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University Of Alberta 2022 Pharmacy Applicants - Class Of 2026


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On 7/1/2022 at 3:42 PM, Anita555 said:

Hi, I applied to U of M (IP) and U of A (OP) PharmD programs and I got into both. I'm still not sure which program I'll attend, but I would love to hear your experience at UofA and how the program is (if it's really better than UofM lmao). Also, I'm worried about living costs and what being an OP student is like. If anyone has any advice/experience please let me know :)

Also, discord link would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hey! Sorry for the late reply, things have been a little hectic for me this summer. I'm from Edmonton, so I can't speak to any out-of-province-specific scenarios but I can definitely tell you a little about the program (from my perspective).

Academically, I think most programs across the country are similar; they may vary in things like how rotations are done or to what scope students are taught. As you may know, Alberta has the largest scope of practice for pharmacists, so we are taught, for example, more about prescribing than a school in a province where pharmacists cannot prescribe. [https://www.pharmacists.ca/advocacy/scope-of-practice/](You'll see this chart a lot, but it can be beneficial to learn about all of these things here and then transfer that knowledge to a more "restricted" province than the other way around). So there will be variations like that across the board, but generally, we are all taught the same things therapeutically. I base this on brief talks I've had with other students from other programs during PDW during my first year in January 2020 (PDW is a pharmacy conference that typically happens every year, where students from every pharmacy school attend). In the end, everyone is taught according to the PEBC, so you can generally expect the same things in all of the schools.

Of course, every program in every school always has things that are great, and things that can be improved. The PharmD program that you guys will be entering into is fairly new; my class (class of 2023) was the second cohort that went through the new program. The faculty takes into account all the feedback they receive from the students and puts it towards further refining the program every year (so how the program looked for my class is different from how it was for the class before us, and the class after us, and so on). Overall, I feel like the program is great, and can get even better as time goes on.

In regards to the social aspect, it can be what you make of it. Everyone is generally friendly, there is a sense of what we call a "Pharmily" (lol, some people like it, some don't). The student association (APSA), in addition to each class/cohort's social representative, will have lots of social events planned so there will always be something coming up to do to take your mind off school. I had a lot of fun at pharmacy events in my first year, it helped me make a lot of friends. You'll make friends in the program starting right from orientation, just put yourself out there, everyone is in the same boat as you! Of course, the last two years were very restricted for social events due to covid, but we had online events wherever we could. This year (I am probably biased as I am part of the social events committee) we hope to pick it up right where we left off with events before covid and try to have as much fun as we can :) Genuinely looking forward for this year! I hope I'll see you guys there.

As a side note @Anita555, a few of my friends in the program are out of province and I can reach out to them if you, or any other OP student, has any specific questions about living costs and things like that. Additionally for living costs and all of that, I would recommend getting a line of credit if you guys don't already, even if you don't use the money it is a good safety net. Since you guys will be accepted into pharmacy, you'll be eligible for special line of credits from almost all banks, however the best one currently is the one that Scotiabank offers. Most of these lines that are offered to you/other professional program students have really good interest rates and offer a lot of money on the line of credit. 

Sorry for the wall of text, not sure if any of that is helpful at all but let me know! See you guys at orientation :)

PS. I debated linking this, but if you do want to see some differing/contrasting opinions about the program you guys can browse this previous application thread: [https://forums.premed101.com/topic/107094-university-of-alberta-2020-pharmacy-applicants-class-of-2024/?do=findComment&comment=1157967. There were some contrasting opinions shared during the month of February (browse through the thread starting form this linked comment and you will see them) and I think it's good to see varying opinions about the program when you are making your choices. I do acknowledge that I had a very optimistic view of the program at that time in the comments I made in response to this user, but that is just how I view most things in life, and I was also only in the middle of my first year at this point! I still do stand by most of the things I said though, and I hope we can all have fun at all of the events I mentioned in those comments and many more! Hopefully this doesn't scare anyone away :) 

 

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On 7/4/2022 at 10:47 AM, alyssahove said:

Hi! I was accepted into the program a couple of weeks ago and have been on the hunt for a room to rent in Edmonton. I came across this forum and thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone here is looking for a roommate or knows someone that is in need of a roommate. Preferably female roommates and close to campus! Thanks! 

If you haven't found someone yet, it might also be helpful to ask in your class Facebook page. It should be created soon and you guys should receive links to join it; you can ask your classmates in there if anyone is looking for a roommate. Not sure exactly when it gets created, but I think they wait until most of the class list is confirmed. I would also check websites like Kijiji/FB Marketplace, from what I know there are a lot of listings on there for places for students near campus.

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11 hours ago, KR99 said:

If you haven't found someone yet, it might also be helpful to ask in your class Facebook page. It should be created soon and you guys should receive links to join it; you can ask your classmates in there if anyone is looking for a roommate. Not sure exactly when it gets created, but I think they wait until most of the class list is confirmed. I would also check websites like Kijiji/FB Marketplace, from what I know there are a lot of listings on there for places for students near campus.

What do you mean by "...the class list is confirmed."? Are you saying there's still a chance to get in for anyone still waiting on an admission decision?

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3 hours ago, TanzzG said:

I just heard that they have all the spots filled already and rejection and waitlist letters will be coming soon. So anybody that didn't hear back yet may be waitlisted. 

Oh I see... Not really sure if you would know but how does the waitlist work? Haven't people already accepted their offers and paid their deposit? Therefore, isn't it essentially pointless to be waitlisted?

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11 hours ago, Scept373737 said:

Oh I see... Not really sure if you would know but how does the waitlist work? Haven't people already accepted their offers and paid their deposit? Therefore, isn't it essentially pointless to be waitlisted?

Well my friend from the program told me a lot of people like to hold their spot if they're waiting for offers from elsewhere such as other faculties, other provinces, etc. So there is still hope even being waitlisted. 

I also heard rejection letters are already going out. 

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On 2/14/2022 at 7:35 PM, MrNotSoSmart said:

Best advice is be yourself. I recall the Dean mentioning that they just want to make sure that people can speak coherently and that the substance of the answers is not as important as the delivery. In my year there were pre-recorded questions and you had about 1-2 minutes to think and 1-2 minutes to say your answer. The questions were not specific to pharmacy (from my experience) and nothing that you could have prepared for specifically. I would suggest doing the practice questions they give and getting comfortable talking to yourself on a screen.

Some pointers or things to practice:

1. Have an organized answer with smooth transitions

2. Make sure you answer all parts of a question equally

3. Don't talk too fast. It is okay to take a second to collect your thoughts and proceed more coherently.

4. Practice in front of a mirror and don't use more than 1-2 mins to prep the answer

Hope it helps!

Hi! I'm currently applying within the 2023 admission cycle were the questions that you were asked mainly scenario based? And also were they all recorded or was there written questions as well? Thanks!

-Y

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