University of Toronto Pharmacy '2018

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Hey guys just wanted to wish you all the best of luck when it comes to applying and everything else! I'm currently a 1T7 at UofT Pharm so please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions or concerns!
 
apedicelli said:
Hey guys just wanted to wish you all the best of luck when it comes to applying and everything else! I'm currently a 1T7 at UofT Pharm so please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions or concerns!
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Thanks! I do have a question.....did you find that most of your classmates already have their undergrad degrees? I'm turning 24 this month and I have my undergraduate degree; so I'm interested in knowing what education level and age the "average" student will be?
 
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TheRxLife said:
Thanks! I do have a question.....did you find that most of your classmates already have their undergrad degrees? I'm turning 24 this month and I have my undergraduate degree; so I'm interested in knowing what education level and age the "average" student will be?
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I'd say 60-70% of our class does already have their undergrad degree (I finished my BSc before applying). Most people are around the ages of 22-24 but there definitely are some students that are older and younger than that as well.
 
Ahhhhh this is so nerve wracking. Okay, so I'm only in my second year and I had a 3.94 gpa last year, but I really think it's going to drop after this year to around a cGPA of 3.8. I'm taking the PCAT in January and I'm pretty prepared for it (i'm mainly worried about the verbal ability and writing section). I was wondering to any who have taken the Pearson practice tests and the actual PCAT, how did they compare? I've so far taken one practice test and these were my percentile ranges:
VA 53-73
Bio 80-99
RC 80-99
QA 80-99
Chem 80-99
Comp 80-99
I'm only applying to UofT this year and I'm worried that because I'm in second year, they'll make the standards higher for me. I currently go to McGill.
 
Pointy End said:
Ahhhhh this is so nerve wracking. Okay, so I'm only in my second year and I had a 3.94 gpa last year, but I really think it's going to drop after this year to around a cGPA of 3.8. I'm taking the PCAT in January and I'm pretty prepared for it (i'm mainly worried about the verbal ability and writing section). I was wondering to any who have taken the Pearson practice tests and the actual PCAT, how did they compare? I've so far taken one practice test and these were my percentile ranges:
VA 53-73
Bio 80-99
RC 80-99
QA 80-99
Chem 80-99
Comp 80-99
I'm only applying to UofT this year and I'm worried that because I'm in second year, they'll make the standards higher for me. I currently go to McGill.
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First off, a cGPA of 3.8 is awesome and definitely above average as compared to the applying class. In terms of the PCAT, your scores are really good, even considering the lower VA section. Obviously, if you were to bump that up it would help but it won't be the deciding factor on you getting in or not. Plus, the PCAT isn't the most important admission criteria. Admissions considers the MMI and your grades as critically important while the PCAT is used more as a general cut-off for interviews.

Finally, there's no way you would ever have higher admission standards because you're in 2nd year. As long as you've completed the required pre-reqs, every student starts off on a level-playing field.

McGill's a great school, I did my under-grad there before starting the PharmD at UofT.

Good luck!
 
Ooooh, Apedicelli, so the PCAT won't even be used in the final considerations? I was hoping the weighting would be more or less equal between the three criteria. What is the incentive for doing well on the PCAT then, if anyone who meets the minimum score receives an interview 🙁.
 
I'm not gonna lie, I am honestly terrified to apply. My cGPA currently is so dangerously close to the cutoff, and my midterms have just been so horrendous that I have to make up for it by aceing all my finals, and I'm scared that my cGPA may drop below the cutoff if I don't do well and won't even get considered for an interview :'(

My PCAT scores are real good, but I feel like that's gonna be all for nothing if my GPA can't cut it 🙁
 
PharmPheenix said:
I read in the 2017 thread that the weighting for final admission is 40% PCAT, 40% marks, and 20% interview...not sure if this still stands or not. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/university-of-toronto-pharmacy-class-of-2017.958975/page-6
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I know that percentage breakdown was floated around last year but I still find it hard to believe. In my eyes, the interview and cGPA are more important than the PCAT. That isn't to say that PCAT scores mean nothing, they definitely still do count towards something. It's just that the trend in professional schools now is moving away from standardized testing (PCAT, MCAT etc.) and focusing more on concrete professional skills. That's why the MMI is so important. Studies show that strong performance on the MMI is positively correlated with success as a health care professional (you can read up on it on the McMaster Uni MMI page) so that's where the focus is moving towards.
 
For a more concrete perspective on this, I contacted the pharmacy department earlier this fall, and the answer was something along the lines of: the breakdown for the PCAT/MMI/GPA is not published by the faculty.
 
I applied today and my applicant ID is 20141209, so I guess 209 people applied already?
 
Just curious: is it possible to get admitted with less than the preferred minimum of 5.0 full-credit equivalents full time course load fall/winter ?
 
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PharmHoppe said:
Just curious: is it possible to get admitted with less than the preferred minimum of 5.0 full-credit equivalents full time course load fall/winter ?
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Yes. My SO has the same problem having only a max of 4.5 full-credit equivalents. Here is the email they sent him:

"As stated on our website, preference will be given to applicants who have
successfully completed or will be able to successfully complete a full 5.0
credit equivalent course load from September to April. If you have a
maximum course load of 4.5 you would still be eligible for admission
consideration as long as you are able to complete all the other admission
requirements as posted on our website.
In the final selection of applicants the Faculty will choose those with the
highest overall ranking which is derived from a combination of academic
performance (cumulative average), PCAT scores and interview ratings."
 
PharmPheenix said:
Yes. My SO has the same problem having only a max of 4.5 full-credit equivalents. Here is the email they sent him:

"As stated on our website, preference will be given to applicants who have
successfully completed or will be able to successfully complete a full 5.0
credit equivalent course load from September to April. If you have a
maximum course load of 4.5 you would still be eligible for admission
consideration as long as you are able to complete all the other admission
requirements as posted on our website.
In the final selection of applicants the Faculty will choose those with the
highest overall ranking which is derived from a combination of academic
performance (cumulative average), PCAT scores and interview ratings."
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I got that reply too. I was hoping they will tell us how disadvantaged we are with less than 5.0.
 
So, I'm a little confused now. I thought you had to carry a full-credit year only ONE year in all your years that you've taken. Maybe I misunderstood, does this rule mean you had to carry a full-credit equivalent throughout ALL undergraduate years? Or just one year of full credits??

This is what is says on their website: Preference will be given to candidates with a proven ability to successfully carry a full-time course load (i.e. a minimum of 5.0 full credit course equivalents in the regular academic year).
 
TheRxLife said:
For a more concrete perspective on this, I contacted the pharmacy department earlier this fall, and the answer was something along the lines of: the breakdown for the PCAT/MMI/GPA is not published by the faculty.
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PCAT is the least important of the three. GPA and MMI are what they focus on. Source: personal experience
 
TheRxLife said:
So, I'm a little confused now. I thought you had to carry a full-credit year only ONE year in all your years that you've taken. Maybe I misunderstood, does this rule mean you had to carry a full-credit equivalent throughout ALL undergraduate years? Or just one year of full credits??

This is what is says on their website: Preference will be given to candidates with a proven ability to successfully carry a full-time course load (i.e. a minimum of 5.0 full credit course equivalents in the regular academic year).
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I remember seeing at least one full term with a 5.0 course load on their website somewhere at one point too. So I'm pretty sure just one year(or semester?) is required, but if you don't have that you can still apply anyway. 5.0 every year would rule out a good amount of applicants (me being one of them) x)
 
Corgis said:
I remember seeing at least one full term with a 5.0 course load on their website somewhere at one point too. So I'm pretty sure just one year(or semester?) is required, but if you don't have that you can still apply anyway. 5.0 every year would rule out a good amount of applicants (me being one of them) x)
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Yeah, that makes more sense to me!! I wonder how many of us will have actually completed 5.0 credits all four years!!
 
Just wondering, but did you ever take a cr/ncr course and what was your lowest amount of credits in a year? Also, when you didn't have a 5 FCE in a year, did you do a LWD?
 
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darkchaos said:
Just wondering, but did you ever take a cr/ncr course and what was your lowest amount of credits in a year? Also, when you didn't have a 5 FCE in a year, did you do a LWD?
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I'm not sure who this is directed to but I didn't even know cr/ncr courses were accepted until someone mentioned it here. I would avoid them though, guessing they assign a low grade in replacement (I could be wrong). Lowest course load I've done personally is 4.0 fce with no lwd, though again, that would be better than a fail or low grade.
Worrying about this stuff will only stress you out haha, no sense worrying about something you can't change. x) I say submit your app and let the school sort it out.
 
I rem seeing the one year full course load thing too, but I feel like that was the requirement for Bachelor of Pharmacy, since its PharmD now maybe they are being more strict? as for cr/ncr, their faq says its not included in the average, but is considered as the lowest mark needed to pass(if they need to look at it?)
 
Early bird application deadline has officially passed. Hope everyone here has already applied!!
 
ever wonder how many of us are going to be classmates at uoft? lol
 
good luck with finals everyone! stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize!
 
Do you guys think I am competitive enough for UofT pharmacy?
cGPA: 3.73 on 4.0 scale < pretty low because i decided to specialize in the chemical biology program at McMasterU
PCAT scores:
Verbal: 74
Biology: 95
RC: 87
QA: 93
Chemistry: 99
Comp: 99
Writing: 4.0
 
I don't think you have anything to worry about :'(. Your GPA is great, and your comp is amazing
😀.
 
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ngloyson said:
Do you guys think I am competitive enough for UofT pharmacy?
cGPA: 3.73 on 4.0 scale < pretty low because i decided to specialize in the chemical biology program at McMasterU
PCAT scores:
Verbal: 74
Biology: 95
RC: 87
QA: 93
Chemistry: 99
Comp: 99
Writing: 4.0
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that looks amazing! how did you prepare for your pcat? i have mine in january and will only have about three weeks to prepare.
 
ngloyson said:
Do you guys think I am competitive enough for UofT pharmacy?
cGPA: 3.73 on 4.0 scale < pretty low because i decided to specialize in the chemical biology program at McMasterU
PCAT scores:
Verbal: 74
Biology: 95
RC: 87
QA: 93
Chemistry: 99
Comp: 99
Writing: 4.0
Click to expand...
You mysterious high-scoring posters are scaring the crap out of me. LOL, great stats! 😛 I have no idea how you can do so well on reading comp.
 
yazahra89 said:
that looks amazing! how did you prepare for your pcat? i have mine in january and will only have about three weeks to prepare.
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I used mostly the Dr. Collins Set to study for the PCAT. The package contains a wide variety of practice tests for all the sections of the PCAT. It also contains concise summarized review sections for math, chemistry, vocab, and biology. However, the only place this package is lacking is the reading comprehension, the practice test provided are too simple and not a good representation of the actual PCAT section. Therefore I also recommend buying the Pearson practice test because they give you an good representation of all parts of the PCAT. I did my PCAT in the summer, and you could say i started "studying" right after my school semester finished. However, in all seriousness i study maybe 30mins a day, just reading kaplan PCAT, which by the way was mostly useless, except for reading comp. When the one month from PCAT time period approached, I broke out the Dr. Collins PCAT package, and started studying 1-2 hours a day. I mainly did a cycle of looking up words and increasing vocab for 20-30mins, reading review packages for all sections, and then doing Dr. Collins practice tests. 1 Week from the PCAT, I said to myself, "I NEED TO STUDY MORE, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE LEARNED NOTHING." At that point i bought the 3 pearson tests and practiced. Day zero...PCAT day, how was a feeling? like a million bucks?! NO, i felt soooo stressed, my friends all did the PCAT before me, and got 93-98% percentile, and since i apparently started studying "since the school year ended", i should do amazing. So i got into the center, and sat down, did all the ID stuff, and started the PCAT. First section: Essay. - 2-3 mins to read question. 2-3 minutes brainstorming on spare sheet. First thing i did was write introduction, second thing conclusion. Then i wrote my two bodies. I finished with 1 minute to spare, and i quickly checked grammar and spelling.
Second section: Verbal: Nothing to say. Studying vocab words is really hit or miss with this one, Zero of the words I studied helped with the section.
Third section: Biology: Finished in 25 minutes. Forgot what questions i guessed on, had to go back and find them. TIP: FLAG those Questions.
Fourth section: Chemistry: Dr. Collins prepared me well for the equation type questions. All the concepts question, I knew because i specialized in chemical biology. Section is straightforward sections.
Break: Used washroom, and drank water. Take a break if you feel stressed.
Fifth Section: writing: same as previous.
Sixth Section: RC: Most stressful section EVER. I recommended practicing reading fast on the computer, and not just on paper. I honestly do not know how I did so well in it. The most challenge question for me, were when they refer to words, and you have to find them. Hard to scroll up and down.
Final Section: QA.: This section is all about time management, if you think a question is going to take 30 seconds+, random an answer, flag the question and come back to it later. Yes, I believe that practice from Pearson and Dr. Collins will set you on the right path to success. I think the key to this section, is to stay focused. When i did the math section, i got really bored and distracted, because It was the last section, and didn't feel like doing it. However, focus is a most.

Here is a helpful thread for further studying advice: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...egy-using-dr-collins-material-for-90.1024921/

I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes. Nicholas
 
Truth is, no one can tell for sure until you do your interview. This is because the school doesn't rank you only based on GPA and PCAT. Rather, they form a composite score based on your GPA/PCAT/MMI. Then they rank all the applicants according to their unpublished composite score calculations. So that's the most accurate answer I can speculate for both you and I. Others may take a stab at a "chances" answer which is probably purely speculative.
 
gtong said:
Looking over my transcipt and seeing some not so great marks thats are required: stats (69), physics (68), orgo (65). Other courses are okay and I'm expecting ~80 cumulative average by the end of this year. PCATs in the 80s. So how does it look? Really bad? Am I gonna be flagged for weak in science? 🙁
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I'm in the same boat if it makes you feel any better, had a rough first year haha, but otherwise my marks are great... It's a shame how much a couple crappy marks can bring down your otherwise stellar gpa. ):
 
Hello! 🙂 This is my first time applying for UT and my second time applying to Waterloo! If anyone has questions regarding Waterloo app feel free to ask. I read over a lot of the posts and notice that everyone here is really competitive! Makes applying for pharmacy that much scarier now...Haha!
Best of luck to everyone! 🙂
 
Woot! finally winter break. The forums are really quiet this year, or maybe its still early 😛
Just wondering, anyone know the current state of job prospects in Ontario for pharmacists?
 
Does anyone have any update on the number of applicants so far?
 
Hope everyone had a great Holiday vacation. :joyful:
 
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rollcc said:
Woot! finally winter break. The forums are really quiet this year, or maybe its still early 😛
Just wondering, anyone know the current state of job prospects in Ontario for pharmacists?
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In ON it's looking really good, especially if you'd consider working outside of the major cities. However in Toronto, salaries are being pushed downwards by the large amount of grads coming from U of T and Waterloo. But in terms of actual job availability, it's stellar. You'll never have a problem finding a job once you get the PharmD.
 
apedicelli said:
In ON it's looking really good, especially if you'd consider working outside of the major cities. However in Toronto, salaries are being pushed downwards by the large amount of grads coming from U of T and Waterloo. But in terms of actual job availability, it's stellar. You'll never have a problem finding a job once you get the PharmD.
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Do any veterans know what PCAT comp is competitive at UofT? Surely, it can't be the figures on their website...I'm guessing 70+ comp is good?
 
In ON it's looking really good, especially if you'd consider working outside of the major cities. However in Toronto, salaries are being pushed downwards by the large amount of grads coming from U of T and Waterloo. But in terms of actual job availability, it's stellar. You'll never have a problem finding a job once you get the PharmD.
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That's great news indeed! :woot:
 
TheRxLife said:
Do any veterans know what PCAT comp is competitive at UofT? Surely, it can't be the figures on their website...I'm guessing 70+ comp is good?
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Above 70 is definitely average. I would say competitive would be 80+.
 
i'm writing my pcat on jan 20th! I'm so scared because i have not touched my books! and i have 10 days left! i know i pushed to very last minute but i've just been having a very difficult time (grandma's been very sick). is there anything i can do in these 10 days to make sure I do well on the pcat. looking at getting somewhere in the 80s.
 
yazahra89 said:
i'm writing my pcat on jan 20th! I'm so scared because i have not touched my books! and i have 10 days left! i know i pushed to very last minute but i've just been having a very difficult time (grandma's been very sick). is there anything i can do in these 10 days to make sure I do well on the pcat. looking at getting somewhere in the 80s.
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I know you said you were at Waterloo before, I'm assuming now that they didn't require the PCAT?

As for studying...honestly, depends on how much brushing up you have to do. Kaplan is good, and so is Dr. Collin's.
 
There are over 700 applicants this year (over 100 more compared to last year)... which is likely due to the new implemented PharmD program.
 
^^that much applicants and this forum is dead compared to last year's?
 
yazahra89 said:
i'm writing my pcat on jan 20th! I'm so scared because i have not touched my books! and i have 10 days left! i know i pushed to very last minute but i've just been having a very difficult time (grandma's been very sick). is there anything i can do in these 10 days to make sure I do well on the pcat. looking at getting somewhere in the 80s.
Click to expand...
Get the pearson practice tests if you haven't already. You need to practice doing questions similar to the actual pcat at this point and also work on your timing. Make sure you go over every question from those tests and know how to answer them all, there will be similar types of questions on the real thing.
 
jord093 said:
There are over 700 applicants this year (over 100 more compared to last year)... which is likely due to the new implemented PharmD program.
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Wow...that's insane. Did you get this directly from the admissions office??
 
jord093 said:
There are over 700 applicants this year (over 100 more compared to last year)... which is likely due to the new implemented PharmD program.
Click to expand...

I'm finding that very hard to believe. Might just fake an application to see the number myself. lol
 
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