Post-grad coursework

[738020]

Hi there! Im new to this site, and I think I posted this same question in the wrong thread, so sorry for reposting!

I graduated from a prestigious University in May of 2015 with a "meh" GPA of 3.14.
Having come from a very small highschool, attending my state university first year was a culture shock, and I struggled to adjust. I became withdrawn, barely attended classes, and finished my freshman year with a 2.2 GPA. I took advantage of the summer months to get some rest, change my outlook, and hit the grownd running my sophomore year to boost my grades. Unfortunately, I had taken some of the pre-med reqs my first year (gen-chem DESPITE having a 5 in AP credit, orgo and calc 1):

Calc 1: D, Calc 2: B-
Gen Chem 1: C, Gen Chem 2: D, but retook it to get a B.
Orgo 1: C-, retook it to get a B, Orgo 2: C+.

I got As or Bs in the labs, as well as in Bio and Physics pre-reqs, and As in graduate level biology classes.

Given my mixed bag of grades, Im not sure that a post-bacc makes sense, and I can't apply to many of them anyways since im not a career-change student. I also work full-time in a neurology clinic as a research assistant and clinical support staff, and need to continue to do so until med-school if I plan on financing my education - I know I won't come close to covering everything, but cutting out a year's worth of loans would help my situation a lot.

I know I need to ace the MCAT, and boost my GPA, so I want to take higher lever courses to show that I can handle a med-school course load (biochem, immunology, genetics, etc). However, its hard to find universities that offer night-classes in my area, and I've heard that med-schools don't look davorably on taking courses at community college or online.

Is this true? Is there a way to take courses online and not have it look bad? The community college in my area is the only one to offer night and online classes, so im having trouble deciding what to do. Should I bite the bullet and repeat the pre-med classes with sub-par grades again?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr Interesting]

I know I need to ace the MCAT, and boost my GPA, so I want to take higher lever courses to show that I can handle a med-school course load (biochem, immunology, genetics, etc). However, its hard to find universities that offer night-classes in my area, and I've heard that med-schools don't look davorably on taking courses at community college or online.

Is this true? Is there a way to take courses online and not have it look bad? The community college in my area is the only one to offer night and online classes, so im having trouble deciding what to do. Should I bite the bullet and repeat the pre-med classes with sub-par grades again?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Get a copy of the MSAR. It should tell you which schools accept CC and online credits and which don't.

Have you considered grade replacement and applying DO?

 

[738020]

Thank you for your response Mr. Interesting!

I'll definitely buy the MSAR this evening then - didn't know it existed! My follow-up question to that is, even if a school accepts CC and online credits, will I be disadvantaged? In other words, would taking the same courses in person at a 4-year university look more appealing to adcoms?

My university's grade replacement policy only applied to failed classes - if you passed your course and decided to retake it, your second grade did not get calculated into your semester or cumulative GPA. I retook a few courses anyways because I knew DO schools would consider the most recent grade, and MD schools would average out the two, but I probably would have retaken more of them had my school had a better policy. I had also reached a point in my educational career where learning new and more advanced material was much more appealing to me than retaking gen-chem for the 3rd time - in my opinion, weed-out classes are difficult for the sake of being difficult, not because the material is hard to grasp. Now I'm worried that I may be paying the price for that :/.

 

[bwc]

I know many medical schools, even if they say they will accept such credits, discourage it. They can assume that you did it just to avoid the rigor such classes may be taught at if taken in person at a 4 year institution.

 

[738020]

Even if the courses are not pre-med requirements and just extra science classes to boost my GPA? Or if I am taking them to do grade replacement? Sigh...

 

[Mr Interesting]

Thank you for your response Mr. Interesting!

I'll definitely buy the MSAR this evening then - didn't know it existed! My follow-up question to that is, even if a school accepts CC and online credits, will I be disadvantaged? In other words, would taking the same courses in person at a 4-year university look more appealing to adcoms?

Honestly its tough to say, most people take cc courses then ultimately transfer to a four year institution. I can't exactly say you would be at a disadvantage at every med school but I highly recommend that you take any additional courses at a 4 year university to avoid any raised eyebrows.

Feel free to contact any med schools anonymously that you are interested in and inquire on how they would feel about it.

Even if the courses are not pre-med requirements and just extra science classes to boost my GPA? Or if I am taking them to do grade replacement? Sigh...

Hmm... I need a life line for this one
@Goro

 

[bwc]

Or if I am taking them to do grade replacement? Sigh...

Keep in mind that once you passed a course (i.e., you got a C or higher), retaking the course will not benefit you. It absolutely will not be worth your time. At many schools, the policy for retakes is that if you got a passing grade the first attempt, the second attempt and beyond will not be factored into your GPA. In addition, when you apply to medical school, AMCAS factors in all attempts into calculating your GPA, not just your best or most recent one.

 

[Goro]

What bwc was referring to was the pre-reqs. I can't see you getting dinged for merely taking a few extra courses, even if to boost your GPA.

Even if the courses are not pre-med requirements and just extra science classes to boost my GPA? Or if I am taking them to do grade replacement? Sigh...

 

[738020]

Thanks for clarifying that @bwc. I was told by my university advisors that, even though my retaken course grades would not be factored into my GPA, it would show my dedication to enhancing my candidacy.
Is that true? That's why I retook a few courses, but now im confused about whether I should retake a few more or move on and take on higher level material.

And thanks @Goro - I'm emailing some of the schools i'm interested in to see what they have to say. If I get mostly negative responses, I might have to bite the bullet, quit my job to take classes at a 4-year university, and apply in June of 2017. I really REALLY hope that it doesn't come to that, but we'll see.
Thanks for everyone's input!