calculating science gpa

[thelight]

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hello,

i have some unusual circumstances in courses i have taken as an undergraduate....i used to be a pharmacy major before switching to premed and i have some science courses but they are in a different college and therefore do not fit under the "bio, chem, physics or math" departments. the courses include

human physiology 1 & 2
medical microbiology

do i calculate my science gpa with or without these courses?

secondary question:

i had to withdraw calc 1 my freshman year but I took it elsewhere and got an A-, and then I took calculus 2 back at my institution and got an A. do i need to explain my circumstances for why i withdrew in my personal statement? all it was that I wasnt really prepared for the course because i never took precalc.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

Question 1:
When you're filling out AMCAS, it will become apparent that those courses will be counted into your science GPA (the sGPA that schools receive). You need to enter every class you ever took in any college and you have to give them a course-type classification (ie math, biology, chemistry). Those courses would definitely fit under one of the science categories, and therefore be calculated into your sGPA.
http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/amcas2009instructionmanual072808.pdf
The answer to this questions is in the above pdf file.

Question 2:
You do have to enter withdrawn courses on AMCAS. You may want to mention it if you think it needs explaining. If it is really the only blemish on your applications, then you'll have to decided whether or not it is really that much of deal that it needs explaining.

-senior medical student / admissions committee interviewer

 

[Catalystik]

One W your freshman year will not hurt you. Don't call attention to it with an explanation.

 

[Ok2Panic]

hello,

i have some unusual circumstances in courses i have taken as an undergraduate....i used to be a pharmacy major before switching to premed and i have some science courses but they are in a different college and therefore do not fit under the "bio, chem, physics or math" departments. the courses include

human physiology 1 & 2
medical microbiology

do i calculate my science gpa with or without these courses?

Don't forget that the course classification is based on course content, not the department the course is offered from.

 

[Morsetlis]

One W your freshman year will not hurt you. Don't call attention to it with an explanation.

It's like a mole!