Path to Becoming a Pharmacist

College Search & Selection
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<p>I have lots of questions (some of which I can't remember right now), so any amount of input, whether answering my questions or just related to this topic overall, will be a huge help!</p>

<p>I am currently a junior in high school and my goal is to become a pharmacist (I am thinking of primarily becoming either a hospital and institutional pharmacist, a managed-care pharmacist, or a pharmaceutical researcher). As for sciences, I have taken biology, chemistry, and am currently taking AP Chem; next year, I plan on taking AP Physics B and AP Bio. For math, I have taken geometry, algebra II/trig, and am currently in AP Calc AB, and next year, I plan on taking AP Calc BC and AP Stats. I have completed the courses I have taken with an A. Right now, I am interested in majoring in pharmacological chemistry at UCSD, but I am not sure if that would be the right path to take in pursuing my dream of becoming a pharmacist.</p>

<ol>
<li>Which colleges/universities should I consider to carry out my goal of becoming a pharmacist, and why?</li>
<li>Should I major in pharmacy, pharmacology, pharmacological chemistry, chemistry, or something else (or double major)?</li>
<li>What degree should I get to later attend a graduate program at UCSF (UCSF has the top-ranked pharmacy school in the US)?</li>
</ol>

2

<p>Also, does anyone have any experience in the pharmacy or pharmacology program/profession? If so, I would appreciate your input very much!</p>

3

<ol>
<li> Any school with a strong chemistry or biochemitry program, but don’t rule out some of the programs that have admission agreements (Drake, for example allows Pharmacy students to have a sort of preferred status for application to their Pharmacy school)</li>
<li> Broadly speaking, I’d major in something that can be a ‘fall back’ - there isn’t a great advantage to majoring in Pharmacy over Chemistry as an undergrad.</li>
<li> While I can appreciate you wanting to go to UCSF, I’d not get too hung up on getting into that one single program. There isn’t as great a difference in career prospects between number 1 Pharmacy school versus number 30. That said, I think Chemistry or Biochem would both be good.</li>
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<p>Not a Pharmacist, but did a lot of research for a son at one point.</p>

<p>I have heard recently that while pay is great and job prospects are still good, jobs are getting slightly tighter in recent years.</p>