U of T Pharmacy 2010

[staffpro]

FML FML

hopink, did u apply last year? its my first time applying

not hard to believe when you consider the fact that this is the last year that the current admission requirements are valid, everyone is trying to get on the boat before it changes to the new requirements next year

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[hotpink12]

does anyone know what UfT tihnks about people who retake courses they have already gotten a passing grade in to upgrade there mark?

 

[CheeseCake]

Hey guys, I applied on morning of Nov.1 and my applicant # was low 1000. Either 1000 ppl applied extremely fast or they added an extra 1000

 

[Pharmaniac]

Hey guys, I applied on morning of Nov.1 and my applicant # was low 1000. Either 1000 ppl applied extremely fast or they added an extra 1000

When did the online application forms open again?

 

[umro]

Ya i doubt the applicant number has anything to do with the number of people that applied. Last year my number was in the 1600s and clearly that many people didn't apply last year. Maybe they start from 1000? Donno but i don't think the actual number is directly indicative of applicant pol size.

 

[anthony2001]

Hi i just have another question about the tuition fee at uoft if someone who's a pharm student there can help. If i do get accepted, I plan to get some courses exempted. Is the tuition fee for pharmacy based on the number of courses or is it fixed? It's just that I don't think OSAP will work out well for me if I go to part-time due to the exempted courses. thanks!

 

[umro]

Yes, regardless of the amount of exemption you pay full time tuition.

 

[910803]

Okay, I'm getting nervous now..

I just finished half of my first year at Waterloo and my marks aren't as good as I hoped to be

Can anyone help me figure out my GPA? I know how it works but I'm not entirely sure how to compensate with the Lab marks that are weighed lower than the actual full courses.

0.5 credit courses (%): 71(bio, ), 81, 82, 93, X(not yet updated)
0.25 credit lab courses (%): 73, 77, 77 (the lab marks are killing me)

If I weigh all of them equally, I think I should have around 3.3-3.4.


Also, do you think there's still a chance for me to get in (say with a decent PCAT score and better second semester marks)

Thank you.

 

[willrocks]

Does anybody know if an out of state resident can claim residency in texas after the first year of living there?

 

[vidyarthi]

Where at UofT is the PCAT usually written? Or does it change every time?

 

[ASuw]

I have applied for 2010 pharmacy program as well...i am keeping my fingers crossed

all the best for everyone . I am just worried about MMI. Is it easier than the traditional interviews...?

 

[ASuw]

hello everyone

i am studying as a part time student at Waterloo. will chances of getting into pharmacy will seriously be jeopardized because of not taking full course load?

i am so worried and that is why i am enrolled in full course load for the winter semester.

 

[ksksks]

omg i'm wondering if i should retake the PCAT.

I'm second year at UofT 3.9 cgpa (yay for all the geo courses boosting my mark)

october pcat

Verbal Ability 91
Biology 89
Reading Comprehension 86
Quantitative Ability 95
Chemistry 95
Composite 89

Writing Scores 3/3

i have a feeling i can improve my biology score

ugh met so many ppl like u while studying at U of T
asking questions where you know the answer.
keep that attitude up for the MMI, it will give 1 extra space.

 

[umro]

Does anybody know if an out of state resident can claim residency in texas after the first year of living there?

This is the University of Toronto Forum not Texas mate. You got to look elsewhere cause most of us can't help you on that one.

 

[umro]

ugh met so many ppl like u while studying at U of T
asking questions where you know the answer.
keep that attitude up for the MMI, it will give 1 extra space.

Man don't hate. Some people need to feel good about themselves and this happens to be one of the ways they do it.

Just do you best and don't worry about people like them.

 

[xMav]

Where at UofT is the PCAT usually written? Or does it change every time?

I wrote it at EX100 last year and I'm almost positive it's going to be there again or at least in the same building.

"i am studying as a part time student at Waterloo. will chances of getting into pharmacy will seriously be jeopardized because of not taking full course load?"

I think so long as you have already taken a year with a full courseload, it won't hurt your application.

 

[ASuw]

how do they calculate gpa? is it based on ouac scale or there is some different scale

http://www.ouac.on.ca/olsas/pdf/c_olsas_b.pdf

 

[xMav]

how do they calculate gpa? is it based on ouac scale or there is some different scale

http://www.ouac.on.ca/olsas/pdf/c_olsas_b.pdf

It's calculated as a percentage.

 

[twilightz]

Orgo is as in dept as high school orgo (e.g naming simple organic compounds like alkanes, knowing the different groups, some of the bond angles etc)

I don't know if this fine person is trying to bolster his chances by giving you bogus information about the PCAT, or if they're truly misinformed, but I can tell you that I wrote last years' PCAT (Jan. 2009) and you certainly need to be comfortable with the following concepts:

Predicting Acidity/Basicity.
Substitution and Elimination.
Different Reaction Mechanisms
Stereochemistry i.e. Are these two compounds a) constitutional isomers b) stereoisomers c) cis/trans isomers d) Enantiomers?
Naming compounds (sometimes it can be tricky)


In other words, anything you've taken in Orgo I (at least that's the case for UWO)

 

[Pharmaniac]

I don't know if this fine person is trying to bolster his chances by giving you bogus information about the PCAT, or if they're truly misinformed, but I can tell you that I wrote last years' PCAT (Jan. 2009) and you certainly need to be comfortable with the following concepts:

Predicting Acidity/Basicity.
Substitution and Elimination.
Different Reaction Mechanisms
Stereochemistry i.e. Are these two compounds a) constitutional isomers b) stereoisomers c) cis/trans isomers d) Enantiomers?
Naming compounds (sometimes it can be tricky)


In other words, anything you've taken in Orgo I (at least that's the case for UWO)

What do we need to supplement for that (i.e. study guide) cause I'm first year and have not taken Orgo I yet. Yeah I've heard Kaplan is pretty bad for that.

 

[Inferno300]

I don't know if this fine person is trying to bolster his chances by giving you bogus information about the PCAT, or if they're truly misinformed, but I can tell you that I wrote last years' PCAT (Jan. 2009) and you certainly need to be comfortable with the following concepts:

Predicting Acidity/Basicity.
Substitution and Elimination.
Different Reaction Mechanisms
Stereochemistry i.e. Are these two compounds a) constitutional isomers b) stereoisomers c) cis/trans isomers d) Enantiomers?
Naming compounds (sometimes it can be tricky)


In other words, anything you've taken in Orgo I (at least that's the case for UWO)

Thanks so much for this information! I knew it was too good to be true

 

[xMav]

By the way, can someone post the cut-offs for the PCAT last year? I've been trying to find it for a friend but I haven't been able to locate it. Thanks!

 

[Pharmaniac]

By the way, can someone post the cut-offs for the PCAT last year? I've been trying to find it for a friend but I haven't been able to locate it. Thanks!

I believe last year everything was 20 except for chemistry and your composite which should be above 50. Again it's very likely that they will increase them; they especially emphasized this might happen for the RC and verbal subsections at the Nov. 26 info night.

 

[Pharmaniac]

I don't know if this fine person is trying to bolster his chances by giving you bogus information about the PCAT, or if they're truly misinformed, but I can tell you that I wrote last years' PCAT (Jan. 2009) and you certainly need to be comfortable with the following concepts:

Predicting Acidity/Basicity.
Substitution and Elimination.
Different Reaction Mechanisms
Stereochemistry i.e. Are these two compounds a) constitutional isomers b) stereoisomers c) cis/trans isomers d) Enantiomers?
Naming compounds (sometimes it can be tricky)


In other words, anything you've taken in Orgo I (at least that's the case for UWO)

well bit in all honesty, some of us did do most of that in HS ecxept maybe the sn1 reactions or enantiomers. So I don't think he wad trying trick the person but maybe 'his' HS was more advanced X) ... So don't be so harsh next time

 

[EyeCandy5]

I believe last year everything was 20 except for chemistry and your composite which should be above 50. Again it's very likely that they will increase them; they especially emphasized this might happen for the RC and verbal subsections at the Nov. 26 info night.

did they happen to hint by how much they would rise? would they make it at least 50 like the other cutoffs? Im really surprised they are keeping bio at 20.

 

[Pharmaniac]

did they happen to hint by how much they would rise? would they make it at least 50 like the other cutoffs? Im really surprised they are keeping bio at 20.

I doubt RC and verbal would rise to over 50. I mean, remember the whole process of doing this for the PCAT is that when they're deciding for who gets an interview, they ONLY look at your 'best' PCAT up to date. Depending on how others do, they will vacillate the scores. They must increase (or change) the cut-offs because it was emphasized that no more than 500 can get an interview so let's say 700 meet last year's cut offs, they may have to weed out (esp. in the low cut-offs for verbal or RC) some people to meet that level. I would say meh, maybe 10-15sh but most likely not 50. To add, they didn't say they're 'keeping bio at 20', they just said (when talking about the cut-offs changing, that this may be true especially for verbal or RC). But again nothing is for certain.

 

[xMav]

In my opinion, it all depends on the applicant pool. Last year, there were only 1005 applicants whereas the previous year had ~1600. Before that, I think the numbers were in the 2000s. The cut-offs right now are all pretty low because there aren't that many people applying to pharmacy. Last year, 100 people were waitlisted and quite a few of them actually got in as well. If the applicant pool stays the same, the cut-offs won't rise too much I think considering they have to offer interviews to more than 240 students.

 

[EyeCandy5]

I was unable to go to the info session in November since I am from out of town. For those of you who were able to go.. did they say how many people will receive an invite? Was it in fact 500 as Pharmanic has stated? Assuming that the number of aplicants was similar to last year at around 1000 the odds seem pretty good then.

thanks for all the help. SDN is awesome!

 

[hotpink12]

From what I remeber the minimum cut offs for admission last year were 50 percentile for math,chem,rc,verbal,bio and 65 for chemistry. I think theres a pdf file on last years forum that states those numbers. Where are people getting numbers like only 20 for bio?

And i was wondering, is the PCAT the only thing looked at for the interviews because people will only have completed a semester of classes before interviews are handed out?

 

[EyeCandy5]

From what I remeber the minimum cut offs for admission last year were 50 percentile for math,chem,rc,verbal,bio and 65 for chemistry. I think theres a pdf file on last years forum that states those numbers. Where are people getting numbers like only 20 for bio?

And i was wondering, is the PCAT the only thing looked at for the interviews because people will only have completed a semester of classes before interviews are handed out?

The cutoffs can be found under the frequently asked question in the PCAT section of the admission site. These were the cutoffs from last year:

23. What score will I need on the PCAT and will I be provided with a score report?
As per the information provided on the PCAT website, you will be provided with percentile and scaled scores for the multiple-choice sections as well as separate scores for ‘Conventions of Language’ and ‘Problem Solving’ for the writing subtests.

Minimum score requirements for each section of the PCAT, including minimums for both the ‘Conventions of Language’ and ‘Problem Solving’ on the essay component, will be established. Candidates who do not meet all minimums will not be further considered. Details on minimum requirements for the 2010 admission cycle are not available as these will be based on the performance of the total applicant pool. However, minimums for the 2009 admission cycle were as follows: Conventions of Language 3, Problem Solving 2.5, Composite Percentile 50, Chemistry percentile 50, Biology percentile 20, Quantitative Ability percentile 20, Reading Comprehension percentile 20, and Verbal Ability percentile 20. Applicants are cautioned that individual scores are assessed within a competitive pool and the measures provided above for evaluating your own scores are provided as rough guidelines only.


The site link is:
http://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/undergrad/admis/sec7.jsp#c

 

[twilightz]

well bit in all honesty, some of us did do most of that in HS ecxept maybe the sn1 reactions or enantiomers. So I don't think he wad trying trick the person but maybe 'his' HS was more advanced X) ... So don't be so harsh next time

I didn't mean to sound harsh. Having said that, I still maintain that you need to take Orgo. I or atleast you need to be familiar with it before writing the PCAT.

I also don't think there is a single high school in Ontario that offers an in-depth Organic Chemistry course. Predicting acidity and basicity is the stepping stone to Substitution and Elimination, and learning different reaction mechanisms is dependent on you knowing Substitution and Elimination. Lastly, comparing molecules to see if they're diastereomers, enantiomers etc. is actually one of the trickier questions.

So please tell me how can you learn "some" of these concepts but not others when they're all closely related. The only thing you'll in High School chemistry is the IUPAC system.

Finally, if you go back and read his post, he explicitly outlines the concepts that he thinks are going to be on the exam and thats what I addressed.

 

[Pharmaniac]

From what I remeber the minimum cut offs for admission last year were 50 percentile for math,chem,rc,verbal,bio and 65 for chemistry. I think theres a pdf file on last years forum that states those numbers. Where are people getting numbers like only 20 for bio?

And i was wondering, is the PCAT the only thing looked at for the interviews because people will only have completed a semester of classes before interviews are handed out?

Well, firstly, as EyeCandy already mentioned, people are getting 'numbers like 20 for bio' from their official sites. Another link, the one that last year's applicants were made aware of (they found out the year's cut-offs in June) is this link

https://pharmsis.phm.utoronto.ca/uploadDir/notice6_jun09.htm

For your second question, yes the PCAT will be all they look at (as stated in the info night), cause that' a 'fair' way of deciding who gets an interview.

 

[EyeCandy5]

How are marks looked at then? Is the cGPA taken into consideration after the interview? Are final marks in April looked at as well? Is there any way we can find a breakdwon of weighting of PCAT, cGPA and interview in a percentage form? Are they all weighed equally? I have a feeling the PCAT is worth more than the rest.. but it seems everything is so uncertain.

 

[onionman]

How are marks looked at then? Is the cGPA taken into consideration after the interview? Are final marks in April looked at as well? Is there any way we can find a breakdwon of weighting of PCAT, cGPA and interview in a percentage form? Are they all weighed equally? I have a feeling the PCAT is worth more than the rest.. but it seems everything is so uncertain.

yeah, i wish they could tell us what the breakdown is as well!

 

[Pharmaniac]

How are marks looked at then? Is the cGPA taken into consideration after the interview? Are final marks in April looked at as well? Is there any way we can find a breakdwon of weighting of PCAT, cGPA and interview in a percentage form? Are they all weighed equally? I have a feeling the PCAT is worth more than the rest.. but it seems everything is so uncertain.

lol... those are all great questions that I'd like answers to as well. At the info night, they said they use a computer program (I know eh?) which is programmed and incorporates the 'weight factors' for GPA, PCAT and interview. So it's gonna be a list created virtually in miliseconds once the student information is in. From 1 to 240, then the wait listed 100. It's hard to believe the decisions are made like this. There was somebody trying to ask how much everything was worth like 10 times at the info night and they simply wouldn't give it out.

 

[november123]

I applied last year and my applicant number was close to 20092000. and there was definately not 2000 applicants last year. I don't think the applicant number reflects the number of applicants.

 

[darkblue]

Hi everyone,

I've been creeping around these forums for a while now and finally decided to join. I am a first year student at the University of Waterloo, and I have applied to U of T pharmacy for Fall 2010. I will be writing the PCAT for the first time on January 23rd . I was wondering if some of you who have written the test before could tell me a bit about your test taking experience...for example, did you feel rushed while doing certain sections? Which parts did you find the most challenging? Since I am in first year, I've had to study a lot of material on my own using a study guide. Are there any specific areas that I should be spending some extra time on, seeing as the breadth of my knowledge is not as deep as an upper year student? Thanks in advance!

 

[EyeCandy5]

The pcat is very fast paced so make sure u work really fast. You have less than 40 seconds for a question in all of the section I believe. I found RC and verbal the most challenging because of time constraint. Make sure you focus on chemistry and biology too. Learn vocab in your spare time to help with verbal. That's about all I can say. Best of luck!

Hi everyone,

I've been creeping around these forums for a while now and finally decided to join. I am a first year student at the University of Waterloo, and I have applied to U of T pharmacy for Fall 2010. I will be writing the PCAT for the first time on January 23rd . I was wondering if some of you who have written the test before could tell me a bit about your test taking experience...for example, did you feel rushed while doing certain sections? Which parts did you find the most challenging? Since I am in first year, I've had to study a lot of material on my own using a study guide. Are there any specific areas that I should be spending some extra time on, seeing as the breadth of my knowledge is not as deep as an upper year student? Thanks in advance!

 

[darkblue]

Thanks for the reply I'll have to be careful and keep a close eye on the time as I'm writing. I made a huge stack of flashcards over the summer and I've been using them to learn new words. I still have tons of practice to do so I can become more comfortable with analogies...but I'm running out of time . Oh yeah, I have one more question. I know there's a break in the middle of the exam, but how long is it? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. I know this isn't a very big deal but I'm just trying to figure out what I should expect. I'm pretty stressed out about writing this exam since its my first time and I'm only in first year. Regardless, I've been preparing for quite some time and hopefully I'll be ready by the 23rd. Is anyone else writing it?

 

[Pharmaniac]

Hey! I'm actually first year here at UofT St. George and I'm also writing it on January 23rd! Best of look to both of us. I believe the break is about 15 min btw.

Thanks for the reply I'll have to be careful and keep a close eye on the time as I'm writing. I made a huge stack of flashcards over the summer and I've been using them to learn new words. I still have tons of practice to do so I can become more comfortable with analogies...but I'm running out of time . Oh yeah, I have one more question. I know there's a break in the middle of the exam, but how long is it? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. I know this isn't a very big deal but I'm just trying to figure out what I should expect. I'm pretty stressed out about writing this exam since its my first time and I'm only in first year. Regardless, I've been preparing for quite some time and hopefully I'll be ready by the 23rd. Is anyone else writing it?

 

[EyeCandy5]

Sounds like you are wayyy more prepared than I was!

Thanks for the reply I'll have to be careful and keep a close eye on the time as I'm writing. I made a huge stack of flashcards over the summer and I've been using them to learn new words. I still have tons of practice to do so I can become more comfortable with analogies...but I'm running out of time . Oh yeah, I have one more question. I know there's a break in the middle of the exam, but how long is it? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. I know this isn't a very big deal but I'm just trying to figure out what I should expect. I'm pretty stressed out about writing this exam since its my first time and I'm only in first year. Regardless, I've been preparing for quite some time and hopefully I'll be ready by the 23rd. Is anyone else writing it?

 

[Inferno300]

Haha, I'm a first year student too!
I still need to do analogies too, and go over some practice passages for reading comprehension. I'm getting more and more nervous as the test date approaches...

 

[darkblue]

Haha, I'm a first year student too!
I still need to do analogies too, and go over some practice passages for reading comprehension. I'm getting more and more nervous as the test date approaches...

One thing I'm already regretting is the fact that I have barely done any practice for the Reading Comprehension section. I've done a bit but still need a lot more practice to get the hang of things and hopefully improve. With so little time left, the prospect of that happening is looking pretty unlikely . I guess I'll just have to do my best and make use of the time I have left. At the moment, I feel very unprepared. I'm hoping to get through the last few things before the weekend so I can start doing some practice exams...hopefully I'll feel a little more confident by then.

 

[Natasha1989]

Good luck gals and guys on your Jan PCAT!

 

[KillerBee]

Hey guys. It's my first time writing the PCAT next week. I have a few questions. Can we bring our own calculator ? Or calculators and Periodic Tables included during the test? Just wondering.... Thanks!

 

[phrmer]

Hey guys. It's my first time writing the PCAT next week. I have a few questions. Can we bring our own calculator ? Or calculators and Periodic Tables included during the test? Just wondering.... Thanks!

Calculators are not allowed. Calculators and periodic tables are not provided.

 

[EyeCandy5]

Hi,

Does anyone know when the new PCAT cutoffs will be posted?

 

[Ashilda]

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[Rano]

Hi guys
I'm a second year undergrad
my cGPA is around 2.8 till now but considering just the pre-reqs, it's well above 3.25. Also, my pcat scores were:
VA 24
RC 50
Bio 95
Chem 88
Quan 79
composite 76

Essays 3/2.8

With those marks, should I even hope for admission??

 

[EyeCandy5]

hi Rano,

Toronto only looks at PCAT cutoffs for the interview so I've been told. If you make the cutoffs then you should be ok for an interview!

Best of luck!

Hi guys
I'm a second year undergrad
my cGPA is around 2.8 till now but considering just the pre-reqs, it's well above 3.25. Also, my pcat scores were:
VA 24
RC 50
Bio 95
Chem 88
Quan 79
composite 76

Essays 3/2.8

With those marks, should I even hope for admission??