Extra-Curricular Activity: Owning a Pharmacy

<p>illegal*, but yeah. I dont see how someone believes they would be able to pull this off… at age whatever, with no degree or experience</p>

<p>Now that I read more of this thread, even if the OP saved up his own money to invest in a pharmacy, he probably received a decent amount of (parental) assistance. Why would anyone let a high schooler invest jointly in a pharmacy unless they had some connection? A kid with cash usually isn’t enough to do the job. The OP also said that part of the profit was deposited monthly in his checking account, so it’s not like he’s doing all the managing/running of the pharmacy, but he is making money from it. You don’t run the pharmacy if money just appears in your bank account every month, you’d be the one calculating the cost of the overhead/operating expenses and then distributing the profit to the investors.</p>

<p>The more i think about this OP, the more i doubt his intellect. Why in the world would you open a pharmacy when there is a Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, and RITE AID every 3 blocks? Why would a person go to YOUR store rather than a dependable Walgreens? There will be little to none - whats the word im looking for- economic profit.</p>

<p>I refuse to believe that you have enough time to work 30-40 hrs all year since 9th grade. This suggests that either:
a). Your pharmacy came first and your extracurriculars and grades suffered
b). You didnt sleep
c). You lied</p>

<p>If some kid was spending 30-40 hrs working at Dunkin Donuts, any high performing high schooler would claim that the worker cannot possibly be well involved in Sports, Drama Club, Student Activities, Student Leadership, or academics. Either way, i dont see how OP will succeed in becoming a doctor.</p>

<p>… wouldn’t it be illegal for him to dispense drugs?</p>

<p>Plenty of mom and pop pharmacies are still able to turn a profit competing with places like Walgreens or CVS. I’ve heard many unbranded pharmacies keep an edge over chain stores by readily stocking some more uncommon medications.</p>

<p>And tbomb, the OP said his role in the pharmacy was basically that of a pharmacy tech and investor, which isn’t illegal. Practicing as a pharmacist without holding a PharmD degree is illegal but nowhere in this thread has there been a mention of that.</p>

<p>^^^^ Yup, thats definitely true-that mom and dad pharmacies are still able to turn a profit-ESPECIALLY in places like NY, and the east coast in general. I have some family members who own pharmacies and they make a BUTLOAD of money. Their store is developed and has built a reputation, but they make maybe 400K per pharmacy.
Lol-this was not pertaining to the topic, but I thought it was interesting</p>

<p>There are so many interesting posts here, and I would like to respond to them all eventually.</p>

<p>Let us not waste time arguing about the nature of the business. As one person here said, the average pharmacy has sales of 3 million, roughly 8 percent of which is left to owners. Keep in mind that this dead average. In some areas of Manhattan, and CT where your inventory is diversified that margin may rise to 12 to 15%. Many established stores in Manhattan have sales over 10 million. Like I said I’d rather not delve into the details of the business. If I have to any more than I have, I will request a mod to delete this thread. </p>

<p>MORE IMPORTANTLY. PLEASE DO ANSWER:</p>

<p>WILL THE PURSUIT OF MONEY DEFER ANY PASSION TOWARDS HEALTH CARE? SHOULD I LIST MYSELF AS AN OWNER, WORKER, or COMBINATION OF BOTH?</p>

<p>^ Post #26. Seriously. How many more people need to say the same things?</p>

<p>^What?</p>

<p>Perhaps you can answer my question in post 47.</p>

<p>OP, I sympathize with you for the incredible amount of misinformation and garbage posts you’ve received. I think you would do far better to post your questions on Student Doctor Network’s pre-med and pre-pharmacy forums, where the posters have a far greater understanding of the admissions process for these professions. They also have a high school forum where you can converse with others who have similar ambitions. </p>

<p>In any case, having pharmacy experience would certainly be a plus for pharmacy school admissions, but as with all professional schools, gpa and test scores are still king. So ace your pre-reqs and your MCAT/PCAT and make sure your LOR’s are glowing…those are basic necessities and your additional experience and initiative, I’m sure, will be duly noted by the adcoms if you continue to remain active.</p>

<p>You might want to start reading this blog, whose authors are actual members of pharmacy school admissions committees"
<a href=“http://pharmacyschooladmissions.blogspot.com/[/url]”>http://pharmacyschooladmissions.blogspot.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;