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i'm not applying to pharmacy school anytime soon...but i would like to know how they might affect my chances of getting accepted in the future. =/
Just make sure you have a good explanation for those Ws or repeats when you apply. From now on you should try to pass all your classes with decent grades and stop withdrawing so they see improvement or an upward trend in your grades. Even though a W doesn't do anything to your GPA. Its just as bad as failing..It just shows you gave up.. which isn't good.
I had a repeated course last summer and I still got into pharmacy school.
However, don't bring it up in an interview unless specifically asked about "red flags" in your transcripts. You don't want to end a good interview on a down note and schools probably do know you have repeated courses prior to getting an interview invite.
Oh, alright. Thanks.
But, how many is too many? Also, if they happen to ask, no matter what reason, wouldn't it seem as if I'm making an excuse?
I have a lot of Ws but ended up with all As the second time around. Does this look bad? I only W to raise my GPA cuz i wlll settle for no less because my GPA is really low. Will the adcomm know this or assume I W cuz I was getting Cs or Ds?
If you have a habit of repeated courses, chances are that you wouldn't have gotten an interview unless the schools just looked at GPA and you had a high one outside of those repeated courses.
You don't want to make excuses, but you don't want to sound like you are dismissing those courses as irrelevant either. You can explain any extenuating circumstances or how you grew or will grow from that experience to not let it happen in pharmacy school. Pharmacy schools don't want to admit people who will fail out in their school as that would make them look bad. You have to provide a reason why they shouldn't think that, and its up to them whether or not they believe you.
I had 2 withdrawals (gen chem 1 and orgo 1), but I retook them and made A's the second time. I think it is definitely better to use the W to save your GPA rather than fail the class. Don't mention them to the admissions committee unless they specifically ask. If there is a section on your application asking for an explanation of failing grades or withdrawals, spin it off in a positive direction by saying how you learned from the experiences, made the adjustments to succeed the next time, and feel that you are a stronger student today because of them. Of course, this is only valid if you were able to do well the second time around.
Withdrawals are the kiss of death for pharmacy schools. I had 23 Ws and 2 Fs and only got in the only school I applied to. Wait a second, maybe they aren't that bad.
The Gator in my sig doesn't give it away?