Should I tell the truth about why I got a C-???

[laura_mideon]

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Hello,
I am having a bit of an issue deciding what to say about why I got a C- in a first year english class if they ask. It was back in my second semester and it's not a pre-req for pharmacy (I did 2 other english courses for my pre-reqs) and the reason I got a C- is because the teacher accused me of plagiarism and gave me 0/30 on the final paper. It was a false accusation and at my school you have 4 months to fight the grade, so I started researching the topic and went back to my high school english teacher to be my witness...etc, etc. Then as luck would have it, I got in a bad car accident and broke my arm in many places and hurt my back and stuff and I was forced to take 2 semesters off and I was unable to finish my case with the school before the 4 month deadline. So now I am stuck with a C- from that.

Do any of u have any advice on what to say to the adcom?

I was thinking if I don't tell them the truth, maybe I'll just tell them it was a course in drama/literature and I wasn't sure about what field I was going into at the time, so I just didn't put that much energy into it. B/c since then I've improved dramatically...after that incident my gpa dropped to 2.98 and since then I've brought it up to 3.68 (with 3.98 pre-req gpa) . . . so I don't think they'll really care....but i don't know if they think i cheat if I tell them about the false accusation

 

[imperial frog]

There's no reason to explain a C- in a non-prereq course. You've got the GPA so don't even mention it. Unless you bring it up in the interview, they probably won't ask you any questions about it.

 

[bananaface]

I agree that it is unlikely that you will be asked about that grade in the interview. Usually you will only be asked about course grades if the admissions committee feels that you are deficient in an area that will affect your performace in pharmacy school.

 

[laura_mideon]

I agree that it is unlikely that you will be asked about that grade in the interview. Usually you will only be asked about course grades if the admissions committee feels that you are deficient in an area that will affect your performace in pharmacy school.

Oh, thank god. That makes me feel much better! I just thought they might find it weird the I would do so poorly in one semester as opposed to all the rest.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

If you are asked about it, you can tell them that you struggled with academic and personal difficulties and then had to take some time off school to recuperate from an auto accident. That's truthful and would probably satisfy most anyone.

 

[laura_mideon]

If you are asked about it, you can tell them that you struggled with academic and personal difficulties and then had to take some time off school to recuperate from an auto accident. That's truthful and would probably satisfy most anyone.

Yah that sounds good, except maybe I would just say personal difficulties cuz I don't want them to think I couldn't cut it or something. That might make them weary, like I only do well in classes I like or something.

 

[KUMoose]

I would agree that personal difficulties relating to an auto accident might be a better path.

Plus if your school is like the Universities around here, English is a drop-out course getting a C- might be looked upon as good. 😉 I took four english courses at KU and didn't see an English professor at all (GTAs).

 

[kwakster928]

if i didn't have to explain my one "W" to adcom and still in pharmacy school, your C- is not a big deal.

 

[bananaface]

I explained my W. "I decided not to major in math" was sufficient.

 

[ultracet]

i had to explain a W.
mine was... thought i could take everything my first semester of college and realized i couldn't

dropped it before it pulled down the rest of my grades

 

[laura_mideon]

i had to explain a W.
mine was... thought i could take everything my first semester of college and realized i couldn't

dropped it before it pulled down the rest of my grades

How did they react to your answer?