So, I failed second semester organic chemistry and I am planning on retaking the second partnext semester. I am currently in orgo I this semester and I am doing well. Here's where it gets sticky: my teacher is going on leave second semester which leaves one other teacher. I could take it from this professor but his students currently in orgo I and g. chem from what I hear are failing/not doing well. I have also heard from the five or so students who passed and continued to take his orgo ii second semester (last school year), that it was hard and no one made less than a C. The thing with taking it at my school now is the failing grade I made second semester will not be calculated into my gpa, and I get the new grade. The question is should I retake it with this professor and risk my chances (when I know medical schools are looking for improvement) or should I try to take it at another school where I know I will do well and will not be stressed in trying to do well, even though I won't get the gpa calculated in my gpa or get the grade waived in place of the new grade? Do medical schools look down upon taking a class at another institution? I definitely do not want to wait until my current professor now comes back my senior year because I won't be able to take that class until second semester my senior year. I plan to apply next summer, what should I do? Thanks!!!! 😱
Need ADVICE: How should I take O Chem Second Semester
- Thread starter Lenede
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Well, you shouldn't take the MCAT until you understand the material from Orgo I and Orgo II. You can't apply to med school summer 09 with no MCAT score. If you don't retake Orgo II before applying, you'll have an F on your transcript sent to the med school application service. I don't think any school will want you with an F on a prerequisite. So you must retake Orgo II before applying.
1) If you want to apply early summer 09 you have to take Orgo II Spring semester (with the more difficult professor), so you can take the MCAT by May and submit your application in a timely manner. If you've already taken Orgo II, you should have a good understanding of the material and be a star in the class, theoretically.
2) If you prefer to take Orgo II at another 4-year school over the summer instead, that's fine. Just don't take it at a community college, if at all possible. You could take the MCAT at the end of the summer session, but it takes a month to get the results back, and you would then be applying later in the application season, thus compromising your chances of acceptance. If you get an A the second time, the A and the F would average into a C.
3) You could also plan to delay your application for an additional year until early summer 2010 if you choose the summer school option, which is a good idea if you need to generally improve your GPA or beef up your extracurriculars.
With the scenarios above, your transcript won't be so embarrassing with an unredeemed F on it. Personally, I'd choose #3.
1) If you want to apply early summer 09 you have to take Orgo II Spring semester (with the more difficult professor), so you can take the MCAT by May and submit your application in a timely manner. If you've already taken Orgo II, you should have a good understanding of the material and be a star in the class, theoretically.
2) If you prefer to take Orgo II at another 4-year school over the summer instead, that's fine. Just don't take it at a community college, if at all possible. You could take the MCAT at the end of the summer session, but it takes a month to get the results back, and you would then be applying later in the application season, thus compromising your chances of acceptance. If you get an A the second time, the A and the F would average into a C.
3) You could also plan to delay your application for an additional year until early summer 2010 if you choose the summer school option, which is a good idea if you need to generally improve your GPA or beef up your extracurriculars.
With the scenarios above, your transcript won't be so embarrassing with an unredeemed F on it. Personally, I'd choose #3.
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This doesn't work. AMCAS requires that you send in all grades for all classes you have taken. If you've retaken any classes, they average your two scores together, so like Mobius said, if you get an A the second time, you still just get a C.
I strongly suggest delaying applying for a year. It'll let you make sure you really get the O Chem II stuff for the MCAT and give you plenty of time to repair your GPA, which that F has really hurt, I'm sure. You'll be able to really beef up your application in that year off, rather than if you were to spend that year applying and maybe running around to interviews but not getting in. Remember, applying isn't a sprint, it's a marathon, and you'd much rather apply just once with a strong application than twice, once with a below average application and once with an average application.
You're both right! Thanks for the advice. With my school, they have it where if you do better the second time around, only the new grade is calculated into my gpa. The failing grade will still be on my transcript just not in my gpa. I wasn't planning on taking it in summer school. I was thinking more like second semester just not at my school. But I guess I'll have to tough it out with the professor here.
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You still don't understand. When a school submits a transcript, they are required to report every grade you have ever gotten in any class, even if you later retook the class and got a better grade, they HAVE to report all grades you've ever gotten. When they submit that transcript, they may well report whatever GPA they feel like. HOWEVER, AMCAS recalculates your GPA when they receive it to make it conform to their standard policy. They will go back through every grade you have ever received since HS to determine your "true" GPA, including any scores that aren't factored into your institutional GPA. AMCAS will AVERAGE your two grades together, meaning that F you have is going to stay with you forever as far as AMCAS is concerned.
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If you are fortunate enough to have two 4-year schools in the same area, then retaking Orgo II at the second school is a viable option, since you think it will be easier to get a good grade. It won't matter where you take it, because as GoSpursGo points out, both grades will be calculated into your AMCAS (MD med school application service) GPA for med school application purposes. I'd take the class at the school where an A is more likely. Getting a C or B in the class will not help your GPA enough.
Be aware that the DO (Osteopathic) medical school application service does things differently. They will substitute the F with the retaken grade, rather than average the two.
How was your GPA overall before all this happened? Do you have your extracurriculars in progress?
