Wednesday, July 3, 2013

I failed an elective undergraduate course - should I retake it or not?

Question: 
I am a returning college student who has been out of school for almost 10 years. I've been an assistant store manager at a retail supercenter the whole time, and last year I decided to switch careers and get into pharmacy because the field is very challenging, rewarding, and has a better work/life balance. The courses I took back then are all valid and I got very good grades. The only thing haunting me is an "F" I got in a computer programming course.

After starting back in school last spring, I've been getting straight A's ever since while working 50 hours a week. I've now managed to raise my overall GPA to a 3.35 and my math/science GPA to a 3.5--even with the F on my transcript. I've registered for the PCAT this October and will obviously do everything I can to do well on it. I'm confident I can round out the rest of my prerequisites with A's, which would take my GPA up to a 3.62 by next spring. I am also going to be stepping down as a manager soon and working in our pharmacy as a tech.

My question is, is this "F" in an elective completely unrelated to the field of pharmacy going to kill my chances at admission? Should I retake this class, or since it is has nothing to do with pharmacy would taking an elective that is more aligned with the health field be better?



Answer:
There are times when I might suggest retaking a failed elective, but yours in not one of them. Failing a course that long ago in a field unrelated to your ability to succeed in pharmacy school shouldn't have much of a negative impact on your chances other than the obvious effect on your GPA.

My experience is that any AdCom will quickly look past your work from 10 years ago and focus on what you have accomplished since you re-dedicated yourself to the pursuit of a profession in pharmacy.

Good luck.

1 comment:

Buy Cialis Online said...

good job thank u for sharing this information keeps on going