C in biochem

[handprint]

---

Members do not see this ad.

This past semester, I took biochemistry and an EMT-B course. Biochemistry was the last pre-med course that I was planning to take. It was supposed to be an easy semester, but I had trouble focusing and ended up with a C in biochem. 😱

My science GPA is still okay (3.69) but I KNOW I could have done better. Would it be worthwhile to retake this class (maybe with a different professor whose voice doesn't put me to sleep), just to show that I can handle it? I would consider taking a more advanced course, which is the advice I've seen in other threads, but I don't think I have the prerequisites for anything else in the chemistry department.

In retrospect, it probably would've been a much better idea to postpone biochem until I got into a school that required it.

 

[BennieBlanco]

It really depends. How much longer are you in school, how much longer until you apply.

Retaking it isn't a bad idea if you have the time, also taking another science class would be fine.

There is no right answer, it will raise a flag but you have a pretty good GPA and you will need to shine on the rest of your application and not show weakness. I personally would retake it if I had another semester and take another tougher science class. (again, this is assuming you have all the required courses for your degree and you have the time to do it).

Any answer is an opinion and any adcoms will also have varying opinions. They definitely look at trends though. And trending down is not good.

 

[handprint]

That's the thing, I'm applying this cycle, and the only reason why I would take another semester of classes would be to retake biochem. Adcoms wouldn't see my new grade until December, which seems like it might be too late to make a difference. But I'm thinking that I should retake it anyway.

 

[nabeel76]

Well it definitely will not look good, especially since that class is generally used as an indicator to see how well students will perform in med school. However, as there are many reasons that students have a bad course here or there, there going to look at more than just that one course, and since your GPA in the sciences is good I don't think its going to be that big of a problem. So go ahead and roll the dice and see what happens, in the meantime rather than retaking biochem I go ahead and enroll in biochem II and destroy that class, if any schools do happen to be weary of your biochem grade they can always wait to see how well you do in biochem II.