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Official University Of Alberta 2016 Pharmacy Applicants - Class Of 2020


starrynight111

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Hey everyone! I am currently in the program in the Class of 2019 (1st year). Last year during the admissions process some current students made posts and answered questions on here to help ease the anxiety of applications, LOIs, and interviews as well as provide insight on the program and what it is like to be a pharmacy student. Hopefully I can provide the help to you that my upper years provided all of us with when we were in your situation :). Feel free to ask any questions regarding admissions or the program itself! Best of luck to all of you.

 

Can you please elaborate on the interview? I just want more depth into its format, the type of questions and the time provided for them. Also, how would you recommend preparing for the interviews?

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Absolutely! The interview was 2 questions each approximately 2-3 minutes in length given over the computer. You will see a prerecorded question, have 10 seconds to think about it, and then 2-3 minutes (not 100% sure how long exactly) to answer. 

 

For obvious reasons I cannot tell you the actual questions that I received but there were no big surprises. Very general questions regarding yourself, healthcare, and the profession of pharmacy. Really nothing to worry about.

 

In my honest opinion there isn't too much you can do to prepare, other than just to have a friend maybe read you a generic sample question and try answering it. I think your answers aren't even that important to be honest, what I think they're more interested in is seeing how quickly you can think on your feet (as this is a huge part of being a pharmacist) as well as how strong you are of a communicator.

 

My advice would be to go into it relaxed, be honest with your answers (even if you don't think it's exactly what they are looking for) and prove to them that you are a lot more than just a student ID number with a good GPA. Be genuine and show them by effective communication skills and by having a likable personality that you would be a good pharmacist and I believe that good things will happen to you.

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Absolutely! The interview was 2 questions each approximately 2-3 minutes in length given over the computer. You will see a prerecorded question, have 10 seconds to think about it, and then 2-3 minutes (not 100% sure how long exactly) to answer. 

 

For obvious reasons I cannot tell you the actual questions that I received but there were no big surprises. Very general questions regarding yourself, healthcare, and the profession of pharmacy. Really nothing to worry about.

 

In my honest opinion there isn't too much you can do to prepare, other than just to have a friend maybe read you a generic sample question and try answering it. I think your answers aren't even that important to be honest, what I think they're more interested in is seeing how quickly you can think on your feet (as this is a huge part of being a pharmacist) as well as how strong you are of a communicator.

 

My advice would be to go into it relaxed, be honest with your answers (even if you don't think it's exactly what they are looking for) and prove to them that you are a lot more than just a student ID number with a good GPA. Be genuine and show them by effective communication skills and by having a likable personality that you would be a good pharmacist and I believe that good things will happen to you.

To add onto this, find a bunch of general questions and have a friend help you simulate via Skype. Get used to talking to that webcam and seeing a recording of yourself on the screen. Make sure you're dressed in an appropriate fashion, and nothing distracting is in the background. If you run out of substantial things to say, don't ramble on and end with an appropriate conclusion. Be confident and maintain eyecontact with that camera. 

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Sorry if this was mentioned before or isn't the right forum but I am really curious and have been looking if anyone knows how U of A treats OOP applicants? Is there a specific quota on the seats reserved is it just as equal as IP? 

My family is going to be moving there down the road where my other family members are, and I am just planning ahead for myself and the options! 

 

Thank you! 

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Why is it taking longer than usual? Did you ask them anything about how people who get interviews are selected?

Maybe more people applied than usual. All they can base the interview selection on is the Letter of Intent since the marks aren't due till June. The faculty is one of the least transparent in the entire school. We don't even know the entrance statistics or the weightings of the categories needed for admission. 

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Sorry if this was mentioned before or isn't the right forum but I am really curious and have been looking if anyone knows how U of A treats OOP applicants? Is there a specific quota on the seats reserved is it just as equal as IP? 

My family is going to be moving there down the road where my other family members are, and I am just planning ahead for myself and the options! 

 

Thank you! 

Hey! So far as I know last year they admitted 10-12 OOP applicants. I would say that it is likely more difficult to get in as an OOP but certainly not impossible. Entrance statistics isn't something we discuss amongst ourselves once we get in, but from what I can tell is most of the OOPs have a degree already (may be a couple of exceptions to this, but they would have higher GPAs), but many have GPAs in the 3.7 range. There certainly may be exceptions to this though as, like I said, we don't really discuss our stats that much as they don't matter anymore. Long story short, it is definitely easier to get in as an IP, reason being that they like their graduates to stay in Alberta to work as pharmacists. However, it certainly is not unattainable to get into the program as an OOP applicant!

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Hey! So far as I know last year they admitted 10-12 OOP applicants. I would say that it is likely more difficult to get in as an OOP but certainly not impossible. Entrance statistics isn't something we discuss amongst ourselves once we get in, but from what I can tell is most of the OOPs have a degree already (may be a couple of exceptions to this, but they would have higher GPAs), but many have GPAs in the 3.7 range. There certainly may be exceptions to this though as, like I said, we don't really discuss our stats that much as they don't matter anymore. Long story short, it is definitely easier to get in as an IP, reason being that they like their graduates to stay in Alberta to work as pharmacists. However, it certainly is not unattainable to get into the program as an OOP applicant!

Thank you very much for your reply. It helps a lot to know! :) 

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