Dumb mistake-question about retaking calculus!

[Qwerty2013]

Hi,
I made the mistake of taking Calc II and III (at a local college) while in HS and doing very poorly in them. Now I would like to take two semesters of calc in college but bc those credits somehow transferred over, my school will not let me retake those calc classes. :< Even if I did, they will not honor those credits. I really would like to retake them to show that I can do much better. Some med schools also require two semesters of math etc and I have not taken any math classes since entering college and I am currently a junior. If I did retake it, I am not even sure if the new grades would still show up on my current transcript since the credits would not count... Say, if I got a grade (even if it was not factored into my GPA), could I still report it on AMCAS..??
What should I do...!????? :-(

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[Cambover]

I've never heard of a school telling a student they couldn't retake a class. Is that a school-wide policy?

Also, note that I think primarily only DO schools do grade replacement. You unfortunately may be stuck with those scores on your transcript.

 

[PreMedMaverick]

AMCAS determines your GPA separate from your school, and every class you have ever taken counts, regardless of what your school says your GPA is. AMCAS will not, however, replace the low grade with the high grade. Therefore, retaking the classes would boost the GPA med schools see on your AMCAS a little, but it won't get rid of the grades.

Another thing to consider is that your GPA is broken down by year in college on the AMCAS. I am not an adcom member, but if I saw a 2.0 GPA for classes taken in high school and a 4.0 throughout college, I wouldn't take the overall GPA drop into consideration (I would actually just be impressed that the student was able to pass calc 2 and 3 in high school).

 

[SN12357]

Hi,
I made the mistake of taking Calc II and III (at a local college) while in HS and doing very poorly in them. Now I would like to take two semesters of calc in college but bc those credits somehow transferred over, my school will not let me retake those calc classes. :< Even if I did, they will not honor those credits. I really would like to retake them to show that I can do much better. Some med schools also require two semesters of math etc and I have not taken any math classes since entering college and I am currently a junior. If I did retake it, I am not even sure if the new grades would still show up on my current transcript since the credits would not count... Say, if I got a grade (even if it was not factored into my GPA), could I still report it on AMCAS..??
What should I do...!????? :-(

Weird that your school won't let you retake them.

You could look for reputable online options (ie, a respected brick and mortar university that offers online classes). Since they aren't lab classes most med school won't mind if you do them online.

 

[Catalystik]

Hi,
I made the mistake of taking Calc II and III (at a local college) while in HS and doing very poorly in them. Now I would like to take two semesters of calc in college but bc those credits somehow transferred over, my school will not let me retake those calc classes. :< Even if I did, they will not honor those credits. I really would like to retake them to show that I can do much better. Some med schools also require two semesters of math etc and I have not taken any math classes since entering college and I am currently a junior. If I did retake it, I am not even sure if the new grades would still show up on my current transcript since the credits would not count... Say, if I got a grade (even if it was not factored into my GPA), could I still report it on AMCAS..??
What should I do...!????? :-(

How could the credit have transferred to an unrelated institution without your specific request?

All grades earned, at all institutions, will be listed on your med school application transcript, regardless of your current schools' policy. You are obliged to send in an original registrar's transcript from every school where coursework was attempted. DO med schools, however, will only include the most recent grade in their application GPA calculation, provided the semester hours are the same or greater when you retake. Consider retaking at a local Community College.

 

[kyamh]

How poorly did you do? Typical SDN wisdom dictates that if you got at least a C it does not make sense to retake since you won't be impressing anyone with an A the second time around. Take statistics for a credit of Math. Since your other credits are on your record, you have already completed the medical school requirement for math and do not need to take any more...statistics is just useful and will show that you are capable of thinking in terms of numbers. If you like math, take an upper level computational course or go further in math and take linear algebra or differential equations. I see no reason to retake the other courses unless you plan to apply DO.