AMCAS and COURSE RETAKES?

[tndoc12]

Alright. Ive done a lot of searching but I cant see to find a clear cut answer. What happens if I retake a class in terms of my AMCAS application and overall calculated GPA? Does it replace, or average, or what?

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[missbones]

My understanding is that they average the two scores. But then a follow up question would be: do they count the total number of units (ie 3 unit course taken 2x = 6 units with the average grade) or just average the grade for the units of one of the courses (ie only 3 units with the average grade)

 

[alexlex143]

MD schools will average your grades. DO schools will replace the grade completely. There are actually a lot of threads about this.

 

[missbones]

Below is an excerpt from this amcas manual: http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/amcas2009instructionmanual072808.pdf


"Repeat
Any course attempted more than once, unless the final grade initially
received was Withdrawal or Incomplete.
 A course entry must be made for each completed attempt of a
repeated course, even if any mention of enrollment in the course
has been removed from the transcript.
 AMCAS includes all attempts of repeated courses in GPA
calculations, even if they are not included in the school's GPA
calculations.
 Do NOT select Repeat for courses designed to be repeated (e.g.,
Independent Study, Thesis, Chorus, etc). See Deferred Grade.
 If your school has an academic forgiveness policy and
subsequently replaces the original grade received with a special
transcript symbol the original grade must
be entered on your AMCAS application. If the original grade is
not entered AMCAS will return your application to you to enter
the original grade. Please note that this may cause you to miss
application deadlines.

 If you do not list all of your attempts in a given course, AMCAS
will initiate an investigation. "

 

[Arjuna]

MD schools will average your grades. DO schools will replace the grade completely. There are actually a lot of threads about this.

WRONG. The grades are not averaged. They are counted as separate attempts.

DEMO:

I take Organic Chemistry, and get a C

I retake Organic Chemistry and get an A

What Medical schools do:

COUNT both attempts:

ORGANIC CHEM: 3 credits. C
ORGANIC CHEM: 3 credits. A

So, in other words, you could have taken Yoga for beginners or basket weaving, and as long as it was 3 credits, your G.P.A would improve by the same amount as if you took Organic Chemistry again. D.O schools count the most recent grade.

 

[tndoc12]

I had a C in Gen Chem I and a math class my freshman year. Ive made pretty much all A's in my sciences since then. I am going to retake these 2 C's and will get A's So will they average to make a B (3.0)?

 

[Arjuna]

I had a C in Gen Chem I and a math class my freshman year. Ive made pretty much all A's in my sciences since then. I am going to retake these 2 C's and will get A's So will they average to make a B (3.0)?

See above. I can provide another demo on request.

 

[missbones]

I had a C in Gen Chem I and a math class my freshman year. Ive made pretty much all A's in my sciences since then. I am going to retake these 2 C's and will get A's So will they average to make a B (3.0)?

its not really an average since the B counts for double the units. Meaning that if the Gen Chem course is 5 units you will have an A for 5 units (retake grade) and a C for 5 units (original grade) which translates to a B for 10 units. Having a higher number of units as your denominator in your GPA calculations makes your overall GPA lower than if you just received a B for 5 units after turning your C into an A on the retake.

Arjuna described it better...

 

[dokein]

I had a C in Gen Chem I and a math class my freshman year. Ive made pretty much all A's in my sciences since then. I am going to retake these 2 C's and will get A's So will they average to make a B (3.0)?

I don't recommend doing that depending on what you mean by "pretty much all As"

 

[Arjuna]

I don't recommend doing that depending on what you mean by "pretty much all As"

I find your MDapps fascinating, in that it gives me hope. However, I know it doesn't tell me the whole story, so please let me ask: what was it that got you those amazing interviews/acceptances, apart from your MCAT score? Age/experiences? E.Cs? Letters? I am so curious!!

 

[tndoc12]

I don't recommend doing that depending on what you mean by "pretty much all As"

My pretty much all A's ive had A's in organic I, physics I, anatomy and phyiology I, and all of my other courses this last semester too. I have had one B in trig tthough.

Since I received my C's when I was a freshamn would it be best if I retook them now as a junior? Ive heard they like to see an upward trend and I have quite the upward trend.

Does anyone get into med school with 3 C's on their transcript? Even if they were from the freshman year?

 

[Catalystik]

Does anyone get into med school with 3 C's on their transcript?

Yes, as long as you have anough As to balance them and keep your GPA in the competitive range.

 

[tndoc12]

Yes, as long as you have anough As to balance them and keep your GPA in the competitive range.

Would you consider a 3.4/3.5 competitive?

 

[Catalystik]

They are competitive so long as you have an MCAT score sufficiently strong to compensate for a below-the-median acceptee GPA. For a 3.4 that may mean you'd need an MCAT of 33+.

 

[randombetch]

WRONG. The grades are not averaged. They are counted as separate attempts.

DEMO:

I take Organic Chemistry, and get a C

I retake Organic Chemistry and get an A

What Medical schools do:

COUNT both attempts:

ORGANIC CHEM: 3 credits. C
ORGANIC CHEM: 3 credits. A

So, in other words, you could have taken Yoga for beginners or basket weaving, and as long as it was 3 credits, your G.P.A would improve by the same amount as if you took Organic Chemistry again. D.O schools count the most recent grade.

... And by counting them separately, the grades are averaged.

 

[DrNunes]

do I still have a chance if I received an "F" in general chemistry, gpa is 3.5/3.6 not mcat yet... good ecs

 

[RevMD]

do I still have a chance if I received an "F" in general chemistry, gpa is 3.5/3.6 not mcat yet... good ecs

Certainly. I would strongly recommend retaking those gen chem classes just to show that you are competent in that material, because getting an F means you didn't learn anything in that class.

Also, be sure to study hard for that mcat with nothing short of a 30. A competitive mcat score will go a long way to make up for the lower gpa and I am assuming you have taken a variety of ECs that will hold their own ground.

 

[drctother]

Unfortunately cuz they average the grades of a retake, I cant apply to MD cuz my BCPM is too low ( i really think this is a stupid calculation, cuz alot of what is considered BIO at my school isnt considered BIO by AMCAS). However, if they used sciGPA and cumGPA like DO than I would be competitive maybe. Its a real shame. Also, the fact that retake replaces old grade for DO is another huge advantage of that route

good luck guys

 

[richse]

Unfortunately cuz they average the grades of a retake, I cant apply to MD cuz my BCPM is too low ( i really think this is a stupid calculation, cuz alot of what is considered BIO at my school isnt considered BIO by AMCAS). However, if they used sciGPA and cumGPA like DO than I would be competitive maybe. Its a real shame. Also, the fact that retake replaces old grade for DO is another huge advantage of that route

good luck guys

How low are you considering as too low? If your gpas are above 3.0 in both cgpa and sgpa then I would certainly not give up hope on MD schools.