The day begins as any other, save for the fact that you are now begining a great journey towards one of Academia's greatest rewards, the BPharm. You will be greated by the Dean of the Faculty who will welcome you and tell you you are the cream of the crop to have achieved this level of excellence in your studies... Too bad he doesnt tell you about the 12 hour shifts, the no bathroom breaks, the no lunch hours and the endless hours of trying to make people understand how the government insurance plan works! I know I would have bolted for the doors... Nah just kidding:-)
No I won't give away what happens to you during initiation week, that's part of the fun of becoming a university student. But I hope you have a strong stomach and have plenty of dry clothes, not to mention humility... The first years get massacred by the second years and the third years judge, the fourth years are distant memories. You have to make your little costume (yes, costume) according to specifications sent to you during the summer. The rest involves a lot of beer and nudity, enjoy!
The first year has 20 some credits worth of classes per session, which include a wide range of pointless basic science courses like organic chemistry aka medicinal chemistry (don't let the name fool you, medicine has nothing to do with this class), biochemistry, cell bio, anatomy, histology, blah blah blah... All pointless and useless in the long run, just suck it up and move on. You won't even see or hear anything related to drugs.
The best advice to surviving the first year is to get as many classes credited as possible!!!!! If you've changed over from another program or already have another BSc, credit, credit, credit. Get rid of as many classes as you can (if you've already done them that is). Some teachers can be a-holes and ask for you to pass an exam prior to credit being given but... whats better: one easy exam on stuff you should already know followed by mutiple days off? Or going (Read:sleeping) in class and still having to do an exam, allbeit a much harder one? The choice, my friends, is up to you... Tip for you Cegep students: befriend an older, wiser veteran university student in your class AND find yourself a sponsor from the second year (this happens during initiation week). Sponsors give you their past years course notes (and most crucial of all: LAB REPORTS) and books (save some $$$).
The Faculty of Pharmacy is one of the more boisterous ones on campus and the students try to make life fun for you and them. Go to events like the wine and cheese and the "Show Amateur", it's good for the soul and it never hurts to hang with the In crowd... Participate kids.
Once you finish writing your last final (usually at the end of April, which is pretty sweet for a health related program), it's time to start looking for a pharmacy in which to intern (the infamous "Stages de l'Ordre des Pharmaciens du Quebec"). For 120 hours every summer, you need to do slave labor for some lucky pharmacy. You won't learn much the first year, since you don't really know anything (but you can try and impress your patients with your knowledge of the components of Willis' Polygone). A lucky few will manage to get jobs and stay on for the summer or beyond. For the others, take it easy afterwards and rest up for Year 2...
For boring details like course load visit the Faculty's web site:
www.pharm.umontreal.ca