course retake

[docindev]

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Hi everyone,

I've already graduated and I'm thinking about taking a science course at my local university and I've got some questions.

1)My science gpa is pretty low so I'm wondering if the money would be better spent repeating a course I've already taken or taking an entirely new course.

2) I'm going to apply both MD and DO and I know for DO there is a grade replacement option and for MD they average the retake grades, so obviously taking a new course and getting an A will benefit both MD and DO, but replacing the grade will benefit DO that much more. What do you guys think is the best way to go?

3) When DO replaces the grade, do they replace it when the original course was taken? Let's say I got a C in a course my 2nd year and 3 years later I retake it. If I get an A, will that be factored in for my 2nd year grade or now after all the grades I accumulated since then. I presume the GPA's will be different.

4) Does grade replacement still work if the course I am taking is 1) the same title but at a different institution and 2) I am doing it as an informal post-bacc course.

I'll really appreciate the responses. Thanks so much in advance

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Hi everyone,

I've already graduated and I'm thinking about taking a science course at my local university and I've got some questions.

1)My science gpa is pretty low so I'm wondering if the money would be better spent repeating a course I've already taken or taking an entirely new course.

Depends on your cGPA and sGPA now.

2) I'm going to apply both MD and DO and I know for DO there is a grade replacement option and for MD they average the retake grades, so obviously taking a new course and getting an A will benefit both MD and DO, but replacing the grade will benefit DO that much more. What do you guys think is the best way to go?

It could be both but it depends on your sGPA and cGPA now and what you make on the MCAT.

3) When DO replaces the grade, do they replace it when the original course was taken? Let's say I got a C in a course my 2nd year and 3 years later I retake it. If I get an A, will that be factored in for my 2nd year grade or now after all the grades I accumulated since then. I presume the GPA's will be different.

Yes they do.

4) Does grade replacement still work if the course I am taking is 1) the same title but at a different institution and 2) I am doing it as an informal post-bacc course.

Yes.

I'll really appreciate the responses. Thanks so much in advance

Hope this helps.

 

[docindev]

Thanks for the reply. Also, I was wondering if taking a Graduate science course will be better than a post bacc Undergrad science course. I'm not sure how these factor in to the application system. Is there a separate gpa for GRADsci vs postbacc sci?

And my gpa is 3.0 for both so I know I need quite an extensive amount of postbacc work.

Also, if someone else can verify the answers to my first post, that'll be great.

 

[AestheticGod]

I heard that DO allows grade replacement if you retook a course, so does medical not do the same? Do they average out both grades that you got in the same course?

And is there a 'golden rule' for grade retakes? Like don't take more than X amount of retakes.

 

[docindev]

Bumping this...will really appreciate the help. Thanks.

 

[theseeker4]

Thanks for the reply. Also, I was wondering if taking a Graduate science course will be better than a post bacc Undergrad science course. I'm not sure how these factor in to the application system. Is there a separate gpa for GRADsci vs postbacc sci?

And my gpa is 3.0 for both so I know I need quite an extensive amount of postbacc work.

Also, if someone else can verify the answers to my first post, that'll be great.

Grad classes will not be factored in to your undergraduate GPA for AMCAS. (Not sure how DO schools do it). For this reason, MD schools will generally not look at a masters degree or other graduate coursework as making up for a low undergraduate GPA. Unless you are taking an SMP with a good reputation that is, ideally, linked to a medical school, graduate coursework will not make up for your undergraduate work at most schools.

There are separate GPAs on AMCAS for undergraduate courses and graduate courses. Each is broken down by BCPM, nonBCPM and overall. Grad courses are not combined with undergraduate courses, while undergraduate courses toward a bachelors degree are combined with post-bac classes, as well as being reported separately. This means post bac classes will bring up your overall GPA and sGPA, while grade classes will not.

For DO schools, grade replacement works as long as the course is demonstrably over the same material as the first course, and is worth at least as many hours as the first attempt. Having a different course number and name and being at a different school doesn't prevent you from using grade replacement.

I am not positive how DO applications are reported, but your overall GPA should end up being the same no matter when they report you as taking the course. When they count it wont effect your overall GPA, it will only change the semester-by-semester GPA. If this isn't what question #3 is talking about, I am not sure what you are asking there.

As you said, for DO schools, grade replacement can help a lot. For MD schools, taking an entirely new 4 credit class for an A will have the exact same impact on your reported GPA as retaking a 4 credit class for an A. MD schools, if they really look at your transcripts enough to compare individual courses, won't be impressed as much by re-taking a class for an A as they would by you taking a completely new class for an A, but the chances of them actually microscopically analyzing your transcript in that much detail is probably low (unless you are being seriously considered anyway, and then there will hopefully be other parts of your application that will stand out and impress them.) Since DO schools do replace grades, that is probably the way to go first of all, at least until any sciences you have that are under a C, and maybe even those at a C, are all retaken. Calculate out what you have now, and start plugging numbers in to see what your sGPA will be for MD and DO schools if you re-take x classes, or y classes, or take new classes for z credits, etc, and see what the biggest bang for your buck would be.

Good luck!