The Journey To Becoming A Pharmacist: Pharmacy School Interview

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I chose pharmacy as my career, and I decided on a pharmacy school. My application was sent in, and all I had to do was wait to be contacted for an interview. Today I’m going to share my experience with my pharmacy school interview. I’ll take you through everything, from picking an outfit to taking you through the day.

If you want to read more about how I chose pharmacy as my career, read this post. If you want to hear about the crazy ups and downs of filling out my application, read this post. Don’t worry though, these links will open a new tab so you can come right back here to read about my pharmacy school interview!

The Wait For a Pharmacy School Interview

It wasn’t much of a wait at all! I sent in all my application materials towards the end of January, and by the end of February, I had an interview.

I remember being at work on a slow Sunday night and checking my emails. There was an email from NEOMED asking me to sign up for an interview! I was SOO excited, and the pharmacist let me sign up right then and there. My interview day was scheduled for the middle of February. My mom asked some of the pharmacists and residents at the hospital for some tips and practice questions for me. They were super helpful, and I credit them with helping me prepare.

All this practice made me learn a lot about myself. I discovered some good strengths and areas of improvement, but I discovered why I wanted to become a pharmacist. Of course, my biggest reason was to help people, but it went deeper than just helping people. It was about helping people at their most vulnerable moments. I found that being the person to help them back up would be the most rewarding.

Now that I had the right words, I needed to find the right outfit. My mom was off (because she was sick), so she took me to the mall, and we got a nice, business professional outfit. All I had left to do was actually go to the interview.

Interview Day

The day of the interview was probably the longest and most stressful day of my life. I started the day bright and early, at around 6 am. I got dressed, did my hair and makeup, and then ate a small breakfast. The school asked us to be there by 8:15 to keep everything running smoothly. I arrived and spoke with a few of my classmates and some of the faculty, including the college’s dean.

There were a couple of informational sessions before they split us into our groups for the actual interviews. There were two interviews everyone had to complete. My first interview was my academic interview. Basically, I had to explain why I had to retake classes. My interviewer also asked me about my study habits and any areas of improvement I could think of. Towards the end of the interview, I had the opportunity to ask questions, so I asked about research opportunities and why my interviewer chose pharmacy as his career. I felt good coming out of that interview.

We were given a few minutes to get some water and breathe before our second interview. My second interview was my holistic interview. This was more about why I wanted to become a pharmacist and to get to know me as a person. This interview was a little easier, in my opinion, since it was all about my passions. During this interview, I also had the opportunity to explain some of the other activities I was involved with. This is very important, especially in a professional school. You don’t want your life to be 100% pharmacy all the time. It would be best if you had other interests to give your brain a break.

After the interviews were over, I was able to go on a tour of the school to see everything the school offered. After the tour, I had lunch with some other pharmacy students and got to ask them questions about their experiences so far. This was a great experience since I am the first in my family to go into a doctorate program. After a couple more presentations, I was sent home to await a call from the dean with my fate.

Did I Get In?

After my interview on Friday, I spent a lot of time wondering if I would be accepted. I made sure to send my thank you letter via email to my interviewers the following Monday. On Wednesday, I received a call from the Dean, letting me know their decision.

I got into pharmacy school! I thanked him and started crying happy tears. My mom was with me, so she was the first family member to find out. Then I called my dad to tell him the good news. After that, I called various other family members. My mom sent messages to the pharmacists I shadowed at the hospital to thank them for teaching me more about the field before my interview. There was some paperwork I needed to do before the onboarding process began.

Wrapping Things Up

The interview process was intense at first, but looking back on it, I appreciate the experience. In my next post, I’m going to talk about the summer leading up to pharmacy school, including things I did and things I wished I had been able to do.

As always, if you like this post and want to stay up to date, follow me on Instagram (@averylivinglife) and Pinterest (username: averylivinglife) for news and updates on my adventures!