Mock PCAT Exam

Hi guys,

Kaplan is sponsoring a mock PCAT exam at UBC. It is on January 9, 2010, at Wood 4, from 9AM-12PM. Please arrive 15 minutes early.

To be able to participate in this mock exam, you must sign up online at this link:

http://www.kaptest.com/enroll/PCAT/V6H+1H5/events

Merry Christmas!

January PCAT Study Sessions

Hi guys!

We are holding Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry study sessions in January.

January 6, 2010 - Organic Chemistry in Buchanan B307
January 7, 2010 - Physical Chemistry in Buchanan B307

Both sessions are from 5-7:20 PM. Please RSVP by January 3, 2010.

Merry Christmas!

Math Worksheet Answer Key

Pop quiz 1. c 2. e 3. d 4. e 5. d 6. c 7. d 8. a 9. c 10. d 11. b

Corrections for worksheet: #19: replace "7" with "35"; the signs remain the same #20: option e should read "$780" Worksheet 1. b 2. b 3. e 4. c 5. e 6. b 7. b

8. e 9. b 10. d 11. a or e 12. e 13. b 14. b 15. e 16. a 17. a 18. d 19. e 20. e

English Worksheet Answer Key

1. b
2. b
3. c
4. a
5. c
6. d
7. d
8. b
9. b
10. d
11. c

Biology Worksheet Answer Key

1.c 2. b 3. a 4. d 5. d 6. c 7. No right answer 8. c 9. a 10. b 11. a 12. d 13. c 14. d 15. a

Second part (labeled Biology problems) 1. d 2. c 3. a 4. Please change the question to "Interphase begins with:" Answer: d 5. b 6. b 7. Please change (d) to "Gametophytes are sporophytes" Answer: a 8. d 9. c 10. a 11. b 12. b 13. b 14. b 15. c

16. c 17. d 18. c 19. d 20. a 21. c 22. a 23. a 24. b 25. d 26. c 27. c 28. b 29. c 30. a 31. d 32. a 33. b 34. c 35. d

Prep101

Hi guys!

Prep101 is offering a 10% discount for all their courses! Go take a look here.

PCAT Book Draw

Hello!

There will be a draw for a free PCAT study guide!

For each study session you attend during November, you will receive a raffle ticket towards the draw. The draw will happen during the Biology session on November 24.

There will also be a Kaplan Discount Ticket draw at the same time.

Good luck and see you there!

PCAT Book Sale

Hello!

The Pre-pharmacy Club is holding a PCAT study guide sale! We will be selling used study guides before and after each study session. First come first serve.

See you there!

Study Sessions

Hi guys!

For November, we will be having study sessions for English, Math, and Biology.

November 16 - English in Buchanan B303
November 18 - Math in Buchanan B303
November 24 - Biology in Buchanan B310

The study sessions will go from 5-7:20 PM. For English and Math sessions, please RSVP by November 14. For the Biology session, please RSVP by November 21. There will be refreshments at the study sessions.

Hope to see everyone there!

Icebreaker

Hi everyone!

This year's Icebreaker was a blast! A big thanks to everyone who came out, and we hope you guys enjoyed it.

Also, the October PCAT is this Saturday! Good luck to those taking it!

Pictures from Icebreaker:

We're no longer looking for execs + Membership Fees update

Hi everyone!
We have our executive team of 2009-2010 already, so we will not be looking for any more executives this year. Please feel free to apply again next year! To lessen the confusion, we will have deadlines next year for the applications. Thank you to all who applied!
Another note on membership fees. For those of you who are UBC students, membership fees are $7.
For those of you who are NOT UBC students, membership fee will be $9 and you will be an associate member, which means you cannot run for executives or vote on the executives. These are rules set out by the SAC (Student Administration Council). Thank you for understanding!

VISIT US AT SUB ON CLUB'S DAY TO JOIN!

Hi everyone!!! Please visit us at SUB on club's day (Sept.23-25) to join the club!! Membership fee is $7. We'll see you there!!

Executive Positions

Hi! Below is a copy of the email that was sent out concerning a description of the executive positions:
Hello All, If you are interested in becoming an executive with the Prepharmacy Club, please send in your resume in the email itself, no attachments please. Below is a brief description of the positions available so everyone who applies know what they are about to get themselves into. Do not be afraid, we do not bite!
VP External's job decription
-liase with external organizations such as Kaplan representatives or any other pharmacist speakers, etc.
-booking representative - responsible for all bookings of rooms for events
VP External qualifications
-Outgoing, punctual, professional communication skills
-Time commitment: 3 hours/week
Secretary's job description
-primary contact for club members: send reminders, informs members of upcoming events, give out instructions, maintains email account
-attends all club meetings
-meetings minutes
Secretary qualifications
-Highly organized, detail-oriented, able to anticipate problems, professional communication
-Time committment: 3 hours/week
VP Internal / Event Coordinator's job description
-Plans details of events (everything from how much food should be ordered to the timeline of the event)
-Incorporate member requests into events when appropriate
-Delegates tasks to other execs for the duration and preparation of event
VP Internal / Event Coordinator qualifications
-Love for planning, eye to detail, leadership, outgoing and open to ideas
-Time commitment: 3 hours/week
VP Technical / SUS rep's job description
-Maintains and updates the blog/website
-Attends weekly meetings with SUS
VP Technical qualifications:
-Artistic, knows how to make websites, organized, reliable, preference for technology
-Time commitment: 3hours/week
***Please note, these job descriptions are not permanently assigned and should be used as a reference.
Lastly, many of you have emailed us about joining the club. We will be accepting members during Clubs Day in the SUB on September 23-25, 2009. Please bring your UBC student card as well as a $7 membership fee.
Any more questions? Feel free to email me back! prepharmacy.ubc@gmail.com
-Rochelle
Prepharmacy Club President

Looking for New Executives!!

Hey everyone!!! We are currently looking for students to join our executive team! Descriptions of possible positions will be posted in 2-3 days. However, if you're sure that you want to be part of the team, just send us an email at prepharmacy.ubc@gmail.com with "Application for Executive Position" in the title, and we will contact you a.s.a.p. I look forward to meeting everyone!! P.S. First years are welcome as well! -Amy

Common schools to consider

There are some schools such as Dalhousie that hardly makes exceptions for non-residents (that is, non-residents of that province). The following Canadian universities are the ones that discriminate less between residents and out-of-province students. Hover over the school names to reveal their direct links to their pharmacy homepage! **Please excuse the blank stretch of space.

UBC -PCAT, interview required. Don't forget your change of faculty form!	Application due: February 28
University of Alberta	Application: MARCH 1 Letter of Intent: MARCH 1 Transcripts: JUNE 15
University of Saskatchewan 14/90 students taken from out of Saskatchewan; written test	Application Deadline: (12:00 midnight)February 15 Test of Critical Skills and Personal Profile: March 15 Transcript: June 2
University of Manitoba	Application: MARCH 3
University of Toronto	Application: midnight (EST), DECEMBER 12 Submit grades online: JANUARY 30 Transcripts: JANUARY 30
Universite Laval -French - MUST TAKE Test de Francais International exam *TFI*	Application: MARCH 1

-Edited by Jackie Law and Amy Tsai

If you are considering pharmacy...consider this

Before investing your time and energy into a field of study, it's vital to do some research first. One of the worst things that can happen to students is that they make a commitment to spend 4 years with the faculty, only to realize a little too late that everything is not as they expected, or that the profession they graduate into is not worth making a career of. The brief guide covers some questions you should be asking yourself before you start filling out an application form. It also provides some sound advice to give you a headstart into becoming a competitive candidate. I can't emphasize enough how much more there is to tell other than this short essay. To make it easier for you, becoming a member of our club will give you access to future seminars on such topics.

Why pharmacy?

It's the hardest question to answer and I strongly advise not avoiding it. To be utterly frank, not many people have good or indepth reasons. Most people would say it's because pharmacy is a healthcare position, it's in demand in the market, and it's well-paid. Don't be surprised if your answer seems to amount to only this much at a glance, but be wary if you cannot ever expand on that. Each of those facts begets another list of questions. For example, what does being involved in healthcare mean to you? You might be a caring person who would like to improve individuals' well-being, you might want an opportunity to learn more about healthcare by interacting with other prominent professionals, or you might want to attain a PHD, do research and become a professor. There's no escaping this nagging question-you're asked during the interview anyways, so you might as well figure it out ahead of time. It'll save a lot of grief in the long-run. Even if you end up deciding that pharmacy is not for you, it'll help you search for other paths of study. Obviously, this begs the question of how to find out if you're suitable or not, which we'll tackle a little later.

Do I have what it takes?

Applying to anything is a sobering activity. Reading admission requirements is a dreadful, and at times, an overwhelming task. It may both open new doors or lock others, but it's by far the most unchangeable deciding factor. For an inexplicable reason, the faculty of pharmacy is only concerned with your first-year grades. You may have done perfectly well in your first-year and horribly after that, or the reverse, but all those later years will hardly matter. That is not to say, however, that you're completely stuck-there are a handful of post-first-year courses that do count towards your admission average, which you can refer to at UBC's faculty of pharmacy website. Sure, there are a few stories where even students with 70% average has gotten in (which even the faculty will admit to), but what are the chances when you've got hundreds of applicants who can do at least 5% better? Don't trust your education to these miraculous stories. If you do fit into the underdog category, though, hopefully you have some spectacular merits to back up a less-than-desirable first-year GPA. Admission is not the only reason for a reality check. Although it depends on person to person, pharmacy education is not to be taken lightly. Nothing worth doing is. It's not 4 years of educational breeze-you're expected to work hard, graduate, and take a licensing exam in the end. Are you prepared to dedicate yourself for that?

What do I need other than good grades? (How do I prove my non-academic merits?)

Finally, the icing on the cake. Depending on your attributes, this may amount to easy, delicious icing or a sticky helping of "Oh, damn it all." There is only one way to prove that you are a selfless person who can be trusted to take care of patients. Giving up your time and energy for the community without pay looks good on your application. It's also a healthy mindset to get into. You can literally find volunteer opportunities anywhere in the city, or out of the city, for that matter. School and the local community centres are just a couple of the more accessible places. It's also flexible and completely up to you what you want to help out with. If you need volunteering advice, you can become a member with the club-we'll give you more ideas and real-life experience than you can handle.

How do I get more involved with pharmacy without being in the faculty?

This is part b of the first question. There is no better way to find out in first-hand perspective, what it's like to work with pharmacists. There are surprisingly few venues where you can do so (many pharmacies don't bother to take in volunteers) but there's no harm in asking around. Even if you fail to find a suitable pharmacy, there are various hospitals and care homes who would be happy to take you under their wing. It helps to proclaim to your friends and family about your goals, too-networking goes far. This is no time to be shy, go out there and make a difference for other people and for yourself.

-Jackie Law

Links you should visit

PCAT Harcourt Assessment-PCAT registration (do it early!), question samples.

UBC Faculty of Pharmacy-prerequisites, online application.

Prepharmacy blog-Xin is a current pharmacy student with a lot of wit and a great sense of insight. Make sure you visit his blog to see what being in pharmacy is all about.

Your questions (pharmacy-related)

This is a general FAQ and does not cover every inquiry. Thus, we encourage you to submit comments in this

post, and we will answer them to the best of our ability.

1. What is the average to get in and how many people get in?

The minimum admission average is 65%, and a PCAT composite score of 65%. However, the average for those who were admitted in the past is approximately 78% to 80%, with an average PCAT composite score between 85% and 90%. Admittance for the 2011-2012 year will increase to 250 students, and 1000 students are expected to apply.

2. What are the prereqs?

Go to http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/undergraduate_programs/application.html for the prerequisites. It is different for each school and only a select number of schools in Canada actually require the PCAT.

3. How much weight is placed on the PCAT, interview, or application?

Grades of prerequisites and other relevant courses will weigh at least 50% . The remaining 50% will be balanced between the PCAT scores, interview scores, and Online Pharmacy Application materials. Grades are definitely not everything.

4. What is the difference between pharmacology and pharmacy?

Pharmacology is a biological science that deals with the properties, and action of drugs and chemicals in living systems, and is usually composed of research. A degree in pharmacology cannot be used to apply for a pharmacist license, but a B.Sc. Pharm. degree is eligible. Pharmacy studies include pharmaceutical sciences, and they also prepare students to become responsible pharmacists who legally distribute scheduled drugs, and provide safe and effective use of medication.

5. How much time am I given to write each PCAT section?

Not much, so play to your strengths and understand your weakness!

1. Writing – 30 min

2. Verbal – 30 min

3. Biology – 30 min

4. Chemistry – 30 min

5. Writing – 30 min

6. Reading Comprehension – 50 min

7. Quantitative Ability – 40 min

-Amy Tsai

Your questions (club-related)

This faq covers the basics. Please feel free to leave comments and we will attend to them as best we can.

1. What is the advantage of being a member?

With a small membership fee, all PCAT study sessions will be open to access, as well as the PCAT mock exam and mock interviews. These are not the only perks. Most important of all, you will meet other students who are also interested in pharmacy and have the chance to hear from pharmacy students themselves.

2. I missed all of the events so far, can I still join? How would I go about doing so?

It is never too late as our activities run year-round. Simply email prepharmacy.ubc@gmail.com, and indicate that you are interested in joining our club.

3. Do you have regular meetings?

Only executives are obliged to attend regular meetings, which are not open to members. However, we have

scheduled study sessions, and other events to help you with the application to pharmacy throughout the semester.

There are two ways to find out about our upcoming activites: they will be both emailed and posted on this blog.

4. What if I miss some of your events?

We encourage all members to attend to the best of their abilities. Although we try to schedule events to the general convenience, we understand that all does not always go as planned. As such, any handouts are made available for pickup at any one of our events.

-Amy Tsai