Looking Forward!

                The last few months have been extremely hectic and full of surprises. With a new year starting, I’ve been looking forward to what is in store for me.

                Toward the end of 2012, I was working hard studying to take the ACT and applying to colleges. Since I was in the sixth grade, my plan has been to become a pharmacist; the only thing that has changed a few times is the college I want to attend. My choices changed from Pitt, to Duquesne, to Edinboro, to Mercyhurst, back to Pitt. So, when it was time to apply to colleges, I had some decisions to make. My mom and I visited a few more colleges that I hadn’t really thought about, and I ended up only taking the time to apply to three places, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst University, and D’Youville College.

                A few days ago, I sent in my tuition deposit to D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. I have declared a biology major in the pre-pharmacy track. I scored high enough on the ACT to gain early assurance into their Pharm D program. This means, if I keep a B average and pass the entrance exam, I will be guaranteed a spot in the doctorate of pharmacy program in my third year.  As long as I stick to it, I will be a pharmacist in six years! I am not sure if I want to be the traditional pharmacist though, I may go into the research end of the business. It would be nice to be able to help improve medicines or even develop new ones.

                Not many people I’ve talked to have heard of D’Youville College. This is probably because it is such a small college, which is one of the reasons I chose it. I took a chemistry course at Pitt through the College in High School program, and I constantly got lost when we had our lunch breaks. So, I figured a small campus is probably the right choice for me. Another thing that helped me make my decision, as odd as this may sound, was the chemistry lab in their pharmacy department. I had never considered the chemical research part of pharmacy until I saw some of the equipment in the lab. It was pretty ridiculous to see how excited I was when I knew how some of it worked and what it did. Chemistry is my favorite class (I am actually a member of my school’s Chem Club, which consists of my AP Chemistry three class, a whole seven people), and I can’t wait to be hands on in the labs at college.

 

                On February 22^nd, I get to go participate in a lab at D’Youville’s early assurance student day. I am very excited about getting to know the campus better, meeting new people, and start preparing for my next six years!