Hi SuziLe, welcome to SDN! You may consider also joining the hSDN forum - as you begin looking at applying for college, there is a very supportive group of folks over there going through the same process.
My first piece of advice would be to see if you can shadow your cousin pharmacist for a bit so you can see what a pharmacist's working day looks like. I would give this advice to any student looking at a career - and to myself, if I could have when I was in your shoes.
This will also help you form a sophisticated answer to the question "why pharmacy." Bonus points for working as a pharm tech.
Do the best you can in your classes. Pay particular attention in your Chem class. My high school Chem teacher did a fantastic job of breaking Chem down in ways that are still helpful when I took higher level Chem classes. Also, if you can at your school, try to take one of each of the sciences - I really regretted not taking a proper Physics course in high school.
Try to find something you're passionate about & begin volunteering.
I have seen many people posting that they had trouble getting AP credits to work to their advantage in the pharma school process. So I would see if I could contact some schools I might be interested in & ask how they handle AP credits before I put in the effort to get them. I would hate to have to retake a course in college I already got AP credit for!
Do the best you can on ACT / SAT (whichever gets you into the school you want). Keep your scores in a safe place so you can find them later!
I resemble that remark, although I took more than 2 years of CC because I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do when I got out of school.
First step - identify which pharma schools you'd like to go to. There are links in the stickied posts that will help. Visit the schools' websites, do other research, find out what your cousin / family / other important folks might know. Rank the schools best you can - this doesn't have to be a permanent ranking, and in fact it will likely change up to the day you submit your applications. You may want to do this with little regard for prerequisite requirements (some schools require a 4-year degree, some require upper level classes, but I feel this should have little bearing in your initial ranking - you may feel otherwise).
Second step - look at your top choices' prerequisite courses. Many are just about the same. Try to map the courses into a two year plan. An academic advisor at the CC can help, but make sure you pay attention & learn the system so you can drive your own education.
It may or may not be possible to map all your courses into four semesters, so you may need to take classes during summer.
Third step - apply during the summer after your first year of college so you can matriculate after your second year at CC. You will need to do a lot of self-learning for the PCAT. (Take the PCAT in July - that gives you the option to retake in September if you need while still being early with your application.) Be aware that you will have to finish any other prereqs prior to matriculating into a pharma school. That rules out any schools that require bachelor degrees or upper level classes, or any other schools whose requirements you won't be able to fit into your schedule before their classes start. If you aren't accepted, improve your application & try again next summer.
Make sure you continue with your extracurriculars during school. You may find joining the pre-pharmacy or pre-health club helpful. Get the best GPA you can.
If you are set on pharmacy, you may wish to check out 0-6 schools, which would accept you straight from high school & compress the prereq classes into the first 2 years.
Transfer to Uni & continue classes towards a bachelor degree. Apply the next summer. If declined, continue with your senior year of college, then apply after that year. Make sure you're applying to a number of schools you'd like to go to. I would never suggest applying to only one pharma school as a plan - I made that choice with many factors pressing me to do so, but most students at this point could still move to go to school out of state.
Start with the stickies in this forum (Pre-Pharm) - I think you'll find they give you a lot of information. Class catalogs are often on schools' websites (CC, Uni, or pharma school).
