Repeating course

i retook organic chem I and II last summer. my first grades were a C and a C+. I got 2 As after the repeat. my gpa went up, so it can only help me. applying this fall so we'll seeanyway, i think as long as you do better (i.e. get an A) and it definitely won't hurt you.

Retook a single course (calc 1) from a C- to a B+. Like the guy above said, it didn't hurt, but I don't think it made a major difference.

If you're retaking the core premed classes (orgo, physics etc...) that might make a difference to prove that you're now on top of your game.

I retook physics 2 and went from a C+ to an A. I chose to do it b/c it is the only C on my lifetime record of schooling, and the class was worth a whopping 5 credits. I think the rule of thumb is basically if you get a C or lower in a prereq, retake the course. It's possible, and perhaps likely, that you would be questioned about the initial low grade, but obviously showing an improvement is a good sign. Also, I'm pretty sure DO schools do not use the grade from the first attempt to calculate GPA (you still have to report it, but it doesn't get factored in), so in that light, retaking a course definitely helps. Allopathic schools use both grades, but more often than not, the average is higher than the original anyway. It's really a situation where you have to compare gains to losses--i.e. is it worth the stress of retaking a course if you know it's unlikely you'll score higher, or if the increase won't be substantial? Is it going to prevent you from graduating on time? Is it a required premed course? Just think it over... but frequently, it helps.

Would you guys advise someone to retake a really boring class that they did badly in?

I did badly in Chem 1 my first semester of college. I'd like to think I've gotten wiser. Should I retake it? Chem 1 is sooo boring and I've learned this stuff many many times. Don't ask me why I did bad if it's boring. Long story.

Couple things: how bad is "really badly"? Have you taken upper level chems to show that you've "gotten wiser"? Would the fact that it's sooo boring prevent you from raising your grade on a retake?

D in Calc, retook at CC for A
C in Phys2, retook at CC for B
C in Genetics, retook at Uni and dropped

Do I think it helped/hurt my application? Not really except maybe in 'erasing' the D from my total GPA. The rest of my app was far more interesting to adcoms.

Would you guys take pre-cal over? I think I'm going to get a C+ or a B- hopefully I land on the B. Also sociology I got a C+ yeah I know I hate these boring classes. I start calculus this summer but I know I will do my best and get that A same with Physics

Mohammed1989 said:

Would you guys take pre-cal over? I think I'm going to get a C+ or a B- hopefully I land on the B. Also sociology I got a C+ yeah I know I hate these boring classes. I start calculus this summer but I know I will do my best and get that A same with Physics

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I wouldn't bother. You have to go on to take Calc I and probably Calc II; if you do well in those then the admissions committee will be satisfied that you know your stuff. If you get asked about it during an interview be honest - say that you realised there were better uses of your time than retaking a course that shows no particular expertise, and that you feel your performance in more advanced versions of that class prove that your decision was wise.

theopensea said:

I wouldn't bother. You have to go on to take Calc I and probably Calc II; if you do well in those then the admissions committee will be satisfied that you know your stuff. If you get asked about it during an interview be honest - say that you realised there were better uses of your time than retaking a course that shows no particular expertise, and that you feel your performance in more advanced versions of that class prove that your decision was wise.

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Sounds great thanks for the advice

Mohammed1989 said:

Would you guys take pre-cal over? I think I'm going to get a C+ or a B- hopefully I land on the B. Also sociology I got a C+ yeah I know I hate these boring classes. I start calculus this summer but I know I will do my best and get that A same with Physics

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I agree with theopensea, with the exception that I don't think you should take Calc II if calculus isn't your "thing". I absolutely hated calculus, so I took pre-cal, calc I, then two semesters of statistics (mostly just for the credits), which I found to be faaaaar more enjoyable.

Generally, though, you should only really worry about pre-req/science classes, not as much others such as sociology (although that doesn't mean you can get C's, of course).

Semicolon said:

I agree with theopensea, with the exception that I don't think you should take Calc II if calculus isn't your "thing". I absolutely hated calculus, so I took pre-cal, calc I, then two semesters of statistics (mostly just for the credits), which I found to be faaaaar more enjoyable.

Generally, though, you should only really worry about pre-req/science classes, not as much others such as sociology (although that doesn't mean you can get C's, of course).

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So I guess I'll move on and take calc 1 the only problem I had with pre-cal was that the teacher really wasnt that great. Plus it was a class that meets 1 day and is 4 hours long. Talk about boring, for the pre-req sciences I'm not really worried I usually always get A's relating to science for some reason.

My freshman year, I got a D in english. Retook in my jr year and got a A. Man a 4 hour class,wow.

Titans said:

My freshman year, I got a D in english. Retook in my jr year and got a A. Man a 4 hour class,wow.

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Tell me about it and this summer I have to take calc 1 and calc 2 and they meet two times a day for 4 hours. Rather take it now and get it over with but they usually let me out in 3 hours lets hope the summer is the same way.

Of course retaking a class helps with being accepted into medical school. I had about 24 credits with the awful F designation. By retaking them I raised all of them to an A; which in turn, caused my GPA to come back to a more respectable level (greater than a 3.0 for MD and above a 3.6 for DO). Then after the hardwork, I was accepted to both MD and DO.

When should you retake a class?

I feel as if I understood most of the material, I just did badly on the test so I got a few bad grades.

I have a similar question. I have all A's and B's since returning to school (went several years ago, then took a few years off). I got a C in biochem, so my advisor says obviously I'll need to retake it this summer.

Well, I'm applying this summer. Does that mean wait until after I retake it to apply? I really don't want to take summer classes. It was a long year and I'm looking forward to a break. But this advisor is going to be writing a letter of rec... so I kind of want to do what he says. Sad, but true.

I do think I would get a better grade if I retook it, because I got most of the material. I know exactly which parts I didn't learn, and would have to get this summer. But is it worth it? My GPA with that one C is still fine - just under 3.8.

L743 said:

Of course retaking a class helps with being accepted into medical school. I had about 24 credits with the awful F designation. By retaking them I raised all of them to an A; which in turn, caused my GPA to come back to a more respectable level (greater than a 3.0 for MD and above a 3.6 for DO). Then after the hardwork, I was accepted to both MD and DO.

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Wow. 3.0 to 3.6 is huge.

I might have like 16 credits with the awful F designation. I already retook 12 of them and did good, and that helped my gpa. But wow i didnt think any other pre-med would have more F's than me. Thanks for Young Jeezy-esque Inspiration.

Melicopter said:

I have a similar question. I have all A's and B's since returning to school (went several years ago, then took a few years off). I got a C in biochem, so my advisor says obviously I'll need to retake it this summer.

Well, I'm applying this summer. Does that mean wait until after I retake it to apply? I really don't want to take summer classes. It was a long year and I'm looking forward to a break. But this advisor is going to be writing a letter of rec... so I kind of want to do what he says. Sad, but true.

I do think I would get a better grade if I retook it, because I got most of the material. I know exactly which parts I didn't learn, and would have to get this summer. But is it worth it? My GPA with that one C is still fine - just under 3.8.

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That's insane. Your advisor is obviously misinformed (as most are). If I were you, I would not follow this advice. Make your own decision...if you want to retake, then do it. If you do, then don't wait until after to apply; apply now and update them with the new grade.

Melicopter said:

I have a similar question. I have all A's and B's since returning to school (went several years ago, then took a few years off). I got a C in biochem, so my advisor says obviously I'll need to retake it this summer.

Well, I'm applying this summer. Does that mean wait until after I retake it to apply? I really don't want to take summer classes. It was a long year and I'm looking forward to a break. But this advisor is going to be writing a letter of rec... so I kind of want to do what he says. Sad, but true.

I do think I would get a better grade if I retook it, because I got most of the material. I know exactly which parts I didn't learn, and would have to get this summer. But is it worth it? My GPA with that one C is still fine - just under 3.8.

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C is an ugly but still a passing grade. I wouldn't bother retaking the course. Your advisor is a moran just like mine. Besides, your GPA is great for both allopathic and osteopathic schools.

thanecyan said:

D in Calc, retook at CC for A
C in Phys2, retook at CC for B
C in Genetics, retook at Uni and dropped

Do I think it helped/hurt my application? Not really except maybe in 'erasing' the D from my total GPA. The rest of my app was far more interesting to adcoms.

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Considering that you did get into medical school (congrats ), I guess it didn't hurt too much.

Well, I finished entering my grades into the app... and I'm even less likely to retake biochem. I had a LOT of credits from my first stint in college. They dropped my cumulative GPA to 3.64, and retaking one class is not going to make any difference!

I feel oddly at peace about this...

I retook 5 science courses (2 D's and 3 C's) and got A's (including Orgo) on the retake. I took higher-level science courses my senior year ( Micro, Anat, Physio,) and got A's in all of them. Now I have 3.6 BCPM GPA, 3.5 cum., 30 MCAT. I have a justifiable reason behind horrible performance in those classes. Do you guys think I have a decent chance or should I retake MCAT?

I was having a great winter semester(3.8) until my bio class(cellular biology) final--ended up with a C+. Had all my retakes out of the way, and now I'm debating whether or not to retake this one. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

OMTlover said:

I retook 5 science courses (2 D's and 3 C's) and got A's (including Orgo) on the retake. I took higher-level science courses my senior year ( Micro, Anat, Physio,) and got A's in all of them. Now I have 3.6 BCPM GPA, 3.5 cum., 30 MCAT. I have a justifiable reason behind horrible performance in those classes. Do you guys think I have a decent chance or should I retake MCAT?

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I think you have far more than a decent chance. I wouldn't warrant an MCAT retake; you should do great as is as long as you apply early.

MedicineAHP said:

I was having a great winter semester(3.8) until my bio class(cellular biology) final--ended up with a C+. Had all my retakes out of the way, and now I'm debating whether or not to retake this one. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

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That really depends on your current science GPA. If this class doesn't drop it considerably, I'd say don't retake. However, if you have a bad GPA to begin with and this would make a difference, then you may want to.

Ibn Alnafis MD said:

C is an ugly but still a passing grade. I wouldn't bother retaking the course. Your advisor is a moran just like mine. Besides, your GPA is great for both allopathic and osteopathic schools.

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I was told that schools would frown upon C's in prerequisite classes. My friend didnt get an interview from his top school because he got a C in ochem (yea he called the school and asked)... now im freakin worried cos i think ill get end with a C in ochem this semester

Way (way, way back), I had withdrawn from school but didn't go through the correct withdrawal process, so I got a couple F's because a couple of instructors gave me a F instead of a W. I made up a couple (i.e., English and Math), but still have a couple bringing down my GPA. Should I attempt to retake (i.e. geography). These classes are from back in the 80s/early 90s.

Also, if I withdrew from a school correctly and got all W's, do I still have to report the attempt?

I'm gonna get a D in ochem 2 this semester. Definitely have to retake. It's offered this fall at my school and it's my senior year. I'm going to apply this summer to medical school. Any suggestions for how I work that out? Can I even still apply?

Would I have to wait until december to submit my application when I have the new grade?

supras2kracer said:

I'm gonna get a D in ochem 2 this semester. Definitely have to retake. It's offered this fall at my school and it's my senior year. I'm going to apply this summer to medical school. Any suggestions for how I work that out? Can I even still apply?

Would I have to wait until december to submit my application when I have the new grade?

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How is the rest of your application? Is your GPA still competitive? Do you have a decent MCAT? if so, I would state that you are retaking Ochem and submit your application now. Otherwise, you might as well just wait to apply next year instead of wasting your money applying so late in the season. Even if you do excellent, it might not be enough to offset the rest of your application.

Good luck

Krisss17 said:

How is the rest of your application? Is your GPA still competitive? Do you have a decent MCAT? if so, I would state that you are retaking Ochem and submit your application now. Otherwise, you might as well just wait to apply next year instead of wasting your money applying so late in the season. Even if you do excellent, it might not be enough to offset the rest of your application.

Good luck

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Thanks
I'm taking my MCAT July 30. As for my GPA, what's competitive? I'm not sure that it really is. My non science gpa is 3.8 but the BPCM gpa is 2.95, not very good.

Would I write the retaking ochem part in the personal statement?

supras2kracer said:

Thanks
I'm taking my MCAT July 30. As for my GPA, what's competitive? I'm not sure that it really is. My non science gpa is 3.8 but the BPCM gpa is 2.95, not very good.

Would I write the retaking ochem part in the personal statement?

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Have you been taking some of the practice MCATs? How did you do in your other science prereqs? While your nonscience is good, that science is pretty low and you'd want that to be over 3.0 at least. You would really need to hit that MCAT out of the park. If were me, I would probably not apply this year...I would make sure that I kill that OChem in the fall, make sure that my MCAT is competitive, perhaps take a couple more science classes or if you had any of your science classes that is really pulling down your GPA, take it again...one of the pros of going for DO. Continue to work on your ECs and get some good LORs. Again, this is if it were me.

I wish you luck with whatever you choose.

Semicolon said:

I think you have far more than a decent chance. I wouldn't warrant an MCAT retake; you should do great as is as long as you apply early.



That really depends on your current science GPA. If this class doesn't drop it considerably, I'd say don't retake. However, if you have a bad GPA to begin with and this would make a difference, then you may want to.

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Thanks semicolon, I did do the calculations and if I stay on the upward trend, then retaking the C+ won't really make a big/noticable difference...thanks again for the input!

Krisss17 said:

Have you been taking some of the practice MCATs? How did you do in your other science prereqs? While your nonscience is good, that science is pretty low and you'd want that to be over 3.0 at least. You would really need to hit that MCAT out of the park. If were me, I would probably not apply this year...I would make sure that I kill that OChem in the fall, make sure that my MCAT is competitive, perhaps take a couple more science classes or if you had any of your science classes that is really pulling down your GPA, take it again...one of the pros of going for DO. Continue to work on your ECs and get some good LORs. Again, this is if it were me.

I wish you luck with whatever you choose.

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hey krissss i'm in the same situation as supra2, I hope to bring my sGPA over 3.00 this semester (even with that stupid ochem C). I plan to take mcat on july 2nd and I've gettin low 20's on practice exams. Would u suggest me to do the same if you were me?