Extreme Troubles With Class Retake...

[noideawhattodo]

Hey guys, I'm a current 5th year senior taking an extra year of classes to finish up my degree who has run into a serious problem I feel. I took organic chemistry 2 and a half years ago as a sophomore and didn't take it seriously at all (never went to class, barely studied, etc) who basically just rode the curve on the tests to scrape out a C. As this was my only C and I felt that I could honestly do better if I applied myself more, I decided to retake the class, this time with a different professor, in hopes of getting a better grade. I also ended up taking the MCAT in September of this year, which coincided with tests in many of my classes. While I did study for the first O Chem 2 exam, I didn't put enough as I should have due to the MCAT taking up a big part of my study time. So with nonoptimal study time I scored terribly, got a 73 on the first exam. Looking back at my exam I missed a lot of points to silly mistakes and not really conceptual errors so I felt that I could score well on the next exam if I just spent more time with it.

Next exam was a few weeks ago but this time I had plenty of time to study and did plenty of practice problems, went to all the lectures, did extra review from supplemental sources, and generally felt very comfortable with the material. I felt alright about the test, but getting it back I didn't score much better.... got a 77 :/

Now I'm in a terrible situation I feel. I'm currently at around a 76 (with other assignments factored in) in the class, with only 1 midterm in a few weeks, and a mandatory final at the end of the semester. He doesn't drop tests, and he curves the tests a couple of points and said in the syllabus that he's pretty firm with no end of class curves and has a normal standard for A's and B's (90 and 80 respectively), so I don't think I he'll be lenient and curve

There's pretty much no way I can get an A, but there's a slight chance I can get a B if I score midrange B's on the remaining tests, but after this last one where I had plenty of time to study for, I'm extremely worried that I'll mess up and get another C on one of the tests and lock my retake as another C, dropping my already substandard (3.55) GPA to already worse levels.

At this point my options are simply to stick with the class and hope to get a B, drop the course, or pass/fail the course. The first option of course looks the best but I just don't feel confident that I'll be able to score midrange B's on the remaining exams., and I don't know if the risk of getting another C is worth it?

So basically what looks worse... getting a C in a retake where you got a C in years ago, or withdrawing or pass/failing a course that you originally got a C in.

The deadline to make the change for a pass fail is coming up within the next week, so I have to make this decision soon.

I really feel that I just shot myself in the foot by retaking this, so any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[baxt1412]

taking it again when it was your only C (assuming the rest of your GPA is primarily As with some Bs) was kind of a foolish mistake, to put it bluntly.

Don't get a C again. It sounds like maybe you've bit off more than you can chew and it could be tough sticking with the class and getting a B, but I bet you could do it - it may just require you to change up your studying habits to figure out why you're missing points when you feel good about your studying.

At the very least, take the W and be prepared to answer why you took it again and why you took a W

 

[noideawhattodo]

taking it again when it was your only C (assuming the rest of your GPA is primarily As with some Bs) was kind of a foolish mistake, to put it bluntly.

Don't get a C again. It sounds like maybe you've bit off more than you can chew and it could be tough sticking with the class and getting a B, but I bet you could do it - it may just require you to change up your studying habits to figure out why you're missing points when you feel good about your studying.

At the very least, take the W and be prepared to answer why you took it again and why you took a W

At the time I when I was registering for classes I wasn't even thinking about applying MD, was going to do DO (who do grade replacements) tbh since I had no idea how well I'd do on the MCAT and wanted to play it safe for the upcoming cycle. I got my score back and it's at the median or above average for almost all of the MD schools in my state so now I want to try my hand at those schools. If I had already had my MCAT score before registering I would have never retaken the class since I'd be stellar for DO and somewhat competitive for MD, but that's in the past now and I can't change that.

Would a W look better, same or, worse than just taking the class P/F? I feel a withdraw would look worse but I've been wrong on a lot of things I felt were right before, as evidenced by my current grade in this class.

 

[baxt1412]

eh. a single W won't make or break any decision on your future. however THIS W may mean more to ADCOMS than a W in a class that you hadn't taken previously. they may see that as "wow this person has tried to take this class twice and obviously can't do better than a C".... again, this is just speculation, but figure out how your GPA would be impacted by getting a C and then ask yourself if you're okay with that. if you're already applying, i'm assuming you have > credit hours, which means a single C probably won't have much of an impact on your GPA. as long as you don't dip below an auto-screen number, you should be fine... but still expect to be asked about it in an interview. better safe/prepared than sorry.

 

[MrLogan13]

A C on a retake when you got a C originally is pretty terrible. Shows no improvement at all. I'd rather explain a W than explain why I got a C in the same class twice.