Conventional wisdom against retake - potential exception?

[JMagnet626]

I am wondering if my situation is an exception to the general rule not to retake classes with a C or better. I am starting a post bacc at UNCG this fall and am trying to work out scheduling. I previously took 4 courses during my undergrad at UNC CH that count toward med school prereqs: (1) Gen Chem 1 (B), (2) Gen Chem 1 lab (c), Gen Chem 2 (C+), and Organic (B-). Obviously these are poor grades and I wish I could undo them, but after researching on SDN I decided against retaking them in favor of doing well on higher-level science courses and the other prereqs to show ad coms that I can handle the rigor of med school.


Now the twist; one of my state schools that seemed like a great option - UNC CH - now requires all coursework to be taken within five years of application. Thus, all of the above courses would have to be retaken or I would have to do 30+ hours of additional upper level courses. While I plan on doing around 15 -20 hours of upper level science courses in my 2 year post-back, doing 30 would require a third year.


Under the circumstances, I was wondering if it would make sense for me to retake these courses even though the conventional SDN wisdom is to not retake.

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[OneTwoThreeFour]

I am wondering if my situation is an exception to the general rule not to retake classes with a C or better. I am starting a post back at UNCG this fall and am trying to work out scheduling. I previously took 4 courses during my undergrad at UNC CH that count toward med school prereqs: (1) Gen Chem 1 (B), (2) Gen Chem 1 lab (c), Gen Chem 2 (C+), and Organic (B-). Obviously these are poor grades and I wish I could undo them, but after researching on SDN I decided against retaking them in favor of doing well on higher-level science courses and the other prereqs to show ad coms that I can handle the rigor of med school.


Now the twist; one of my state schools that seemed like a great option - UNC CH - now requires all coursework to be taken within five years of application. Thus, all of the above courses would have to be retaken or I would have to do 30+ hours of additional upper level courses. While I plan on doing around 15 -20 hours of upper level science courses in my 2 year post-back, doing 30 would require a third year.


Under the circumstances, I was wondering if it would make sense for me to retake these courses even though the conventional SDN wisdom is to not retake.

You wouldn't be retaking them for a better grade, you'd be taking them because you need to fill a school prerequisite. Its like retaking a good MCAT score after 3 years.
I would call the school, though, because I've heard these expired course requirements tend to be softer than the others.

 

[JMagnet626]

Thanks for the reply. I emailed them last week but am waiting for a response. Might call in the middle of next week if i dont hear back. My concern was whether other schools that dont have the requirement would look at the retake badly. Is that just me being neurotic?

 

[HomeSkool]

Is that just me being neurotic?

Yes. Knock it off.

 

[JMagnet626]

Thanks! Sometimes you just need someone else to say it to make sure.

 

[Catalystik]

I am wondering if my situation is an exception to the general rule not to retake classes with a C or better. I am starting a post bacc at UNCG this fall and am trying to work out scheduling. I previously took 4 courses during my undergrad at UNC CH that count toward med school prereqs: (1) Gen Chem 1 (B), (2) Gen Chem 1 lab (c), Gen Chem 2 (C+), and Organic (B-). Obviously these are poor grades and I wish I could undo them, but after researching on SDN I decided against retaking them in favor of doing well on higher-level science courses and the other prereqs to show ad coms that I can handle the rigor of med school.


Now the twist; one of my state schools that seemed like a great option - UNC CH - now requires all coursework to be taken within five years of application. Thus, all of the above courses would have to be retaken or I would have to do 30+ hours of additional upper level courses. While I plan on doing around 15 -20 hours of upper level science courses in my 2 year post-back, doing 30 would require a third year.


Under the circumstances, I was wondering if it would make sense for me to retake these courses even though the conventional SDN wisdom is to not retake.

Just retake them. The other exception to the general rule is that you haven't mastered the material well-enough to get a good score on the MCAT and don't want to relearn it on your own.

 

[JMagnet626]

Thanks for the advice! On a related note, I just realized that in order to retake the intro chem courses and take biochem within 2 years I will need to take both organics over the summer. I have seen that this is highly disfavored but without adding a third year (or forgoing some of the retakes) there is no way around this. Is organic over the summer still a huge red flag for ad comms in this situation?

 

[Catalystik]

On a related note, I just realized that in order to retake the intro chem courses and take biochem within 2 years I will need to take both organics over the summer. I have seen that this is highly disfavored but without adding a third year (or forgoing some of the retakes) there is no way around this. Is organic over the summer still a huge red flag for ad comms in this situation?

You are of nontraditional age and this so-called "common wisdom" doesn't apply to you. Even were you of traditional age, I wouldn't ding you for it, having taken OChem I&II (with lab) over the summer myself.

 

[JMagnet626]

Thanks for the replies! Hopefully that will be my last scheduling issue for a while 🙂