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I think they look at average percentage, but not 100% sure. Because the average percentage is a common ground to all schools, but the cGPA scales differ from school to school. Anyways, in your case, both your cGPA and percentage are really competitive.
For the AIF, I basically explained why I want to be a pharmacist, and how I'll use the degree. And how my values and goals in life are in line with the pharmacy profession. Oh and make sure to mention why YOU would make a good pharmacist.
For the AIF, I basically explained why I want to be a pharmacist, and how I'll use the degree. And how my values and goals in life are in line with the pharmacy profession. Oh and make sure to mention why YOU would make a good pharmacist.
I have been admitted into Jan 2016 program, I did 3 years of undergrad at uWaterloo, and we were always given % on transcripts, and also the requirements for pharmacy, average admission average are all given in %, therefore it is safe to assume % is what they look at. Also I would say be careful on the AIF and reference, I applied the year before, but I did not put enough effort into my AIF, I concentrated on just being a pharmacist, and missed out on a lot of my other EC involvements but second time I mentioned everything. I think they are looking at you as a whole person, not just as a pharmacist, and also the reference isnt really in your control, but you can try requesting the pharmacist to try to make it detailed, its good to get it while volunteering or soon after instead of delaying so that all the things he/she observed about you are fresh in mind. I did not receive an interview the previous time I applied, second time I received an interview and got in. Both years I had the pre-reqs met, and after completing 3rd year, my grades did not change much, so I think the difference was due to AIF and LOR. Those 2 must be taken seriously.
So I have one year of 4.5 course load and the rest are 4.0. I'll have a full course load this year though.
Anyone know how this will affect my chances?
Anyone know how this will affect my chances?
@ready4med19 I have multiple semesters of 3.0 course loads. I called them and they advised me to take a full course load in the year prior to the start of the pharm program. Since you're taking a full course load this year, you should be fine. All they want to know is whether you can handle 5 courses. That being said, they also say "preference is given to students who demonstrate the ability to handle a full course load with satisfactory performance". I'm not sure what that means, but I'm assuming that course load is a sort of tie breaker between students with comparable stats.
Hey guys,
I need some advice. I REALLY want to apply to the Waterloo pharmacy program for January 2017. I have completed my degree and I have a 92% average. The problem is that I will be missing two prerequisite courses and I will not be able to take them until the summer. Do you think they will still consider me and is there a spot on the AIF to explain that I have plans to complete the courses before I start the pharm program?
Additionally, I do not have a pharmacist as a reference, but I do have my pharmacology prof who could vouch for my competence in the subject and my personality for the profession. Is it okay not to have a pharmacist complete the reference letter?
I need some advice. I REALLY want to apply to the Waterloo pharmacy program for January 2017. I have completed my degree and I have a 92% average. The problem is that I will be missing two prerequisite courses and I will not be able to take them until the summer. Do you think they will still consider me and is there a spot on the AIF to explain that I have plans to complete the courses before I start the pharm program?
Additionally, I do not have a pharmacist as a reference, but I do have my pharmacology prof who could vouch for my competence in the subject and my personality for the profession. Is it okay not to have a pharmacist complete the reference letter?
you get the chance to explain regarding the courses, however you will need a pharmacist reference, in AIF it specifically asks for pharmacist and the questions they ask the pharmacist for the reference are pharmacy related (I will not disclose the actual questions) but it is best that a pharmacist does it, also its the quality of experience that matters, so you still have time you can start volunteering now and get a reference, marks dont really think matter as much since I applied in 2nd year with a certain avg, but not a great LOR and lack of EC, however in my 3rd year, I improved my ECs, and gained more experience and the pharmacist took the time and made a better effort to do my reference, and my grades dropped slightly, but I got in.
Okay good to know! Thank you. I really don't have time to do any shadowing in pharmacy. I will be away all of December and decided a little late to apply. But I have a LOT of extracurricular experience. I have worked in a hospital setting, lots of research, lots of clinical experience and a lot of leadership as well. Might have to reconsider if they exclusively require a pharmacist as a reference though 🙁
I believe you can use a doctor or nurse as a reference, but not a professor.
And they frequently allow accepted students to take required courses in the summer/fall before the program starts.
And they frequently allow accepted students to take required courses in the summer/fall before the program starts.
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What was your average the second time around if you don't mind sharing?
Don't stress about the average, people with 75-80% regularly get in. I had something like 79%. But follow UWPH2015's advice about the AIF, it's correct.
Does anyone know what happens if we get admitted and fail to complete a pre-requisite course before we start?
I'm relatively certain that they revoke your admissions decision
It really depends on what those 'mistakes' are. For instance, you cannot update your AIF because of spelling/grammar mistakes once you've submitted it. If it was something more serious then i suggest you correspond with the admissions coordinator.
Nothing major, the worst one I found was "I went to went to the" I have no idea how I didn't spot that when reviewing. I doubt they'd let me change it :/
This is my second time applying to uWaterloo and I have a 77% avg. I'm finishing up my 3rd year at uWaterloo and I was wondering what are my chances of getting an interview. On my first AIF I didn't really put much effort in it and didn't mention many EC's. This time I have 3 Pharmacy experiences, a work study position in a lab, and I noted down 20+ EC activities. The avg of the required courses is about 79%. I have an INC on my transcript from a course I took last term. Although its not a required course, I was told to explain why the INC is there and when I'd take the exam for the course. I really want to get in this year and I made sure to add everything I could onto my AIF this year. @UWPH2015 how likely am I to get an interview offer this year?
Does anyone know if your grades get bumped up if you're UofT and applying to Waterloo? I heard this from a currently waterloo pharmacy student and wanted to verify whether this is true.
Also, if anyone here gets a waterloo interview, does anyone from Toronto want to practice tgt / anyone from other places wanna practice over Skype? inbox!
I HIGHLY doubt it lol I'm pretty sure they look at everyone's grades the same no matter which school they attended
8 more days until we hear about the interview decisions!!!! So nervous/excited to finally hear at the same time 🙂
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SAME!! so nervous but hopeful at the same time!
What's the lowest GPA that's been accepted to Waterloo? anyone know? Also, if you have one mark in the 60's on your transcript, how much do you think that'll affect your application? any input will be helpful, thanks guys!
As the admission minimum requirement is 75%, it would be safe to assume that the lowest mark that a student probably got accepted with, was indeed 75%. As for your the 60's on your transcript, it may affect your chances a bit but the good thing about UW is that they equally weight your AIF and LOF thus, if you kill those two components of the application i would assume you to be in an competitive change.
T-Minus 3 days
Best of luck to everyone that applied!!! 🙂
T-Minus 1 Day
Hi everyone:
I am a first year masters student and i'm thinking of applying to pharmacy school of Waterloo and UofT in a year. Before writing the PCAT test I want to see if you guys think i actually have a chance. My undergrad GPA is not too high. I did really bad in my first year of university and it is dragging my GPA down to 3.595. I am planning to start shadowing a pharmacist soon and I have volunteered at a hospital for 2 years in the past and i'll for sure publish something before i graduate from my masters program.
How do you guys see my chances of getting in? I'm just really concerned about my GPA. The other thing that concerns me is that I did not take full load courses during my undergrad. I was a full time student but i did not take full load courses. How do you think this would effect my chance of getting in?
Thanks in advance
I am a first year masters student and i'm thinking of applying to pharmacy school of Waterloo and UofT in a year. Before writing the PCAT test I want to see if you guys think i actually have a chance. My undergrad GPA is not too high. I did really bad in my first year of university and it is dragging my GPA down to 3.595. I am planning to start shadowing a pharmacist soon and I have volunteered at a hospital for 2 years in the past and i'll for sure publish something before i graduate from my masters program.
How do you guys see my chances of getting in? I'm just really concerned about my GPA. The other thing that concerns me is that I did not take full load courses during my undergrad. I was a full time student but i did not take full load courses. How do you think this would effect my chance of getting in?
Thanks in advance
your chances are good. I'd think 80+ average is competitive. do well on pcat and interview and you're in. grades are just 1/3 of the app.
Thanks for your response. I did not take full load courses. Do you think that it will lower my chance by alot?
Don't quote me on this but I believe at UofT needs only 1 year of full course load, as long as you have that, I don't think they care much anymore about the rest of the years. However,I believe someone on SDN got in with zero years of full course load - and I think it also depends on how low your low course loads are (e.g.: 4.5 courses per year vs 3 courses per year)
I'm not sure how it works at Waterloo or whether they have strict guidelines regarding this
Can any 1T9 /+ confirm this for me?
The website said the day of the interview is April 29th - May 1st. Has anyone had an interview on April 29th? I have a final exam on that day, and if invited, I don't know what I can do about the final exam.
any input is appreciated, thank you guys!
The website said the day of the interview is April 29th - May 1st. Has anyone had an interview on April 29th? I have a final exam on that day, and if invited, I don't know what I can do about the final exam.
any input is appreciated, thank you guys!
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I heard of people last year getting it anytime between 11-2, so hopefully sometime in there!
Got my interview invitation, everyone go check!!
no emails out for me yet! 🙁
