UCSF Phi Delta Chi Pledgeclass Presentation - Part 4

Student Panel - Real raw and uncut stories at UCSF - Part 2

Question: In your opinion what made your app stand out?

2 - I started really late. Not until the 2nd semester of my junior year. I only had the math prerequisites. What made me stand out? I did a lot of theater, worked as a waiter, and in an animal lab. It showed a lot of passion. [Note: How many times was that word used now?] Theater and nothing to do with medicine, but you do learn about leadership, directing actors, group work, time management, etc. I worked on a grad project, it combined theater and medicine. We worked with elders to see how they'd like to have a better relationship with their doctors. [I think I may have lost a little bit of the content there.] Do what you like and not just what you think they want to see. As long as you have passion [Ding!], it will show, and the admissions committee will see it.

Q: What was the strangest interview question you were asked? (Not necessarily at UCSF.)

1 - At UoP, the professor asked me if, since I was the symposium chair for the pre-pharmacy club, he asked me if I've done anything illegal in setting it up, or if I was asked to do anything illegal, and how did I go about handling the situation. I didn't know how to answer it. I think I ended up telling him that the school gives you a certain amount of money for specific things like PR. We needed money elsewhere for the event, and had to work out how to shuffle money around. I explained that hosting a successful symposium was the ultimate goal. An answer to a question like that will show your character.

Guy (also a pledge, but not on the panel) - I applied to Hawaii, and the interview was going great. If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why? I ended up saying Wonder Woman. His response was, "Oh I love comic books!" We spent fifteen minutes discussing comic books. I rocked the interview.

2 - They ask you questions like that because they only know you on paper. They want to get to know you. I got asked if you could be an amalgamation of two people, who would they be? I said Brad Pitt and Kobe Bryant. I want to look good, and Kobe's athletic and cool. I want to be like him.

Q: What aspects do you enjoy most of pharmacy school?

3 - One of the best things is getting to know all of our classmates. We have a great group. During my undergrad, I had the mentality that as long as I get above the curve, I'm fine. I don't need to set it, as long as I'm over. [Laughs.] In grad school, it's all set. Because of that, your mentality has to change. Before going in you think everyone has to be cutthroat and competitive, and want to set the standard, but that's not true. Classmates are really willing to help you. Classmates who don't procrastinate as much make these really nice charts. I'm doing other things so I don't have as much time, and I look at their study charts. They're not thinking, "Oh no, this person might do better than me."

2 - Upperclassmen will sent you cheat sheets and their tests. If your grades are slipping, the staff will help you. They've very supportive.

Q: What is the most challenging aspect?

5 - There are so many things you can do outside of studying. There are a lot of orgs to join. As an undergrad, I wasn't very involved. Business, reserach, serving, etc. Professional frats. It's exciting. You want to join them all. But there's only 24 hours in a day. I want to do things I find interesting, but have time to study. You're with the cream of the crop. People study a lot. You need time management to squeeze everything in. But everyone is supportive. You don't have to make your own study guides. There are study guides galore. [Note: Nice to know, but for me, as well as other people I'm sure, making the study guide is part of the learning. But still nice to know if necessary.]

Q: How is the academic work load compared to undergrad?

5 - I study less now than when I was an undergrad. There are so many things you can do. The stuff we're learning now is a lot more applicable. OChem comes back. It never leaves. BioChem too. They're classes you've seen before. It's doesn't seem as bad.

1 - [Says the opposite of 5] As an undergrad, you take a combination of easy and hard classes to balance things out. You can't do that anymore. Finals week is death.

Guy - We have a class size of 122. You can pull out a B or an A in undergrad if you fail your first exam. Most of the classes now just have a midterm and final. And homework doesn't count. You see OChem again, but it's very specific what they want you to know.

Girl - They tell you what you need to know over and over again. They repeat it a lot. They make a point and put in effort so you internalize it.

Q: Last thoughts?

Someone - Don't get discouraged. I felt I had to apply right away. But I took two years off. I didn't want to, but I applied and got rejected. At the time I was discouraged, but looking back, it was probably good for me. Time to find myself and if I really wanted to do pharmacy. I felt that made my application stronger 'cause I found that reason. Don't feel like you have to apply right away, and there's a certain timeline you have to follow.

Guy - I'm 36. It's been fifteen years from undergrad to pharmacy school. But it doesn't make a difference. We're all there now. It makes the experience richer to have variety.

1 - Word of advice from my mentor saying that personal statements are important. When you're doing all these extracurricular activities, you may forget about some details that make you stand out. When you do an experience, take out a word file and type it our right away so you don't forget anything. Then when you look back you can say, "Oh, I can write about this experience, or that experience."

Girl - I did that, and when it came to my application, it helped a lot. When I shadowed a pharmacist, I asked myself what made that person a good pharmacist. When you write your personal statement, you can say, "I fit the criteria." Another thing people overlook is that a lot of people talk about how pharmacy fits your personality, but don't forget about how you can help and contribute.

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Then that was it. For me at least. They opened it up for questions from the audience, but I had to excuse myself to make it in time to see Wicked: A New Musical. I would have liked to have stayed. Overall it was a great presentation. Besides all the factual information and advice giving, they also gave off a great vibe, and seemed genuinely excited to come speak to us. That's always a great thing when making a presentation, and hopefully is a sign of their experience overall as student pharmacists.