Changing careers to pursue pharmacy school - should I retake old courses?

Question: I have been preparing to change careers and hoping to attend pharmacy school. My question is this: I have a degree in Computer Engineering, but I have several D's on my transcript from my studies in that field (Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Material Science). I am concerned that my overall GPA will be weighed down by those poor grades and may not meet the minimum (3.0) for some schools even though my pharmacy pre-req grades are excellent. Should I retake those courses to help my GPA even though they are unrelated to pharmacy? Please advise.


Answer: You make a good point about the minimum GPA at some schools and that should be a consideration.  However, I think it is imperative that you make it very clear in your personal statement that this is a career change and you are focused on pharmacy and are doing well in your pre-pharmacy curriculum. By doing this, I believe many committees will start by looking at your pharmacy pre-reqs and give you the benefit of the doubt rather than dwell on courses that most pharmacists will struggle with. Our goal as an admissions committee is to find applicants who will be successful in this course of study and who fit well in our institution.

Are you certain that retaking difficult courses like those will yield substantially better scores now than previously? Unless you are 100% certain that you can get an A, I wouldn't even consider doing it. Even if I know you would get an A, I may not advise it.

Think of it this way, you could struggle through Linear Algebra and get a B and that would improve you GPA less than if you took a 4 credit course in Astronomy and scored an A. You might consider adding a summer course or two with a high credit value that will be more beneficial to your overall GPA than retaking courses with D's. Just a thought.