I love wandering through stores that offer a large selection of school supplies. I would say I'm an old fashioned kind of gal; I love writing things down on paper. You should see my growing collection of empty journals on my bookshelves! Even though I bring my laptop to school, I still rewrite my notes afterwards... I feel that I learn and absorb the material better using this method. This school year may prove to be different. During our second year of pharmacy school, we take classes with medical students which are primarily podcasted.  This means that I'll have the opportunity to listen to these lectures within the confines of my room and write notes at my own pace.

I compiled a list of back to school goodies in this post that I believe every student pharmacist should own before starting pharmacy school. Sure you need your basics (i.e. pencils, highlighters, multi-colored pens, white-out, etc) but I think these extra things make life that much simpler. Oh, I took the picture above when I went in after class to study for Histology (also the same room used for Gross Anatomy). This is what the room will look during exams so you guys definitely have an edge already! I didn't know the layout of the test until a few days beforehand. For any future Tritons out there, make sure you don't touch anything in the room before you eat... you might accidentally eat a piece of cadaver or fluid from them!

The one thing I cannot survive without in a good ole fashioned paper agenda + calendar. It holds all the details of my life and keeps me sane. With the amount of classes I have to take, it's the only way I can keep track of important dates: when projects are due or when exams or presentations occur and other activities. I typically need a lot of space underneath each day and the planners I linked above and below give you a generous amount of room

Yes, I'm aware many of the cases I included in my list below are actually makeup bags but I always like stuffing my pencil case with every possible colored pen, highlighter and other necessities! Since I love taking notes on paper, I always make sure I'm equipped with everything I need in case I want to take notes at school or highlight something important.

We spent a ridiculous amount of time at school during our first year of pharmacy school. The best way to stay hydrated is to bring a refillable water bottle. I personally own a hot pink one very similar the the one above for my cold drinks but I also own an insulated mug for coffee and tea!

You'll definitely need your laptop at school. Whether it's taking notes or taking an exam, you'll need to carry it around pretty much everyday. Now of course you'd also want to protect it, right? Laptop sleeves are cute but I never have any room to stuff them in my bags or backpack. I find holding them a nuisance so I opt for laptop bags with a strap - those smaller thinner ones... not the bulky ones entrepreneurs carry. 

It was pretty crazy last year since us Southern Californians experienced a tremendous amount of rain. Not exactly a bad thing since it eventually brought us out of the drought. Anyways, those retractable umbrellas are very versatile since you can stow them away in your bag however, if the wind picks up, your umbrella will probably be inverted and it'll no longer retain it's purpose. Those classical umbrellas with the  curved rubber gripped handles, especially those with the birdcage silhouette, are so much better. You'll be protected from heavy rain and harsh winds. Plus, whenever the rain decides to pour down diagonally, you'll be able to keep your makeup and hair dry! What other essentials do you guys bring along with you to school?


I plan on making more pharmacy related posts during my second year in school! I cannot believe I'm already a P2. A lot of my potential pharmacy student readers email me with questions and concerns about school. The most frequent question? What does a typical day look like? Unfortunately, no two days are alike. However, I'll be making a new post about my average week once school resumes! See what my typical week looked like during my first year of pharmacy here! Until next time!

XO,
Adrienne

PART V. (See PART IV: MASTERING INTERVIEWS HERE)



You should have a basic notion of what to wear to interviews and what to do but now you're probably wondering, "How do I prepare?" Let me just tell you that there is no way to prepare for Multiple Mini Interviews. What's that you ask? Well, I'm glad you're questioning it! You don't want to be blind-sighted the day of.

Here's a breakdown of my interview experiences:

ONE ON ONE

This is your classic interview. You're sitting directly across one person who, most likely, has a doctorate in pharmacy or the likes.

School that had this:
Keck Graduate Institute (KGI)

TWO ON ONE (PANEL)

This is one up from the previous. You can probably predict what this entails... There may be two professors interviewing lonely ole you or a professor and a current pharmacy student. It's all a toss of a coin.

Schools that had this:
California Health Sciences University (CHSU)
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
University of Southern California (USC)
Western University

GROUP INTERVIEW

You're in there with one or more students. Depending on where you interview, answers may be based on what another person says (i.e., you have to build or add on to what the previous person said). In my experience, we were asked completely random questions that WERE NOT contingent on what the previous person stated.

Schools that had this:
West Coast University
Touro University ( I declined my interview invitation )

MULTIPLE MINI INTERVIEW (MMI)

This was the most eye opening kind of interview - I honestly enjoyed the experience. I must admit that I was nervous since there is no way you can prepare for this. HONESTLY. You can come up with different scenarios or scavenge the internet for examples but it won't help. I tried studying for these but I found out that if I just stuck to basic instinct, I would have been more than fine.

So how does it work? You're given a situation/question/quote... etc.(on the door) before you enter. Read fast but efficiently since you're on the clock. You then knock and go into the room. What happens in the room depends on the question you were given. This really allows you to see how you do without preparation... which mirrors reality. You're not given a road map or study guide to life, you just have to use your best judgement to survive.

Schools that had this:
California Northstate University
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)


Now, to the part you've all been waiting for. So what happens at these schools on the interview day?! I can't wait to share my thoughts with all you upcoming applicants. HOWEVER, I did sign a


Due to that, I will be unable to share my experience at those two schools with you guys (*insert sad face with a tear drop emoji*). UCSF was one of my favorite interviews (BONUS POINTS BECAUSE THE LOCATION WAS SO AWESOME) but my lips are sealed!

PART III. (See PART II: GLORIOUS LETTERS AND EXTRACURRICULARS HERE)



Now that you've completed the actual PharmCAS application, it's time to get down and dirty with school specific questions! According to school websites and SDN, you THEORETICALLY shouldn't copy and paste answers from one school to the next... but the questions are gosh-darn similar! I suppose the main reason for this conjecture is for the applicant's benefit. Sometimes we get so used to seeing the same thing (like an essay) over and over again that we skip over minor details... like copying paragraph A into school #2 but forgetting to change the name of the school from #1 to #2. Those kinds of mistakes can really hurt your application.



Whew, after answering those questions, all you can do now is refresh your email every 5 seconds in hopes for an interview invite. I don't even remember how many times I checked... I went mad... Anyways, I know you guys will probably want to kick back but I'd say use your time wisely and learn some interview tactics. My next post will be purely dedicated on interviews - not the specific interview questions per se (those will come in a later post) but rather how to dress and act. Stay tuned!