University of Waterloo Application Thread

[yazahra89]

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the wait is so tough, someone come up with something to keep us busy BESIDES STUDYING lol

 

[helloeveryone]

the wait is so tough, someone come up with something to keep us busy BESIDES STUDYING lol

lol, you can count the stars at night... hehe.

Kidding aside, I find that when I'm at school time goes by SUPER fast because I have always something to study for etc. But this reading weak is going so slow for me, I feel your pain 🙁

 

[Rxgurl]

Those of you who are re-applying (if any), do they tell you the reason for rejection? Are they general or specific?

 

[yazahra89]

Those of you who are re-applying (if any), do they tell you the reason for rejection? Are they general or specific?

No, they don't give a reason for the rejection.

 

[Hot Pot]

Hey guys, I've decided to compile a list of FAQs and answers - hopefully this will answer most of your questions.Q: How many applicants are interviewed and how many are accepted? A: Most of you know this already; 240 interviewed, 120 accepted. Q: What should we do for our 5-10 minute spiel?A: As the email from Louise might have mentioned already, "this is NOT the time to describe your academic achievements at length, recite your CV, or describe your ambitions for a career as a pharmacist". First you have to ask yourself what is one thing that you are passionate about? For many ppl this can be completely off-topic from pharmacy, health care, or anything along the lines of "helping people". Let me give some examples:- your passion in a particular area; dance, music, camping, just to come up with examples on the spot 😛 - you're a hardcore traveler and want to share the different cultures and religions you gained appreciation of- you were part of student government and did something spectacular, or something you thought you weren't able to do- you were involved in some project and the turnout was great, or not so much, but you learned something out of it..Whatever you decide to talk about, remember to have a powerful conclusion at the end of the interview to tell the panel why they should know this about you. Afterall, they really aren't THAT interested in your personal life (to be realistic here 😛), but what they want to do is to be able to make the connection between the experience you just described to an attitude or behaviour that is desired in the profession. If you can make that connection for them in ur conclusion they'll do less work, be happier, and score you more points 😛 Also, remember that it's not just the content that they're paying attention to; some ppl are good at making eye contact only when they are listening, speaking, or neither. Your goal is to do that for all instances but do not glare at them 😛; shows that you are attentive and observant of your surroundings. Watch for non-verbal behaviour (i.e. interviewer looking bored or anticipating you to provide a better example to illustrate a point you just said)i.e. a passionate dancer can elaborate on their committment to things in life, once they have made a decision pursue a goal. This is a trait that pharmacists should have.Q: What kinds of questions are asked?For me they were all behavioural-type; for example, "tell me a time when you showed so-and-so trait". The trait can be persuasive skills, problem-solving, communicating with people who are unwilling to listen, etc. These parallel the kinds of situations that pharmacists deal with on a regular basis, like talking to difficult patients and dealing with compliance issues, which is why they would ask questions like that.Remember everytime you're about to speak, structure your answer. Do not ramble. which is something i did..not good lol. It's very easy to go on a tangent and then suddenly realize that there was no good purpose of saying it. Not only does it waste interview time, it also misses the oumph of your answer. Have an introduction to briefly describe the situation, be clear on the type of problem you had to address, how you went to address/solve the problem (or attempted to), and what you learned from the experience to wrap up. Do this for every single question.If there are any at-the-spot questions, for eg. "what would you do if you were in this situation?" then take some time to think about it if you need to (not for too long). Don't feel pressured to jump into it right away and risk giving choppy answers that lack coherency. I can't give much advice on this since I haven't had any of this type, but mock interviewers will definitely give you good practice.Q: What is the RC/WT like?Last year this was a scientific article (about 8 pages) with the usual components intro, methods, discussion, conclusion. We had to summarize it and write in a tone that targets a university student population. Time limit was 50 minutes. The article assumes that you will have some basic knowledge in statistics like p values, but really..content wise there's nothing to worry about. The article will very unlikely describe some novel cancer gene or protein structure that has some crazy active site with so and so amino acids.. none of that. So no need to read up on a molecular bio textbook the night before..but do practice summarizing articles in a set time limit. THey want to know that you are able to pinpoint the important points under time pressure and piece it together. Summarize each part (intro, methods) on its own and try to have them flow from one to the next. It's definitely much more a test of your writing/reading filtering abilities rather than knowledge of the subject matter itself. Are you guys actually getting a scientific article this year? Who knows..they might even change it around..Q: How are the different components weighed?Keep in mind, once you are in the interview stage, the admissions committee is already pretty comfortable with your academic competence. The interview is to see how well you can interact with others. Our applications last year were closed file (prolly for you guys too), so it's nice that they don't want your marks or "resume components" to set any biased views on the interview panel.. which means that your interviewers will really know nothing about you and you're starting off with a blank slate.I would say that the interview is weighed more heavily than the RC/WT, cuz i thought i did pretty horribly on the test hahaha. The exact breakdown is not published. But be assured that marks should not be a major concern for you right now. The only reason they would go back to your online application is to make sure pre-reqs are completed and final exam marks are not horrible.. other than that, your interview day is the really the day to shine and make the lasting impression.I think that's pretty much all the questions you guys asked..feel free to remind me of more as they pop up.. and before i close it off, here are some additional tips though i'm sure you've heard enough of them already 😛1. Relax, relax, relax. The more you do the better your interview performance, and the more opportunity for light humour to enter the atmosphere.. that always makes things more positive for the interview panel. (use humour carefully!)2. If there is one thing that wins the interview panel, it would be your passion. It's observed in the way you answer your questions, the way you conduct yourself, body-language. Don't use it more than you feel natural doing but do try to use some hand gestures occasionally to communicate the message more effecitvely. 3. Get enough sleep the night before.4. Don't get intimidated by what other interviewees bring with them to the interview. These can range from resume copies to laptops to karate gear to paintings to..nothing at all (=me). (i'm glad sadiq isn't on SDN.. or maybe he is ahhaha). These ppl bring what they feel are necessary to illustrate their passion/interests and will help them communicate their 5-10 min spiel more effectively. If you feel that you don't need that kinda stuff, chances are, you don't. Trust you instincts and make your interview experience your own, not on others' standards.5. Try to have some fun in the interview. Your interviews will pretty tired by the time you walk in, (depending on which slot you're in). Regardless of what happens, it's the experience that you're getting =)aight boys and girls, that's it for me for now.

 

[yazahra89]

Hey guys, I've decided to compile a list of FAQs and answers - hopefully this will answer most of your questions.Q: How many applicants are interviewed and how many are accepted? A: Most of you know this already; 240 interviewed, 120 accepted. Q: What should we do for our 5-10 minute spiel?A: As the email from Louise might have mentioned already, "this is NOT the time to describe your academic achievements at length, recite your CV, or describe your ambitions for a career as a pharmacist". First you have to ask yourself what is one thing that you are passionate about? For many ppl this can be completely off-topic from pharmacy, health care, or anything along the lines of "helping people". Let me give some examples:- your passion in a particular area; dance, music, camping, just to come up with examples on the spot 😛 - you're a hardcore traveler and want to share the different cultures and religions you gained appreciation of- you were part of student government and did something spectacular, or something you thought you weren't able to do- you were involved in some project and the turnout was great, or not so much, but you learned something out of it..Whatever you decide to talk about, remember to have a powerful conclusion at the end of the interview to tell the panel why they should know this about you. Afterall, they really aren't THAT interested in your personal life (to be realistic here 😛), but what they want to do is to be able to make the connection between the experience you just described to an attitude or behaviour that is desired in the profession. If you can make that connection for them in ur conclusion they'll do less work, be happier, and score you more points 😛 Also, remember that it's not just the content that they're paying attention to; some ppl are good at making eye contact only when they are listening, speaking, or neither. Your goal is to do that for all instances but do not glare at them 😛; shows that you are attentive and observant of your surroundings. Watch for non-verbal behaviour (i.e. interviewer looking bored or anticipating you to provide a better example to illustrate a point you just said)i.e. a passionate dancer can elaborate on their committment to things in life, once they have made a decision pursue a goal. This is a trait that pharmacists should have.Q: What kinds of questions are asked?For me they were all behavioural-type; for example, "tell me a time when you showed so-and-so trait". The trait can be persuasive skills, problem-solving, communicating with people who are unwilling to listen, etc. These parallel the kinds of situations that pharmacists deal with on a regular basis, like talking to difficult patients and dealing with compliance issues, which is why they would ask questions like that.Remember everytime you're about to speak, structure your answer. Do not ramble. which is something i did..not good lol. It's very easy to go on a tangent and then suddenly realize that there was no good purpose of saying it. Not only does it waste interview time, it also misses the oumph of your answer. Have an introduction to briefly describe the situation, be clear on the type of problem you had to address, how you went to address/solve the problem (or attempted to), and what you learned from the experience to wrap up. Do this for every single question.If there are any at-the-spot questions, for eg. "what would you do if you were in this situation?" then take some time to think about it if you need to (not for too long). Don't feel pressured to jump into it right away and risk giving choppy answers that lack coherency. I can't give much advice on this since I haven't had any of this type, but mock interviewers will definitely give you good practice.Q: What is the RC/WT like?Last year this was a scientific article (about 8 pages) with the usual components intro, methods, discussion, conclusion. We had to summarize it and write in a tone that targets a university student population. Time limit was 50 minutes. The article assumes that you will have some basic knowledge in statistics like p values, but really..content wise there's nothing to worry about. The article will very unlikely describe some novel cancer gene or protein structure that has some crazy active site with so and so amino acids.. none of that. So no need to read up on a molecular bio textbook the night before..but do practice summarizing articles in a set time limit. THey want to know that you are able to pinpoint the important points under time pressure and piece it together. Summarize each part (intro, methods) on its own and try to have them flow from one to the next. It's definitely much more a test of your writing/reading filtering abilities rather than knowledge of the subject matter itself. Are you guys actually getting a scientific article this year? Who knows..they might even change it around..Q: How are the different components weighed?Keep in mind, once you are in the interview stage, the admissions committee is already pretty comfortable with your academic competence. The interview is to see how well you can interact with others. Our applications last year were closed file (prolly for you guys too), so it's nice that they don't want your marks or "resume components" to set any biased views on the interview panel.. which means that your interviewers will really know nothing about you and you're starting off with a blank slate.I would say that the interview is weighed more heavily than the RC/WT, cuz i thought i did pretty horribly on the test hahaha. The exact breakdown is not published. But be assured that marks should not be a major concern for you right now. The only reason they would go back to your online application is to make sure pre-reqs are completed and final exam marks are not horrible.. other than that, your interview day is the really the day to shine and make the lasting impression.I think that's pretty much all the questions you guys asked..feel free to remind me of more as they pop up.. and before i close it off, here are some additional tips though i'm sure you've heard enough of them already 😛1. Relax, relax, relax. The more you do the better your interview performance, and the more opportunity for light humour to enter the atmosphere.. that always makes things more positive for the interview panel. (use humour carefully!)2. If there is one thing that wins the interview panel, it would be your passion. It's observed in the way you answer your questions, the way you conduct yourself, body-language. Don't use it more than you feel natural doing but do try to use some hand gestures occasionally to communicate the message more effecitvely. 3. Get enough sleep the night before.4. Don't get intimidated by what other interviewees bring with them to the interview. These can range from resume copies to laptops to karate gear to paintings to..nothing at all (=me). (i'm glad sadiq isn't on SDN.. or maybe he is ahhaha). These ppl bring what they feel are necessary to illustrate their passion/interests and will help them communicate their 5-10 min spiel more effectively. If you feel that you don't need that kinda stuff, chances are, you don't. Trust you instincts and make your interview experience your own, not on others' standards.5. Try to have some fun in the interview. Your interviews will pretty tired by the time you walk in, (depending on which slot you're in). Regardless of what happens, it's the experience that you're getting =)aight boys and girls, that's it for me for now.

wow, thank you so much for putting that together.. it's greatly appreciated.

I was wondering... when choosing applicants for the interviews, will they look at individual grades? in my case, i have one C grade, one B and one B+.. (all three are pre-reqs for pharm, but i provided an explanation for the C) the rest are As and A+s .. will those three grades, particularly the C, put me at a disadvantage?
Thank you so much.

 

[Rxgurl]

No, they don't give a reason for the rejection.

wow, really? I don't think that's right. How would the applicants know where they went wrong? I mean there are three major things to evaluate: transcript, Reference letter, and AP.

 

[Rxgurl]

Hey guys, I've decided to compile a list of FAQs and answers - hopefully this will answer most of your questions.Q: How many applicants are interviewed and how many are accepted? A: Most of you know this already; 240 interviewed, 120 accepted. Q: What should we do for our 5-10 minute spiel?A: As the email from Louise might have mentioned already, "this is NOT the time to describe your academic achievements at length, recite your CV, or describe your ambitions for a career as a pharmacist". First you have to ask yourself what is one thing that you are passionate about? For many ppl this can be completely off-topic from pharmacy, health care, or anything along the lines of "helping people". Let me give some examples:- your passion in a particular area; dance, music, camping, just to come up with examples on the spot 😛 - you're a hardcore traveler and want to share the different cultures and religions you gained appreciation of- you were part of student government and did something spectacular, or something you thought you weren't able to do- you were involved in some project and the turnout was great, or not so much, but you learned something out of it..Whatever you decide to talk about, remember to have a powerful conclusion at the end of the interview to tell the panel why they should know this about you. Afterall, they really aren't THAT interested in your personal life (to be realistic here 😛), but what they want to do is to be able to make the connection between the experience you just described to an attitude or behaviour that is desired in the profession. If you can make that connection for them in ur conclusion they'll do less work, be happier, and score you more points 😛 Also, remember that it's not just the content that they're paying attention to; some ppl are good at making eye contact only when they are listening, speaking, or neither. Your goal is to do that for all instances but do not glare at them 😛; shows that you are attentive and observant of your surroundings. Watch for non-verbal behaviour (i.e. interviewer looking bored or anticipating you to provide a better example to illustrate a point you just said)i.e. a passionate dancer can elaborate on their committment to things in life, once they have made a decision pursue a goal. This is a trait that pharmacists should have.Q: What kinds of questions are asked?For me they were all behavioural-type; for example, "tell me a time when you showed so-and-so trait". The trait can be persuasive skills, problem-solving, communicating with people who are unwilling to listen, etc. These parallel the kinds of situations that pharmacists deal with on a regular basis, like talking to difficult patients and dealing with compliance issues, which is why they would ask questions like that.Remember everytime you're about to speak, structure your answer. Do not ramble. which is something i did..not good lol. It's very easy to go on a tangent and then suddenly realize that there was no good purpose of saying it. Not only does it waste interview time, it also misses the oumph of your answer. Have an introduction to briefly describe the situation, be clear on the type of problem you had to address, how you went to address/solve the problem (or attempted to), and what you learned from the experience to wrap up. Do this for every single question.If there are any at-the-spot questions, for eg. "what would you do if you were in this situation?" then take some time to think about it if you need to (not for too long). Don't feel pressured to jump into it right away and risk giving choppy answers that lack coherency. I can't give much advice on this since I haven't had any of this type, but mock interviewers will definitely give you good practice.Q: What is the RC/WT like?Last year this was a scientific article (about 8 pages) with the usual components intro, methods, discussion, conclusion. We had to summarize it and write in a tone that targets a university student population. Time limit was 50 minutes. The article assumes that you will have some basic knowledge in statistics like p values, but really..content wise there's nothing to worry about. The article will very unlikely describe some novel cancer gene or protein structure that has some crazy active site with so and so amino acids.. none of that. So no need to read up on a molecular bio textbook the night before..but do practice summarizing articles in a set time limit. THey want to know that you are able to pinpoint the important points under time pressure and piece it together. Summarize each part (intro, methods) on its own and try to have them flow from one to the next. It's definitely much more a test of your writing/reading filtering abilities rather than knowledge of the subject matter itself. Are you guys actually getting a scientific article this year? Who knows..they might even change it around..Q: How are the different components weighed?Keep in mind, once you are in the interview stage, the admissions committee is already pretty comfortable with your academic competence. The interview is to see how well you can interact with others. Our applications last year were closed file (prolly for you guys too), so it's nice that they don't want your marks or "resume components" to set any biased views on the interview panel.. which means that your interviewers will really know nothing about you and you're starting off with a blank slate.I would say that the interview is weighed more heavily than the RC/WT, cuz i thought i did pretty horribly on the test hahaha. The exact breakdown is not published. But be assured that marks should not be a major concern for you right now. The only reason they would go back to your online application is to make sure pre-reqs are completed and final exam marks are not horrible.. other than that, your interview day is the really the day to shine and make the lasting impression.I think that's pretty much all the questions you guys asked..feel free to remind me of more as they pop up.. and before i close it off, here are some additional tips though i'm sure you've heard enough of them already 😛1. Relax, relax, relax. The more you do the better your interview performance, and the more opportunity for light humour to enter the atmosphere.. that always makes things more positive for the interview panel. (use humour carefully!)2. If there is one thing that wins the interview panel, it would be your passion. It's observed in the way you answer your questions, the way you conduct yourself, body-language. Don't use it more than you feel natural doing but do try to use some hand gestures occasionally to communicate the message more effecitvely. 3. Get enough sleep the night before.4. Don't get intimidated by what other interviewees bring with them to the interview. These can range from resume copies to laptops to karate gear to paintings to..nothing at all (=me). (i'm glad sadiq isn't on SDN.. or maybe he is ahhaha). These ppl bring what they feel are necessary to illustrate their passion/interests and will help them communicate their 5-10 min spiel more effectively. If you feel that you don't need that kinda stuff, chances are, you don't. Trust you instincts and make your interview experience your own, not on others' standards.5. Try to have some fun in the interview. Your interviews will pretty tired by the time you walk in, (depending on which slot you're in). Regardless of what happens, it's the experience that you're getting =)aight boys and girls, that's it for me for now.

Yes indeed thank you for your information. This would be very helpful once we get invited to the interview!

 

[yazahra89]

wow, really? I don't think that's right. How would the applicants know where they went wrong? I mean there are three major things to evaluate: transcript, Reference letter, and AP.

Yeah, it sucks.

 

[helloeveryone]

Hey guys, I've decided to compile a list of FAQs and answers - hopefully this will answer most of your questions.Q: How many applicants are interviewed and how many are accepted? A: Most of you know this already; 240 interviewed, 120 accepted. Q: What should we do for our 5-10 minute spiel?A: As the email from Louise might have mentioned already, "this is NOT the time to describe your academic achievements at length, recite your CV, or describe your ambitions for a career as a pharmacist". First you have to ask yourself what is one thing that you are passionate about? For many ppl this can be completely off-topic from pharmacy, health care, or anything along the lines of "helping people". Let me give some examples:- your passion in a particular area; dance, music, camping, just to come up with examples on the spot 😛 - you're a hardcore traveler and want to share the different cultures and religions you gained appreciation of- you were part of student government and did something spectacular, or something you thought you weren't able to do- you were involved in some project and the turnout was great, or not so much, but you learned something out of it..Whatever you decide to talk about, remember to have a powerful conclusion at the end of the interview to tell the panel why they should know this about you. Afterall, they really aren't THAT interested in your personal life (to be realistic here 😛), but what they want to do is to be able to make the connection between the experience you just described to an attitude or behaviour that is desired in the profession. If you can make that connection for them in ur conclusion they'll do less work, be happier, and score you more points 😛 Also, remember that it's not just the content that they're paying attention to; some ppl are good at making eye contact only when they are listening, speaking, or neither. Your goal is to do that for all instances but do not glare at them 😛; shows that you are attentive and observant of your surroundings. Watch for non-verbal behaviour (i.e. interviewer looking bored or anticipating you to provide a better example to illustrate a point you just said)i.e. a passionate dancer can elaborate on their committment to things in life, once they have made a decision pursue a goal. This is a trait that pharmacists should have.Q: What kinds of questions are asked?For me they were all behavioural-type; for example, "tell me a time when you showed so-and-so trait". The trait can be persuasive skills, problem-solving, communicating with people who are unwilling to listen, etc. These parallel the kinds of situations that pharmacists deal with on a regular basis, like talking to difficult patients and dealing with compliance issues, which is why they would ask questions like that.Remember everytime you're about to speak, structure your answer. Do not ramble. which is something i did..not good lol. It's very easy to go on a tangent and then suddenly realize that there was no good purpose of saying it. Not only does it waste interview time, it also misses the oumph of your answer. Have an introduction to briefly describe the situation, be clear on the type of problem you had to address, how you went to address/solve the problem (or attempted to), and what you learned from the experience to wrap up. Do this for every single question.If there are any at-the-spot questions, for eg. "what would you do if you were in this situation?" then take some time to think about it if you need to (not for too long). Don't feel pressured to jump into it right away and risk giving choppy answers that lack coherency. I can't give much advice on this since I haven't had any of this type, but mock interviewers will definitely give you good practice.Q: What is the RC/WT like?Last year this was a scientific article (about 8 pages) with the usual components intro, methods, discussion, conclusion. We had to summarize it and write in a tone that targets a university student population. Time limit was 50 minutes. The article assumes that you will have some basic knowledge in statistics like p values, but really..content wise there's nothing to worry about. The article will very unlikely describe some novel cancer gene or protein structure that has some crazy active site with so and so amino acids.. none of that. So no need to read up on a molecular bio textbook the night before..but do practice summarizing articles in a set time limit. THey want to know that you are able to pinpoint the important points under time pressure and piece it together. Summarize each part (intro, methods) on its own and try to have them flow from one to the next. It's definitely much more a test of your writing/reading filtering abilities rather than knowledge of the subject matter itself. Are you guys actually getting a scientific article this year? Who knows..they might even change it around..Q: How are the different components weighed?Keep in mind, once you are in the interview stage, the admissions committee is already pretty comfortable with your academic competence. The interview is to see how well you can interact with others. Our applications last year were closed file (prolly for you guys too), so it's nice that they don't want your marks or "resume components" to set any biased views on the interview panel.. which means that your interviewers will really know nothing about you and you're starting off with a blank slate.I would say that the interview is weighed more heavily than the RC/WT, cuz i thought i did pretty horribly on the test hahaha. The exact breakdown is not published. But be assured that marks should not be a major concern for you right now. The only reason they would go back to your online application is to make sure pre-reqs are completed and final exam marks are not horrible.. other than that, your interview day is the really the day to shine and make the lasting impression.I think that's pretty much all the questions you guys asked..feel free to remind me of more as they pop up.. and before i close it off, here are some additional tips though i'm sure you've heard enough of them already 😛1. Relax, relax, relax. The more you do the better your interview performance, and the more opportunity for light humour to enter the atmosphere.. that always makes things more positive for the interview panel. (use humour carefully!)2. If there is one thing that wins the interview panel, it would be your passion. It's observed in the way you answer your questions, the way you conduct yourself, body-language. Don't use it more than you feel natural doing but do try to use some hand gestures occasionally to communicate the message more effecitvely. 3. Get enough sleep the night before.4. Don't get intimidated by what other interviewees bring with them to the interview. These can range from resume copies to laptops to karate gear to paintings to..nothing at all (=me). (i'm glad sadiq isn't on SDN.. or maybe he is ahhaha). These ppl bring what they feel are necessary to illustrate their passion/interests and will help them communicate their 5-10 min spiel more effectively. If you feel that you don't need that kinda stuff, chances are, you don't. Trust you instincts and make your interview experience your own, not on others' standards.5. Try to have some fun in the interview. Your interviews will pretty tired by the time you walk in, (depending on which slot you're in). Regardless of what happens, it's the experience that you're getting =)aight boys and girls, that's it for me for now.

Oh wow, thank you very much for the time you took to help us out 🙂

I had a question, do the interviewers read your AP profile before you walk in? And do they ask questions about what you wrote in your application?


On a separate note, would you mind if I ask where you are studying now, Waterloo or UofT? And what made you decide to attend your chosen school?

Thanks again 🙂 👍

 

[PhArMaCiSt1]

Hey guys, I've decided to compile a list of FAQs and answers - hopefully this will answer most of your questions.Q: How many applicants are interviewed and how many are accepted? A: Most of you know this already; 240 interviewed, 120 accepted. Q: What should we do for our 5-10 minute spiel?A: As the email from Louise might have mentioned already, "this is NOT the time to describe your academic achievements at length, recite your CV, or describe your ambitions for a career as a pharmacist". First you have to ask yourself what is one thing that you are passionate about? For many ppl this can be completely off-topic from pharmacy, health care, or anything along the lines of "helping people". Let me give some examples:- your passion in a particular area; dance, music, camping, just to come up with examples on the spot 😛 - you're a hardcore traveler and want to share the different cultures and religions you gained appreciation of- you were part of student government and did something spectacular, or something you thought you weren't able to do- you were involved in some project and the turnout was great, or not so much, but you learned something out of it..Whatever you decide to talk about, remember to have a powerful conclusion at the end of the interview to tell the panel why they should know this about you. Afterall, they really aren't THAT interested in your personal life (to be realistic here 😛), but what they want to do is to be able to make the connection between the experience you just described to an attitude or behaviour that is desired in the profession. If you can make that connection for them in ur conclusion they'll do less work, be happier, and score you more points 😛 Also, remember that it's not just the content that they're paying attention to; some ppl are good at making eye contact only when they are listening, speaking, or neither. Your goal is to do that for all instances but do not glare at them 😛; shows that you are attentive and observant of your surroundings. Watch for non-verbal behaviour (i.e. interviewer looking bored or anticipating you to provide a better example to illustrate a point you just said)i.e. a passionate dancer can elaborate on their committment to things in life, once they have made a decision pursue a goal. This is a trait that pharmacists should have.Q: What kinds of questions are asked?For me they were all behavioural-type; for example, "tell me a time when you showed so-and-so trait". The trait can be persuasive skills, problem-solving, communicating with people who are unwilling to listen, etc. These parallel the kinds of situations that pharmacists deal with on a regular basis, like talking to difficult patients and dealing with compliance issues, which is why they would ask questions like that.Remember everytime you're about to speak, structure your answer. Do not ramble. which is something i did..not good lol. It's very easy to go on a tangent and then suddenly realize that there was no good purpose of saying it. Not only does it waste interview time, it also misses the oumph of your answer. Have an introduction to briefly describe the situation, be clear on the type of problem you had to address, how you went to address/solve the problem (or attempted to), and what you learned from the experience to wrap up. Do this for every single question.If there are any at-the-spot questions, for eg. "what would you do if you were in this situation?" then take some time to think about it if you need to (not for too long). Don't feel pressured to jump into it right away and risk giving choppy answers that lack coherency. I can't give much advice on this since I haven't had any of this type, but mock interviewers will definitely give you good practice.Q: What is the RC/WT like?Last year this was a scientific article (about 8 pages) with the usual components intro, methods, discussion, conclusion. We had to summarize it and write in a tone that targets a university student population. Time limit was 50 minutes. The article assumes that you will have some basic knowledge in statistics like p values, but really..content wise there's nothing to worry about. The article will very unlikely describe some novel cancer gene or protein structure that has some crazy active site with so and so amino acids.. none of that. So no need to read up on a molecular bio textbook the night before..but do practice summarizing articles in a set time limit. THey want to know that you are able to pinpoint the important points under time pressure and piece it together. Summarize each part (intro, methods) on its own and try to have them flow from one to the next. It's definitely much more a test of your writing/reading filtering abilities rather than knowledge of the subject matter itself. Are you guys actually getting a scientific article this year? Who knows..they might even change it around..Q: How are the different components weighed?Keep in mind, once you are in the interview stage, the admissions committee is already pretty comfortable with your academic competence. The interview is to see how well you can interact with others. Our applications last year were closed file (prolly for you guys too), so it's nice that they don't want your marks or "resume components" to set any biased views on the interview panel.. which means that your interviewers will really know nothing about you and you're starting off with a blank slate.I would say that the interview is weighed more heavily than the RC/WT, cuz i thought i did pretty horribly on the test hahaha. The exact breakdown is not published. But be assured that marks should not be a major concern for you right now. The only reason they would go back to your online application is to make sure pre-reqs are completed and final exam marks are not horrible.. other than that, your interview day is the really the day to shine and make the lasting impression.I think that's pretty much all the questions you guys asked..feel free to remind me of more as they pop up.. and before i close it off, here are some additional tips though i'm sure you've heard enough of them already 😛1. Relax, relax, relax. The more you do the better your interview performance, and the more opportunity for light humour to enter the atmosphere.. that always makes things more positive for the interview panel. (use humour carefully!)2. If there is one thing that wins the interview panel, it would be your passion. It's observed in the way you answer your questions, the way you conduct yourself, body-language. Don't use it more than you feel natural doing but do try to use some hand gestures occasionally to communicate the message more effecitvely. 3. Get enough sleep the night before.4. Don't get intimidated by what other interviewees bring with them to the interview. These can range from resume copies to laptops to karate gear to paintings to..nothing at all (=me). (i'm glad sadiq isn't on SDN.. or maybe he is ahhaha). These ppl bring what they feel are necessary to illustrate their passion/interests and will help them communicate their 5-10 min spiel more effectively. If you feel that you don't need that kinda stuff, chances are, you don't. Trust you instincts and make your interview experience your own, not on others' standards.5. Try to have some fun in the interview. Your interviews will pretty tired by the time you walk in, (depending on which slot you're in). Regardless of what happens, it's the experience that you're getting =)aight boys and girls, that's it for me for now.

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH for this information; I know it must've taken a while to write out 😀. I kinda have a better idea of the interview process now but I'm still thinking about what I should tell them in the 5-10mins 🙄🙄 lol btw since they are interviewing 240 people in 2 days, how long does each interview last and how many sets of interviewers are there (just wondering)?

 

[Hot Pot]

Waterloo admission statistic average:

average to get in : 82% ish
almost 50% have a bachelors
about 80% have previous employed pharmacy experience (mostly retail, but also includes hospital and industry)
about 30% did their undergrad at UW
only 1 I think is out of province
that's about it I think.

 

[Hot Pot]

I am just very curious, if both U of T and Waterloo give you offers, which school will you go?

Go to U of T if you are financially in good shape if not , go to Waterloo because by either ways you will end as pharmacist anyhow but with less financial burden .😉

 

[chemtai]

Go to U of T if you are financially in good shape if not , go to Waterloo because by either ways you will end as pharmacist anyhow but with less financial burden .😉

Personally speaking, U of Toronto is always my first choice. But, I am not living in Toronto area and am financially self-supporting myself. Therefore, U of Waterloo will be my top priority now.

 

[pharmacy0]

question:

Waterloo states that their tuition is 7,500 per academic term so does that mean per 4 months (fall, winter, summer)??

 

[Hot Pot]

question:

Waterloo states that their tuition is 7,500 per academic term so does that mean per 4 months (fall, winter, summer)??

Yeah, you are right. There are 2 academic terms and one work term per year.🙂

 

[yazahra89]

Waterloo also mentions that the paid co-op between terms will help students pay for their tuition. I have a question though, does OSAP cover graduate programs as easily as they cover undergrad?

 

[yazahra89]

lol, you can count the stars at night... hehe.

Kidding aside, I find that when I'm at school time goes by SUPER fast because I have always something to study for etc. But this reading weak is going so slow for me, I feel your pain 🙁

I need April 7 to come fast, but at the same time I don't because exams will start

 

[nylo]

Thanks Hot Pot! Insightful advice 🙂

 

[helloeveryone]

wow people, it's been over a week with no posts... where is all the enthusiasm? 😛

 

[yazahra89]

wow people, it's been over a week with no posts... where is all the enthusiasm? 😛

exams are taking over my life 😡

 

[yazahra89]

29 more days left!!!! time is flying by... before we know it we'll be talking about our interviews!

 

[UWpharm12]

Hey guys,
I am a 2nd year student at UW. I have also applied this year...CANT WAIT TO HEAR BACK ABOUT THE INTERVIEWS..27 more dayyyyysss =O
Good luck everyone 🙂

 

[Rxgurl]

Hey guys,
I am a 2nd year student at UW. I have also applied this year...CANT WAIT TO HEAR BACK ABOUT THE INTERVIEWS..27 more dayyyyysss =O
Good luck everyone 🙂

Good Luck 🙂

 

[helloeveryone]

did anyone else, beside me, got an email today from Julie asking you for your "online student record" ???

I don't know what they mean by that, does that mean we have to send them a transcript again??? 😕😕😕

 

[1ive2die]

did anyone else, beside me, got an email today from Julie asking you for your "online student record" ???

I don't know what they mean by that, does that mean we have to send them a transcript again??? 😕😕😕

Didn't receive any e-mail like that. Did you fill in all your pre-req courses in the supplementary application form? Or did you take any online courses for which you didn't send the transcript in?

 

[mochaswirl]

did anyone else, beside me, got an email today from Julie asking you for your "online student record" ???

I don't know what they mean by that, does that mean we have to send them a transcript again??? 😕😕😕

yup i got this as well. you don't have to send a transcript, just something that documents what courses you are currently registered in for this session (i.e. the 2010/2011 session). because you applied early (probably in august?) the most updated transcript that UW received was around august and this wouldn't have had record of the courses for this year.

so just send her a screenshot of an online grade report or program summary that shows your current courses and that is sufficient.

 

[helloeveryone]

yup i got this as well. you don't have to send a transcript, just something that documents what courses you are currently registered in for this session (i.e. the 2010/2011 session). because you applied early (probably in august?) the most updated transcript that UW received was around august and this wouldn't have had record of the courses for this year.

so just send her a screenshot of an online grade report or program summary that shows your current courses and that is sufficient.

That's what I did, I applied early and apparently they got my transcript way back in september (hence no marks for this year were on that transcript)... I just sent them a snap-shot of my grade book, hope that's sufficient and hope that I am not disadvantaged for not having an official up-to-date transcript on their fine :/

 

[yazahra89]

20 more days!!

 

[1ive2die]

That's what I did, I applied early and apparently they got my transcript way back in september (hence no marks for this year were on that transcript)... I just sent them a snap-shot of my grade book, hope that's sufficient and hope that I am not disadvantaged for not having an official up-to-date transcript on their fine :/

Don't they need your first semester marks to calculate an average?

 

[mochaswirl]

Don't they need your first semester marks to calculate an average?

I don't think they use the 1st semester grades in the calculation right now, but they do look at them in june, which is when they request a final transcript which would have 1st and 2nd semester grades. For interview decisions, I guess they only consider the years you have completed already.

 

[UWpharm12]

I don't think they use the 1st semester grades in the calculation right now, but they do look at them in june, which is when they request a final transcript which would have 1st and 2nd semester grades. For interview decisions, I guess they only consider the years you have completed already.

To calculate the average they are basing whether or not you get an interview on is all the academic terms you have completed, including the first semester of this school year (Sept 10-Dec10)


19 dayyyyyyyss… =D (I have a question for people who applied before, do they post on quest whether or not we got an interview or do they only mail out their decisions?)

 

[yazahra89]

Hey UWpharm12,

They will email you the decision on April 7th (usually in the AM) and will also update Quest. You will also receive a letter in the mail.

 

[yazahra89]

I can't waitttt for decisions to be finally made out, but I'm scared for my thermo mark (it wasn't that great). Does anyone know anything about individual grades - do they look at each grade individually for the required courses, or do they only consider an overall average?

 

[yazahra89]

Does anyone know how they assign interview dates?

 

[UWpharm12]

Hey UWpharm12,

They will email you the decision on April 7th (usually in the AM) and will also update Quest. You will also receive a letter in the mail.

Thank you 🙂
Did you get an interview last time you applied?

As for marks, they want your overall average to be 75%+ however not every pre-req has to be over 75%..I heard they pay special attention to chemistry and math marks though :S

As for interview, I am pretty sure they randomly choose people for different dates/times.

 

[mochaswirl]

Thank you 🙂
Did you get an interview last time you applied?

As for marks, they want your overall average to be 75%+ however not every pre-req has to be over 75%..I heard they pay special attention to chemistry and math marks though :S

As for interview, I am pretty sure they randomly choose people for different dates/times.

yikes...math?! why 🙁 i completely bombed calc II 🙁🙁

i really hope they don't pay attention to individual marks for each pre-req, my first year was horrendous. 🙁

 

[yazahra89]

I really hope they don't look at each mark individually (especially chem - i did really well in every chem except thermo).
Also, do you guys think there is going to be a minimum grade? I know that UofT flags any grades under a C+ - and most flagged students will be rejected.
Anyways, I found this while I was searching for conversions for UWaterloo:
A+ 95
A 89
A- 83
B+ 78
B 75
B- 72
C+ 68
C 65
C- 62
D+ 58
D 55
D- 52
F+ 46
F 38
F- 32

So it may help you calculate your percentage grade.. I don't know if it is the same one the pharmacy school is using though.

 

[mochaswirl]

I really hope they don't look at each mark individually (especially chem - i did really well in every chem except thermo).
Also, do you guys think there is going to be a minimum grade? I know that UofT flags any grades under a C+ - and most flagged students will be rejected.
Anyways, I found this while I was searching for conversions for UWaterloo:
A+ 95
A 89
A- 83
B+ 78
B 75
B- 72
C+ 68
C 65
C- 62
D+ 58
D 55
D- 52
F+ 46
F 38
F- 32

So it may help you calculate your percentage grade.. I don't know if it is the same one the pharmacy school is using though.

not true...they seem to take improvement into consideration, and one bad grade should not put someone at a disadvantage

If your chemistry grades are consistently in the ‘D' to ‘C- "range (50 - 63% equivalent at U of T) on your first attempt at the courses, you will be flagged as ‘weak in chemistry'. Applicants may be disadvantaged during final selections for poor performance in chemistry and/or science subjects at the university level regardless of overall academic performance or performance in other criteria

 

[yazahra89]

not true...they seem to take improvement into consideration, and one bad grade should not put someone at a disadvantage

If your chemistry grades are consistently in the ‘D' to ‘C- "range (50 - 63% equivalent at U of T) on your first attempt at the courses, you will be flagged as ‘weak in chemistry'. Applicants may be disadvantaged during final selections for poor performance in chemistry and/or science subjects at the university level regardless of overall academic performance or performance in other criteria

I heard the thing about flagging from a few people who have applied to that school (some three times)
I really hope its not the same for UW

 

[yazahra89]

Okay... I'm kinda freaking out - I emailed Louise about the minimum required average.. and she said that we need a 75% overall average in all courses (given) AS WELL AS in all required courses to be considered into the program (does this mean that I need a 75% in each required course to be considered?). I have one B and one C (the rest are As and A+s) could they really be that harsh?

 

[mochaswirl]

Okay... I'm kinda freaking out - I emailed Louise about the minimum required average.. and she said that we need a 75% overall average in all courses (given) AS WELL AS in all required courses to be considered into the program (does this mean that I need a 75% in each required course to be considered?). I have one B and one C (the rest are As and A+s) could they really be that harsh?

well if she said you need a 75% average in the required courses then that means the required courses should AVERAGE to 75% not that you need 75% in each (75% in each would just be absolutely insane, and i doubt very many people have that).

also i happen to know someone who got admitted for the limited seats that became available jan 2011 who had a not so great first year, so this refutes that you need 75% in each course.

 

[yazahra89]

well if she said you need a 75% average in the required courses then that means the required courses should AVERAGE to 75% not that you need 75% in each (75% in each would just be absolutely insane, and i doubt very many people have that).

also i happen to know someone who got admitted for the limited seats that became available jan 2011 who had a not so great first year, so this refutes that you need 75% in each course.

im praying for you to be right honestly, one bad grade or w.e shouldn't harm someone's chances of getting in - i freaked out cuz this is exactly what it said: "You will need a 75% overall average (all courses) as well as in the required courses to be considered for our program."

i'm really starting to get annoyed with this whole application system in North America - everyone deserves a shot at being what they want to be.

 

[Rxgurl]

Isn't it kind of late to be talking about this now?
All we have to do is wait....not much left anyways. Just cross your fingers and hope for the best. April 7 is coming up really fast!

 

[yazahra89]

14 more days!!

 

[Mtl2011]

Any other out-of-provincers?

 

[Mtl2011]

Does anyone know if we re-took a pre-req they look at both grades or just the higher one?

 

[yazahra89]

Does anyone know if we re-took a pre-req they look at both grades or just the higher one?

Hey, I'm not really sure but this is what it says on the site:

22. Are repeated attempts of specific courses included in admission assessments?Yes. The Admissions Committee will review all academic attempts for prerequisite courses including the course load (expected that 5 full year or 10 semester course credits are ‘normal load’). The School does not recommend that ‘mark upgrade’ attempts be made once the passing grade is achieved.

 

[Mtl2011]

Thanks yazahra89. I guess that means they take both grades into consideration when calculating your % average. I only repeated one pre-req to increase it from a B- to an A, I hope it's not a huge deal. 😕

What does the course load have to do with anything? I know they want to see if we are able to handle a full course load but what does it have to do with this answer? lol

 

[yazahra89]

Thanks yazahra89. I guess that means they take both grades into consideration when calculating your % average. I only repeated one pre-req to increase it from a B- to an A, I hope it's not a huge deal. 😕

What does the course load have to do with anything? I know they want to see if we are able to handle a full course load but what does it have to do with this answer? lol

I guess they mean that they take everything into consideration, including the course load (whether or not you took a full course load during your undergrad years). I don't think a B- would be a huge deal. How are your stats like?