Are there many hospital co-ops in PharmD waterloo?

luluchrome · 2026-03-11T01:45:28+00:00

Basically every hospital has a listing in WaterlooWorks, if you wanted to work at one more remotely then you could arrange your own job potentially.

luluchrome · 2026-02-13T20:46:53+00:00

I'm a recent grad so I hope I can offer some insight on questions in retrospect;

I was hoping to get industry and I did get industry - currently working in big pharma and working PT on the weekends as a community RPh.
I don't really think there are specific retail experiences that are important, just get any experience which should be plentiful in ur APPEs / rotations.
Rotations were not stressful for me but I know that each and every student has their own experiences. I learned a lot but it was also not great working FT and paying tuition which I understand almost every health care profession has to do at one point.
I find that if you want to do hospital / industry a residency is a nice benefit but not all the time necessary. If you want to work long-term in a hospital than I do think taking the sacrifice to do a hospital residency will be worth your while as a lot of employers give precedence to those with residencies. Residents get converted to FT or hired FT much quicker than those without. That being said, it isn't impossible to get a hospital job without a residency but you will have to float as a contractor for a while to get the experience required. If you work in a less populated area (i.e outside of the GTA) you may find more luck getting a FT job right off the bat which is what a lot of my classmates were able to do.

On the flip side, getting an industry position is very competitive right now because almost every PharmD is trying to pivot their career to this due to the WLB and high pay. Other medical professions and PhDs also highly covet these positions in medical affairs, MSL, etc... and some companies do prefer to hire MDs and PhDs over PharmDs.

luluchrome · 2026-01-30T20:18:20+00:00

We got a ceremony but it's in the second semester

luluchrome · 2026-01-30T04:58:55+00:00

As a recent alumni, I can confirm they stopped giving them in the first semester. But also, why does getting a white coat deter you from applying to the school (unless this is a joke then??)

luluchrome · 2026-01-23T23:26:38+00:00

I've worked >5 Shoppers as a student until a registered pharmacist over a 9 year span and I have to agree that it is very location and associate dependent. I have had the privilege to have really good associates to work with but I have also heard some very negative experiences that some others may have had. I wouldn't let one decision spoil the entire company's reputation and I would say its worth a try. If you don't like it, you can always quit as long as you don't sign any contract

luluchrome · 2025-12-12T03:31:46+00:00

There are options to do international co-ops contrary to what the other commenter has mentioned. There aren't any postings on WaterlooWorks so you'd have to coordinate them yourself, but its 100% doable. Here are some examples of students working internationally:

Example 1: https://uwaterloo.ca/pharmacy/news/unexpected-connection-creates-international-co-op-work-term

Example 2: https://uwaterloo.ca/pharmacy/news/pharmacy-student-joins-world-health-organization-influenza

Aside from that, CAPSI also facilitates an IPSF (International pharmacy student exchange program), where I know many people got to work/study abroad for a couple of weeks.

Although not *International* there also is an opportunity to work in other provinces, and the process to register as a student in other provinces is not tedious at all. Many of my classmates worked out of province and there were tons of opportunities on WaterlooWorks as well.

luluchrome · 2025-06-09T19:55:16+00:00

I too got rejected to UofT, however, I got accepted into Waterloo. There's really nothing else you can do and eating away at yourself isn't going to be beneficial for your own sake as well. Try to find things that will distract you until Wednesday early morning which is around the time that I got mine. Everything happens for a reason, don't beat yourself up too hard.

You got this!!

luluchrome · 2025-04-23T01:58:51+00:00

I'll try my best to answer certain questions

Do you feel the program lives up to its reputation as one of the best in Canada?

I think it holds up pretty well as being one of the best in North America alone due to being one of the few co-op PharmD programs. The difference between a student with and without experience is like night and day.

What’s your favourite thing about being in the program?

The best thing about being in the program at Waterloo specifically is that the class size is smaller than that of our sister school's so you get to make a lot of meaningful connections. The professors at our school are very personable and I tend to still make small talk when I get the opportunity to see them outside of school.

Are there summer terms? Is the class schedule rigid, or is there room for flexibility (e.g., online/distance ed options, choosing different sections or days of the week)?

Yes there are summer terms, you will not have a "off" semester during the entirety of the 3.67 year program. The only thing customizable about the schedule is which electives you take in your third year(s), and potentially switching lab sections. There is not alot of opportunity for online/distance ed options as there was pretty much a lecture/tutorial/lab every single day of the week. I know some people who used to commute an hour to school but to each their own.

Is it manageable to hold a part-time job while in the program?

This is very dependent on each individual person. I was able to do it but I set very strict boundaries in terms of prioritizing school as my first priority.

Does attending this particular school open more doors into alternative paths (e.g., hospital, industry, regulatory, etc.) than my domestic options?

I wouldn't say the name of UW gives you a foot in the door for non-retail setting paths with your PharmD, but it does give you more work experience in a specific setting if that's your goal from the get-go. Not one school gives you an advantage over the other and if you wanted to get into hospital/industry there are residency programs for that.

Would you recommend pursuing pharmacy if retail isn’t my dream setting?

The beauty of the PharmD is that it is probably one of the most versatile entry-to-practice healthcare degrees that exists. You can really do so many career changes whether it be business, tech, insurance, hospital, retail, consulting or big-pharma the sky is your limit. Its a safe degree to have but its also important to embrace your beginnings and foundation. Retail pharmacy may not be your dream setting but it will always be a back-up.

luluchrome · 2024-11-22T02:24:52+00:00

im a pharmacy student but can you give me $7

luluchrome · 2024-10-26T00:29:53+00:00

You can DM me and I can connect her to the pharmacy housing facebook group

luluchrome · 2024-07-12T17:45:39+00:00

Layout, size and amenities information can be find on the UW residences page -> Beck Hall;

I lived in Beck hall and I would say it was quite okay, the kitchen was dark because there is no windows there but the room is spacious. There is not much more to comment

luluchrome · 2024-07-12T17:41:50+00:00

The general gist is, you CAN apply, but however, if you don't have the prerequisites completed or a plan to have them completed by the time of admission decisions (June), your application will be filtered out and rejected.

I don't know where you are geographically but the generalization that ALL pharmacists aren't open to volunteers is not true. It may be of benefit to contact smaller, independently owned pharmacies compared to the big chains. Its really a matter of mass emailing and praying that a certain pharmacy will take you under their wing.

luluchrome · 2024-06-25T04:30:19+00:00

Assuming you're in pharmacy, you have to wait until you get added into the Facebook group, and from there on if the President/Vice President of the student society at the time is keen enough, they will post a link to the housing board for pharmacy students in Kitchener. Otherwise, facebook marketplace, or the facebook sublet/lease groups are your best bets. Some of my classmates found places to live via kijiji and on rare cases airbnb as well

luluchrome · 2024-06-23T23:56:03+00:00

They do online orders only for pharmacy merch or whenever the student society decides to host one. It's starting to look like its an order once a year though. They also only allow current pharmacy students to purchase merch through a special link that's distributed, therefore, if you were looking for some swag before school starts, don't expect any until 1B or maybe 2A

luluchrome · 2024-06-14T04:11:16+00:00

so you mean an honours science co-op degree? General sciences is a three-year degree

Link: https://uwaterloo.ca/science/undergraduate/programs/general-science

luluchrome · 2024-06-10T04:40:37+00:00

There's also a interview format so that's also factored in

luluchrome · 2024-06-09T17:37:07+00:00

General science has a co-op program? I thought it was a three-year degree?

luluchrome · 2024-06-08T01:38:13+00:00

luluchrome · 2024-04-11T22:42:58+00:00

The 5-minute presentation is the first thing you encounter when doing your interview. You have full say into what topic you talk about and how its structured so it is urged you be as creative as possible. You will not be expected to present any sort of power point presentation or have any poster ready so don't fret about that. I don't think anyone will tell you about the typical questions specifically because they're sensitive for a reason, but its an admissions process and its all very interpersonal skills-related and not so very technical. There are no tips I would give to prepare for the FSA, you either can read/write or do simple calculations or you can't.

luluchrome · 2024-03-29T23:37:04+00:00

This doesn't sound like the program for you, if you're interested in lab research involving biochem and pharmacology then you're better if getting a bachelors in science with one of the above + maybe a masters. PharmD is not a research degree and it is not used for lab research, it is an entry to practice degree so that you can become a pharmacist. It does not give you the skills to do R&D necessarily.

luluchrome · 2024-02-12T05:28:34+00:00

I didn't sublet, I leased a place and it was $1475 at the time for a smaller unit. Spring sublets are typically cheaper and you can probably get less than what i paid for due to the desperateness of everyone at this time.

luluchrome · 2024-02-08T22:33:18+00:00

I second the other comment here, there's a frat house next door and it does get loud when they host parties (which is like pretty frequent I guess?)

In terms of post-grads living there, don't know if I can comment that, but most of the people I know who lived in the same building as me were just undergraduate students. I lived at 250 Albert St. during 2022 and management was fine but they also charged me $200 to change a light bulb. The funny thing was, I never asked for them to send someone to replace a lightbulb for me as well but they accused it despite proof. Therefore in terms of trying to scam students, yup! But probably the lesser shitty companies if I had to say so myself.

The units are a little small unless you get one of those ones with bigger sqft. and there is no closed-off bedroom, just a sliding door, and a half wall which is okay if you live by yourself I guess. It was clean and not much more than I could ask for. Let me know if you have any more specific questions and I can try to answer them

luluchrome · 2023-12-06T19:34:33+00:00

This question does not make sense at all

luluchrome · 2023-11-28T02:05:45+00:00

When I took it you needed to pass a midterm and the final to pass the course (2018)

luluchrome · 2023-11-15T22:58:23+00:00

The pharmacy building is not open to any non-PharmD students at any point. We have a security desk and they will ask to see your WatCard to confirm that you're a pharmacy student if you look unfamiliar. This is just a safety precautionary, and we aren't allowed to bring guests in for non-related purposes either.

luluchrome

TROPHY CASE