University of Reading Pharmacy Foundation 2023

from doing the exams this year and passing, i don’t know if it’ll change but

you have a 3 hour chemistry exam in person, 45 min biology exam online (it’s multiple choice), an 1 hour maths exam (this is the pharmacy module one)
i found the chemistry one quite difficult and i wasn’t the only one who did, the maths was quite simple and if you did well in gcse maths then this one should be a breeze! the biology exam was also quite easy as it was also open book, but i don’t know if they will change this. the biology and chemistry ones are pretty much a level questions!

also these exams aren’t 100% of your whole module, the chemistry being 60%, biology 50% and the maths 50% overall.
the maths one is also very important for you progressing as you have to pass this at 40/100 in order for you to progress
also to note, you need to pass your chem and bio modules at 60% and have an average of 60% across all your modules in order to pass, which is quite high for a foundation year but it’s required due to the degree, don’t panic though im sure you’ll do fine!

were you allowed to use a calculator for your exams?

yes i was

thanks! I have a few more questions. What was your timetable like? How many days did you have to go in and at what times? Do have to attend every single lecture? Did you have to do a lot presentations in front of the class?

okay thanks how many people were in your whole class? did they all pass?

i’m really unsure as for the foundation year you’re not just with pharm students you’re also with anyone doing a science based subject next year, i would say a whole class in chemistry would be maybe 100 or so people, same with biology and from my course mates, i’m the only who passed the first time round, they’ve all resat and currently are waiting for their results

Wow I thought it was only pharmacy students.
Omg no way 😭 I really have to work hard then Which module did you find the hardest? How did you take notes/ revise for exams? Was there coursework as well?

from doing the exams this year and passing, i don’t know if it’ll change but

you have a 3 hour chemistry exam in person, 45 min biology exam online (it’s multiple choice), an 1 hour maths exam (this is the pharmacy module one)
i found the chemistry one quite difficult and i wasn’t the only one who did, the maths was quite simple and if you did well in gcse maths then this one should be a breeze! the biology exam was also quite easy as it was also open book, but i don’t know if they will change this. the biology and chemistry ones are pretty much a level questions!

also these exams aren’t 100% of your whole module, the chemistry being 60%, biology 50% and the maths 50% overall.
the maths one is also very important for you progressing as you have to pass this at 40/100 in order for you to progress
also to note, you need to pass your chem and bio modules at 60% and have an average of 60% across all your modules in order to pass, which is quite high for a foundation year but it’s required due to the degree, don’t panic though im sure you’ll do fine!

not op but this information is soo helpful and gives me ease haha thank you

from doing the exams this year and passing, i don’t know if it’ll change but

you have a 3 hour chemistry exam in person, 45 min biology exam online (it’s multiple choice), an 1 hour maths exam (this is the pharmacy module one)
i found the chemistry one quite difficult and i wasn’t the only one who did, the maths was quite simple and if you did well in gcse maths then this one should be a breeze! the biology exam was also quite easy as it was also open book, but i don’t know if they will change this. the biology and chemistry ones are pretty much a level questions!

also these exams aren’t 100% of your whole module, the chemistry being 60%, biology 50% and the maths 50% overall.
the maths one is also very important for you progressing as you have to pass this at 40/100 in order for you to progress
also to note, you need to pass your chem and bio modules at 60% and have an average of 60% across all your modules in order to pass, which is quite high for a foundation year but it’s required due to the degree, don’t panic though im sure you’ll do fine!

How hard would this be for someone who didn't study a level bio or chem

Are you also doing the foundation year?

Wow I thought it was only pharmacy students.
Omg no way 😭 I really have to work hard then Which module did you find the hardest? How did you take notes/ revise for exams? Was there coursework as well?

chemistry for sure, but that isn’t my strongest subject but i think most people struggle with that module the most. i did notes on my laptop of things i didn’t understand while the lecture was going on and then when the recording of the powerpoint went up i would go through that and add things for details! i also did exam questions for chem as they’re super similar to a level
yes there’s coursework, there’s a whole module on that (academic skills) but it’s not too difficult it’s just there to make sure you know how to do certain things you’re going to come across

Did exams for all your modules happen at the end of the year?

On my timetable the bio lecture happens at two places at the same time. Does that mean I can go to any room?

this might be an error in the timetable, ask your lecturer about it first

but it comes up for every bio lecture i have