AnP II replace/retake

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You have to think that you also have another ap. I hope you did well in it. Seriously , there's no way they weigh ap 1 and 2 more than other classes. I mean if you had geology and ap to retake, of course take ap. but there are harder courses in undergrad biology like cell biology, micro, etc. there's no Way that a basic level anatomy is super more important than anything else. I also made a c in the first ap and will retake it this summer. But don't worry, the class is too damn easy for pt schools to make drama with! If you have good stats this will not hurt you. Just make an a. Why would the schools look at the retake and say oh a d and an a, that's a c. Lol no that's the wrong logic. If you make an a then you make an a. Regardless of your previous grade. They will most likely respect you for retaking it and trying hard


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app I will accept any pt school at this point. I cannot sleep
 
I am the parent of an applicant. This is my daughter's second year applying, and from our experience I can tell you that Anatomy and Physiology are VERY important to PT schools as is your entire pre-req GPA. My daughter received a B in Anatomy and a C- in Physiology (her school broke up A & P into 2 separate courses), so she repeated Phys her senior year and received an A-. She also repeated Physics II after graduating... she got a C+ the first time and an A the second time. She applied to 12 schools this year, and even with the repeated grades and working full time as a PT Tech, she was accepted to NONE so far (interviewed and waitlisted at several). Repeating the courses brought up her pre-req GPA from 3 to 3.2 because PTCAS averages ALL the grades and the C- lowered it significantly (it's a 3.4 if you only include the higher grades and her overall GPA is 3.4, 3.45 w/o lower grades). Also, she had a legit excuse for the lower grades... she received both of the lower grades in the same semester when she had a family crisis which played out over a couple months, so she missed a couple classes and was very distracted. She explained this in her application and on interviews, but it didn't matter. They want high GPA's and/or high GRE's. That's what it comes down to, so take every pre-req grade very seriously because it weighs a lot in the admission process. Also, if you ask any current PT student or graduate for advice, one consistent thing they'll tell you is "KNOW YOUR ANATOMY" before entering PT school. Undergrad Anatomy is NOT easy and it won't get any easier in PT school, so don't take it lightly and be prepared to explain your D in your application and at interviews. I don't think it's worth explaining your logic about not taking the exam and your school's policy about repeated courses. Instead stick with something like "I wasn't prepared for the rigorous studying needed for anatomy and didn't spend enough time on it. I realized I had to improve my study skills and allot more time to studying and I did much better the second time... blah, blah, blah". Most schools DO average both grades. The application process is getting more competitive every year and there are so many very strong candidates out there. Think about it... why should a school take a chance with you when there are plenty of other students who got it right the first time? So any mistake can cost you. I would suggest repeating both A&P I and II, get an A, and get as many A's in your pre-req courses as possible. Repeat the courses at a community college if that works better for you... I think most PT schools don't care where you take it, but call and check to make sure. They weigh the pre-req GPA more than the overall GPA, so spend most of your study time on those courses. It may seem like a daunting task right now, but If you really want to do this, it will be worth it in the long run.

FYI... Luckily my daughter got a "deferred" acceptance last year to the same school where she did her undergrad, so she'll be starting DPT school in January '13. We think the only reason she was accepted was because while she was there for undergrad she got to know some of the people in the graduate admissions, so they had more empathy for her situation than the other schools where she applied. She applied to more schools this year with the hopes that she would be accepted to a program that started sooner and was closer to home. None of the schools knew about the deferred acceptance, so that wasn't a factor. However, even after improving her stats and applying to several more schools, she didn't get any acceptances (so far). Good luck!
 
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My recommendation would be to talk to the schools you are interested in....most schools offer this. You send them your grades/volunteer hours/extracurriculars and some will give you suggestions on where/how you can improve your application. Two of the schools I spoke with told me A&P was among the most weighted classes. However, another school I looked at didn't require anatomy so I believe it really varies from school to school. Another school told me they would much rather see me take a harder related course than repeat the same course (chemistry).

I messed up my freshman year in college, my first semester I received a 2.3 and I got a D in Chemistry. My second semester I got a 3.0 and by sophomore year I was getting mostly A's. Schools will take this into consideration, as for many students, the first year of college is a transition period. Your A&P classes were freshman/beginning of sophomore year so I would think as long as you showed improvement the following 2.5 years you will be ok. If you didn't, and even if you did, I think it's pretty important that you get A's in all your future courses and score above average on the GRE. Also, what you do after undergrad and extracurriculars can also be important, at least they were on my application.

One of the questions I got at one of my interviews was about my lower prerequisite GPA (unfortunately 4 of my prerequisites were from my freshman year so my GPA really took a hit). They were concerned about me being able to handle PT school. I was in a biology related grad program where I received mostly A's and so I was able to back up my ability to handle a tough schedule. If you do get an interview I would prepare for that question and I agree with what one of the posters said about not explaining your logic as it's a bit negative. I would keep it to something like you were learning how to handle the workload/weren't as focused and then show them how you have changed and are able to handle school now....via grades/high GRE/etc.

I got into 3 schools my first time around so it is possible to do it with a lower GPA and a D. Good luck!
 
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