<p>I took a general science requirement and got a D in it last summer because I missed the last two weeks of lecture. Should I retake it to show whomever (law schools, master's programs) that it's not a D for Dumb, but it was just an accident?</p>
<p>Law schools will still calculate the D into your GPA, don’t know about grad schools. But it probably wouldn’t hurt to retake it if your school will allow it.</p>
<p>Do you <em>want</em> to retake it?</p>
<p>If the class is not relevant to your post-graduation plans, I would not bother retaking it. I doubt graduate English departments care about a D in chemistry. If you are interested in programs that place a lot of value on cumulative GPAs (e.g. law school) rather than subject-specific competence, I would advise you to talk to a pre-___ advisor who has experience with these situations. These programs may or may not pay enough attention to your transcript (rather than your recalculated GPA only) to notice that you have retaken a class at all.</p>