1. Ok there is a difference between certified pharmacy technician license and an "intern license" depending on what state you are referring to. For example, I got a CPhT license which allows me to work as a technician in any hospital in general, but when I got hired as an "intern" aka pharmacy student in a NY hospital, they didn't accept the CPhT license. They actually asked me that the board of NY required all student pharmacists to be "interns" and get an intern license, which was just a $70 application fee, no exams, no nothing (for the CPhT I took an exam and paid like $160? something like that). So depending on which program/state requires a state-specific intern license versus a certified pharmacy tech license, I wouldn't pay money to get it "done early and out of the way" until you know you need it in that state. You can ask your program during the interview if you need to apply for it before match results (march 15th) or if you should wait until you match to apply.
2. Understand the purpose/need of the "intern license" and the timeline if you even need it. For example, let's say you can take the NY license exam in July 2019, but your NY program starts in June 2019. Until you pass your exam, you are technically not a pharmacist yet. In this case, the program will ask you to practice as an NY "intern," which requires that you apply for an intern license. And then later once you get licensed as a pharmacist, you can practice as a pharmacist. Programs will specify if you even need an intern license, a certified pharmacy technician license, both, or neither. I would wait at least until your interview session to ask your RPD that question. If they don't know the answer, that mos likely means you don't need it-- you can wait until match results to apply for one IF you even NEED one. Aka don't waste your money like me LOL
