University of Toronto Pharmacy 2019

[LuckyCharm]

I took the PCAT today and here are my stats:

Comp: 84
Verbal: 13 (LOL)
Bio: 51
Reading Comp: 56
Qua. Abi.: 98
Chem: 98

cGPA:around 3.5 - 3.6 (~82%)

My comp seems ridiculously high for my subtest scores, don't know if there was an error or not lol.

I know my verbal sucked big time so I praying the the cutoff score for verbal remains 10, I am going to take the PCAT again in Jan anyway. What do you guys think of my chances?

PS: 2nd year U of T student.

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[lululala33]

I took the PCAT today !
Here are my preliminary scores :

VA: 87
Biology: 95
RC: 36
QA: 98
Chemistry: 99
Composite: 98

I am really bummed out about the RC, do you think it is worth rewriting ? I really really would hate to rewrite it but I will have to if it is necessary :/.
P.S., it is my second time writing

My cumulative average is around 82%!

Do you guys think I am competitive for this year? I got rejected last year with a 76 PCAT composite so I am paranoid.

 

[LuckyCharm]

I took the PCAT today !
Here are my preliminary scores :

VA: 87
Biology: 95
RC: 36
QA: 98
Chemistry: 99
Composite: 98

I am really bummed out about the RC, do you think it is worth rewriting ? I really really would hate to rewrite it but I will have to if it is necessary :/.
P.S., it is my second time writing

My cumulative average is around 82%!

Do you guys think I am competitive for this year? I got rejected last year with a 76 PCAT composite so I am paranoid.

uhhh. you got a 98 comp man, no reason to retake at all lol.

 

[lululala33]

uhhh. you got a 98 comp man, no reason to retake at all lol.

Man, I am just worried about the low RC .. sometimes they raise the cut-offs after interviews . Either way though, I am pretty certain I will not rewrite !

 

[Mfrus]

Hey Guys,
This is my first time applying and I am in my fourth and final year of undergrad. Been taking a full course load since first year.

I just wanted to know if my stats are good?

cGPA 82% or 3.71/4.00
PCAT Comp 75
BIO 92
CHM 96
QA 75
RC 35
VA 25
Writing 4.5

Are my stats too low? do you think ill get an interview? Possible acceptance?

 

[pharma-ninja]

just curious, what did you guys use as your humanities/social sci course requirements?

also, @kirino thanks for being so helpful!

 

[Rxgurl]

Hey guys,
Anyone know what is the best date to pick for an interview: March 28, March 29, or May 9?

 

[PharmacyHopeful1]

How much does a good score on the PCAT compensate for a poor grade in a class? If I did really well on the chemistry part of the PCAT, would that make up for a poor grade in organic chem in their eyes?

Also, is a pretty steep upward trend and 4 years of full course load enough to make up for some bad grades?

Sorry, I know there is no definitive answer here but I'm just trying to get into their head and find out what I can possibly do to make up for the mistakes I made in my prereq classes.

 

[kirino]

How much does a good score on the PCAT compensate for a poor grade in a class? If I did really well on the chemistry part of the PCAT, would that make up for a poor grade in organic chem in their eyes?

Also, is a pretty steep upward trend and 4 years of full course load enough to make up for some bad grades?

Sorry, I know there is no definitive answer here but I'm just trying to get into their head and find out what I can possibly do to make up for the mistakes I made in my prereq classes.

Good PCAT definitely shows that you aren't necessarily "weak" on the subject matter taught in that class. Upward trends are very favourable for you. I really wouldn't worry about having a low mark in orgo unless it wasn't a passing grade... I think they look for at least a 60.

...and I still believe that interviews are the best determinant of admission, provided you have at least a mid-range gpa/PCAT (over 3, over 80)

 

[Suspense]

H

Got accepted for 1t8. Very good PCAT not so good GPA. Feel free to ask me questions!

How did you prepare yourself for the PCAT? I'm using Kaplan book, do you think that's enough?

 

[Suspense]

Hi all,
I applied for the 2014 admission cycle, was upper-half waitlisted and not offered admission. I rewrote the PCAT a couple of weeks ago and improved my score:
VA 98
Bio 84
RC 99
QA 97
Chem 99
Composite 99

Composite when I wrote the PCAT the first time around was 81 and my bio section was embarrassingly low (...still my lowest section), so you can imagine how happy I was with my results the second time around.

cGPA is around 3.6, currently in my third year of undergrad.
Best of luck to everybody applying this cycle![/QUOTE
How did you study for the PCAT?

 

[kein]

Kaplan was good, but its chem section is harder than it needs to be. So don't get too stressed out about chem. If you understand everything in the Kaplan book then you're good for the exam.

I used Kaplan and an online vocab flashcard for the verbal section. I still only scored 74 for that section. Lawl... 54 in RC- And managed to get a 96.

H


How did you prepare yourself for the PCAT? I'm using Kaplan book, do you think that's enough?

 

[farz556]

I heard they have a discovery stream where you can start another degree in addition to the Pharm. Do they have joint pharmd/PhD? Ive been thinking about doing both degrees somehow if I get accepted, but again it depends on how long it takes, usually its around 8 years at other schools and even 6 at some in the USA

 

[isabels]

Hey guys,
I took the PCAT last year and I am wondering if I should retake it.

My score:
VR 52
Bio 79
RC 45
QA 95
Chem 95

Comp 85
Writing 3.5

This is my first time applying. Should I retake it?

 

[kirino]

Hey guys,
I took the PCAT last year and I am wondering if I should retake it.

My score:
VR 52
Bio 79
RC 45
QA 95
Chem 95

Comp 85
Writing 3.5

This is my first time applying. Should I retake it?

Looks good enough to me

 

[Sherry_pharmd]

Looks good enough to me

it seems like you know everything about the stats .. would you mind telling me if I'm competitive enough for u of t with really marginal GPA just passing the cutoffs and my PCAT score is
VA 52
Bio 89
RC 25 lol
QA 97
Chem 88
Composite 84
do I have any chance of getting in ?
and one more question how did you study for the interviews ? did you read a book or something for ethical questions ? any suggestion on how to study for mmi would be appreciated

 

[penguinss]

Hi, I am not very familiar with the school. Can I ask if UT PharmD graduates can practice pharmacy in US? Are you all from Canada?

 

[kirino]

it seems like you know everything about the stats .. would you mind telling me if I'm competitive enough for u of t with really marginal GPA just passing the cutoffs and my PCAT score is
VA 52
Bio 89
RC 25 lol
QA 97
Chem 88
Composite 84
do I have any chance of getting in ?
and one more question how did you study for the interviews ? did you read a book or something for ethical questions ? any suggestion on how to study for mmi would be appreciated

Depends what marginal is.. I'd recommend at least a 3.0 to be safe. Your PCAT is "fine" but there will be those with better scores. Based on this information alone, yes, you have a chance of getting in. However I also know of people with 3.5+ cGPA and 90+ PCAT who did not get in because of their interview... it really seems that the interview is worth much more than the academic stats.

I didn't study for interviews. You can't really study for them. There are no right answers, it's more of an exercise to see how you think and tackle challenges.

 

[Abe99]

Got accepted for 1t8. Very good PCAT not so good GPA. Feel free to ask me questions!

uhm im wondering if you can shed some light on your weekly schedule in terms of school since you got admitted, like how many hours of "class/lectures" and do you have any practical aspect during the 4 years ? or is just the rotations that you do to get your license after your graduate ? also how does UofT prepares you for the MCQ exam ? etc. the more details the better

 

[ouvririci]

.

 

[tross]

Hi everyone, for U of T to get our PCAT marks do just have to enter the CID in the application? Because when I signed up for the pcat I did not select to send the marks to U of T. Is the CID all they need?

Thanks alot

 

[kein]

uhm im wondering if you can shed some light on your weekly schedule in terms of school since you got admitted, like how many hours of "class/lectures" and do you have any practical aspect during the 4 years ? or is just the rotations that you do to get your license after your graduate ? also how does UofT prepares you for the MCQ exam ? etc. the more details the better

We have about 3-4 hours of class a day plus one two hour block on Wednesday for extra lecturing (doesn't happen every week, mainly the first couple of weeks). Physiology is online, so is Pharmacy Informatics. We have an 8 course course load, but some of these courses are very light in terms of content. We have EPE (early practice experience) at the end of our first and second year. We have to look for a pharmacy to volunteer at. Our 4th year is a rotation year, we work at 7 different pharmacies, 2 of them being in hospitals.

As for license, there is a board exam you have to write after you graduate.

MCQ uhh... can't answer that. hahah I just study the slides and make sure I understand everything. Some courses are very detail oriented. You'll figure that out as you go.

 

[Abe99]

We have about 3-4 hours of class a day plus one two hour block on Wednesday for extra lecturing (doesn't happen every week, mainly the first couple of weeks). Physiology is online, so is Pharmacy Informatics. We have an 8 course course load, but some of these courses are very light in terms of content. We have EPE (early practice experience) at the end of our first and second year. We have to look for a pharmacy to volunteer at. Our 4th year is a rotation year, we work at 7 different pharmacies, 2 of them being in hospitals.

As for license, there is a board exam you have to write after you graduate.

MCQ uhh... can't answer that. hahah I just study the slides and make sure I understand everything. Some courses are very detail oriented. You'll figure that out as you go.

oh thats interesting, so does EPE happening during the summer or during the year ? and as for the board exam, how does UofT prepare you for that?

 

[PharmacyHopeful1]

Which prep course best represents what is actually on the PCAT for organic chem? I've heard that there's barely anything from orgo II but I want to make sure I don't miss anything for that section.

 

[iggyazalea]

Which prep course best represents what is actually on the PCAT for organic chem? I've heard that there's barely anything from orgo II but I want to make sure I don't miss anything for that section.

dr collins is recommended for the chem section of the pcat.

 

[eee]

Which prep course best represents what is actually on the PCAT for organic chem? I've heard that there's barely anything from orgo II but I want to make sure I don't miss anything for that section.

Dr Collins practice tests were extremely similar to the actual PCAT in all of the sections. It was a little too easy for RC though...

 

[eee]

I'm a 1T8.

PCAT comp.: 98
cGPA: 3.82/4.3 (~82%)
I thought I did poorly in 2 interview stations, ok in 2 more, and really well in the other 6.

The median age in the class seems to be 22 (got in immediately after finishing BSc.)

Hating my life right now studying for exam #7 of 8 in the past two weeks...

 

[greentea326]

I feel like I'm least prepared for the verbal and essay writing sections...for those of you who took the PCAT, did Dr. Collins help with the analogies? How difficult should we expect the essay topics to be?

 

[ipharmacist2015]

I feel like I'm least prepared for the verbal and essay writing sections...for those of you who took the PCAT, did Dr. Collins help with the analogies? How difficult should we expect the essay topics to be?

Dr. Collins definitely helped with the analogies. You should memorize the words and analogies he provides because I had at least 6 words that were exactly from his tests. In terms of the essay, it's a hit or miss. You either know the topic or you don't, but for the most part they're general controversial topics that ask you to suggest a solution to a certain problem that is currently trending in the world (ex. Obesity, drunk driving, etc.)

 

[greentea326]

Dr. Collins definitely helped with the analogies. You should memorize the words and analogies he provides because I had at least 6 words that were exactly from his tests. In terms of the essay, it's a hit or miss. You either know the topic or you don't, but for the most part they're general controversial topics that ask you to suggest a solution to a certain problem that is currently trending in the world (ex. Obesity, drunk driving, etc.)

Thanks! Would you guys say that Dr. Collins alone is sufficient prep? I looked at the Kaplan guides and the amount of detail especially for bio and chem is overwhelming...

 

[ipharmacist2015]

Thanks! Would you guys say that Dr. Collins alone is sufficient prep? I looked at the Kaplan guides and the amount of detail especially for bio and chem is overwhelming...

I would say it prepares you well for the chem section, not so much for math and bio. It's a good guide but you need to study other sources if you want to do extremely well, especially if you want a composite above 90. I mainly used dr.collins and Pearson practice tests to study and I ended up with 84 composite.

 

[eee]

Thanks! Would you guys say that Dr. Collins alone is sufficient prep? I looked at the Kaplan guides and the amount of detail especially for bio and chem is overwhelming...

I also used Dr. Collins and the Pearson practice test. I think that was a great combination (ended up with a 98 comp.).
For the writing section, I found writing as many practice essays as I could helped me get a feel for the time constriction and taught me how to quickly come up with a general structure for the paper.
I don't think any of the Dr. Collins analogies were on my PCAT...

Somebody else asked about studying for the MMIs. A lot of people say there isn't much you can prepare for, but I found that understanding the role of the pharmacist (especially with the recently expanded scope of practice) and having a general idea of the ethics of healthcare really helped guide my responses... but only for some of the stations. Others were just completely random.

 

[eee]

I also used Dr. Collins and the Pearson practice test. I think that was a great combination (ended up with a 98 comp.)..

I just realized I brought up my 98 in successive posts. Sorry for sounding like a d-bag.

 

[tross]

For people outside Toronto, how's the living costs and conditions? Was it easy finding a roommate, and all that stuff?

 

[Futbol99]

hey guys.. do those who apply after the Early bird applications but before the deadline have any sort of disadvantage in gaining admission vs those who applied early?

 

[ipharmacist2015]

hey guys.. do those who apply after the Early bird applications but before the deadline have any sort of disadvantage in gaining admission vs those who applied early?

I've heard that early bird applicants are given priority for interview date request. I'm not sure about admission though.

 

[pharma-ninja]

this page is so dead lol

i'm writing the PCAT in a week! any advice?

 

[greentea326]

^Same!!! Thank goodness we have the holidays to study

 

[pharma-ninja]

^Same!!! Thank goodness we have the holidays to study

yeah! i'm so nervous though. I feel like I don't know enough, and there's only 6 days left till the test!! i've been studying from the Kaplan book + the practice tests Pearson offers, how about you?

 

[NS04]

yeah! i'm so nervous though. I feel like I don't know enough, and there's only 6 days left till the test!! i've been studying from the Kaplan book + the practice tests Pearson offers, how about you?

how long have you been studying? The test isn't as bad as it seems. Kaplan is good book but its very detailed and I just didn't have the will power to go through that whole book. I found it to be pretty helpful overall and if you went through it enough and did the pearson tests I think you should be fine. The results from the last pearson test will be pretty similar to your actual mark.

I know people who studied like few weeks or just one week and got 90+ percentile so it's definitely doable.

 

[greentea326]

yeah! i'm so nervous though. I feel like I don't know enough, and there's only 6 days left till the test!! i've been studying from the Kaplan book + the practice tests Pearson offers, how about you?

I've been using Dr. Collins, and the Pearson tests. I also borrowed a Kaplan book, but like they said, it is very detailed!

 

[pharma-ninja]

how long have you been studying? The test isn't as bad as it seems. Kaplan is good book but its very detailed and I just didn't have the will power to go through that whole book. I found it to be pretty helpful overall and if you went through it enough and did the pearson tests I think you should be fine. The results from the last pearson test will be pretty similar to your actual mark.

I know people who studied like few weeks or just one week and got 90+ percentile so it's definitely doable.

oh man that makes me feel so much better. I started studying in the beginning of December and I've gotten through most of the Kaplan book. thank you for your insight!!

 

[Jloyay]

When you guys say GPA, are you talking overall or just the prereqs?

 

[Ashley996633]

I know they look at your overall GPA with all courses.

Also, we only need 2 semesters of humanities or social sciences right?

 

[Jloyay]

^ Yup that is correct. My PCAT is tomorrow and I went through the Kaplan book+ some calculus book. Hope that is good enough prep.

 

[pharm4000]

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with one of the questions on the application. It asks "How many years of university level study will you have completed by June 2015?"

I will have completed 7 semesters by June, since I took a semester off last year. I'm a little confused as to what I'm supposed to put. Since I took a semester off would that be considered 3.5 years or would I still put 4 years?

 

[Jloyay]

Just did my PCAT with these scores in the prelim:

Verbal: 437 94
Biology: 447 97
RC: 415 78
QA: 430 91
Chemistry: 484 99
Composite: 443 99

My cGPA from undergrad which I graduated from last June was 3.56 (overall avg around 81%- meh). How much room does that leave me to screw up the interview (If I fail)? Also, how hard is it to get 3 on the writing section? I did the 3 paragraph thing (intro, rebuttal to counter, and summary) and I can only hope.

 

[Royaltea]

Hey guys,

I've been reading these threads for the past 3 years now and it is finally my turn to apply for the Pharm D program at U of T. Weeeee!

cGPA - 78% ... Messed up my 1st year but GPA over my last 3 years only is 85%
PCAT 1 - 68 Composite ... Wasn't prepared
PCAT 2 - 79 Composite ... Not the best of the best but I'm pretty happy about it!
Bsc with Hons. Spec. in Chemistry and Minor in Psychology from Western after this semester

Anyone know anyone else who also had similar difficulties with 1st year and/or writing the PCAT multiple times but still got in?

Let me know your thoughts of my chances and good luck to you all!

 

[Jloyay]

Your cGPA is pretty good but your PCAT score should ideally be 80+. I think you have a decent shot if you go into the interview and do well. Good luck! Hopefully I can get to meet some fellow applicants here.

 

[eku154]

How much can a low score on one section of the pcat affect your chances? Im asking because my pcat score was:
Bio 98
Chem 99
Quant 95
Verbal 78
RC 25*****
Comp 95

My cGPA is 3.83 so it would suck if that 25 RC score is the reason i dont get in