The Path

[sA x sKy]

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Hey, what up everyone @ SDN? I just have a simple question: What's the path to becoming a pharmacist?

I'm going to be a high school senior and I want to take over my fathers business. Anyways, I'd like the option of going into industry in case taking over my dads retail business suddenly becomes less appealing which is why I'm looking into University of Michigan as my #1 choice. I've visited the campus, and my cousin is a professor there and told me that students could get jobs with a lot of effort at Pfizer. I'm probably not going to get into their "guaranteed pharmacy school admit" program but their regular LSA pre-pharmacy seems likely. If I do get accepted there though, it's the regular, "go there for 2 years, take the PCATS, and see if you get into their pharmacy school or another one", right?

In that case, if I don't get into the school and choose to go to, say, Boston University, do I just take the required classes thats needed for pharmacy school, take the PCATS at the end of my sophmore year, and then apply to a 4 year pharmacy school?

Abridged version: Basically, do I go to any college I want, stay there for 2 years and complete the pre-reqs and PCATS, then transfer to a 4 year pharmacy school?

I appreciate it guys.

[EDIT] - College List

U.Mich
NYU
BU
GWU
Tufts
St. Johns 6 year pharm (to appease parents but would never go)
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Geneseo
Long Island University for pharm (to appease parents but would never go)

 

[pharm B]

Step 1- Read the FAQ's located at the top of this forum.

Step 2- Look at the websites for the schools you're interested in.

After doing that, you'll have enough of a foundation to develop more specific questions. Each school's admissions requirements are different, and no single person knows them all, so we would only be providing you with generic info.

So here's my generic info: some schools are 0-6 programs, where you enroll as a freshman and automatically start the pharmacy curriculum during year 3 (p1 year). Other schools do have a series of requirements (usually 60-70 credits worth), so many students just complete that roughly two years of school to go to pharmacy school.

I personally recommend taking the PCAT in August of your second year, because it's still early enough in the application cycle that if you do badly, you can still usually take the October exam and have it count.

I hope this helps, and we'll be here to help you when you have more specific questions. For now, I would just do my due diligence and research this further on your own.

 

[sA x sKy]

Step 1- Read the FAQ's located at the top of this forum.

Step 2- Look at the websites for the schools you're interested in.

After doing that, you'll have enough of a foundation to develop more specific questions. Each school's admissions requirements are different, and no single person knows them all, so we would only be providing you with generic info.

So here's my generic info: some schools are 0-6 programs, where you enroll as a freshman and automatically start the pharmacy curriculum during year 3 (p1 year). Other schools do have a series of requirements (usually 60-70 credits worth), so many students just complete that roughly two years of school to go to pharmacy school.

I personally recommend taking the PCAT in August of your second year, because it's still early enough in the application cycle that if you do badly, you can still usually take the October exam and have it count.

I hope this helps, and we'll be here to help you when you have more specific questions. For now, I would just do my due diligence and research this further on your own.

I did read the FAQS

But it didn't explain my question. I even looked on google and read these articles that came up. Some said you need to get your BA first at a 4 year university and others said that you just need to complete the pre-reqs at a 4 year university which might take 2-3 years, take the PCATS, and then transfer to a 4 year pharmacy school. I am so confused 😕

And I'm not interested in going to a 6 year program. Otherwise I wouldn't be posting this because I'd be going to St. Johns. I hate the campus and the social life, I've been told, is abysmal. I rather go to a regular university, and live the traditional college life and then dedicate my life to pharmacy.

But thank you for your reply pharm b!

 

[pharm B]

Some said you need to get your BA first at a 4 year university and others said that you just need to complete the pre-reqs at a 4 year university which might take 2-3 years, take the PCATS, and then transfer to a 4 year pharmacy school. I am so confused 😕

This is specifically why I recommend looking at the websites/ contacting the schools. P4Sci can tell you which schools in California require a bachelors, prefer university-only credits (no junior college work), etc. I can tell you the schools in Texas do not require a BS or BA (yet), but the percentage of admitted students holding them is going up.

You can come back and let us know what your schools require. 😀

But thank you for your reply pharm b!

We're all here to help. Most of us, at least. 😉