How do medical schools view this?

[surub]

Hey everyone

I will be a junior for the fall semester. Currently my GPA is 3.3, and obviously I need to get that up. I was wondering how would medical schools view me retaking the classes I got a C in ( Physics I C and Calculus II C +) I am confident that I will be able to get an A in those classes if I retake them and with that my GPA will go up to a 3.5. I finally got my **** together and my grades this semester should be at least an A- if not better. On my transcript I'm showing an upward trend with my GPA.

As of now I'm not worried about my extracurriluars, since I have a solid list which is growing.

So basically I'm asking if medicals schools frown upon retaking courses.

Thanks.

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[SBAKSHI]

Hey everyone

I will be a junior for the fall semester. Currently my GPA is 3.3, and obviously I need to get that up. I was wondering how would medical schools view me retaking the classes I got a C in ( Physics I C and Calculus II C +) I am confident that I will be able to get an A in those classes if I retake them and with that my GPA will go up to a 3.5. I finally got my **** together and my grades this semester should be at least an A- if not better. On my transcript I'm showing an upward trend with my GPA.

As of now I'm not worried about my extracurriluars, since I have a solid list which is growing.

So basically I'm asking if medicals schools frown upon retaking courses.

Thanks.

I would say they would be appreciative of this choice more than anything else. You can show that you are keen on improving things academically and shows your interest in science (not to mention this will bring your sci gpa up which is considered crucial) so if you have resources and time, go for it and kill those classes!

 

[PMPMD]

Hey everyone

I will be a junior for the fall semester. Currently my GPA is 3.3, and obviously I need to get that up. I was wondering how would medical schools view me retaking the classes I got a C in ( Physics I C and Calculus II C +) I am confident that I will be able to get an A in those classes if I retake them and with that my GPA will go up to a 3.5. I finally got my **** together and my grades this semester should be at least an A- if not better. On my transcript I'm showing an upward trend with my GPA.

As of now I'm not worried about my extracurriluars, since I have a solid list which is growing.

So basically I'm asking if medicals schools frown upon retaking courses.

Thanks.

I don't think they would ever frown upon retaking classes. You could frame it in the context of wanting to improve in areas you were weak. The better question is - will they allow grade replacement? I thought that MD schools don't allow this but DO schools do - anyone know for sure?

 

[PMPMD]

This post mentions the same idea on MD vs DO schools and grade replacement. I don't have a more official source.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=12336426&postcount=22

 

[theseeker4]

I don't think they would ever frown upon retaking classes. You could frame it in the context of wanting to improve in areas you were weak. The better question is - will they allow grade replacement? I thought that MD schools don't allow this but DO schools do - anyone know for sure?

AMCAS includes all grades in the GPA calculation, so a retake does not replace an old grade, the are all included in the GPA calculations and numbers reported to the schools. Some individual schools may give you "points" for getting an A the second time you take it, but the primary application each MD school (outside Texas) receives has the grades all calculated the same way, which does not replace grades but includes all attempts.

OP, you can either re-take the classes or you can take higher-level courses. For MD admissions, they will have the same effect on your GPA. Taking higher-level classes and getting A's may look better than a re-take, since getting an A on the second attempt at a course doesn't look as good as taking a higher-level class and getting an A the first try.

 

[darmalee]

AMCAS includes all grades in the GPA calculation, so a retake does not replace an old grade, the are all included in the GPA calculations and numbers reported to the schools. Some individual schools may give you "points" for getting an A the second time you take it, but the primary application each MD school (outside Texas) receives has the grades all calculated the same way, which does not replace grades but includes all attempts.

OP, you can either re-take the classes or you can take higher-level courses. For MD admissions, they will have the same effect on your GPA. Taking higher-level classes and getting A's may look better than a re-take, since getting an A on the second attempt at a course doesn't look as good as taking a higher-level class and getting an A the first try.

TMDSAS does the same thing

 

[theseeker4]

TMDSAS does the same thing

OK, I thought that was the case, but didn't know so didn't comment specifically on TMDSAS.

 

[surub]

First off thanks for the the replies guys.

I think I'm going to retake the classes regardless, I mean I don't want to throw away any opportunity that I can use to raise my GPA, even if slightly raises the GPA.

But as far as my other classes go I'll be sure to get the highest grade possible and work my ass off. I was more or less worried about the fact that medical schools would look down on my application with retakes.

Also I was wondering if AMCAS has a specific schematic they use in terms of calculating your cGPA and sGPA?

Thanks!

 

[darmalee]

OK, I thought that was the case, but didn't know so didn't comment specifically on TMDSAS.

I figured