<p>So here's my story.
I went to St.Johns University for the Pharm D program and after 2 semesters I left the school with a 1.5 Gpa. I received 3 credits in total because I got a F in one class and a B in another class and withdrew from all my other classes. Basically no grade for the 2nd semester. I went to a community college after and I took 2 classes in 2 semesters. Currently I'm taking 18 credits worth of classes and will be taking 6 more credits in during the winter session and another 18 credits for spring. I'll be maintaining a 3.8+ GPA at the community college. Does GS take the cumulative GPA or would they be accepting of seeing my GPA increase. The reason I did so horrible in St Johns was due to drug problems. I have successfully kicked the heroin habit and began focusing on my education this semester. Also should I include the drug problem as a reason for my failure in my first attempt at a higher education? Or would they not like the fact that I was a previous junkie..? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Edit: I forgot to mention I was adopted at a very late age 14yrs old because my biological parents could not afford to care for my sister and I. Should I include that in the essay?</p>
<p>GS admissions is very holistic, and plenty of us have periods of terrible educational records. Drugs, homelessness, failing, etc aren’t unusual. What GS wants to see that you know what went wrong, that you’ve grown since then, that it won’t be an issue again, and that you’re ready to handle the high level of difficulty and stress at Columbia.</p>
<p>To that end, I would definitely include an explanation of what went wrong, and if it were me I’d also explain the adoption. GS wants to get a full picture of you as a person, and I think those aspects are probably key to understanding you.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>EDIT: One thing that’s unclear to me is whether you’ve had a substantial break in your education or not. I’m also unclear about your use of the term “PharmD” since that usually indicates a graduate degree.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply campaigner. As for the substantial break, I took 1 year off after high school and I took another semester off after st johns. The pharm d I mentioned is a 6 year program for pharmacy students and I do think you graduate with a graduates degree. I was just scared Columbia wouldn’t like the fact my grades went down the **** hole because of my drug addiction.</p>
<p>Edit: Should I increase my work load for the spring semester to 21 credits to show I can handle the workload of a prestigious university? I know I can maintain straight A’s but Columbia only accepts 60 transfer credits and I wouldn’t want to waste any more money than necessary.</p>
<p>I don’t think 21 credits is necessary, I think they’d rather see consistency at a more typical load.</p>