University of Toronto, class of 2016

[SoftSoap]

My god, i think i just snuck in under the radar or something.

2.93 GPA. (B-)

95 verbal
90 bio
55 RC
88 math
96 chem
94 comp

3/3 writing

6/10 stations went well

Gotta treat this as a huge second chance and work my ass off now!

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[Plumppenguincat]

Link doesn't work for me :/

Search for Pharmacy Class of 1T6 on Facebook. Hmm...weird how the link doesn't work for all people.

Let me know if you run into other difficulties.

Congratulations everybody!

 

[simplicity1love]

My god, i think i just snuck in under the radar or something.

2.93 GPA. (B-)

95 verbal
90 bio
55 RC
88 math
96 chem
94 comp

3/3 writing

6/10 stations went well

Gotta treat this as a huge second chance and work my ass off now!

Your PCAT scores are amazing and maybe you did better than you thought on the interview! You deserved it No slipping under the radar!

 

[SoftSoap]

Your PCAT scores are amazing and maybe you did better than you thought on the interview! You deserved it No slipping under the radar!

I guess so lol. Thanks

 

[Phizzle]

Yes

 

[PhilthyKessel]

I was also offered admission! But unfortunately (or fortunately for someone), I won't be accepting the offer. Good job and good luck everyone!

 

[booshks]

Does anyone know about the status of the PharmD?

 

[twenty7]

Does anyone know about the status of the PharmD?

this is what i'd like to know as well. it says in the acceptance letter that we've been offered admission into the bachelor's program and that the new curriculum has been in effect since 2011. there was no mention of a pharm.d whatsoever and that worries me.

 

[Eye-Spy]

Does anyone have any insight on chances of getting in off the wait list? Any current students who don't mind sharing that they were wait listed prior to admission and top half of wait list vs bottom half?

Thanks!

 

[aljannah]

Does anyone have any insight on chances of getting in off the wait list? Any current students who don't mind sharing that they were wait listed prior to admission and top half of wait list vs bottom half?

Thanks!

if ur on the lower half, thats basically a rejection, unfortunately. theres no way that so many people will decline their offer

if ur on the top half, there may be some hope. it has 40 people, and every year the top 20-30 get off. but since they dont tell u your position, you can never be sure. just pray and wait, but dont let it stress you out

hope those on the upper-half waitlist do get offers. and for all those you didnt make it this year, give yourself courage and go harder next year! good luck

 

[jawnyawn]

Overall GPA: 3.3-3.4
Percentage average: 74
(I had a 58 in second term of orgo too)

PCAT scores
Verbal Ability: 53
Biology: 71
Reading Comprehension: 52
Quantitative Ability: 86
Chemistry: 81
Composite: 74
Writing: 3.0/3.5

Thought i did pretty well on the interview actually, the interviewers gave positive feedback on 2 of my stations but I knew I did good on 8/10 of them. 2/10 were mediocre though but I wouldn't know since the interviewers were as cold as stone.


And for the people who didn't get in this year; as you can see, my marks definitely aren't the top ones out there (might even be below average, to be honest).

BUT, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31b

This verse was with me the whole time since the beginning of applying even til now, accepting the offer. I may not be the smartest kid, but God's grace definitely carried me throughout the entire process. If it was meant to happen according to God's will then who can be against it, right?

AND... to my fellow students - CAN'T WAIT TIL SEPTEMBERRRRRR AND SEE YOU ALL DURING PHROSH WEEEK

 

[ryanco64]

So liek, why does this link not work?

http://www.uoftpharmacy.com/

o_o

 

[simplicity1love]

hahaha I just saw you post that on fb too! XD

 

[tnl]

For anyone accepted both here and waterloo, any reason why you chose one over the other? I'm still debating between the two and appreciate all opinions

 

[cuteeenerd]

Accepted as well

But curious about whats going to be happening with the pharm D. I was working with a pharmacist today and she told me how this debate about getting this program approved has beeen going on for many years (like over 10 years). Just wondering how likely it is to be passsed.

 

[masterfunk]

The current curriculum is the "pharmD curriculum"

when the program finally does get approved even if its after you graduate it'll be retroactively applied

other 1T5s please correct me if I'm wrong

 

[twenty7]

Accepted as well

But curious about whats going to be happening with the pharm D. I was working with a pharmacist today and she told me how this debate about getting this program approved has beeen going on for many years (like over 10 years). Just wondering how likely it is to be passsed.

i guess the fact that the debate has been ongoing for 10 years and they finally changed their curriculum starting last year means there has been good progress being made. my friend and i were having this discussion and she says that u of t would likely never have changed to the pharm.d curriculum if approval wasn't going to be given. it would tarnish their reputation a bit for jumping the gun a bit too early, being the reputable school that it is.

i'm quite concerned though, since there are potentially more economical options for me to choose from if i was pursing a bscphm, but i'd choose u of t in a heartbeat if it means i get the pharm,d.

 

[booshks]

The current curriculum is the "pharmD curriculum"

when the program finally does get approved even if its after you graduate it'll be retroactively applied

other 1T5s please correct me if I'm wrong

Are you not afraid that the government will require certain changes to the curriculum and thus you won't be granted the pharmD?

 

[booshks]

i guess the fact that the debate has been ongoing for 10 years and they finally changed their curriculum starting last year means there has been good progress being made. my friend and i were having this discussion and she says that u of t would likely never have changed to the pharm.d curriculum if approval was going to be given, since it would tarnish their reputation, being the reputable school that it is.

i'm quite concerned though, since there potentially more economical options for me if i was pursing a bscphm, but i'd choose u of t in a heartbeat if it means i get the pharm,d.

me too! The pharmD is a big factor in where I go.
I hope the faculty will say something about the status of the pharmD before July 6th. but then again... probably not.

 

[twenty7]

me too! The pharmD is a big factor in where I go.
I hope the faculty will say something about the status of the pharmD before July 6th. but then again... probably not.

yeah, probably not. quebec has implemented the entry-level pharm.d program starting in 2007 i believe. it seems to have worked out well. i do not understand why it is taking the ontario government so long. what is the big debate all about?!

 

[Magickarp]

this is what i'd like to know as well. it says in the acceptance letter that we've been offered admission into the bachelor's program and that the new curriculum has been in effect since 2011. there was no mention of a pharm.d whatsoever and that worries me.

It says on the website "Please note that only students currently enrolled in the third year of the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (i.e., the Class of 1T3) at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto are eligible for admission into the Combined Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy-Doctor of Pharmacy program."

http://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/bscphm-pharmd

I would not lose hope, you have to apply for the pharmD in your 3 year or 4th year is what it looks like to me from the website.

 

[waterloowannabe]

It says on the website "Please note that only students currently enrolled in the third year of the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (i.e., the Class of 1T3) at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto are eligible for admission into the Combined Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy-Doctor of Pharmacy program."

http://www.pharmacy.utoronto.ca/bscphm-pharmd

I would not lose hope, you have to apply for the pharmD in your 3 year or 4th year is what it looks like to me from the website.

I asked someone currently at UofT and they said that the combined program was only available to students in the old curriculum...

 

[BigFan]

As it stands and masterfunk mentioned, the new curriculum which is supposed to be a pharmD curriculum hasn't been approved yet. They are working towards getting it approved but not much more information has been given to us. Either way, the new curriculum is definitely better than the old one in terms of how fast you get into pharmacy related courses and amount of experience you get so that by itself is major.

As for when pharmD gets approved, no one knows yet. When it gets approved, then you'll get a pharmD even if you already graduated. If there are slight modifications needed for the curriculum to be pharmD so one more course for example, then I believe you can just do the course and get the pharmD even if you already graduated. That's how I understand it at least.

As for that combined program, as waterloowannabe mentioned, it's only for those students who are in the old curriculum. Hope this helps clear up some questions about pharmD. Any 1T5s, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

[aljannah]

wanted to share my stats so that they may be helpful to any future pharmacy applicants
i know they are not among the best, but they got me in, so im happy with it

Percentage average: 79%
Overall GPA: 3.37

PCAT scores
Composite: 86
Chemistry: 95
Biology: 84
Reading Comprehension: 76
Quantitative Ability: 79
Verbal Ability: 63
Writing: 3.0 - 3.0

Interview: felt like I did really well in it, 10/10 in 8 stations, and 8/10 in the other two

 

[twenty7]

As it stands and masterfunk mentioned, the new curriculum which is supposed to be a pharmD curriculum hasn't been approved yet. They are working towards getting it approved but not much more information has been given to us. Either way, the new curriculum is definitely better than the old one in terms of how fast you get into pharmacy related courses and amount of experience you get so that by itself is major.

As for when pharmD gets approved, no one knows yet. When it gets approved, then you'll get a pharmD even if you already graduated. If there are slight modifications needed for the curriculum to be pharmD so one more course for example, then I believe you can just do the course and get the pharmD even if you already graduated. That's how I understand it at least.

As for that combined program, as waterloowannabe mentioned, it's only for those students who are in the old curriculum. Hope this helps clear up some questions about pharmD. Any 1T5s, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

thanks for the info! it's nice of you to come on here and inform us. are most of the it5s pretty certain they'll eventually get the pharm.d or are students concerned that it won't get approved?

btw, i'm feeling like a little party pooper asking all these gloom and doom questions on here, especially after everyone has heard such great news last week lol. party on kids.

 

[Plumppenguincat]

thanks for the info! it's nice of you to come on here and inform us. are most of the it5s pretty certain they'll eventually get the pharm.d or are students concerned that it won't get approved?

btw, i'm feeling like a little party pooper asking all these gloom and doom questions on here, especially after everyone has heard such great news last week lol. party on kids.

Ultimately, though, even if we don't get the PharmD by June 2015, we'll still be able to practice, and we'll still be able to be effective pharmacists.

As it stands, we have been assured by the faculty that we will retroactively be granted the PharmD. I think that's part of the reason why we don't see people crying about it.

I think, though, that if the prospect of getting an entry-level PharmD is the ONLY reason you're thinking of coming to U of T, then perhaps you should expand your criteria, and consider aspects of the curriculum. That goes especially for people who also have the University of Waterloo as an option.

 

[twenty7]

Ultimately, though, even if we don't get the PharmD by June 2015, we'll still be able to practice, and we'll still be able to be effective pharmacists.

As it stands, we have been assured by the faculty that we will retroactively be granted the PharmD. I think that's part of the reason why we don't see people crying about it.

I think, though, that if the prospect of getting an entry-level PharmD is the ONLY reason you're thinking of coming to U of T, then perhaps you should expand your criteria, and consider aspects of the curriculum. That goes especially for people who also have the University of Waterloo as an option.

certainly there are other aspects of u of t that entice me greatly besides the pharm.d, but i just want to make sure i'm fully informed about the prospective aspects of ALL the schools i've looked into before i make a decision as to where i spend the next four years of my life. four years is a long time to be asking yourself woulda-coulda-shoulda if one doesn't end up making the most informed decisions about things. thanks again for your input!

 

[Nobby]

ah after seeing everyones stats i still dont understand how i got accepted with a PCAT comp of 60 and GPA of 3.38

 

[Pharmiss]

I was wondering if anyone did some research about the job market for pharmacists. I've ears that the pay is being reduced and there is less of a demand in ontario

 

[sndiv]

ah after seeing everyones stats i still dont understand how i got accepted with a PCAT comp of 60 and GPA of 3.38

Good communication and problem solving skills!

 

[cuteeenerd]

I was wondering if anyone did some research about the job market for pharmacists. I've ears that the pay is being reduced and there is less of a demand in ontario

This is my biggest worry as well. Been working in a pharmacy for a while now and I've heard the same things after the drug reform. I'm wondering if there is any way up from here? I wanted to open up an independent pharmacy once I was done, but now it seems pointless cuz apparently its so difficult to make money off them.

Btw, i know money isnt everything, but somethigns got to pay off the student loans.

 

[Pharmiss]

Yes that's my biggest concern too especially since tuition is pretty high and it's four years. I also have an undergrad degree which I loaned for as well. Seems like I'll be in debt for a long time after graduating if circumstances do not improve.

 

[twenty7]

would there be any other province where the future seems brighter? i think alberta`s relatively unsaturated, wages are high. bc's hospital pharmacist's wages have declined somewhat...

 

[cuteeenerd]

would there be any other province where the future seems brighter? i think alberta`s relatively unsaturated, wages are high. bc's hospital pharmacist's wages have declined somewhat...

Alberta might be still high, I guess. But the drug reform has hit all pharmacies regardless right. How many would be willing to leave ontario just to get a good paying job lol?

 

[twenty7]

i think every profession sort of has its worries. if you go to the dentistry, optometry, even the med school forums, everyone's worrying about something. i lurk inside their threads and there are always more than a couple starting with, "'insert health care profession X' is doomed". one of the good things about this profession is that you don't have to devote over 20% of your income towards overhead costs like we see in other professions, unless you're starting up your own practice of course.

looking at the job market comparatively though is an essential part in deciding where i will pursue pharmacy school nonetheless. i'm speaking to my trusty pharmacist/mentor tomorrow to see what she thinks about the drug reform issue and perhaps relay it back to you guys if i can!

 

[prepharmer16]

Hey congratulations to all of those who got accepted!

I unfortunately wish I had the same piece of mind as to what is to be expected for me this fall. I got wait listed for UofT! I was wondering if anyone knows any personal stories of current pharmacy students that were on the waiting list and then got an offer of admissions, i.e. around what date they were contacted, did they miss out on important orientation events, the difficulty of finding housing so last minute?

From the e-mail it had said 270 people got letters of acceptances for 240 seats. IF, the 240 seats don't get filled, THEN the people on the wait list get contacted. I'm on the 'upper half' of the waiting list which gives me some piece of mind. But they were vague stating that 50-80 people were on the waiting list and anywhere from 15-30 people on the wait-list get an offer of admissions.

Should I give up hope? I know a few people who were wait-listed last year in the upper half and were not given offers of admission. I definitely have back up plans for the fall term, but I feel like I'm stuck in limbo/continuing this long and aggravating waiting game.

Just putting this post out there to anyone else who got wait-listed!

 

[mui]

regarding the current drug reform, i was reading other forums to see input from pharmacists and many are complaining about the government cuts on generic prescriptions as well as the elimination of allowances which will really hit community pharmacies particularly hard. They also say the profession is definitely less prosperous than it was in the past (but hey aren't many jobs like that now?)

other pharmacists/ pre-pharms are talking about over saturation but i think this problem is more severe in the U.S than in Canada but im not too sure about any specifics here

but it seems like pharmacists may be getting approval to administer vaccinations (the OPA plans to implement this by the end of 2013)
http://www.opatoday.com/index.php?o...s-by-the-end-of-2013&catid=44:news&Itemid=255

and 4 years is quite a while from now so who knows wat it'll be like for pharmacists then

 

[Nobby]

heres the outlook from 2009-2013 in ontario for pharmacists: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/labourmarket/ojf/pdf/3131_e.pdf

you can search for the other occupations here: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/labourmarket/ojf/findoccupation.asp

from research i've done big cities like toronto and vancouver seem to be oversaturated and definitely will be by the time we graduate. also the ontario budget cuts = sad times

heres the workopolis salary calculator also if you wanna play around with different occupations and places: http://www.workopolis.com/work.aspx...ceCentre/RCSalaryGuideView&lang=EN&theme=work

 

[jszy]

cGPA: 3.9
PCAT composite: 95

I was accepted!! I'm just wondering though--i was offered an amazing opportunity to travel for a year so if i reject their offer and reapply next year, will that look bad on me?

It's not like I've changed as a person, I've just worked really hard for the past 4 years to get my stats--and realize i want to travel before i really hit the books (again).

 

[Pharmiss]

I don't think it will affect your application next year. As far as I know they look at each application every year and your previous applications do not affect you. Your stats are amazing and I'm sure ull be offered admission again for sure

 

[arsenalmilan]

I live in Toronto and will apply for UofT, but I wanna have more options
Does anyone know schools(in Canada) were Im gonna have some chance of being accepted(other than Waterloo)

I know there are other schools in Canada,but do I stand a chance of being accepted as out of province student

thanks

 

[Canadienne123]

I live in Toronto and will apply for UofT, but I wanna have more options
Does anyone know schools(in Canada) were Im gonna have some chance of being accepted(other than Waterloo)

I know there are other schools in Canada,but do I stand a chance of being accepted as out of province student

thanks

hey! i applied to uoft and ubc (from toronto) and got accepted to both, so i highly suggest you consider british columbia as an option as an out of province student! I had also applied to alberta but got rejected from there

 

[twenty7]

where do plan on going canadienne123? ubc or u of t? just of out curiousity since i have the same predicament, although i spoke with my pharmacist today and the decision i think is pretty clear now.

 

[twenty7]

I live in Toronto and will apply for UofT, but I wanna have more options
Does anyone know schools(in Canada) were Im gonna have some chance of being accepted(other than Waterloo)

I know there are other schools in Canada,but do I stand a chance of being accepted as out of province student

thanks

i don't come from ontario or bc, and i was accepted in both provinces as an out of province applicant. anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

 

[Canadienne123]

where do plan on going canadienne123? ubc or u of t? just of out curiousity since i have the same predicament, although i spoke with my pharmacist today and the decision i think is pretty clear now.

congrats! and i've decided to go to uoft since it's closer to my friends and family. where have you decided, if you don't mind me asking

 

[twenty7]

most definitely! let's just say that it is very likely that we will be classmates next year

 

[booshks]

most definitely! let's just say that it is very likely that we will be classmates next year

What made you decide if you don't mind me asking?
I'm in the same spot and need to make a decision pretty soon

 

[twenty7]

sure. i spoke with the pharmacist yesterday and she told me that she had two friends, one who graduated from u of t and one from ubc respectively. one did her bscphm at u of t, the other went to the post grad ubc pharmd program after doing her bscphm. she said back in 2007, the market in bc was saturated and it may be worse today. with the bscphm only in bc, she said that her friend had a very difficult time finding work since you`re competing with many many pharm.d graduates. however, her friend who graduated from u of t bscphm had no trouble finding work in toronto.

i personally don`t want to go through the whole process of making the grade again and feeling that pressure to get into the post-grad ubc program if that`s what it takes to get a good job over there. that is not to say i will be a slacker at u of t, but i sort of want to focus my time on other aspects of my career.

that`s ultimately it!

 

[twenty7]

on a side note, does anyone know of any nice places to live for students around the campus based on word of mouth? i initially wanted to live at campus co-op but it`s all full now. any places to avoid? any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[pharmaniac007]

I'm about to make someone on the wait list realllllly happy!! unfortunately I will be turning down my u of t offer... Would have been an awesome experience though!