is it can go either way. Some people argue that the importance of a pharmacist as a dispensing agent is diminishing since the drug industry has evolved to be tightly regulated. Pharma companies are required to perform rigorous tests on drug candidates to demonstrate their safety and/or discover adverse effect (e.g. due to bad drug combinations or genetic predispositions). This information available to the proscribing doctors so its already pretty unlikely they will put you on conflicting medications. With the expected influx of mid-old aged people as you have mentioned, it would be more cost effective (<-evil business term) to use those electronic pharmacies (those ones like bank machines that they were pilot testing a while ago). From this perspective the main purpose of a pharmacist is to dispense, a service with can be improved with machines; thus pharmacists would go the way of the dodo bird (or supermarket cashiers and drive-in theaters).

Implementation issues aside, that would remove the human element. I believe that this human element (face-to-face counseling) is just as important as a pharmacist's duty to dispense, and in order for the profession to survive emphasis needs to be placed on patient interaction. Humans are social by nature, and it's kind of hard to socialize with a machine, who's sole purpose is to take my money and spit out pills .

Anyways, for now the future of the profession looks to be fine, but it definitely isn't as good as it was a few years ago (especially in Ontario). I think profession will survive and the role of a pharmacist will evolve to be more patient oriented in the future. If, eventually, pharmacists become able to proscribe some medications (in a limited sense compared to doctors) that would be great too!

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to put anyone off this profession; that isn't my intention. I think pharmacy is a good and fulfilling career choice, just every once in a while the devil inside me emerges and I get nervous thinking about the future of this career. The media bashing after the Ontario funding cuts didn't help either...

 

[MayMay123]

^ I'm hoping the liberals lose next election. Who's with me? All the other parties were against the decision to cut costs.

And I do not believe they would resort to machines. The advice and information a pharmacist gives to the patients are crucial. Doctors are busy and are not always available. It is the pharmacists who step in to take care of their needs.

 

[1ive2die]

The thing is it can go either way. Some people argue that the importance of a pharmacist as a dispensing agent is diminishing since the drug industry has evolved to be tightly regulated. Pharma companies are required to perform rigorous tests on drug candidates to demonstrate their safety and/or discover adverse effect (e.g. due to bad drug combinations or genetic predispositions). This information available to the proscribing doctors so its already pretty unlikely they will put you on conflicting medications. With the expected influx of mid-old aged people as you have mentioned, it would be more cost effective (<-evil business term) to use those electronic pharmacies (those ones like bank machines that they were pilot testing a while ago). From this perspective the main purpose of a pharmacist is to dispense, a service with can be improved with machines; thus pharmacists would go the way of the dodo bird (or supermarket cashiers and drive-in theaters).

Implementation issues aside, that would remove the human element. I believe that this human element (face-to-face counseling) is just as important as a pharmacist's duty to dispense, and in order for the profession to survive emphasis needs to be placed on patient interaction. Humans are social by nature, and it's kind of hard to socialize with a machine, who's sole purpose is to take my money and spit out pills .

Anyways, for now the future of the profession looks to be fine, but it definitely isn't as good as it was a few years ago (especially in Ontario). I think profession will survive and the role of a pharmacist will evolve to be more patient oriented in the future. If, eventually, pharmacists become able to proscribe some medications (in a limited sense compared to doctors) that would be great too!

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to put anyone off this profession; that isn't my intention. I think pharmacy is a good and fulfilling career choice, just every once in a while the devil inside me emerges and I get nervous thinking about the future of this career. The media bashing after the Ontario funding cuts didn't help either...

The number one question in this whole debate is "Who is gonna pay?" The problem now (and always has been) is that pharmacists get paid for dispensing a drug. Go to any pharmacy and you'll see. If script counts go up, the pharmacy team gets more hours, if the script counts goes down it gets less hours, sometimes to the point where the pharmacy may have to close early or may shut down altogether.

The problem with "advancing the profession" is that everyone loves saying it but no one wants to actually pay for it. Although pharmacists dream of a utopia where they earn money through cognitive services alone and get out of the dispensing game, the fact is no one is willing to fund this dream. Governments are not gonna pay extra money to pharmacists and private insurers are not gonna cover these "counselling services", which to them is probably as absurd as reimbursing the pharmacist for a friendly chat. So alas, pharmacist's relevance will be tied to their ability to dispense a drug. If that is threatened (by ATMs, mail-order, central-fill) then unfortunately so is the pharmacist.

 

[PharMarley]

^

And I do not believe they would resort to machines. The advice and information a pharmacist gives to the patients are crucial. Doctors are busy and are not always available. It is the pharmacists who step in to take care of their needs.

Agree..

Does anyone know how much a cab ride is from UofT to the Pearson Airport? I booked my flight which leaves at 6:40PM and my interview ends at aproximately 4:45PM. SO i have less than two hours to get there and check in and lift off to BC. I know im dumb and worest flight booker!!!😡

 

[1ive2die]

Agree..

Does anyone know how much a cab ride is from UofT to the Pearson Airport? I booked my flight which leaves at 6:40PM and my interview ends at aproximately 4:45PM. SO i have less than two hours to get there and check in and lift off to BC. I know im dumb and worest flight booker!!!😡

Wow that is pretty tight. Good thing its a weekend or you'd have to deal with Toronto gridlock. Cab ride should run you about $45.

 

[RedPharmer]

Agree..

Does anyone know how much a cab ride is from UofT to the Pearson Airport? I booked my flight which leaves at 6:40PM and my interview ends at aproximately 4:45PM. SO i have less than two hours to get there and check in and lift off to BC. I know im dumb and worest flight booker!!!😡

You might wanna rebook. Interview times can get delayed by quite a bit due to slower sessions in the morning.

 

[PharMarley]

Wow that is pretty tight. Good thing its a weekend or you'd have to deal with Toronto gridlock. Cab ride should run you about $45.

Okay so if I have a $100 in my pocket and tell the cabbie to step on it I should get there within 40 mins?

 

[Fightorflight]

Agree..

Does anyone know how much a cab ride is from UofT to the Pearson Airport? I booked my flight which leaves at 6:40PM and my interview ends at aproximately 4:45PM. SO i have less than two hours to get there and check in and lift off to BC. I know im dumb and worest flight booker!!!😡

Even if you had that giant bird thingy from the lord of the rings, you would not make this flight.

 

[PharMarley]

Even if you had that giant bird thingy from the lord of the rings, you would not make this flight.

LMFAO......Ya i better call WestJet and change it...I gues an extra night in Toronto wouldnt hurt. Lets hope they let me.

 

[pharmacy0]

LMFAO......Ya i better call WestJet and change it...I gues an extra night in Toronto wouldnt hurt. Lets hope they let me.

Yeah, chill out and enjoy Toronto for a night, no point in rushing like a madman after your interview, you might want to stay back to talk to people, ask questions, explore the pharmacy building.

You are applying to UBC right? Which would you choose if you got into both? I didn't apply there, but I like to creep on their thread every now and then. Good thing they both have MMI style interviews, you get good practice.

 

[chemtai]

May I know if a U of T pharmacy student will have time to work for a full time summer job?

My worry is that I do not have time to work in summer due to Experiential Programs which include summer rotation. And no pay check will be issued for all these rotations. Consequently, I cannot earn enough money to pay my next semester tuition fee. Any idea?

Nobody has the idea.🙁

 

[reason]

Yeah, chill out and enjoy Toronto for a night, no point in rushing like a madman after your interview, you might want to stay back to talk to people, ask questions, explore the pharmacy building.

You are applying to UBC right? Which would you choose if you got into both? I didn't apply there, but I like to creep on their thread every now and then. Good thing they both have MMI style interviews, you get good practice.

I'm also a ubc student with a toronto interview. Personally I would prefer to stay in vancouver because of the tuition costs alone but debt is a part of life - it comes as many forms and you can't really escape it forever. It looks so far though that the pcat requirements are more lax in toronto than vancouver but I could be wrong. The interview changes the game @ both schools.

 

[faso123]

The thing is it can go either way. Some people argue that the importance of a pharmacist as a dispensing agent is diminishing since the drug industry has evolved to be tightly regulated. Pharma companies are required to perform rigorous tests on drug candidates to demonstrate their safety and/or discover adverse effect (e.g. due to bad drug combinations or genetic predispositions). This information available to the proscribing doctors so its already pretty unlikely they will put you on conflicting medications. With the expected influx of mid-old aged people as you have mentioned, it would be more cost effective (<-evil business term) to use those electronic pharmacies (those ones like bank machines that they were pilot testing a while ago). From this perspective the main purpose of a pharmacist is to dispense, a service with can be improved with machines; thus pharmacists would go the way of the dodo bird (or supermarket cashiers and drive-in theaters).

Implementation issues aside, that would remove the human element. I believe that this human element (face-to-face counseling) is just as important as a pharmacist's duty to dispense, and in order for the profession to survive emphasis needs to be placed on patient interaction. Humans are social by nature, and it's kind of hard to socialize with a machine, who's sole purpose is to take my money and spit out pills .

Anyways, for now the future of the profession looks to be fine, but it definitely isn't as good as it was a few years ago (especially in Ontario). I think profession will survive and the role of a pharmacist will evolve to be more patient oriented in the future. If, eventually, pharmacists become able to proscribe some medications (in a limited sense compared to doctors) that would be great too!

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to put anyone off this profession; that isn't my intention. I think pharmacy is a good and fulfilling career choice, just every once in a while the devil inside me emerges and I get nervous thinking about the future of this career. The media bashing after the Ontario funding cuts didn't help either...

people seem to forget that pharmacists can work in hospitals too, part of very important teams that include doctors, nurses, physios, dietitians, and many other specialists. that work cannot be displaced by anyone else. lets not forget about the 4 years we will study in school for it, do you really think that pharmacy is a pill dispensing job only. it requires a very strong background of almost everything from the body physio to enzymes and how each drug can inhibit or activate its target. the day that a job like this is replaced by machines is the day that those same machines take over the world.

 

[PharMarley]

Yeah, chill out and enjoy Toronto for a night, no point in rushing like a madman after your interview, you might want to stay back to talk to people, ask questions, explore the pharmacy building.

You are applying to UBC right? Which would you choose if you got into both? I didn't apply there, but I like to creep on their thread every now and then. Good thing they both have MMI style interviews, you get good practice.

Got my flight changed. Go figure the one time I come to Toronto the Raptors are playing away!!!. Is it easy walk from the Delta to Leslie Dan if I wanna site see?

 

[hana0205]

Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011 Time: Session A - Arrive 9:00

I think I'm at that time too

Congratulations to those who got the interview! 🙂

btw does anyone know how many people got the interview? people are saying 500, or 600, but the applicant pool was apparently just over 600...

 

[RocketJumper]

I think I'm at that time too

Congratulations to those who got the interview! 🙂

btw does anyone know how many people got the interview? people are saying 500, or 600, but the applicant pool was apparently just over 600...

Yep, then general consensus is ~500-600 interviews. That's why the PCAT cutoffs were dropped dramatically. Since they are studying the MMI's predictive ability on applicants, they need to fill all available interview spots (also filling them all ensures they get a full class, since not everyone who gets admission offers will take them).

 

[helloeveryone]

Kinda relieving AND nerve wracking at the same time to know that in exactly 2 weeks half of us are gonna be done with interviews 😉 🙂

 

[hana0205]

Yep, then general consensus is ~500-600 interviews. That's why the PCAT cutoffs were dropped dramatically. Since they are studying the MMI's predictive ability on applicants, they need to fill all available interview spots (also filling them all ensures they get a full class, since not everyone who gets admission offers will take them).

hmm I don't feel so special anymore LOL
I still hope the interviews are worth more than previously and that its not just a "seat-filler" for me to be doing the interviews (my academic requirements are not strong, possibly the lower end of the applicant pool) i.e. making me do the interviews and then reject me b/c my cGPA and PCAT scores were already lower anyway?
oh well, even so it should be good practice! (actually I think the MMI's sound kinda fun, like you have to "problem solve" in a mock situation - better compared to a conventional interview :3)

 

[N20TO]

I took the interview last year, the most important thing is that you are relaxed and ready to go, because MMI format could physiologically drain you by bombarding you with 10 stations, I don't think people realize how tiring it gets. I can't divulge specific scenarios for obvious reasons. But make sure you get enough sleep and eat a hearty meal before the interview (There is a Tim Hortons across the street, but I wouldn't call that hearty, more like diabetes). Talk to fellow applicants because most people arrive early, this will definitely calm down your nervous jitter. Most people I met last time are nice and charming, hopefully it is the same this year. I still remember the interview like it was yesterday, because I'm forced to walk past the pharmacy building everyday on route to Queen's Park station... this has been the most torturous year of my life.

 

[Antwuan]

For those who have the MMI this year, we will have pharmacy student ambassadors in the main lobby during the interview process, they will answer any questions you may have regarding pharmacy, student life, the faculty, etc...They will be wearing blue shirts with name tags so you can easily identify them. All of us did the MMI so we definitely know what it feels like! We will try our best to make the experience as pleasant as possible 🙂

Good luck!

 

[PharMarley]

Yep, then general consensus is ~500-600 interviews. That's why the PCAT cutoffs were dropped dramatically. Since they are studying the MMI's predictive ability on applicants, they need to fill all available interview spots (also filling them all ensures they get a full class, since not everyone who gets admission offers will take them).

I dont think this is moraly right. I dont think it's fair to get people from across Canada to come to an interview just so that they fill the quota for MMI predictibility. It cost too much to attend these interviews and gives people false hope. Lets hope this is not the case and that everyone has a chance of getting in rather than fill a statistical quota.

 

[RocketJumper]

I dont think this is moraly right. I dont think it's fair to get people from across Canada to come to an interview just so that they fill the quota for MMI predictibility. It cost too much to attend these interviews and gives people false hope. Lets hope this is not the case and that everyone has a chance of getting in rather than fill a statistical quota.

I like to look at it optimistically. If they have 240 seats it's only natural to interview more than double that number simply because you need to fill seats. Of the 240 offers sent out many are rejected by applicants for various reasons (e.g. if they've already accepted another offer). If you look at med school applications it's the same deal there. It just so happens that they're doing an MMI study as well so we are asked to participate. But it's optional and will not impact your changes of admission; from this I think filling the 240 seats takes precedent over getting study data for the MMIs.
I think they have the same number of interview spots this year as last; just less applicants meant lower cuttoffs. I don't think they'd invite you to an interview knowing that you'd be cut later due to some internal cutoff. They can't benefit from that since they have to accommodate extra people and if you're cut you won't provide any MMI data anyways (since they're supposed to follow you through pharm school).
Bottom line is everyone invited to the interviews stands a fair chance at obtaining an admission offer.
People with high PCATs and cGPAs can perform poorly at the MMI and conversely, people who entered with disadvantaged PCAT and cGPAs can perform exceedingly well and get the offer. If you didnt get an invite you wouldn't get the chance to prove yourself at all right? So even if they did send out more invites (though i doubt it), it can't hurt you 😀

 

[helloeveryone]

I like to look at it optimistically. If they have 240 seats it's only natural to interview more than double that number simply because you need to fill seats. Of the 240 offers sent out many are rejected by applicants for various reasons (e.g. if they've already accepted another offer). If you look at med school applications it's the same deal there. It just so happens that they're doing an MMI study as well so we are asked to participate. But it's optional and will not impact your changes of admission; from this I think filling the 240 seats takes precedent over getting study data for the MMIs.
I think they have the same number of interview spots this year as last; just less applicants meant lower cuttoffs. I don't think they'd invite you to an interview knowing that you'd be cut later due to some internal cutoff. They can't benefit from that since they have to accommodate extra people and if you're cut you won't provide any MMI data anyways (since they're supposed to follow you through pharm school).
Bottom line is everyone invited to the interviews stands a fair chance at obtaining an admission offer.
People with high PCATs and cGPAs can perform poorly at the MMI and conversely, people who entered with disadvantaged PCAT and cGPAs can perform exceedingly well and get the offer. If you didnt get an invite you wouldn't get the chance to prove yourself at all right? So even if they did send out more invites (though i doubt it), it can't hurt you 😀

I must disagree with this a little... hypothetically, if someone barely met the PCAT cutoff and also barely surpassed the GPA cutoff will get an interview. But, this person, regardless of how exceedingly well they do on the interview, will most likely NOT gain admission because of poor PCAT and GPA... they even mentioned in the invitation documents that they can (and probably will) increase PCAT cutoffs after interviews to weed out people.


example: person with PCAT composite of 20 (who passed all cutoffs), and this person also has a 70% GPA (with all prerequisites), and this person also does well on interview... do you think that this person has a good chance of getting admitted?

I don't mean to be pessimistic here, nor am I trying to scare people who have low-ish PCAT and/or GPA... I'm just saying that I doubt UofT would admit people with really low PCAT and GPAs solely because they did well on interview... rather they should be looking for well rounded people with good/strong academic background AND good communication (or "soft") skills.