Do medical schools factor retakes into your GPA?

[Ragman]

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I have been doing some research on this, and haven't found a necessarily absolute answer.

One reason I'm asking is because I have a F from Chemistry (that I took as an after school college-course while I was still in high school). I also received a C in my Intro to Biology course shortly afterwards.

Can I pave over these two bumps if I keep moving on and doing better like I have been, and retake them?

Do these specific classes have to count for my prerequisites, or for example can any Biology class act as part of my prerequisite if I major in Biology?

 

[Geekchick921]

Assuming that the retake is at least as many credits as the original class, AAMC will calculate your GPA by averaging the two grades (A "C" retaken for an "A" will be counted as a "B"), while AACOMAS will completely replace the original grade with the retake (A "C" retaken for an "A" will be counted as an "A"). Hope that helps!

 

[Ragman]

I see. Thank you.

A mildly unrelated question: do graduate schools factor retakes the same way allopathic medical schools do, or are they more forgiving?

 

[Catalystik]

1) One reason I'm asking is because I have a F from Chemistry (that I took as an after school college-course while I was still in high school). I also received a C in my Intro to Biology course shortly afterwards.

Can I pave over these two bumps if I keep moving on and doing better like I have been, and retake them?

2) Do these specific classes have to count for my prerequisites, or for example can any Biology class act as part of my prerequisite if I major in Biology?

1) Using chemistry as an example, if you get an A in it when you retake, and the original and retake classes were 4 credit hours each, the impact will be 8.0 credit hours of a C. The greater impact, though, will be that you totally redeemed the poor grade and proved you can master the material. It looks good on the transcript and "paves over" the hole.

2) Many schools specify that the prerequisite be Intoductory Biology classes for a year with lab, but others let you substitute another Bio with Lab instead, if you ask. But no matter what, those two low grades will show up in your BCPM GPA that includes the science/math prereqs. To get that number higher, you'll need to keep taking more Bio classes and getting As. Your transcript will however specify that those classes happened in HS. Some med schools give less weight to grades taken at that time, or even during freshman year. It's a bummer that classes taken when you were a kid "count" but they won't derail your application if you prove you're a different person and consistently produce great grades from now on.