2 Cs in Ochem... retake?

[Citsouca1988]

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After a full year of Organic chemistry 1 and 2, I have managed to pass them both with a C. However, I am assuming that it will be hard for me to get into pharmacy school with Cs in organic classes and am debating whether to retake these awful classes or not. What should I do?

 

[IrishRxMan]

It depends on how your other science classes went as well as which schools you are looking to attend. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but you would have to make sure your other areas like PCAT, interview, community service, LOR, etc. You can retake them, but you would have to get A's in both to bring them up.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I don't know about your institution, but where I went to school, you couldn't re-take a course if you got a C or better in it.

That said, if you think you could somehow get better than a C after two terms of it, then by all means... But how would you go about improving your score? That's what the real question would be... Perhaps your time spent would be better preparing for an awesome PCAT instead of repeating courses you only performed average in?

 

[Citsouca1988]

I managed to get A and A- in Chem 1 and 2. and a B+ and B in Gen Bio 1 and 2. I also got an A- in Calculus and B+ In Calculus 2. Next semester, I will be taking analytical chemistry along with biochemistry. Currently, I am retaking General Physics because I received a D in the first time around.

Also, in regards to the PCAT, how does anyone study for tests like that. I did terrible on the SATs which prevented me from going to a nice college but managed a 3.7 in high school. I even took classes for the SATs but it did not help me at all.

 

[tahi193]

I think since you got pretty nice grades in gen chem and gen bio, you could just take some upper level chem and do well in that to show that you can handle the more advanced level. It seems that you're already on the road to doing that. I retook a class because I wasn't happy with a C and now I regret it. I think it will just look strange that I wasted time retaking a class I passed (it was Calculus...bleg) instead of moving forward.

I used the Kaplan book for the PCAT. I found it useful for Biology but it's really lacking in the Organic Chem and math areas.

 

[Maxpwer222]

I managed to get A and A- in Chem 1 and 2. and a B+ and B in Gen Bio 1 and 2. I also got an A- in Calculus and B+ In Calculus 2. Next semester, I will be taking analytical chemistry along with biochemistry. Currently, I am retaking General Physics because I received a D in the first time around.

Also, in regards to the PCAT, how does anyone study for tests like that. I did terrible on the SATs which prevented me from going to a nice college but managed a 3.7 in high school. I even took classes for the SATs but it did not help me at all.

Any standardized test that covers such a broad range of concepts is going to be challenging to study for. I for one believe that your score is not really effected by the amount you study.

If you feel that your PCAT is going to be weak, make sure the rest of your application is strong. Good LORs, Strong GPA, research, and volunteering.

 

[IrishRxMan]

I'd get a book to study for the PCAT. Don't focus so much on the material asked, but how the questions and answers are written. It's not testing your knowledge so much as it is how you take the test. If you don't know the answer to the question after 30 seconds, mark it and move on. You don't get any more points for answering the more difficult questions, unlike how we are trained and tested in undergrad. If you take 5 minutes to answer a really tough question when you could have answered 6 easy ones, you won't be praised for answering the hard one.

Your grades in sciences aren't horrible, I've seen others get in with worse. Just nail the PCAT and interviews and get solid LOR's from profs you did well in their classes.

As for my university, you could retake the class, but they would average your scores, so a C and a A together ended up in a B.

 

[Passion4Sci]

The PCAT is an aptitude test, not an achievement test, so studying for it is pretty damn hard, just like studying for the MCAT is. Does Kaplan offer expensive courses that have a guy read the book to you? Sure. Do they work? Well, there's no real control group because there's no guarantee someone who took the PCAT after a Kaplan course would not have gotten the same score without the course.

The best study guide for your PCAT is your pre-requisite coursework.

 

[mletter]

The PCAT is an aptitude test, not an achievement test, so studying for it is pretty damn hard, just like studying for the MCAT is. Does Kaplan offer expensive courses that have a guy read the book to you? Sure. Do they work? Well, there's no real control group because there's no guarantee someone who took the PCAT after a Kaplan course would not have gotten the same score without the course.

The best study guide for your PCAT is your pre-requisite coursework.

I agree, I am not sure that the courses help you learn or relearn the material so much but rather make you more comfortable with the material by repeating it over and over to you. If that helps you do good on that dumb test, however, then it's worth it! Btw, I wouldn't bother retaking the orgo's!

 

[Citsouca1988]

Good to hear. I didn't ever want to take that class again. Ugh. But I am investing the Kapaln 2010-2011 book. Any other suggestions? I think I should take a head start on it now and stop doing other things like... play Left 4 Dead -_-.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Good to hear. I didn't ever want to take that class again. Ugh. But I am investing the Kapaln 2010-2011 book. Any other suggestions? I think I should take a head start on it now and stop doing other things like... play Left 4 Dead -_-.

Video games, the ultimate in task avoidance and chief agent in the "lazy-izing" of the world. 🙄

 

[mletter]

Maybe they are science video games! 😀

 

[Passion4Sci]

Maybe they are science video games! 😀

Left 4 Dead is definitely not a science game, LOL >.>

 

[OChemist]

Good to hear. I didn't ever want to take that class again. Ugh. But I am investing the Kapaln 2010-2011 book. Any other suggestions? I think I should take a head start on it now and stop doing other things like... play Left 4 Dead -_-.

ahha i havent play video games in forever, I just tried it yesterday. Too much of a good thing is bad I guess.