i.mourad Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 I heard last year was tough, ppl with ~3.7 gpa couldn't get in. I remember year before that ppl with ~3.5 gpa got in .. I hope they consider experience more this year since pharmacy consultation form is introduced. give more chance to ppl with low gpa A friend of mine got accepted with a 3.5 last year. To be honest it's not experience or GPA. If you have a GPA of >3.6 and a great letter of intent that's all that matters. 4.0's get rejected all the time. What I'm saying is the letter literally makes you or breaks you. 3.5 or higher with a good letter and you're competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharmapharma Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Where did you get the information that there are four gpas that are calculated? Seems inaccurate as it says on the UofA site that they only look at the pre-reqs and the last two years. I believe they are focusing more on pharmacy experiences an applicant how from now on. Not only have they added the consultation form, but they also added to the "selection process" topic that they will consoder pharmacy experience (which was not there last year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.mourad Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Where did you get the information that there are four gpas that are calculated? Seems inaccurate as it says on the UofA site that they only look at the pre-reqs and the last two years. I believe they are focusing more on pharmacy experiences an applicant how from now on. Not only have they added the consultation form, but they also added to the "selection process" topic that they will consoder pharmacy experience (which was not there last year). Realistically speaking, I'd say at least 50% (if not more) of the applicants will have zero pharmacy experience. Most pharmacies don't allow volunteering or shadowing due to privacy/policy reasons, and I'm sure the admissions committee takes that to consideration. Also, the pharmacist consultation form was introduced for a specific reason. It wasn't introduced to gauge how much pharmacy experience a person had, it was introduced to help weed out students who are applying to pharmacy just for the sake of applying. The admissions committee wants to see that people are making the effort to learn about the profession before applying. The University of Alberta has really started looking at an applicants overall application, and not just their GPA. That being said, having experience would definitely help, but I honestly do not think that they would reject a person just because the have zero pharmacy experience. For the experience part, I think they really only look at that when it comes down to the wire between two applicants. I could be wrong, but that makes sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Four "numbers" are essentially calculated, according to the admissions person. Did you guys hear about the cuts for generic drugs? It used to be 75%, then 45%, then 35% and now it is 18%. This is devastating for pharmacy owners, and it only means bad news for pharmacists. Argh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella99 Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 wow 3.5 gets in? I know some ppl with ~3.7 getting rejected last year so I was getting nervous. I hope the avg does not get higher this year ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.mourad Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 Four "numbers" are essentially calculated, according to the admissions person. Did you guys hear about the cuts for generic drugs? It used to be 75%, then 45%, then 35% and now it is 18%. This is devastating for pharmacy owners, and it only means bad news for pharmacists. Argh. Yea... that's honestly a slap in the face for owners.. If these cuts keep happening, its going to be disastrous for the profession. Let's just hope it only "seems" like the pool is stronger this year... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted March 10, 2013 Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 I don't have any sources for what I'm about to say, but I think this is how the ranking is done: - They read all of the letters, and you either get a Pass/Fail. If you fail, you're automatically rejected regardless of GPA (explains people with high GPAs getting rejected) - They then rank all the people who passed the letter according to their pGPA AND cGPA. People who do not have at least one year of full course load get bumped down. I really doubt P.C.F. will add much this year. Anyone who's applying will submit one for sure. That selection process makes sense to me, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.mourad Posted March 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2013 I don't have any sources for what I'm about to say, but I think this is how the ranking is done: - They read all of the letters, and you either get a Pass/Fail. If you fail, you're automatically rejected regardless of GPA (explains people with high GPAs getting rejected) . The deadline for the letter being March 1st seems to go well with your theory haha. They probably sift through them all first and I'd say cut out an easy 300-400 people. A lot of people don't spend much time on the letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizo5 Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 hannahsahib your 2 year gpa is solid! Also, i would assume that everyone's pre-req gpa would be relatively lower. Also, i'm in the same situation. If I don't get in, i'll have to do a masters.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 The deadline for the letter being March 1st seems to go well with your theory haha. They probably sift through them all first and I'd say cut out an easy 300-400 people. A lot of people don't spend much time on the letter. Does that mean they read the letters before June, so they can just do the calculations at the end? I was always wondering why they want the letters so early. It only makes sense if they do that right? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Can someone call Rae on if letters are read before the end of school term or in May? I just wanna know everything about the process haha. I called her so much that she remembers my voice. So yeah... If anyone can.. please and thank you! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Hey guys! Here are my stats: 4th year uofa student. Pre-req GPA: 3.64 (Took most of my pre-reqs my first year when I was a careless idiot and had a GPA < 3.0 ) 2 year GPA: 3.9 (out of the 4 years at uni- only one year has been a full 30-credit year; That's gonna be a major disadvantage) I think I had a pretty solid letter of intent. My minor is english so I'm pretty good with that stuff. I'm really worried about this I don't know what to do if I don't get in honestly... I don't want to do anything else in my life! And now that I'm graduating and will have a degree, the only option is basically masters. Kind of depressing.... Im kind of curious, can someone apply to pharmacy if they leave school after graduation for a year and travel etc. and reapply? Or its better to get the Masters. And also can I take courses in spring to finish up a degree? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Pharmypanda- yes you can take spring courses! transcripts aren't due until june 15th. The whole masters thing is coplete bull****. You see, if you wanted to go into med and didn't get in after your degree, then masters is the way to go because they actually have a point system and you get extra points for having a masters and even more for a PhD. For pharmacy, they don't do that. they base everything on the GPA and not on the number of degrees you have. So getting a masters would totally be a waste of time unless you plan to use it to improve your last 2 year GPA. Oh i meant for graduation convocation in spring, can someone still take courses in spring and graduate in spring? :] And yeah, I'm so scared! What do a student do when he/she has completed a degree and still wish to apply for pharmacy. Isnt Masters all about research and no way to upgrade undergraduate courses? Thanks! :] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizo5 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 The front desk lady at the Faculty of Science office told me that I would not be able to convocate in spring if I were to take a spring class. Even if my credits would be complete by june, I would have to apply for the november convocation. In order to convocate in the spring, your courses need to be completed by april. If I were you, I would double check tho, everyone's situation is a bit different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 The front desk lady at the Faculty of Science office told me that I would not be able to convocate in spring if I were to take a spring class. Even if my credits would be complete by june, I would have to apply for the november convocation.In order to convocate in the spring, your courses need to be completed by april. If I were you, I would double check tho, everyone's situation is a bit different. Oh thank you very much! That means I have to take spring and summer courses T_T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.mourad Posted March 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 This wait is killing me... anyone else? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmyPanda Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 This wait is killing me... anyone else? lol Me too... 3 more long months... do you think they read the letters yet? I believe they read all of them before the committee comes together at the end of June, since they will take only a week to make admission decisions (probably just calculations of GPAs). If my guess is correct, then I wish they could let people know if they have passed the Letter of Intent, beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Same here. Once all my grades are in (end of April), I'm going to become even more anxious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ella99 Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Yup me too its going to be a loooong summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke1001 Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey everyone, Im in my 4th year of bio sci ualberta applying next May. I horrible pre-req GPA of 2.4, I am working on bringing it up however by retaking english, stats and math next year when I apply. I imagine myself with a GPA this year of 3.3 and hopefully above 3.7 next year. What are your thoughts? How do I become competitive? :confused: I have a gold mine of volunteering (abroad and local), plus worked as a pharmacy tech for about a year. I do have the experience and am sure I can get a good LOR and LOI, I just want to make sure I get in next year.. Will my pre req GPA cut me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey everyone, Im in my 4th year of bio sci ualberta applying next May. I horrible pre-req GPA of 2.4, I am working on bringing it up however by retaking english, stats and math next year when I apply. I imagine myself with a GPA this year of 3.3 and hopefully above 3.7 next year. What are your thoughts? How do I become competitive? :confused: I have a gold mine of volunteering (abroad and local), plus worked as a pharmacy tech for about a year. I do have the experience and am sure I can get a good LOR and LOI, I just want to make sure I get in next year.. Will my pre req GPA cut me out? I'd hate to say it, but your chances are extremely slim with that pGPA. Unfortunately, all that volunteering does not really matter to U of A since you don't have any way to convey that. You should try anyways because you never know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke1001 Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I'd hate to say it, but your chances are extremely slim with that pGPA. Unfortunately, all that volunteering does not really matter to U of A since you don't have any way to convey that. You should try anyways because you never know! Thanks for the honesty! I will be retaking some pre-req courses to try and boost my pGPA. Do you know if there is a preference for which pre reqs have higher marks? eg organic chemistry over english? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 Thanks for the honesty! I will be retaking some pre-req courses to try and boost my pGPA. Do you know if there is a preference for which pre reqs have higher marks? eg organic chemistry over english? No, it doesn't matter which pre-reqs are higher. They simply don't have the time to look at which courses people have done better at. It's a number that gets plugged into the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke1001 Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 No, it doesn't matter which pre-reqs are higher. They simply don't have the time to look at which courses people have done better at. It's a number that gets plugged into the computer. Thanks for the help Alfredsson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12345c Posted April 1, 2013 Report Share Posted April 1, 2013 Just to inform you guys, 575 applications were submitted last year and 618 the year before. I attained this info from a source within the department. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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