Senior in high school interested in Pharmacy please help!

[cpowers362]

hey im a senior in highschool and ive always been interested in becoming a pharmacist possibly working at like walgreens. I go to a pretty prestigious highschool: saint anthonys which is on long island but the only problem is that my math and science grades arent the best. i feel like i always could have done a lot better in them and wasnt really putting my heart into it. and also being pretty shy doesnt help either but ill grow out of that. ive never taken any aps, but ive always been in a ton of honors every year.
sat: reading 580, math 560, writing 570.
i just took the november sat and honestly think i got at least a 700 in reading, math was okay, and writing i htink i did really good as well, my essay was amazing. so im waiting to get those scores back and my act im also waiting and think i did extremely well on that one too.
chemistry:low 80s like an 83 i think.
this year im taking precalc and have an 85 average for the first quarter.
physics which im taking now i have a 95 average for 1st quarter. now im putting my heart into this class and really love it. i wish i could go back to last years chem. also taking a west civ class which i will get 6 college credits by the end of this year. and my extracurriculars are pretty good. ive been on the track and crosscountry team every year so far and saint anthonys is known for their sports, pbj club, model un club, salt leadership club, and thats about it. o and i did wrestling in 10th grade.

now my question do you think im good enough to get into any pharm school directly from hs? my thoughts are probably no. so now what colleges should i apply to for pharmacy? im really kind of confused on this whole process. my bro goes to university at buffalo for engineering and i heard that its ranked like 21 in the nation for pharm, so ive been leaning on going there but ive heard some horror stories about ub pharm so idk. st johns has a 0-6 program but how hard is that to get into directly from hs and would i stand a chance?
can i just go to ub for 2 years doing pre pharm and then apply to ub pharm school as well as like 10 other pharm schools? so ill hopefully get into at least one? do places like walgreens care where you got your pharm D from? would i b better off getting it at buffalo because of their national ranking? do you think i have what it takes to get my pharm d? should i buy a book now on the pcats and start studying so i will get a good score on that when the times comes? im really dedicated to becoming a pharmacist i just need to have a set path and know what my chances are. thanks and sorry i wrote so much.

also my overall weighted gpa is about a 3.4/3.5 but this 1st quarter of senior year i should have well above a 90 average so that should help my gpa. and i have good work experience, summer lifeguard at beach, waiter, and boating assistant. another question, do you think it would be a good idea to like volunteer at my local walgreens with some pharmacist stuff? how could i become a tech?

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[meimei29]

now my question do you think im good enough to get into any pharm school directly from hs? my thoughts are probably no.

I can't say whether your GPA or experiences are good enough.. but I was accepted into UIC's 0-6 program (back when it was one); I took about 7 APs at the time, and had all A's, minus a few B's here and there. I also shadowed a pharmacist for a day in a hospital, and I visited UIC and met up with one of the faculty, before applying, so I think these are points which helped to boost my application.

If you are serious about getting into a 0-6 pharmacy school, I would definitely start now, especially researching which ones are out there. It seems like you still have a lot of questions and that you aren't too sure where you want to go and how you're going to achieve your goal.

so now what colleges should i apply to for pharmacy? im really kind of confused on this whole process. my bro goes to university at buffalo for engineering and i heard that its ranked like 21 in the nation for pharm, so ive been leaning on going there but ive heard some horror stories about ub pharm so idk. st johns has a 0-6 program but how hard is that to get into directly from hs and would i stand a chance?

What are these "horror stories"? Honestly I don't know too much about the school, so I can't help. Your best bet is to e-mail the school and tell them you're interested in their program, and ask them your questions about your chances, and ask if they can pass along the e-mail of a student so that you can e-mail them and ask them about their experience at the school.

can i just go to ub for 2 years doing pre pharm and then apply to ub pharm school as well as like 10 other pharm schools? so ill hopefully get into at least one?

Yes. Depending on the pharmacy school, they may like it better if you have a bachelor's.. but others don't care. Do well on your pre-pharmacy courses, and your PCAT, and you should be fine.

do places like walgreens care where you got your pharm D from?

I've never worked at Walgreens, but depending on the community pharmacy you're working at, they most likely won't care as much. That said, I would check the job availability in your area; in larger cities, pharmacists are getting rather saturated. This will obviously make it more challenging to get a position.

would i b better off getting it at buffalo because of their national ranking?

I don't think this matters as much as if you were a former employee. It will most likely be easier to get a job as a pharmacist in Walgreens if you were already in their system.

do you think i have what it takes to get my pharm d?

I can't tell with just one post; ultimately, you will have to ask yourself how much you want this.. and whether you really think this is the right path for you. It seems like you weren't very motivated during HS until recently, but if you can keep it up, it'll take you far.

should i buy a book now on the pcats and start studying so i will get a good score on that when the times comes?

If you want, but you will be taking college courses that might go over some of the topics in PCAT, so you may not know how to do everything yet. That said, most of the material was already covered for me in my AP courses, so you may be able to do it :]

The most important thing, I think, would be get some hands on experience in a pharmacy, and to get more ideas of the pharmacy schools out there. PCAT is important, and if you can motivate yourself to look over the problems, that'd good too, but there may be other things which will be good, too.

also my overall weighted gpa is about a 3.4/3.5 but this 1st quarter of senior year i should have well above a 90 average so that should help my gpa. and i have good work experience, summer lifeguard at beach, waiter, and boating assistant. another question, do you think it would be a good idea to like volunteer at my local walgreens with some pharmacist stuff? how could i become a tech?

Yes, you should apply to become a tech at Walgreens or at another community pharmacy if you want to be a pharmacist there sometime later. Visit various pharmacies, ask if there are any openings, and try to apply there. You can also apply online, but from my personal experience, those applications may get lost/ignored. Showing your face to them will leave a stronger impression. You can even consider applying, and then dropping by to see if they received your application. Ultimately, again, it will depend on if they are in need of more people. (Remember you need to also get a Tech License.)

I'd also try to go for a pharmacy with many more chains nationwide, in case you end up doing your pharmacy degree somewhere else; this way, you can transfer. If you can lock in a tech job now, and work there until pharmacy graduation, and perform well, it will only help your chances in securing a Pharmacist job there once you're out.