Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Official University Of Alberta 2015 Pharmacy Applicants - Class Of 2019


Koko

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

 

I thought I would create the discussion forum for this year's application cycle for the University of Alberta pharmacy program since one has not yet been created and I found last year's discussion pretty helpful.

This is my second time applying and I am just finishing up my degree this year. My pre-req GPA is ~3.8 and overal GPA ~ 3.7. I likely did not get in last year because of my letter of intent but who knows.

 

Feel free to post any questions and your stats as you come in.

Everyone else that is not applying or has already gotten in, please feel free to contribute, your input is much appreciated.

 

Good to luck everyone!

 

All best,

Kokoko

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 195
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • 1 month later...
Hello everyone! 

 

1st time applying... 2nd year at Mount Royal... long time lurker of these forums (hope you get in this year kokoko, really cheered for you last year!)

 

As for pre-reqs I have a 3.9 average (I just have three more classes to go and they are probably the toughest ones) and an overall average of 3.88

 

Nothing much else... good luck everyone!!!  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys!

I'm applying this year too! I just recently made the decision that pharmacy is the route I want to pursue, so this will be my first time applying.

I'm in my 6th year at the UofA, in the Special Student program with the Faculty of Science. I'm upgrading a few of my pre-reqs, since pre-req GPA is probably the biggest worry for me. Especially, my General Chemistry grades, which are pulling me down....

I'm really hoping they look at the improvement since first year, because I think the GPA on the most recent two years shows a more accurate picture...

Good luck to all of you, and enjoy the holidays!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys,

I'm finishing my science degree in BC this year, and I'm planning to apply for U of A pharmacy.

My cGPA and prereq GPAs are both 3.7 but I've been taking lighter course loads (about 24 credits or less /yr). Does it really matter that you take full course load (30cred/yr)? 

 

Good luck to everyone!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey@pharmiii and @PharmacistDude,

I have previously taken lighter course loads as well (4 and 4 courses each semester for a total of 8 for a year) and I've emailed U of A admissions twice already asking the exact same thing during this and last year's application cycle and I always get the same answer that as long as the student has one 30-credit year, they are on par with everyone else. I have also been checking the previous years' forums and the answers pertaining to this concern are pretty much the same. So we should okay. The only advantage of having multiple 30 credit years is that they can choose and would pick the year with the highest average out of whatever number of years instead of a single one obviously. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi! Happy New Year everyone!

I am applying this year too, but I am concerned about my prereq GPA, as it's only 2.7 :( But my cumulative GPA on the last two years is a 3.8.
I unfortunately passed most of my prereq courses with low marks in first year when it would have been smarter to just drop... little did I know at the time.

I'm also in the last year of my program, so I can't upgrade anymore than I already have. I also received a D in organic chemistry 261 when I was in my first year, so that is affecting the prereq GPA as well. But I took chem 263 this past fall term and got an A-.

Do any of you know if they put a lot of weight on the prerequisite GPA even if there is a significant improvement in grades for higher level courses?

 

It's just frustrating that my mistakes in first year are still coming back to get me even though I'm a totally different student since I started university!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey starlight17,

 

From what I know, I believe that unfortunately your GPA from your pre-reqs bears the greatest weight out of all the academic stats. But if anyone on here think they know better, please correct me.  I don't want to give you false hope but then again I don't want to discourage you either. Your last two year GPA is very good, so why don't you just shoot U of A pharmacy admissions an e-mail? Ultimately they are the ones that will be looking at your stats and they can definitely give you some advice or reassurance. I wish you all the good luck in the world! Keep us updated and any more questions are welcome. 

Also, Happy happy New Year everyone! I wish you all lots of health. At the end of the day that is all that matters. 

 

 

EDIT: I derped in a few places.

Oh and actually, you might want to contact U of A admissions to make sure, but I believe that if you take courses that correspond to upper level continuations of pre-reqs (say STAT 201 is a pre-req and you didn't do so well, you could take STAT 202) then admissions would take the grade from the higher level course (so in this case STAT 202). Have you considered doing that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Guys! I was fortunate to get accepted into UofA Pharmacy into the class of 2018. While I was applying, I was constantly trying to find actual students and hear their advice and experiences in pharmacy school, so I thought I would come back here now and make myself available if anybody has any questions for me at all, whether it be about the application process or pharmacy school in general. I hope that I could be useful, just as some higher year students were extremely helpful during my application year. I wish you guys good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi ConfusedSoul1! I do remember you from last year's forum and I hope you are having fun in Pharmacy!

 

I do have some questions that are not really about the application and selection process but rather what the Pharmacy program is like. What's the overall atmosphere among students (competitive, friendly, etc...)? Do you feel that the pre-reqs you took previously have prepared you for the material you have learned thus far (can you name a pre-req that is especially important)? Do you know many people in your class who have actually completed an undergrad degree before getting into the program? What do you think every applicant should do to prepare for UofA Pharmacy?

 

Sorry if that was a mouth-full. I hope I don't take too much of your time answering these questions and I wish you a successful Winter semester!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi ConfusedSoul1! I do remember you from last year's forum and I hope you are having fun in Pharmacy!

 

I do have some questions that are not really about the application and selection process but rather what the Pharmacy program is like. What's the overall atmosphere among students (competitive, friendly, etc...)? Do you feel that the pre-reqs you took previously have prepared you for the material you have learned thus far (can you name a pre-req that is especially important)? Do you know many people in your class who have actually completed an undergrad degree before getting into the program? What do you think every applicant should do to prepare for UofA Pharmacy?

 

Sorry if that was a mouth-full. I hope I don't take too much of your time answering these questions and I wish you a successful Winter semester!

No worries, I dont mind answering questions at all!

 

The atmosphere of the students is extremely friendly. The majority of the people in the program are very outgoing and open. We have a huge number of social events every single month that give you the chance to get to know everyone and you find that everybody is always extremely welcoming and social. The entire pharmacy program, with the exception of very few courses, is curved. However, professors constantly reiterate to us that nobody will ever ask for you transcripts or marks when you are applying for a job. Some students who are still trying to get into medicine or dentistry are quite intense and try to get every possible mark available, and they surely have their work cut out for them with averages 85%-90% for some of the courses. Majority, however, are quite relaxed and as I understand second and third years are a lot more difficult, however in first year it is extremely relaxed, very friendly and positive. You often have days when you have just one or two classes, or none at all .Majority of the class is comprised of students who have finished two years of undergraduate studies. Pre-reqs will honestly only help you in a small handful of classes. There are about 4 or 5 courses out of the 15 in first year that I would call "science" courses, which some of the pre-reqs would help you with. You take biomedical science, which will teach you briefly about some of the cellular mechanisms inside your body, as well as an immunology and biotechnology course. Organic chemistry was another one of those "science" courses, however it is taught drastically different from OCHEM in undergrad. You will not need to memorize the pathways or mechanisms. You do not really need to follow any electrons, however you will be taught a great number of molecules and functional groups that you likely have never seen before, as well as understand basics about drug metabolism in your body.

 

In terms of what every applicant should do to prepare for UofA Pharmacy, I would say would vary greatly depending on who you ask. In my opinion, it is important for you to find out about what a pharmacist actually does. Not only will it prepare for you for what to come, it will also give you an edge when writing your letter of intent. I can honestly say I knew only a fraction of what a pharmacist does before I got into pharmacy school. I think it will be in your best interest to find out about pharmacist's role in Alberta. Read up about all the different changes happening to the field of Pharmacy in Alberta as well as other provinces. For example, did you know that a pharmacist in Alberta can administer injections, create care plans, perform medication assessments and even apply to be able to prescribe to patients?

 

Sorry for the long post, but I hope that I was able to answer your questions. Feel free to ask, if you have any other questions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for this ConfusedSoul1! It was actually a pretty interesting read and thanks PharmacistDude for posing this question. The way that you describe the program makes me want to get in even more. I certainly thought that there would be more competition between students but the 'chill' environment that you describe makes sense given what you already said about grades. I actually have a few questions of my own that I've been wanting to ask someone since last year so I hope you don't mind answering these. 

Would you say that a personal laptop is helpful to have for students in the program in terms of studying or taking notes during class or is there a sufficient access to computers on campus (I am not a U of A student obviously)? I know the answer to this question is likely different across individual students so feel free to tell us what you find helpful. In addition to this, I know University of Calgary med school profs upload podcasts of their lectures online, is this the same for U of A pharmacy? I think this is it for now, but I'll definitely bug you with more in the future  :D

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

EDIT: spelling  :cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for this ConfusedSoul1! It was actually a pretty interesting read and thanks PharmacistDude for posing this question. The way that you describe the program makes me want to get in even more. I certainly thought that there would be more competition between students but the 'chill' environment that you describe makes sense given what you already said about grades. I actually have a few questions of my own that I've been wanting to ask someone since last year so I hope you don't mind answering these.

Would you say that a personal laptop is helpful to have for students in the program in terms of studying or taking notes during class or is there a sufficient access to computers on campus (I am not a U of A student obviously)? I know the answer to this question is likely different across individual students so feel free to tell us what you find helpful. In addition to this, I know University of Calgary med school profs upload podcasts of their lectures online, is this the same for U of A pharmacy? I think this is it for now, but I'll definitely bug you with more in the future :D

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

EDIT: spelling :cool:

It is definitely a lot more relaxed than undergrad. One of our professors once drew us a curve and explained her view of the Pharmacy "curving."

 

In terms of computers, the faculty uses a lot of tools on our electronic class system at the UofA. No podcasts are posted, however all the notes are always provided as pdfs or PowerPoint. I would strongly recommend a laptop or a tablet, however it is not a necessity. I know a few people who went the entire semester without having a laptop and they were completely fine. There are a lot of brand new computers available for UofA students to use everywhere. As a matter of fact, faculty of Pharmacy just moved into a brand new renovated building this year, and we have a set of our own 10 key coded study rooms as well as a new huge computer room just for pharmacy students. Also, there is a medical library conveniently located close to our classes, which also has a lot of computers and study space. As a side note, there is also a set of lockers you can rent to drop off your jacket, as every building that you're in is connected by pedways, avoiding the torturous Edmonton winters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again for the lightning fast reply and for the tremendously thorough info!

And one last one for now, given that you are in pharmacy, would you say that you have enough time for leisure (working out, video games, movies, etc)? 

That's it for now from me, I wish you tons of success in the new semester.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...