kzapf Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I am applying to the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at the University of Alberta. I expect to maintain a pGPA and cGPA of 3.9, so I am confident about admission. Unfortunately, most of this forum is about admissions. I have some questions about the program itself that I cannot find answers to anywhere online. 1) How hectic is the timetable of pharmacy school? In particular, how does it compare to undergrad i.e. for each semester of undergrad I had 5 lectures and 2 labs for a total of 21 hours of classwork per week (i.e. 7 x 3 hours). 2) How difficult is the math in pharmacy school? In undergrad I have encountered "single-variable calculus with max/min, graph drawing and integration, but no trig", "stats with applications to the biological sciences", "chemical thermodynamics" and a cell bio course with "the thermodynamics of osmosis and membrane transport". Does math in pharmacy school get much more difficult than that? 3) Would you recommend staying in residence? On the plus side, residence saves time on cooking and commuting, and is a great way to connect with peers. As a drawback, residence is more costly than alternatives and the rampart parties are distracting. Thank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Welcome aboard. I'm going to try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, but it's important to note that I'm just in my 1st year, so everything might not be fully accurate. #1) The schedule is pretty hectic, I would say. In 1st semester, you have 8 courses (one is volunteering and another one is pretty short), but it's the amount of content that becomes the issue. Strictly speaking, the number of hours will be about the same, but you're taught a lot more in the same hour in Pharmacy than you would at a normal undergrad class. Having a nice background in Physiology, Immunology and perhaps Pharmacology will most certainly help. As for next semester, we have less classes but more time due to lots of labs and seminars. 1st semester of 2nd year is the most hectic time in Pharmacy, as you will have an exam every single week. That is also when you will do a lot of clinical modules (at a time) on different parts of the body (i.e. GI, Nephrology, Lab Values, Hematology, Pulmonary... along with Pharmaceutics (sadly)) . They get us started on Dermatology/Eye/Ear/Nose in March of this year. #2) I'm a little curious as to why you're worrying about Math. Pharmacy is NOT about Math. Of course, you have to know how to calculate your dosages, and solutions, electrolytes, etc... (more of a hospital thing) but it's quite basic. You will have one Math course (Pharmacy 341) where you will learn all the pharmacy related calculations. It's pretty straight forward; honestly, that's the last thing I would worry about. 3) I really don't know your situation, so it's hard to comment on that. If you live at home currently, and you're fine with your situation, I'd say stay put. The program is challenging enough as it is, so why would anyone want to worry about making dinner, doing laundry, paying rent...? Save the money and maybe use it for a vacation in the summer. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzapf Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 thanks, that helps a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epona Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I am applying to the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at the University of Alberta. I expect to maintain a pGPA and cGPA of 3.9, so I am confident about admission. Unfortunately, most of this forum is about admissions. I have some questions about the program itself that I cannot find answers to anywhere online. 1) How hectic is the timetable of pharmacy school? In particular, how does it compare to undergrad i.e. for each semester of undergrad I had 5 lectures and 2 labs for a total of 21 hours of classwork per week (i.e. 7 x 3 hours). 2) How difficult is the math in pharmacy school? In undergrad I have encountered "single-variable calculus with max/min, graph drawing and integration, but no trig", "stats with applications to the biological sciences", "chemical thermodynamics" and a cell bio course with "the thermodynamics of osmosis and membrane transport". Does math in pharmacy school get much more difficult than that? 3) Would you recommend staying in residence? On the plus side, residence saves time on cooking and commuting, and is a great way to connect with peers. As a drawback, residence is more costly than alternatives and the rampart parties are distracting. Thank! I don't go to University of Alberta, but I am assuming at some point you will encounter pharmacokinetics which does involve some knowledge of calculus, but your math background definitely seems sufficient. We're never really expected to derive/integrate equations but it definitely helps understanding/remembering everything. And you'll have to work with natural logarithms, exponentials, do simple algebra to rearrange equations, etc ... but yeah nothing majorly difficult math-wise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacrolimus Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I don't go to University of Alberta, but I am assuming at some point you will encounter pharmacokinetics which does involve some knowledge of calculus, but your math background definitely seems sufficient. We're never really expected to derive/integrate equations but it definitely helps understanding/remembering everything. And you'll have to work with natural logarithms, exponentials, do simple algebra to rearrange equations, etc ... but yeah nothing majorly difficult math-wise! Oh yes. Thanks for mentioning that... PK is done in 2nd year at U of A and natural logs are definitely a big component. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBK1994 Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Just a question, do marks matter once you get into the pharmacy program, or are most of the courses pass/fail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12345c Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I believe you are graded... however, C's do get degree's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epona Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Just a question, do marks matter once you get into the pharmacy program, or are most of the courses pass/fail? You do get graded (at my school at least) and I have heard that grades matter when you are applying for hospital residencies at the end of fourth year. (You don't need to do a residency to work in hospital pharmacy.) I'm just in first year though so I'm not really sure how true that is. I've also heard that most employers don't ask for your grades. Maybe someone higher up in pharmacy education can give a more informed answer than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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