University of Toronto Application Thread

[PharMarley]

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I've got a question regarding U of T MMI. Are we scored by the interviewers based on a standard, or are we scored relative to all other interviewees?

If we are scored based on a standard, then our marks reflect how good we are in absolute terms. A 70 is a 70 and a 90 is a 90. But if we are scored relative to all other interviewees at that time, then no matter how good you are, if others are better than you, you get a bad score; conversely, no matter how bad you are, if others are worse than you, then you can receive a pretty decent mark.

I think the interviewers compare your respnses to the person before you and after you and give you a mark. I think somebody already said something about seeing their score as the inteviewer marked it down but I believe he/she was marking the candidate before them. Í am just speculating but I think it makes sense to do it that way. For example, if you are the first person being interviewed your response might be good but if two others following you dont even fully comprehend the scenario let alone the answer, then your response becomes great and vice versa. So in a way I believe that it is standardized but it is all based on your ability to give fully developed yet concise responses. I MIGHT BE WAYYY OF HERE!!😉

 

[helloeveryone]

I think the interviewers compare your respnses to the person before you and after you and give you a mark. I think somebody already said something about seeing their score as the inteviewer marked it down but I believe he/she was marking the candidate before them. Í am just speculating but I think it makes sense to do it that way. For example, if you are the first person being interviewed your response might be good but if two others following you dont even fully comprehend the scenario let alone the answer, then your response becomes great and vice versa. So in a way I believe that it is standardized but it is all based on your ability to give fully developed yet concise responses. I MIGHT BE WAYYY OF HERE!!😉

I highly doubt they would use this method... it just wouldn't be fair, what if you are accidentally "sandwiched" between two other candidates who constantly do well... but another person is "sandwiched" between 2 people who are horrible at the MMI?


What I have HEARD they do, is that they just give you a score of 1-10 based on how well you, as an individual, respond to that answer, THEN they compare you to everyone else using a standardized percentile system (kinda like how PCAT is scored... you have a "raw" score and then they give you a "percentile")

-hope this makes sense 🙂

 

[MotherRussia]

1st) I saw one the the guys marking me
question would the first bubble to left be worst or best answer

also I don't think they mark it relative to other students
They have standardized answers and they compare it to those.

however there is still human factor and it is nice to be sandwiched between not too competitive students.

 

[RocketJumper]

1st) I saw one the the guys marking me
question would the first bubble to left be worst or best answer

also I don't think they mark it relative to other students
They have standardized answers and they compare it to those.

however there is still human factor and it is nice to be sandwiched between not too competitive students.

How do you feel you did? If it was the first bubble, then either you got 10 or 1. If you feel like your reasoning was sound and you communicated your points well then chances are you got 10 👍

 

[MotherRussia]

the ones that he marked were to the right
but I think I did at least ok

 

[PharMarley]

..

 

[butoias]

Welcome to the forum butoias. You may get a bit more help if you posed on the UW thread.

That said, you don't need to focus on a single hobby right? Do some soul searching and figure out 2 or 3 things you are really into (that would portray you well), then look for similarities. For example, if you like to hike and camp, the theme would be nature.

Thank you =)

 

[ningning]

soooo thanks to a totally bs stats course at my school it looks like my cumulative average is going to be somewhere in the mid 70s. I have a 80 pcat and i think i did well on 8 of the 10 stations in the mmi do i still have a shot?

 

[RocketJumper]

soooo thanks to a totally bs stats course at my school it looks like my cumulative average is going to be somewhere in the mid 70s. I have a 80 pcat and i think i did well on 8 of the 10 stations in the mmi do i still have a shot?

Don't quote me on this but for last year 7/10 stations was good enough and they had a much larger pool of applicants. You meet all of the cut offs, your PCAT marks look good, I don't see why you wouldn't have a shot 😎. You should just chill for 2 months and leave all the nervous finger twitching to us second round interviewees 😉.

How was the stats course BS?

I remember when I did my stats course 2 years ago the final exam was open book! To compensate, the prof made it extra difficult. The final class average wasn't helped by the fact that there were quiet a few students who thought they could mine answers from the almightly textbook...Oh the lessons we learned from sophomore year

 

[faso123]

soooo thanks to a totally bs stats course at my school it looks like my cumulative average is going to be somewhere in the mid 70s. I have a 80 pcat and i think i did well on 8 of the 10 stations in the mmi do i still have a shot?

I have similar stats and also wanted to see what people think, especially ones that applied last year.

my average is exactly 74.5%, and I have completed my degree in biochemistry.
My first two years were horrible with some failed courses including first year chem, but my last two years were great with mid 80s in both orgos and some other chem/biochem courses.

my pcat was 92 on a second try with the first try being 65. The first time was studying with kaplan and the second was studying with Dr.Collins, so you guys can see the huge difference there. my lowest section was verbal with a 45.

I'm not really sure how the interview went, but all I can say is that I was confident and had no regrets in 8 stations. With the other 2 stations, there were one or two things I wish I could take back.

 

[PharMarley]

I have similar stats and also wanted to see what people think, especially ones that applied last year.

my average is exactly 74.5%, and I have completed my degree in biochemistry.
My first two years were horrible with some failed courses including first year chem, but my last two years were great with mid 80s in both orgos and some other chem/biochem courses.

my pcat was 92 on a second try with the first try being 65. The first time was studying with kaplan and the second was studying with Dr.Collins, so you guys can see the huge difference there. my lowest section was verbal with a 45.

I'm not really sure how the interview went, but all I can say is that I was confident and had no regrets in 8 stations. With the other 2 stations, there were one or two things I wish I could take back.

In my opinion (again my opinion) your stats are fine. You have a degree under your belt which say a lot on its own (ie capable of overcoming the rigorious work required). Your PCAT is steller. If you feel that you did good on at least 8-9 stations then June 25th should be a good day for you. Especially if you are not OOP applicant. At the very least you know for sure that your odds are 240/470. Just my 2 cents. I hope we all get in!!!

 

[helloeveryone]

Ummm lmfao....Hence why I said that I'm SPECULATING. I didnt say it was the method they use. Nobody knows but them.

LOL, if you reread it, you'll see that I said " I highly doubt they use the method" I did NOT say that you said they are using the method. Hence, I was simply stating my own opinion on this matter, and obviously not trying to judge or misrepresent what you said.

And geez man, this forum is meant to be an informative open-source place where people exchange information, I don't think it's meant to be used to pick on people like this... and I'm only commenting on this because this is the second time I've read such responses directed at me.

 

[helloeveryone]

Don't quote me on this but for last year 7/10 stations was good enough and they had a much larger pool of applicants. You meet all of the cut offs, your PCAT marks look good, I don't see why you wouldn't have a shot 😎. You should just chill for 2 months and leave all the nervous finger twitching to us second round interviewees 😉.

How was the stats course BS?

I remember when I did my stats course 2 years ago the final exam was open book! To compensate, the prof made it extra difficult. The final class average wasn't helped by the fact that there were quiet a few students who thought they could mine answers from the almightly textbook...Oh the lessons we learned from sophomore year

Oh man, you should've taken the stat course at Western this year... no one can imagine the pain we went through for that course 🙁 And just the thought of taking stats AGAIN next year in pharmacy makes me nauseous👎

 

[ningning]

thanks for the input guys. I guess i was just worried because it seems very little people with low gpas got in lol from what i have been reading and it doesn't help the fact that this admissions process by U of T requires you to wait almost 3 whole months for an answer if you are part of the first batch of interviewees 🙁

 

[Fly to the Sky]

For those of you who had done the interview and had to live in a hotel in Toronto for that night (if there was anyone), can you recommend a hotel or some other accommodations? How did you get by?

 

[PhArMaCiSt1]

For those of you who had done the interview and had to live in a hotel in Toronto for that night (if there was anyone), can you recommend a hotel or some other accommodations? How did you get by?

I haven't booked yet but I know last year I booked through hotwire.com (I believe that was the name). It was one of those websites where the hotel has unbooked rooms so it gives you the room at a cheaper price. I believe I ended up paying $90 or 100 for a room which would've been $300 or something so it's pretty good 🙂

 

[PhArMaCiSt1]

LOL, if you reread it, you'll see that I said " I highly doubt they use the method" I did NOT say that you said they are using the method. Hence, I was simply stating my own opinion on this matter, and obviously not trying to judge or misrepresent what you said.

And geez man, this forum is meant to be an informative open-source place where people exchange information, I don't think it's meant to be used to pick on people like this... and I'm only commenting on this because this is the second time I've read such responses directed at me.

lol I think it's really easy to misinterpret the tone of voice in writing on here and I'm sure both of you meant nothing by your messages so don't let this bug you. Besides you guys will potentially be classmates next year 😀😀

 

[ningning]

Oh man, you should've taken the stat course at Western this year... no one can imagine the pain we went through for that course 🙁 And just the thought of taking stats AGAIN next year in pharmacy makes me nauseous👎

did u take 2224? with Rubin and White? I have never seen worse profs or a course that was more badly structured than this one, and the whole marking scheme change in the middle of the school year that really pissed me off, not to mention the fact that it dropped my average substantially

 

[Fly to the Sky]

I haven't booked yet but I know last year I booked through hotwire.com (I believe that was the name). It was one of those websites where the hotel has unbooked rooms so it gives you the room at a cheaper price. I believe I ended up paying $90 or 100 for a room which would've been $300 or something so it's pretty good 🙂

Thanks you your recommendation, it was so helpful!

You said you haven't booked, but haven't you had the interview already?

 

[helloeveryone]

did u take 2224? with Rubin and White? I have never seen worse profs or a course that was more badly structured than this one, and the whole marking scheme change in the middle of the school year that really pissed me off, not to mention the fact that it dropped my average substantially

lol, YES YES, I was in 2244a... tell me about it, that course ruined my life... it was the lowest mark I ever got in University 🙁

And I'm pretty sure Rubin and White will NOT be allowed to teach the course again, considering that first term students have complained endless number of times to the faculty about them.

 

[helloeveryone]

lol I think it's really easy to misinterpret the tone of voice in writing on here and I'm sure both of you meant nothing by your messages so don't let this bug you. Besides you guys will potentially be classmates next year 😀😀

agreed 100% 😉

 

[PharMarley]

.

 

[helloeveryone]

BTW im a girl!!. And I'm trully not directing anything towards you. If it sounds like I did, I'm really sorry. But I hope I didnt offend you. You never know if by any chance we both get accepted, we may become besties🙂. But I'm an OOP so the odds are against me and I'm not expecting too much (just staying optimestic)

lol, no I wasn't offended, just felt like I was being criticized for no apparent reason... but I was obv mistaking 😉

and you'll never know, we might become BFFs, God knows
And TBH, I don't think OOP chances would be that low this year considering the very small applicant pool...

p.s. do you guys know if people reveal their "SDN identities" once in pharmacy, or is just one big secret?

 

[RocketJumper]

lol, no I wasn't offended, just felt like I was being criticized for no apparent reason... but I was obv mistaking 😉

and you'll never know, we might become BFFs, God knows
And TBH, I don't think OOP chances would be that low this year considering the very small applicant pool...

p.s. do you guys know if people reveal their "SDN identities" once in pharmacy, or is just one big secret?

People do reveal their IDs, especially once you get to know them well, but there are those who choose to remain anon. It doesn't really matter p=. Once you hang around and familiarize with people you may be able to recognize them based on the comments alone.

 

[Fly to the Sky]

People do reveal their IDs, especially once you get to know them well, but there are those who choose to remain anon. It doesn't really matter p=. Once you hang around and familiarize with people you may be able to recognize them based on the comments alone.

In my undergrad classes you usually get to know only a few people / barely get to know the class because there are simply too many students. I wonder if we really will be familiarize with people in pharmacy class since there are a lot like 240.

 

[PhArMaCiSt1]

Thanks you your recommendation, it was so helpful!

You said you haven't booked, but haven't you had the interview already?

your welcome 🙂
nope I didn't do my interview yet, May 14th is my day 😀 When is yours?

 

[PhArMaCiSt1]

lol, no I wasn't offended, just felt like I was being criticized for no apparent reason... but I was obv mistaking 😉

and you'll never know, we might become BFFs, God knows
And TBH, I don't think OOP chances would be that low this year considering the very small applicant pool...

p.s. do you guys know if people reveal their "SDN identities" once in pharmacy, or is just one big secret?

Last year they had a thread on the facebook group for those who wanted to release their sdn username and ya some people did.

 

[Tbqh]

Stupid question. Do I have to contact the admissions office if I dropped a course that I originally listed in my transcript entered online? Or can I just erase everything in the fields for that course and call it a day?
Thx

 

[helloeveryone]

Stupid question. Do I have to contact the admissions office if I dropped a course that I originally listed in my transcript entered online? Or can I just erase everything in the fields for that course and call it a day?
Thx

They are going to open PharmSIS section for transcript entry again in early June... so you just adjust it then, I think 👍

 

[Tbqh]

They are going to open PharmSIS section for transcript entry again in early June... so you just adjust it then, I think 👍

Tx 🙂

 

[druggeek]

👎 👎 👎

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2011/19/c5168.html

Walmart makes donation to UofT pharmacy to increase the number of seats in the International Pharmacy Graduate program. This program is for foreign educated pharmacists, who are looking to become pharmacists in Canada/Ontario.

Foreign educated pharmacists make up ~30% of the pharmacy workforce around here. 75 students take part in this, offered 2x a year. By adding additional seats... the number of international pharmacists graduating will increase by 30% (estimated) at least.

Top this with the Waterloo pharmacists who have YET to graduate.

And add this to the already saturated Toronto/GTA pharmacy situation... and how will folks graduating in 2015-2017 (around that time) and a couple years beyond... be able to find any jobs?


We already have a lot of international pharmacists... and we have UofT pharmacists which have saturated (thoroughly) the pharmacy job market.

Now we add MORE international pharmacists and Waterloo graduates... as well we have pharmacists who don't want to retire anytime soon.

👎

 

[Fly to the Sky]

It may eventually get more competitive for pharmacists to find the jobs, but I think they are running the program for a reason, maybe they project pharmacists will be in short supply in the future.

 

[Fly to the Sky]

your welcome 🙂
nope I didn't do my interview yet, May 14th is my day 😀 When is yours?

Have it on the 15th, one day after yours. OMG I really hope I do well.

 

[Fly to the Sky]

anyone here goes to University of Waterloo?

 

[druggeek]

It may eventually get more competitive for pharmacists to find the jobs, but I think they are running the program for a reason, maybe they project pharmacists will be in short supply in the future.

If you read some of the pre-pharmacy stuff (the forum) and the whole US problem... They keep opening up more pharmacy schools due to "projecting" a short supply. But it is the exact opposite but 10 times worse.

 

[mochaswirl]

If you read some of the pre-pharmacy stuff (the forum) and the whole US problem... They keep opening up more pharmacy schools due to "projecting" a short supply. But it is the exact opposite but 10 times worse.

lol, if i recall correctly aren't you still in high school? you out of all people should not really be concerned about the future of pharmacy as you have yet to start undergrad and have many avenues that you can pursue.

Personally, this stuff doesn't bother me because you can say this about any career - for example maybe we won't need as many doctors anymore because of the expanding scope of practice of nurses. I can tell you that nowadays when you go to the ER with a problem that's not a major life/death situation you may not even see a doctor - the nurse will take charge of the entire care. Pharmacists are also seeing an expanded scope of pratice - eventually pharmacists will be able to prescribe, provide vaccinations etc., they continually take on more and more. Computers may be able to replace the job of a pharmacist as a 'pill dispenser' but will pharmacists be completely out of the picture? hell no...in fact it's very likely that we will need MORE pharmacists. People just don't see this yet, but things are definitley moving towards this...

Also pharmacists will be needed in the pharmaceutical industry, for conducting clinical trials, for handling complex cases...

Honestly, from where I see it the future of pharmacy is only going to get better...

 

[helloeveryone]

Ok, so to change the subject a little bit, I had a financial related question!

Does anyone have an idea whether Pharmacy students (who would also be living "away from home") will get full OSAP ( I think it's about 12K) or not?

Can any current pharmacy student comment on this please, I'm just trying to figure out whether OSAP + a little help from my savings would be enough to cover the tuition, I'm a hesitant about getting the bank loans etc.


Any comments will be appreciated 🙂

 

[Zoupa]

It may eventually get more competitive for pharmacists to find the jobs, but I think they are running the program for a reason, maybe they project pharmacists will be in short supply in the future.

lolz that isn't why. The pharmacist shortage caused pharmacist wages to spike. Those employing pharmacists would benefit from a larger supply that would allow them to reduce wages and have easier access to pharmacists in general. U of T benefits both from the wal mart grant and increased tuition revenue. It's ALWAYS about money. Why do you think pharm schools in the us keep opening up. It isn't because of a projected future need.

Increased enrollment and foreign trained professions is going to be a huge issue in the near future. It is already in a lot of fields. The only one's exempt are the one's that tightly regulate their profession.

 

[KingOfDoctors]

If you read some of the pre-pharmacy stuff (the forum) and the whole US problem... They keep opening up more pharmacy schools due to "projecting" a short supply. But it is the exact opposite but 10 times worse.

sucks to be in US then lol

In Canada our tuition is about 4 times cheaper and our job prospect are alot better

 

[Fly to the Sky]

Ok, so to change the subject a little bit, I had a financial related question!

Does anyone have an idea whether Pharmacy students (who would also be living "away from home") will get full OSAP ( I think it's about 12K) or not?

Can any current pharmacy student comment on this please, I'm just trying to figure out whether OSAP + a little help from my savings would be enough to cover the tuition, I'm a hesitant about getting the bank loans etc.


Any comments will be appreciated 🙂

Any student who is studying full time during school would get full OSAP, but if you have summer savings the sum may get reduced a little.
I don't like the idea of having bank loans too, for some reason, I feel very risky borrowing from them than borrowing from the government. You've done all your exams and interview, and you can relax (perhaps?) to wait for your results. And I still must prepare for that interview.

 

[helloeveryone]

Any student who is studying full time during school would get full OSAP, but if you have summer savings the sum may get reduced a little.
I don't like the idea of having bank loans too, for some reason, I feel very risky borrowing from them than borrowing from the government. You've done all your exams and interview, and you can relax (perhaps?) to wait for your results. And I still must prepare for that interview.

Thanks for the input 🙂

But, I'm neither done exams, nor am I done entirely with interviews 🙁 I still have one more exam to write AND I'm still worried about my Waterloo interview 🙄

Anywho, I guess I should worry more about getting in, then I should think about all the financial stuff !!!

 

[druggeek]

sucks to be in US then lol

In Canada our tuition is about 4 times cheaper and our job prospect are alot better

Economics 101.. supply and demand. Once supply gets too high, job prospects will shrink.

 

[Fly to the Sky]

Thanks for the input 🙂

But, I'm neither done exams, nor am I done entirely with interviews 🙁 I still have one more exam to write AND I'm still worried about my Waterloo interview 🙄

Anywho, I guess I should worry more about getting in, then I should think about all the financial stuff !!!

Waterloo requires that you have prior pharmacy experience. But I can't seem to find any positions. If you don't mind I really need your input on completing this experience, because I didn't apply to Waterloo as I didn't have that experience.

 

[druggeek]

Assuming noone here is voting NDP as whoever is in (or going to be in) a high paying job, will not want to pay more tax just so people on welfare can not get a job.

 

[helloeveryone]

Waterloo requires that you have prior pharmacy experience. But I can't seem to find any positions. If you don't mind I really need your input on completing this experience, because I didn't apply to Waterloo as I didn't have that experience.

most obvious ways of gaining experience would be either a) getting a pharmacy assistance job at a pharmacy b) volunteering in a pharmacy.

For me, it was really difficult to get the pharmacy job I have now, I really had to be persistent and I waited for about 6 months for a spot to open up.

So to begin with, just submit your resume to as many pharmacies as possible, and also tell them you are willing to start as a volunteer.
Another piece of advice: go read all the Waterloo forums (from a few years back, up to now) because a lot of people talked about this issue there.

Good luck 👍

 

[Fly to the Sky]

Thank you for your input helloeveryone🙂 Didn't think about reading the Waterloo forums before!

 

[PharMarley]

Assuming noone here is voting NDP as whoever is in (or going to be in) a high paying job, will not want to pay more tax just so people on welfare can not get a job.

I think thats not a bad thing if the rich or well paid get taxed more. It's not just for welfare either. There are people out there who have medical issues and disabilities and cannot work. So if I'm a pharmacist and the government wants to increase tax to help others, I'm game. And the tax increase isnt heavy by any means. They increase it by a fraction and may not change your lifestyle by much. The major target for those who say they want to increase tax is usually for the huge companies who make 250k-billions. But due to lobbying they actually dont increase it 🙂.

 

[druggeek]

I think thats not a bad thing if the rich or well paid get taxed more. It's not just for welfare either. There are people out there who have medical issues and disabilities and cannot work. So if I'm a pharmacist and the government wants to increase tax to help others, I'm game. And the tax increase isnt heavy by any means. They increase it by a fraction and may not change your lifestyle by much. The major target for those who say they want to increase tax is usually for the huge companies who make 250k-billions. But due to lobbying they actually dont increase it 🙂.

You want to give your very hard earned money to bums who don't want to get a job?

How about cutting down on free welfare and giving it to people with serious issues stopping them from working. Only give money to people who WANT to work or at least want to make money but seriously can't.

Cause NDP will only take hard earned money, essentially stealing from you.

 

[KingOfDoctors]

You want to give your very hard earned money to bums who don't want to get a job?

How about cutting down on free welfare and giving it to people with serious issues stopping them from working. Only give money to people who WANT to work or at least want to make money but seriously can't.

Cause NDP will only take hard earned money, essentially stealing from you.

lol it is not like NDP has a chance anyways

they only beat liberals cuz iggy is a ****

 

[staffpro]

if you believe in a welfare state and giving money to people who haven't earned it (I don't care how you spin it, if your poor your either lazy or irresponsible). Then by all means vote NDP.

Liberals also lean more towards socialist policies.

That is why i remain and probably will always remain a conservative voter.

I know they haven't carried through on all of their policies and they have done some dumb stuff, but everyone makes mistakes and they are the Best of the "worst" (no party is perfect)