Finish undergrad vs. Pharmacy

[brady23]

Hey guys,

 

I'm in a five year program (will be third year this September, graduation date is 2017). I basically have two plans of when to apply for pharmacy (during my undergrad or after undergrad and hope I get accepted the first time).

 

Plan A - I wanted to apply to pharmacy in my fourth year (just to get a trial run of what the application & interview is like), but my goal would be use my trial interview in fourth year to improve in my fifth year. Does this sound like a good plan?

 

Plan B- My other plan would be to wait until I'm finished my degree after my fifth year, and then apply to Pharmacy, and hope I get in the first time. My only problem with this plan is that I likely won't be accepted in the first round, but my chances for physiotherapy are really good.

 

Because of co-op, I likely won't be able to complete all the prerequisites until the end of my fourth year.

 

Which plan is more ideal? I just don't want to get accepted into a pharmacy program after I already have an undergraduate degree and physiotherapy degree because I'll be nearing 30 when I graduate, while people at 25 will be graduating with a pharmacy degree.

[Epona]

What are your grades like? I think pharmacy is less competitive grades-wise than physiotherapy (at least from what I have heard). I would say don't worry too much about the age you will graduate. There will be more mature students, but pharmacy does tend to have a lot of younger students.

 

I would say apply this year if it's really what you want to do. Is completing your undergrad really important to you? If it is, but you still would like to see what the process is like, applying makes sense. Waterloo is fairly competitive, but Toronto isn't too bad so I would say you have a good chance of getting in the first time you apply if your grades are decent.

 

(I am assuming you are interested in Waterloo and Toronto from your other post).

 

If you have any questions about Toronto, feel free to PM me .

[brady23]

What are your grades like? I think pharmacy is less competitive grades-wise than physiotherapy (at least from what I have heard). I would say don't worry too much about the age you will graduate. There will be more mature students, but pharmacy does tend to have a lot of younger students.

 

I would say apply this year if it's really what you want to do. Is completing your undergrad really important to you? If it is, but you still would like to see what the process is like, applying makes sense. Waterloo is fairly competitive, but Toronto isn't too bad so I would say you have a good chance of getting in the first time you apply if your grades are decent.

 

(I am assuming you are interested in Waterloo and Toronto from your other post).

 

If you have any questions about Toronto, feel free to PM me .

 

My grades are good (~3.85), the only thing I'm worried about is if the interview goes sour or my application is not competitive enough. Grades aren't that important correct? And I don't have any pharmacy experience, although I'm going to try to get a pharmacy related placement in co-op. Would this make me competitive?

 

Thanks so much! How was the interview for UofT? Did you apply to Waterloo as well? How were the interviews different?

 

Can you give me any tips to make myself competitive?

[brady23]

What are your grades like? I think pharmacy is less competitive grades-wise than physiotherapy (at least from what I have heard). I would say don't worry too much about the age you will graduate. There will be more mature students, but pharmacy does tend to have a lot of younger students.

 

I would say apply this year if it's really what you want to do. Is completing your undergrad really important to you? If it is, but you still would like to see what the process is like, applying makes sense. Waterloo is fairly competitive, but Toronto isn't too bad so I would say you have a good chance of getting in the first time you apply if your grades are decent.

 

(I am assuming you are interested in Waterloo and Toronto from your other post).

 

If you have any questions about Toronto, feel free to PM me .

 

I'm going into my third year, but I still have quite a few prerequisites to meet such as English & Microbiology for Waterloo, a 2nd year chem course for UofT, and I still have to write the PCAT, and I have to take a 2nd calculus course.

 

I decided I'm not going to apply this year because I won't have a lot of experience related in pharmacy, but after my co-op term, I'll hopefully be more competitive and apply next year (in my 4th year)

[Epona]

My grades are good (~3.85), the only thing I'm worried about is if the interview goes sour or my application is not competitive enough. Grades aren't that important correct? And I don't have any pharmacy experience, although I'm going to try to get a pharmacy related placement in co-op. Would this make me competitive?

 

Thanks so much! How was the interview for UofT? Did you apply to Waterloo as well? How were the interviews different?

 

Can you give me any tips to make myself competitive?

 

I don't think grades are as important at Waterloo, but I do think they play a fairly large role for Toronto. With your GPA, you are solid. Don't worry about not having much pharmacy experience for Toronto, but it will help for Waterloo (and I would advise you to give Waterloo serious consideration because I have heard very positive things about the program/graduates). A pharmacy related co-op sounds like a good idea. You can also apply to be a pharmacy assistant.

 

Toronto was an MMI and about half of the people who interview will get accepted. Interview is important, but they do use PCAT scores and grades in the final calculation so I think you would have to be present yourself pretty poorly in the interview given your grades not to get in (this is coming from someone who is not great at interviews .) I did not apply to Waterloo, but from what I heard it is a panel style interview and the interview performance is more important.

 

I don't know what tips I can give you, except to keep up the good work in terms of grades and if you can get some pharmacy experience that is a bonus. I don't know very many people from Waterloo pharmacy, but the ones I do know usually had some pharmacy assistant experience.

 

Good luck .

[Epona]

I'm going into my third year, but I still have quite a few prerequisites to meet such as English & Microbiology for Waterloo, a 2nd year chem course for UofT, and I still have to write the PCAT, and I have to take a 2nd calculus course.

 

I decided I'm not going to apply this year because I won't have a lot of experience related in pharmacy, but after my co-op term, I'll hopefully be more competitive and apply next year (in my 4th year)

 

I think your plan sounds good!

[brady23]

I don't think grades are as important at Waterloo, but I do think they play a fairly large role for Toronto. With your GPA, you are solid. Don't worry about not having much pharmacy experience for Toronto, but it will help for Waterloo (and I would advise you to give Waterloo serious consideration because I have heard very positive things about the program/graduates). A pharmacy related co-op sounds like a good idea. You can also apply to be a pharmacy assistant.

 

Toronto was an MMI and about half of the people who interview will get accepted. Interview is important, but they do use PCAT scores and grades in the final calculation so I think you would have to be present yourself pretty poorly in the interview given your grades not to get in (this is coming from someone who is not great at interviews .) I did not apply to Waterloo, but from what I heard it is a panel style interview and the interview performance is more important.

 

I don't know what tips I can give you, except to keep up the good work in terms of grades and if you can get some pharmacy experience that is a bonus. I don't know very many people from Waterloo pharmacy, but the ones I do know usually had some pharmacy assistant experience.

 

Good luck .

 

Thank you so much, I will definitely consider Waterloo! I am going to PM you a few questions if you don't mind, thank you for all your help, it was really valuable!