Low GPA after first 2 years

[neel patel]

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Hi,
I am a second semester junior at temple university and I was a biology major up to my junior year. I have done very average in my pre reqs for pharmacy school. I got B- in chem 1(C in lab).... C in chem 2 (C in lab) ........ F in bio 1(2 times) (I can retake bio one more time)..... B in bio 2........ C in orgo 1 (C in lab)........ B in orgo 2 (C in lab) ....... B in calc 1........ C in calc 2 on the third time taking it (after retaking it 2 times). I actually gave up on pursuing pharmacy after my second year and tried to change into something completely different. I am currently an electrical engineering major who did very poorly in classes after switching for one semester. I am thinking about going back to biology and trying to attempt pharmacy a second time. I have realized that thats what I really want to do. My gpa after this semester will likely be 2.2 or 2.3 because I did in my electrical engineering classes. Do you think I still have a chance to get into pharmacy school if i were to retake most of my pre reqs for pharmacy school again? How does pharmacy school view retakes? What do you think is the best course of action? I don't mind going to school another 2 years and retaking all my classes again. But what are my chances of getting into pharmacy school if I were to retake most of my pre reqs?

 

[Thestrugglez]

It was a really bad choice to switch from biology to EE. If you can't do well in basic classes like biology and calculus, there is no way you would have done well in any branch of engineering.

Your gpa is a 2.2 after 2.5 years of school. At this point, you would need 5 semesters of 4.0s to come out with a 3.1 GPA. You need to either learn to study and figure out what you're doing wrong. Having to retake Bio 1 and Calc 2 three times to pass is a red flag to adcom of any program.

Most schools average the grades whenever you retake a course (Eg, for your calc 2, it would be 0.0+0.0+2.0/3 or a 0.67). I think Texas Tech is the only one that does grade replacement.

Your chances of getting in are almost nonexistant atm. If the rest of your application is stellar: lots of pharmacy experience, volunteer/ECs, research, strong LORs, good PS, and high PCAT, then you can still salvage this situation. However, please do not expect to be able to enter in Fall 2016. At best, you should apply to enter in Fall 2017 and that is if you get a 4.0 and ramp up your resume with significant amounts of EC. However, if you are unable to bring up your GPA to a 2.5 (bare minimum. 2.8 and 3.0 are much better thresholds), then I would consider whether pursuing pharmacy is in your best interest.

 

[neel patel]

Hi thank you for the reply!
I am actually not bad at math most of my grades were low mostly due to myself missing class and quizes and homeworks which brought my grade down significantly. I think if i would have done those things right I could have possibly gotten B+ or higher considering I scored in the mid 80s on the exams but still ended up getting C's every time. But I think I am agreeing with you on this one I dont think it is worth going back with such a low chance at getting into pharmacy school. I think I will just go ahead and try something else.

 

[Mur7ay]

If you really want it then spend all your time studying ect. I've seen a ton of people fail out of pharmacy school because they wanted to go shopping or party every night.

 

[Nic24]

Hi thank you for the reply!
I am actually not bad at math most of my grades were low mostly due to myself missing class and quizes and homeworks which brought my grade down significantly. I think if i would have done those things right I could have possibly gotten B+ or higher considering I scored in the mid 80s on the exams but still ended up getting C's every time. But I think I am agreeing with you on this one I dont think it is worth going back with such a low chance at getting into pharmacy school. I think I will just go ahead and try something else.

No dont give up! give yourself another 1.5 to 2 years to bring your grade up by retaking the classes. If you're really set on being a pharmacist..I would try i.