University of Waterloo c/o 2018

[dan09]

I also got into both and from my old brothers experience I will probably choose U of T. The coop at UW is mostly self arranged. He had to get his own placement set up. So don't get tricked with the coop term. The placements are extremely competitive. at UW your placements will most likely be in rural areas which is fine if you want retail pharmacy. but if you are considering clinical or hospital pharmacy then you might want to consider UofT. I am talking from my brothers personal experience. I hope that helps some people

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[pharmwannabe23]

Thanks for the information Dan! It seems that both universities have their pros and cons. I've heard positive and negative things from students attending both programs. In the end, it's a personal decision made based on you weighing out what's most important to you and what you're comfortable with. Either way, we should be proud of ourselves for making it this far and putting in so much effort to get where we are. Best of luck to everyone deciding on which university to accept, and to those on the waiting list, don't lose hope!

 

[Cyou]

Keep in mind that people trying to persuade others into accepting u of t offers could be Waterloo wait listers!

 

[justapharmer]

Well another lucky person is going to get off the wait list

I was accepted by Waterloo, UofT, and UBC, but I think I'm going to go with UofT. The way I see it is that I can always accumulate more experience, and there will always be opportunities out in the work field. While finding employment is competitive right now, I believe that I will eventually find employment somewhere. However, the university that I choose to attend right now will stay with me (and on my CV) for the rest of my professional career. UofT has a more prestigious reputation, and may play a role in forming a first impression. I can always fix a "lack of experience" with time.

Anyway, just my two cents. I'm going to share my stats below for reference:

GPA: 3.6/4.0 (finished my BSc in Pharmacology)
PCAT: 99 (5 on writing)

Experience:
not that much actually. I only started volunteering at a long term care facility in my last year of university. When I started applications, I had only started for maybe a month or so.

Other EC:
- research for 2 summers + 1 year on 3 different projects
- VP of some school club (I was a member for all 3 yrs of university)
- part time job for 2 yrs

Interview:
I thought I did very average. I was very nervous and stumbled over a bunch of words, and I know I didn't answer 1 or 2 answers very well. With the behavioural type questions, I tried to give stories that were not related to my CV (even though the interview was closed file), and I tried to talk about situations that happened in my everyday life. For example, instead of talking about how I contributed to a philanthropy project, I talked about how I helped a friend (more personal, and relatable imo). I don't know if my strategy helped me or hindered me, but my reasoning was that they would always be able to read about my accomplishments in my CV after the interview when they have to make a decision, but they may not always hear these stories that truly represent what I'm like on a daily basis. Again, I don't know if it made a difference, but I guess the interviewers liked what they saw.

 

[pharmwannabe23]

Hey everyone!

A friend and I just created an unofficial group on FB for those who will be attending Waterloo's Pharmacy Class of 2018.

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/639096246178326/

Join away!

 

[123pharm321]

Right now i'm debating on whether i should continue living near the waterloo main campus or move closer to the pharmacy school....I would like to be closer to main campus to continue my extracurricular activities and to keep in better/easier contact with friends from other majors. But being closer to my studies would also be easier on my mornings lolll xD Where are you guys planning to live around?

 

[Grey Arrow]

I've heard that the main campus is not too far away (20 min bus ride) but I think I'd still like to live closer to the pharm building since I'm not a morning person and we have early classes and also since we'd be spending most of our day there. The closer the better for me

I think we have most if not all of our classes at the pharm building so I don't see a point to be near main campus haha.

 

[aqua_flare]

Hey everyone, has anyone here volunteered (not worked) or know anyone who volunteered at a hospital pharmacy? I'm volunteering at one right now and the volunteer coordinator doesn't let me do anything, even discouraging me from asking any questions because the staff is "too busy to teach a volunteer". Is this normal, because I'm not a "real" pharmacy student yet :S ?

 

[123pharm321]

Hey everyone, has anyone here volunteered (not worked) or know anyone who volunteered at a hospital pharmacy? I'm volunteering at one right now and the volunteer coordinator doesn't let me do anything, even discouraging me from asking any questions because the staff is "too busy to teach a volunteer". Is this normal, because I'm not a "real" pharmacy student yet :S ?

Hi aqua, I'm currently volunteering/job shadowing a pharmacist at a hospital. I was originally suppose to only help the pharmacy technicians with filing and other misc. tasks. However, I got lucky since I was volunteering with a very nice tech during my shifts. When I asked if I could job shadow a pharmacist, she called up a pharmacist to help me out Now, I'm spending more time with the pharmacist and following her during her morning rounds. I'm also learning a lot about psychotic drugs (the hospital I volunteer at is mainly for patients with psychotic disorders) since she gives me weekly homework LOL. I think your best chance would be to ask a pharmacist or a pharmacist technician to see if you could take some time to job shadow.

 

[aqua_flare]

Hi aqua, I'm currently volunteering/job shadowing a pharmacist at a hospital. I was originally suppose to only help the pharmacy technicians with filing and other misc. tasks. However, I got lucky since I was volunteering with a very nice tech during my shifts. When I asked if I could job shadow a pharmacist, she called up a pharmacist to help me out Now, I'm spending more time with the pharmacist and following her during her morning rounds. I'm also learning a lot about psychotic drugs (the hospital I volunteer at is mainly for patients with psychotic disorders) since she gives me weekly homework LOL. I think your best chance would be to ask a pharmacist or a pharmacist technician to see if you could take some time to job shadow.

Thank you for your insight! I'll definitely give it a shot

 

[PHMAPPL]

I also got into both and from my old brothers experience I will probably choose U of T. The coop at UW is mostly self arranged. He had to get his own placement set up. So don't get tricked with the coop term. The placements are extremely competitive. at UW your placements will most likely be in rural areas which is fine if you want retail pharmacy. but if you are considering clinical or hospital pharmacy then you might want to consider UofT. I am talking from my brothers personal experience. I hope that helps some people

Rural communities have hospitals and clinics/family health teams as well...

 

[Grey Arrow]

Rural communities have hospitals and clinics/family health teams as well...

I spoke to a current waterloo pharm student and she said that "rural" basically means any pharmacy that isn't within the GTA.

 

[pms_testosterone]

Rejected after interview
cGPA around 79%
Work in a pharmacy
Lots of ECs but very few are science or health-related

The test is easy (just write really fast!) The interview was quite difficult for me, though - the interview panel members were nice enough, but had flat affect (they had maybe 5 non-neutral facial expressions between them, throughout the whole interview!), were not really interested in chatting, and weren't allowed to clarify questions.
If anyone's still around in this thread - especially rather introverted people - and was accepted, I'd love to ask you how you passed the interview. PM me? Thanks!

 

[UWpharm2015]

Accepted from waitlist on June 26th!

cGPA around 80%
Work in a pharmacy for 6+ years
Not a lot of ECs, but they included volunteer work at a hospital, research project (nothing related to pharmacy), sports.

I found the test easy, although you have to manage your time to do well. I felt very comfortable during the interview, the panel members were very nice and seemed interested in my talk. I asked a couple of questions at the end of the interview, so it ended more as a casual conversation.

This was my first time applying and only applied to UW, so I am definitely grateful for the opportunity to join Rx 2018!
Good luck to all future applicants!

 

[phenolred]

I also got into both and from my old brothers experience I will probably choose U of T. The coop at UW is mostly self arranged. He had to get his own placement set up. So don't get tricked with the coop term. The placements are extremely competitive. at UW your placements will most likely be in rural areas which is fine if you want retail pharmacy. but if you are considering clinical or hospital pharmacy then you might want to consider UofT. I am talking from my brothers personal experience. I hope that helps some people

I know you guys have already decided which school is the best fit for you, but as a current 4th year UW student and soon to be graduate, I thought I would give you some positive insight to look forward too! In my experience, as well as most of my classmates, the coop experiences, although not without its challenges has been the most valuable asset of our education. I am very involved with many aspects of the program and the positive view of UW coop students and graduates by employers is growing rapidly. In the past few years, UW students have managed to obtained over half of the very few and very competitive hospital residency positions positions in Ontario, even with half the number of graduates compared to UofT. UW students have very good reputations amongst the pharmacy community and the UofT name on your resume is irrelevant at this point.

For those of you who have suggested or heard from other students that coop opportunities are limited and students are either forced to self-arrange or move to rural areas, I encourage you to speak with as many sources as possible as people's experiences vary greatly on this topic. Self-arranging is an option for those who prefer specific locations or setting or know someone they want to work with. However, there are SO many amazing opportunities through the UW coop system. I myself, looked forward to every coop round and was able to work in community, hospital and family health team settings including in Toronto at one point. You have heard that UW looks to admit "well-rounded" students and this is because the admission process and school environment is looking for students willing to embrace these opportunities, take chances, and foster growth throughout these experiences.

I am completely aware that my feeling towards UW are bias and everyone has their own fit. But that is my point! Choose your fit! If you are considering UW do not be afraid of the coop aspect because I do not believe there is a single graduate that leaves regretting the many opportunities and connections they made, even if it meant moving outside of their comfort zone for 4 months.

Anyways, sorry for my rant! I really just wanted to shed some positive light for those of you starting in January and also those considering to apply in the future! To those already admitted, congratulations and get ready to meet a lot of amazing people!

 

[BerryGirl7]

To be honest my avg is the bare min of 75%... even my pre-req avg was around 73ish % so I wasn't expecting an interview. BUT I did volunteer at a retail pharmacy (my LOF) and the pharmacy department in a hospital and worked for Health Canada for HR last summer. That and I had a whole bunch of EC

Hi, @GreyArrow I'm applying to uWaterloo and my average is also like yours. I am very worried I will not get an interview. I have plenty of pharmacy retail experience and my LOR is from a pharmacist I currently work with. I have quite a bit of extra circulars and was executive for a few schools clubs. I heard that if you don't meet the 75% average during initial screening, they wont even look at the rest of the application. Do you know if this is true?

 

[Apharm4ever]

Does anyone know what happens if we get admitted and fail to complete a pre-requisite course before we start?