Do I Still Have A Chance? (U Of A Pharmacy)

[pharmacy2016]

Hi all,

 

I just completed my first year of university and plan to eventually apply for pharmacy at the University of Alberta.

 

With that being said, my first year of university was an absolute disaster. I have two withdrawals from my first semester and am anticipating an F in a course in my second semester. My overall GPA from this first year will probably be 2.5 or even lower than that.

 

My question is: to what extent does the U of A care about how well or poor you did in your first year of university? I know that without a doubt, there will be an exponential improvement and a true reflection of the grades that I am capable of obtaining in my second and third years.

 

I'm in a state where I am absolutely ashamed and embarrassed.. Please, any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

 

 

[GH0ST]

Hi all,

 

I just completed my first year of university and plan to eventually apply for pharmacy at the University of Alberta.

 

With that being said, my first year of university was an absolute disaster. I have two withdrawals from my first semester and am anticipating an F in a course in my second semester. My overall GPA from this first year will probably be 2.5 or even lower than that.

 

My question is: to what extent does the U of A care about how well or poor you did in your first year of university? I know that without a doubt, there will be an exponential improvement and a true reflection of the grades that I am capable of obtaining in my second and third years.

 

I'm in a state where I am absolutely ashamed and embarrassed.. Please, any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

First off I'm sorry for your struggles. I can empathize with the shame and embarrassment that one can feel when they didn't get anywhere close to their goal. Hopefully you'll use it as a good learning experience, try to take the lessons to heart, and work on an action plan to improve in the long-run. You still have plenty of time but it's important to be proactive starting now. 

 

To do some quick calculations... assuming you have a GPA of 2.0 with 8 courses this year.... 

 

With a 4.0 x 30 credit/year x 3  --> your average will be around 3.6 rounded up. 

 

Realistically you may need to aim for three F/T perfect 30 credit years to make yourself more competitive. That said an upward trend combined with a strong application can weigh in your favour and potentially overcome obstacles with GPA. Regardless, focus now on destroying the rest of your degree. You can do it if you put in the work and get the help you need. 

 

- G

[bigpharmawoohoo]

What would be your pre req avg? Pre req courses are weighed more heavily in the application for UofA.

[Sam787]

hm......

[Cyclosarin]

If you're an upcoming second year then you won't be able to find a definitive answer to your question.  I believe the UofA is trying to introduce the PharmD for 2017 and if it's approved the criteria will certainly change.  The most pressing change is that you'll need to have completed your Bachelor's degree before enrolling, and there's also additional prerequisites being forecasted.  If they maintain the policy they have now, they'll take related senior course work in place of the prerequisites for that GPA calculation, as well as look at your GPA over the last 60 credits.  You have plenty of room to improve in that scenario.  

 

All of that could change at any moment, but it's what I'd focus on for now. 

[Runner5]

Hi all,

 

I just completed my first year of university and plan to eventually apply for pharmacy at the University of Alberta.

 

With that being said, my first year of university was an absolute disaster. I have two withdrawals from my first semester and am anticipating an F in a course in my second semester. My overall GPA from this first year will probably be 2.5 or even lower than that.

 

My question is: to what extent does the U of A care about how well or poor you did in your first year of university? I know that without a doubt, there will be an exponential improvement and a true reflection of the grades that I am capable of obtaining in my second and third years.

 

I'm in a state where I am absolutely ashamed and embarrassed.. Please, any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, please don't lose hope! My first year GPA was exactly 2.5 at the U of A and I also took a majority of my prerequisite courses for pharmacy in my first year. I got my BSc degree this year with distinction and was admitted into pharmacy today. So you definitely have a chance!