Getting into Pharmacy School! PLZ READ!

[ccoulter14]

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Ok, I'm 19 now, just got done w/ my first year of college, majoring in Pre-Pharmacy/Chemistry. I've worked in a pharmacy since 05 and I've been a PTCB certified tech for almost a year now. When I was in high school I took numerous pharmacology classes from a CC to I guess jus make my records look good lol. If anyone has heard of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), I placed 1st in the state of TN and 12th overall in the nation in my first year taking the pharmacology test my senior year of high school. So far, I've gotta 3.6 gpa which should and will be higher. Other than keeping my grades up, what other things do I need to do to better prepare myself to applying for a pharmacy school?

 

[PrepharmKID]

Pray every night. I hear sacrificing large animals works as well.

 

[omnione]

Does your school offer a degree in pre-pharmacy? I always chuckle when I see that.😀

Anyway, you're young so the main objectives are rather broad, general, yet key:

1. Continue to do well in school.
2. Try to get some sort of pharmacy experience with that certification
3. Prepare for the PCAT if necessary
4. Keep a running tab on your experiences. It's much easier when application time comes around because you don't have to hunt down information.
5. You need reference letters, so it's good to develop relationships with people. It's ideal to get at least one pharmacy reference and one academia reference. The third is a bonus.
6. Optional: Try to visit some schools and/or join some pre-pharmacy clubs for your personal benefit.

 

[ccoulter14]

Heh, sounds like a good idea, your lucky Im not one of those animal rights lovers, theyd take offense to that! haha

 

[ccoulter14]

Well I have about 5 pharmacists with whom I have good references with. And of them is close friends with a dean at one of the pharmacy schools here in TN. Plus numerous doctors and nurses that I know, so the references wont be too bad hopefully

 

[YapYap6]

Sounds like you're really motivated and have a lot of potential. Ever thought of going the MD route? Not that pharmacy is any better or worse mind you, but you'd have more individual authority to effect changes for your patients.

 

[Bhavesh]

1.) get the highest GPA possible (major is irrelevant, this includes learning to study)

2.) know the pharmacist at your tech job to learn about the profession and get a recommendation (rec #1)

3.) know all your pharm school's pre-req's (and get A's)

4.) in two SCIENCE classes (you got A's) get recommendations (recs #2, #3) in the april-may BEFORE you apply that following June

5.) PCAT is a crapshoot...the harder school you go to for your pre-req's, the better you'll do, but you don't want to sacrifice low pre-req grades for high PCAT...find your balance, and plan to take the PCAT after you've taken bio, gen chem, orgo, and physics - take a course if you think you need it, otherwise study out of the Kaplan book and take ALL of the Cliffs practice tests

6.) the best time to apply is EARLY
-pharmcas begins accepting applications on June 1st; so plan to get your recs in for June
-send all your transcripts to Pharmcas for June
-get your personal statement done BEFORE June: this is the hardest part for most people, so get this started AS EARLY AS YOU CAN
-submit the entire application in June (you can apply anywhere between June and July because pharmcas typically doesn't start forwarding until August, but the earlier you submit the app, the farther ahead "in line" your application is when schools begin receiving them)

do all this, then do whatever the heck you want to do in college

my recommendation: so long as there is NO sacrifice on the aforementioned steps, learn to be as social and as much of an intelligent person as you can become (which includes going out), and if you can conquer or find a balance for that, strive to be the "best person" you can be (you'll only know what that is if you meet "authentically good people", or become one yourself)

 

[ccoulter14]

I've seriously thought about the MD route, but I'm not sure what to do about that as of yet. The pre-req's in the first year or two are essentially the same, so if i do change my mind I won't be behind. Regardless of which route I go, its a great route to go.

 

[IrishRxMan]

The way the field of pharmacy is going, that old way of looking at our profession is fading fast. No longer are hospital pharmacists hiding out in the basement in their little corner not wanting to interact with anyone. Pharmacists are part of medical teams that do rounds in the hospital and are completely in charge of checking the meds for the patients. Also, pharmacists are starting to get prescriptive authority for some things in several states and the trend is going to most likely continue. The nice thing about being a pharmacist is, we aren't married to our jobs. We can go home when our shift is done and not have to worry about an electronic leash yanking us back into work.

As for my two cents, I would definitely get involved in one or two orgs and work towards being an officer in at least one of them. Toss in some community service on top of what was already said and you should do just fine. Good luck!

 

[ccoulter14]

Do u recommend joinin a fraternity? Im a RA on campus already so that's one "organization" type

 

[Luvableb]

I definitely suggest becoming an officer of a club. Perhaps start a pre-pharmacy club at your college and become the president. 🙂 Besides GPA, PCAT score, LoR's, & pharm tech experience, you need to show them you have leadership skills and a record of doing community service. All of this combined shows them that you are more than motivated to do Pharmacy School and will follow through.

 

[IrishRxMan]

Do u recommend joinin a fraternity? Im a RA on campus already so that's one "organization" type

Fraternities can be good or bad, depending on what type they are. Sometimes social fraternities come with a stigma attached (Think Animal House, Old School). The fraternity I am a part of is a pharmaceutical fraternity and we are a professional fraternity with a social vein. If you join a service fraternity that will look good. Being an RA shows leadership, not to mention you get free room and board right?😀

I was thinking more along the lines of the biology club or chem club. Something where you interact with other students. If you are able to get an officer position in some org like that it should help you more. The student org should also give you opportunities to do community service as a group.

I almost forgot, the reason everyone keeps hitting on community service is because as pharmacists, we are providing a community service. We also as a profession are tasked with giving back to our communities with our time, effort and charity to help improve them. This is why it's so important to get involved with one or two things community service related and really do them well and not spread yourself all over the place with 10 things that you barely do something with.

 

[omnione]

Do u recommend joinin a fraternity? Im a RA on campus already so that's one "organization" type

I don't think it's necessary since you can accomplish the stuff pertinent to pharmacy schools (leadership, volunteering, etc) somewhere else. I'm referring to those residential frats.

Those volunteering frats and honor societies would be good experiences as they offer a variety of service opportunities. They are also generally organized allowing for consistency as opposed to hit-and-miss service projects. Does your college have a pharmaceutical frat like Kappa Psi and/or Phi Delta Chi chapter. I have classmates who joined Kappa Psi in undergrad before starting pharmacy school. I'm not sure of the arrangement that allows for that, just that it's possible.

As previously mentioned, quality trumps quality but you want both.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Ok, I'm 19 now, just got done w/ my first year of college, majoring in Pre-Pharmacy/Chemistry. I've worked in a pharmacy since 05 and I've been a PTCB certified tech for almost a year now. When I was in high school I took numerous pharmacology classes from a CC to I guess jus make my records look good lol. If anyone has heard of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), I placed 1st in the state of TN and 12th overall in the nation in my first year taking the pharmacology test my senior year of high school. So far, I've gotta 3.6 gpa which should and will be higher. Other than keeping my grades up, what other things do I need to do to better prepare myself to applying for a pharmacy school?

Yeah, relax a little bit. It has been 6 years since I applied but I dont think you need half of the stuff you stated for pharmacy school.

A ptcb would fall into the same category as working in a pharmacy since 05 because it is all pharmacy experience related. I have never heard of HOSA, pharmacology test for HS students and am sure it will look good on your application but dont think it will be significant.

Just keep up your good GPA (if you want, add some more science classes to it), study for your PCATs, get some LOR (you might have been working since 05 but what if your boss suddenly changes for whatever reason), etc.

 

[HoosierPharmD]

Stay focused but don't forget to enjoy it at the same time. It is so easy to get burned out. 🙂

When I was a sophomore in college, I thought that no one had work ethics like me, so I wont get burned out like others. Guess what, I almost failed organic chemistry because I decided I was going to take three upper level 5 credit science courses, plus another gen ed, and I worked full time. (Loser college councilors let me take that load because I was "smart", stupid of them). So, I got burned out and my GPA was shattered. In fact I was at the point that I didn't care about continuing my education so I quit school.

I just wanted to remind you to enjoy it also. I regret that I did not make many good friends or memories of high school and even in college.

This happens to smart, driven people all of the time. Just want to let you know that it is ok to have fun too. Dont worry, you will find a balance.

By-the-way, minimum wage motivated me to return to school, complete a degree, and get accepted into pharmacy school.

 

[collegegirl247]

practice interviewing.

 

[Drug Doc]

Ok, I'm 19 now, just got done w/ my first year of college, majoring in Pre-Pharmacy/Chemistry. I've worked in a pharmacy since 05 and I've been a PTCB certified tech for almost a year now. When I was in high school I took numerous pharmacology classes from a CC to I guess jus make my records look good lol. If anyone has heard of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), I placed 1st in the state of TN and 12th overall in the nation in my first year taking the pharmacology test my senior year of high school. So far, I've gotta 3.6 gpa which should and will be higher. Other than keeping my grades up, what other things do I need to do to better prepare myself to applying for a pharmacy school?

jebus, you are a machine! just wanted to drop in to re-emphasize what hoosier said: don't burn yourself out. Since you already have the good grades (keep that up) and the pharmacy experience I would just recommend doing non-pharmacy related things to show you are well rounded. That RA position is definitely a good one, and if I were you I would join clubs too whether they be cultural, social, sports...basically whatever you feel like joining. Oh yeah, and if you are at all interested in research, you should try getting a student position in a lab for a little bit. All in all, make sure that while you are taking care of business, you are making sure to have fun too.

 

[ccoulter14]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions! Ill rele use it all. I am in other clubs on campus, and am even on the golf team here lol but i didnt rele realize alot of other extracirricular activities mattered as well. I guess my last question would be when should I first try to apply to a pharmacy school? I've been lookin at Union University in Jackson, TN. Has anyone heard anything from this school?