advice for a high school senior?

[sumguyfrommhs]

I am currently a senior in high school, and I am quite determined to become a pharmacist. Right now I am interning/training at a walgreens pharmacy to become a pharmacy technician. I plan on studying and passing the exam, and working throughout the summer before college. I hear that pharmacy college is difficult to get into. My question is-do you think that being a pharmacy tech and working my first 2 years is a good idea before pharmacy college? Or should i just stick to my studies? Also any advice on things like "volunteer a lot" would be helpful.
Thanks!

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[eightonesix]

I think you should complete your pre-reqs first, and if you are able to juggle work along, then both would be great. Then again it also depends on your career goals and any other factors you have to consider... time, financial reasons, etc.

 

[sumguyfrommhs]

yeah i guess i should just see how it goes. Thanks!
anyone else have any advice like things i should consider early on in college?

 

[tahi193]

If you're financially able, I suggest taking your first semester without working. You want to have plenty of time to adjust to the workload and get involved on campus. In your first semester everyone will be new and making friends. After that it is much harder to break into social circles.

Also, everyone handles the prereqs differently, so don't take on a huge load during your first semester. Take a medium load and use it figure out what you can and can't handle. You can always take a heavier load or search for a pharmacy job after your first semester.

Remember that you'll need to get professor reccomendations when you apply to pharmacy college so don't forget to go out of your way to get to know a few of your science profs before you apply.

You're absolutely doing the right thing by getting pharmacy experience early! Try to read up about the current events going on in the profession. It'll help you in interviews.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Best of luck!

 

[sumguyfrommhs]

Ahh yes, I'll be sure to remember to get those LOS early. Thank you!

 

[purplepower]

hmm if you start working now or this summer then maybe by the fall your boss will let you work a very light schedule (5-10 hrs.) on the weekends or something where no one else wants to work. That way you can hang on to the job and build a relationship with the pharmacists so that by the time you need LOR's you will be set. Yes it will take away from your studies but you will learn to be organized and it will keep you motivated to be in the pharmacy working environment.

 

[Storm90]

If you're looking into a 4 year program, your primary concern should be your GPA. Getting one or two C's will lower your GPA significantly, so study hard. Also, contact the schools you're interested in to see what you need to do to get accepted there. It's better to hear it from the source. Good luck!

 

[sumguyfrommhs]

im looking into 2 years pre-pharmacy and 4 years pharmacy school.

 

[WhiteSnows]

My advice for you is focus on school first. Make sure you have many A's, and then if you have free time, work in Pharmacy. You can also get a certificate to look good on your application.

Pharmacy schools look at everything from grades to you social life, work, volunteer. So, you just have to balance everything by youself to have all of those.