Official University of Alberta 2014 Pharmacy Applicants - Class of 2018

[Koko]

No worries. Yeah I am going hiking the whole day tomorrow so I don't have to think about it.

 

Happy Happy Canada Day all!

[Koko]

Hey guys, so I still haven't received anything in terms of email but my bear tracks says my admission status is now " quota filled". Has anyone previously had experience with this?

I am assuming I have been rejected. This is pretty disappointing. In terms of stats I have 3.81 in the pgpa, 3.73 for best two years and 3.689 for cgpa. I guess I must've done something wrong with my interview or loi. I'll trying calling Rae on Monday to learn more but the stress just turned into disappointment , I didn't even make a ranking list.

[ConfusedSoul1]

Hey guys, so I still haven't received anything in terms of email but my bear tracks says sion status is now " quota filled". Has anyone previously had experience with this?

I am assuming I have been rejected. This is pretty disappointing. In terms of stats I have 3.81 in the pgpa, 3.73 for best two years and 3.689 for cgpa. I guess I must've done something wrong with my interview or loi. I'll trying calling Are on Monday to learn more but the stress just turned into disappointnent , I didn't even make a ranking list.

 

Hey, unfortunately "quota filled" means that they are not able to offer you admission this year. You should definitely try again next year, however it does seem very weird that you did not get in with those stats. You should definitely email Rae and try to find out what part of your application was lacking in their opinion.

[Koko]

Thanks ConfusedSoul, I already did e-mail her. I will definitely apply again next year as long as I can present a more competitive application under the circumstances. I really thought I had an edge this year, I am pretty clueless as to what went wrong. I hope they provide a good reason that I can work on to fix for next year.

[Debstep]

Are you in province or out of province?

 

Hey guys, so I still haven't received anything in terms of email but my bear tracks says my admission status is now " quota filled". Has anyone previously had experience with this?

I am assuming I have been rejected. This is pretty disappointing. In terms of stats I have 3.81 in the pgpa, 3.73 for best two years and 3.689 for cgpa. I guess I must've done something wrong with my interview or loi. I'll trying calling Rae on Monday to learn more but the stress just turned into disappointment , I didn't even make a ranking list.

[Koko]

Im in province.

[Debstep]

Im in province.

 

Wow, that's rough...

It was most probably the Letter of Intent, because your grades are excellent! I hope this doesn't deter you from applying again next year, and I think you'd be waitlisted.. so hopefully your position is pretty high up!

[Koko]

Yeah this is incredibly discouraging since it is so unclear what the problem is. My interview was not very strong for sure but I really thought my letter was alright. Better luck next year!

Good luck to you guys who got in! Enjoy pharmacy! Good luck to others still waiting.

[Koko]

Wow, that's rough...

It was most probably the Letter of Intent, because your grades are excellent! I hope this doesn't deter you from applying again next year, and I think you'd be waitlisted.. so hopefully your position is pretty high up!

 

Just wondering Debstep, say I improve on my letter next year, why do you think I'd be wait listed?

[Debstep]

Just wondering Debstep, say I improve on my letter next year, why do you think I'd be wait listed?

 

Erm if you improved on your letter next year, I guarantee that you'll be in with those grades, unless the Interview is tough for you -- this year was just a test run, so the interview didn't account for TOO much of the admissions, just to raise any red flags.

 

Next year, they'll probably either make it more heavily weighted, or take it out if it didn't work, or change it completely.

 

If you don't mind, I can take a look at your letter if you want and suggest ways to improve.

[Koko]

Erm if you improved on your letter next year, I guarantee that you'll be in with those grades, unless the Interview is tough for you -- this year was just a test run, so the interview didn't account for TOO much of the admissions, just to raise any red flags.

 

Next year, they'll probably either make it more heavily weighted, or take it out if it didn't work, or change it completely.

 

If you don't mind, I can take a look at your letter if you want and suggest ways to improve.

 

That would be amazing actually, I'll pm you with my answers?

As for the interview, I think it went fine, my answers were nothing exceptional but also nothing shocking, some generic activities with some personal reasons.

[pharm15]

I'll look over it too if you'd like. How much time did you spend on your letter?

[Koko]

I'll look over it too if you'd like. How much time did you spend on your letter?

 

Thanks pharm15, I'll definitely take you up on that! I'll send as multiple (it's too long for a single one) private msgs some time today.

 

As for time spent on the letter, this year I started the letter at the beginning of January, so about a month and a half of on and off editing.

[Debstep]

As for time spent on the letter, this year I started the letter at the beginning of January, so about a month and a half of on and off editing.

 

I began right when it was posted, but I already thought about the previous year's letter of intent and how I would answer it... I finished about a week after it was posted, and then edited once a week until the due date.

[Koko]

I applaud you for that and will probably follow your footsteps this year. I understand it was my own fault not to get in this year.

[keinjuan]

I applaud you for that and will probably follow your footsteps this year. I understand it was my own fault not to get in this year.

 

Don't think of it as your fault. A large part of admission process is pure luck. I think you have done more than adequate to get in, and I'm sorry you did not make it this year. That being said though, you should still try to find ways to better your chance.

 

I am actually opposed to the idea of writing LOI super early, because more time spent ≠ a better LOI. As you keep reading your letter over and over, you start to believe the things you wrote rather than writing what you believe. Also, your answers tend to become "canned" as you keep editing. Overall, the letter becomes less personal. To the reader who will be reading at least a few hundred of those letters (I've seen stacks of LOI sitting on committee member's desk), a genuine letter that comes from heart reads more interesting than a polished letter that does not necessarily tell what kind of person wrote the letter.

 

That being said, I think the beginning of January like you did is probably a good idea. This way, you still have ample time to reflect and edit if needed. Also, you can have other people look at it. Make sure you choose people who will be honest with you and you should treat this as a learning opportunity rather than a part of application process. In the end, that is what it is.

[Debstep]

Forgive me if I gave the impression that you have to write for that long. I have only been giving my experience to kokoko through private message and in the forum, to give her insight on other ways she could approach the application next year.

 

By no means is it a necessity to follow what I did in order to get in. I am pretty sure I was the only one who wrote for such a long time, but I was just addicted to it and it was fun reading it over.

[ConfusedSoul1]

I spent about two or three days on the LOI. I sort of agree that if you spend too much time editing, it might not sound natural any more. I must say though, a significant amount of information that I used in my LOI was from simply talking to a pharmacist for the pharmacist consultation form. He was able to give me great insight of the profession, which consequently made answering some of the questions quite easy. It also allowed me to express myself naturally, while attempting to appeal to what I believe the faculty's goals are.

Did you fill out the Pharmacist Consultation Form that was recommended by the department, kokoko?

[Koko]

Yes ConfusedSoul, I did submit one Consultation Form.

Thanks keinjuan, U of A pharmacy definitely hasn't seen the last of me. As for how long I would be writing the letter this year, I didn't mean to say that I would do exactly what Debstep did last year. Obviously, different things work for different people. I just thought that I would try something different this year. I took about a month of on and off editing last year and I really thought I had a pretty decent letter. One thing I missed out on doing last year is planning out what the admissions committee wants to take away from the letter. In addition, I believe my gpa to be decently competitive for this program so I must have definitely raised some warnings with the letter. I still cannot identify anything shocking in it but I think I will take a little longer this upcoming cycle in writing just to be wary of potential red flags as well as have the opportunity to let more people read the LOI. A strategy for this year is definitely to have a more polished LOI that sounds more professional. Last year I even tried to insert some humor which might not have been appreciated by the committee.