Prereq grades: What do you guys think?

[sweetcalie08]

Okay, I had been doing really well in my prereq and gen ed courses at a community college: A's in everything including ChemI, Anat/Phys I-II, Composition, Speech, Economics, and Psychology (graduated with an A.A. w/ high honors). Last semester was my first at a top university. I got an A in biology and A- in ChemII, but a stupid C+ in calculus. That's my first low grade ever in all these courses. Do you think this C+ will be a huge disadvantage, especially since admissions committees probably look more closely at *university* grades and probably also place on emphasis on prereq grades (my cumulative gpa is not too bad if you factor in all the gen eds)? I know I should've done much better in that course, but I had an awful professor and had to basically teach myself everything...in the midst of adjusting to a university and experiencing my pet's death (tho that's not as significant as a person's death, it was still tramatic). Anyway, just wondering what you all think. Thanks.

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[Brill]

A few C's won't kill your chances of going to pharmacy school as long as the rest of your application is up to par (it sounds like you're doing great in all of your other classes). Just don't make it a habit. I got a C in Calculus and I still got in.

 

[sweetcalie08]

It's a little early, but I wanna do what they call the bump bump bump! :-D

 

[joero1234]

Hello PharmD's, I'm a student in another health field and came upon this post. For most medical schools, they will not accept any science credits from a community college. I ran into this problem while I was applying. I don't know how the schools you are thinking about applying handle this situation, but, it would be something to check out before applying.
Hope this helps.

 

[moobymaster]

All my prerequesites came from 4 different community colleges and they were accepted at University of Florida.

 

[eddie269]

just curious guys. when schools ask for your cumulative GPA< does that mean EVERYTHING you have taken since day one including your major, plus non-related classes, plus thier pre-req's? or do they only care/look at the science pre-req's and their GE's (i.e. econ, speech, computer, humanities, etc)?

cause I took some stupid non-related classes and got C's in them (i.e. some hard weird sociology and philosophy classes) and i hope they wont count against me.

 

[neonam11]

For the UC's they do ask for all the transcripts of all the colleges you attended, so I assume that they calculate a cumulative GPA for each applicant. However, your pre-pharmacy prerequisite GPA will matter much more than your culmulative GPA because it gives the adcom a general idea of how well you do in science courses when you enter their program. A C in pottery or under-water basket weaving will not cause your application to be shreddded. The same goes for required courses for pharmacy school. A few C's will not make you any less competitive than a person with a 4.0 GPA just as long as you have the extra currics, LOR's, and ability to communicate effectively to back you up. I got a C+ in gen. Chem during my first quarter at UCD ( I foolishly thought I could handle a job and 6 courses), but increased my GPA as the years progressed. Remember, a lot of pharm schools in the past have rejected applicants with a 4.0 b/c they were not well-rounded. If your GPA is weak during one quarter, you get a chance to explain it in the application, at least for UCSF and UCSD anyway, why you did not fare so well. Besides, the adcom likes to see trends. If you start out at a low GPA and steadily increase, they know you have potential. On the other hand, if your GPA starts slippling, they'll want an answer as well.

GPA is only one component that the adcom looks at when they decide who should be one of the students for the incoming fall quarter/semester. Good luck.

 

[Trancelucent1]

I got a C+ in Calculus as well (calc is not my strong suit), but I didn't have a problem getting in and my science gpa was still 3.67. As long as you do well in the other classes you'll probably be fine.


~Pam

 

[eddie269]

i only worry because I am not exactly killing my science courses like i should. My science gpa might hit 3.0 when i'm done with a few more classes. The pre-req GE's is whats bringing me up (calc, econ, speech, etc). but some older classes that the schools dont ask for might bring me back down. but i guess they do ask for the official transcript which has everything. but on the pharmcas, wont they just ask for the grades for certain classes? oh well, only time will tell.

 

[jemc2000]

For UF the GPA they look at is your GPA for your pre-req science and calc classes, not the other classes.