Making a career choice is an important and difficult decision. Making
the decision to become a pharmacist requires a commitment of time and money.
It is important that you evaluate what the career entails. You should
answer the following and other questions on becoming and being a pharmacist:
• What is it like to be a pharmacist?
• Do you have the perseverance to complete 2-3 years
of undergraduate training and 4 years of pharmacy school?
Once you decide you want to go to pharmacy school, you have more
decisions to make on how to get there. Requirements for admissions to the
100+ pharmacy schools in the United States vary considerably. Some schools
require a minimum of 2 years undergraduate course work whereas others
require 3. For many schools, having a bachelors degree makes a person a
strong candidate for admissions, even though the degree may not be required.
It is not essential that you decide on which pharmacy school you want to
attend immediately as most schools require the same prerequisite courses
over the first two years: 1 year Biology, 1 year General Chemistry, 1 year
Organic Chemistry, 1 semester - 1 year Physics, Calculus, and Statistics.
However, you should start considering schools early in the undergraduate
college years to make sure you meet all requirements of the schools to
which you might apply. Decision-making factors include geographical
location, tuition, requirements for admission, curriculum, and faculty.
If and when you decide to go to pharmacy school, find a good resource
for information on the requirements and deadlines. Be organized! Take the
PCAT in plenty of time to meet the deadlines and start the PharmCAS
application early. Most pharmacy schools have a rolling admissions
process, which means they accept students into the professional program
before the deadline for admissions.
There is help available. Speak with your pre-health advisor and other
faculty members. Speak with pharmacists. Get a job at a pharmacy if
possible, or shadow a willing pharmacist.
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