Complete your pharmacy school application one year prior to when you would like to begin attending school. Many pharmacy schools only accept applications in the fall, so you will need to submit your application the fall before you would like to attend. In addition, completing the pharmacy school application can be time-consuming, so be sure to start filling it out early to give you plenty of time to complete the application according to the deadline.
All pharmacy schools require prospective students to use the Pharmacy College Application Service, or PharmCAS. When using PharmCAS, prospective pharmacy students complete one application and send all additional materials to PharmCAS. For example, prospective students do not need to have letters of recommendation sent to each pharmacy school they are applying to, but can send the letters of recommendation to PharmCAS, which then forwards them to the pharmacy schools.
Depending on the pharmacy school, a student may be required to take the PCAT, or Pharmacy College Admission Test. The PCAT tests prospective students in the areas of biology, math, reading comprehension, chemistry and verbal ability. Students can take the PCAT up to five times. However, some states and schools do not require applicants to take the PCAT, so contact individual schools to determine their requirements for a complete application.
Being able to communicate effectively is an important skill for a pharmacist to have. Therefore, pharmacy schools require applicants to attend an interview during the application process. The interview usually lasts about an hour and asks applicants to answer questions that evaluate how well they can think on their feet. In addition, many pharmacy schools ask applicants to complete a short writing sample provided at the interview.