Saturday, August 20, 2011

I got my degree in 3 years, but my GPA suffered because of it.

Question: During my undergraduate studies, I was a little bit worried about how I was going to afford four full years of college, so I tried to go lightspeed and finished my degree in three years instead of four by averaging about 20 units a quarter and doing four summer sessions at my university (not community college). I think that as a result of this, my GPA suffered somewhat (~3.5). Do you think that the admissions people will take my heavy course load into account positively to counter my less-than-ideal GPA, or could they hold it against me for making such a foolish decision?


Answer: First of all, a GPA of 3.5 is pretty good. In most cases, it is above average of the admitted class. If you have a degree as well, that will be beneficial to you.

As a rule, we do look at how heavy an applicant's course loads are. I think most committee members would be impressed by your efforts and know that you are prepared for the rigors of pharmacy school. I would address your heavy course load in your personal statement - use it to your advantage. State something like this, "I was focused on finishing my degree in three years and I challenged myself by taking heavy course loads. While this may have affected my ability to earn all A's, I was still were able to maintain a 3.5GPA while completing a degree in three years at a major institution of learning."

Best of luck.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

AHha you seem SO down about a 3.5 Although I can understand how you feel, I have a 3.5 as well and I'm iffy about whether or not I will get into pharmacy school... but in 3 years? That's really awesome

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree, and very well written.
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