Need opinions

[Emdenopt]

Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some advice.

I'm a sophomore (Chem major, pre-med). My school uses a plus/minus grading system; in order to pass a class you have to get at least a C (you fail with a C-). We can replace our grade if we fail a class and the new grade will be factored into our GPA while the other one is not. The thing is, we can only do this 3 times. So, I got a C- in chem and genetics and a D in calc. Those are my worst grades (obviously) and I have retaken all three of those classes and passed them with A's and B's.

Now the thing is, I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll be best to replace the three grades now so my gpa can go up (I'm trying to get into a summer research program at my school and if I replace all three grades I will meet their gpa requirement and will be able to apply) or if I should "save" them just in case. For sure I'd replace my chem grade (since it's a req for med school), but I would keep those other two replacements unused in case I would need them in the future (the only reason I'm thinking about this is because I still need orgo and physics and I'm terrified/don't know what to expect).

So I don't know. Part of me wants to replace these three grades so I can move on and pursue opportunities I would be able to go for when my gpa goes up because of the replacement, but then again I'm scared I'll do poorly in, lets say Physics, and (although I'll still have to retake it) it will drag down my gpa and I won't be able to do anything about it at that point since I used my three replacement opportunities. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. Then again I'm scared I will actually do well in orgo/physics and wait all this time and not be able to do the things I want to, which I will be able to do now if I replace these grades.

Any advice?

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[LoveBeingHuman:)]

I hardly doubt your school gets "rid" of the old grades. They factor in the new grades in terms of GPA calculation for the purposes of your school only. What your school considers your GPA to be and what AMCAS considers your GPA to be may not necessarily be the same.

 

[Knicks17]

You might want to plug in your old and new grades here AMCAS GPA Calculator. It will tell you your real CGPA and Sgpa according to AMCAS

 

[mimelim]

Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some advice.

I'm a sophomore (Chem major, pre-med). My school uses a plus/minus grading system; in order to pass a class you have to get at least a C (you fail with a C-). We can replace our grade if we fail a class and the new grade will be factored into our GPA while the other one is not. The thing is, we can only do this 3 times. So, I got a C- in chem and genetics and a D in calc. Those are my worst grades (obviously) and I have retaken all three of those classes and passed them with A's and B's.

Now the thing is, I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll be best to replace the three grades now so my gpa can go up (I'm trying to get into a summer research program at my school and if I replace all three grades I will meet their gpa requirement and will be able to apply) or if I should "save" them just in case. For sure I'd replace my chem grade (since it's a req for med school), but I would keep those other two replacements unused in case I would need them in the future (the only reason I'm thinking about this is because I still need orgo and physics and I'm terrified/don't know what to expect).

So I don't know. Part of me wants to replace these three grades so I can move on and pursue opportunities I would be able to go for when my gpa goes up because of the replacement, but then again I'm scared I'll do poorly in, lets say Physics, and (although I'll still have to retake it) it will drag down my gpa and I won't be able to do anything about it at that point since I used my three replacement opportunities. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. Then again I'm scared I will actually do well in orgo/physics and wait all this time and not be able to do the things I want to, which I will be able to do now if I replace these grades.

Any advice?

Something to keep in mind is what @LoveBeingHuman:) points out. Just because your school drops the failed class for their GPA calculations, AMCAS (and thus medical schools) do not. It is important to calculate out what your real GPA is, factoring in ALL classes that you have taken post-high school.

To be blunt, this is all a moot point. You need to take Orgo and Physics for medical school. Whether or not you can 'drop' the grades will not matter because medical schools will still see the effects of them on your GPA (and on your transcript). It does not matter what your school's policies are in regard to this.

Further, it is moderately concerning that you feel the need to save a 'get out of jail free' card for these classes. You don't seem confident in your academic abilities to perform at a high level. You are at the point of your training that there aren't really any more do overs and it will be very important that you not take classes that you are completely unprepared for. In short, you need to figure out why you are struggling. Gen chem, calc, orgo and physics are just the first of dozens of waves of classes, tests etc. that you will need to get through to become a physician. I am ~13 years ahead of you and I am still using the same studying techniques that I developed in undergrad.

 

[bears1992]

Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some advice.

I'm a sophomore (Chem major, pre-med). My school uses a plus/minus grading system; in order to pass a class you have to get at least a C (you fail with a C-). We can replace our grade if we fail a class and the new grade will be factored into our GPA while the other one is not. The thing is, we can only do this 3 times. So, I got a C- in chem and genetics and a D in calc. Those are my worst grades (obviously) and I have retaken all three of those classes and passed them with A's and B's.

Now the thing is, I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll be best to replace the three grades now so my gpa can go up (I'm trying to get into a summer research program at my school and if I replace all three grades I will meet their gpa requirement and will be able to apply) or if I should "save" them just in case. For sure I'd replace my chem grade (since it's a req for med school), but I would keep those other two replacements unused in case I would need them in the future (the only reason I'm thinking about this is because I still need orgo and physics and I'm terrified/don't know what to expect).

So I don't know. Part of me wants to replace these three grades so I can move on and pursue opportunities I would be able to go for when my gpa goes up because of the replacement, but then again I'm scared I'll do poorly in, lets say Physics, and (although I'll still have to retake it) it will drag down my gpa and I won't be able to do anything about it at that point since I used my three replacement opportunities. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. Then again I'm scared I will actually do well in orgo/physics and wait all this time and not be able to do the things I want to, which I will be able to do now if I replace these grades.

Any advice?

Your "grade replacement" is for that school only. ALL courses will factor into your med school GPA. Your original grade and your retake will both show on your transcript and while your school may recalculate your gpa without your original non passing grades, med school will calculate their own gpa from every class that shows on your transcript, retake or not.
I would go ahead and use your grade replacement now to get the research position. Research will help your med school app while utilizing your schools grade replacement policy will not. It is just one semester, just do well in your junior and senior year and a bad sophomore semester will easily be overlooked at a non top 10 school.

 

[Knicks17]

What was your overall cgpa and sgpa before and after the retake roughly?

 

[Emdenopt]

What was your overall cgpa and sgpa before and after the retake roughly?

Before:
cgpa = 2.66
sgpa = 2.31

After:
cgpa = 3.30
sgpa = 3.10

The research program requires a minimum of a 3.2 cgpa, if I replace I can apply. As of right now I'm sure I can pass the classes I'm currently taking (all sciences) with A's (maybe 1 B), and hopefully I won't have any other bad semesters so my gpa can continue to go up. I hate that one or two bad semesters could completely destroy everything, no matter how hard you work after And this all happened during my freshman year where I was sort of a mess honestly. I feel like I've gotten used to everything a little more now and I'm getting better grades/not as stressed out as I was last year.

 

[Knicks17]

so your overall gpa and sgpa might be CGPA 2.95 and SGPA 2.7, but this is just a very rough estimate i made can't really give you an accurate number without knowing the numbers of credits

 

[Emdenopt]

so your overall gpa and sgpa might be CGPA 2.95 and SGPA 2.7, but this is just a very rough estimate i made can't really give you an accurate number without knowing the numbers of credits

Oh I've taken 29 credits, 39 counting the retakes. That's for 3 semesters. This semester I'm taking 12 credits.

 

[Knicks17]

It could be slightly higher

 

[Knicks17]

But if you kill it this semester with a 4.o you might barely get your over gpa to a 3.1 to 3.2

 

[bears1992]

Before:
cgpa = 2.66
sgpa = 2.31

After:
cgpa = 3.30
sgpa = 3.10

The research program requires a minimum of a 3.2 cgpa, if I replace I can apply. As of right now I'm sure I can pass the classes I'm currently taking (all sciences) with A's (maybe 1 B), and hopefully I won't have any other bad semesters so my gpa can continue to go up. I hate that one or two bad semesters could completely destroy everything, no matter how hard you work after And this all happened during my freshman year where I was sort of a mess honestly. I feel like I've gotten used to everything a little more now and I'm getting better grades/not as stressed out as I was last year.

It seems like you only have a few credits 30-40 maybe? You haven't done permanent damage but I think another sub par semester will really hurt your MD chances. Get serious, shoot for all A's with a few B's here and there and you can recover. A bad year (2.5-3.0) can be overcome if that year is freshman year. That seems to be your case so shoot for a 3.7+ you last 2.5 years and you'll have a competitive gpa for MD. Maybe not a top tier school but atleast you'll get in somewhere. A 3.5-3.7gpa over the next 2.5 years and you'll probably be looking at a great postbac to get MD. Any less than 3.5 over your final years and you are probably looking at DO only unless you do some extensive postbac work.

 

[Emdenopt]

Out of curiosity, when applying to medical school do you put the gpa on your transcript or are you supposed to calculate it yourself taking all classes/credits into consideration yourself and use that gpa? So for example, say I replace and my cgpa will be a 3.30 but overall it's a 2.95 factoring everything in, which gpa do I write in when applying?

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some advice.

I'm a sophomore (Chem major, pre-med). My school uses a plus/minus grading system; in order to pass a class you have to get at least a C (you fail with a C-). We can replace our grade if we fail a class and the new grade will be factored into our GPA while the other one is not. The thing is, we can only do this 3 times. So, I got a C- in chem and genetics and a D in calc. Those are my worst grades (obviously) and I have retaken all three of those classes and passed them with A's and B's.

Now the thing is, I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll be best to replace the three grades now so my gpa can go up (I'm trying to get into a summer research program at my school and if I replace all three grades I will meet their gpa requirement and will be able to apply) or if I should "save" them just in case. For sure I'd replace my chem grade (since it's a req for med school), but I would keep those other two replacements unused in case I would need them in the future (the only reason I'm thinking about this is because I still need orgo and physics and I'm terrified/don't know what to expect).

So I don't know. Part of me wants to replace these three grades so I can move on and pursue opportunities I would be able to go for when my gpa goes up because of the replacement, but then again I'm scared I'll do poorly in, lets say Physics, and (although I'll still have to retake it) it will drag down my gpa and I won't be able to do anything about it at that point since I used my three replacement opportunities. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. Then again I'm scared I will actually do well in orgo/physics and wait all this time and not be able to do the things I want to, which I will be able to do now if I replace these grades.

Any advice?

If you want to make it this field the word scared needs to removed from your vocabulary. Sometimes you need to put that aside and put in the WORK. I feel like not enough people actually dedicate time to studying the material, uh it's not easy for anyone. If you genuinely have a ****ty professor than that sucks but it's not enough of an excuse imo.

Point is these classes are only so hard, get through them and learn the material. If someone is doing better than you, then stalk them to figure it out.

 

[Knicks17]

Out of curiosity, when applying to medical school do you put the gpa on your transcript or are you supposed to calculate it yourself taking all classes/credits into consideration yourself and use that gpa? So for example, say I replace and my cgpa will be a 3.30 but overall it's a 2.95 factoring everything in, which gpa do I write in when applying?

I think the AMCAS calculator does that for you, and look just start killing your courses. I started my freshmen year with 2.9cgpa and 2.5 sgpa and 1W. since my gpa has been climbing and now as a sophomore I have 3.33cpga and 3.1 sgpa with out any replacement. This semester I'm busting my a** to get a 4.0 which would put me over a 3.5x and 3.3x. Dont give up just move on and work hard

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

What others have said regarding AMCAS & GPA calculations for that I agree 100% with.

My question is...if you've already retaken the courses, haven't you automatically used the 3 replacements? I've never heard of picking and choosing after the fact. Once you retake a course, it's a replacement. But that's just my experience. I would double check to make sure. Maybe this is common other places? I've never heard of it.

 

[Emdenopt]

What others have said regarding AMCAS & GPA calculations for that I agree 100% with.

My question is...if you've already retaken the courses, haven't you automatically used the 3 replacements? I've never heard of picking and choosing after the fact. Once you retake a course, it's a replacement. But that's just my experience. I would double check to make sure. Maybe this is common other places? I've never heard of it.

No, not at my school. There's a form you have to fill out and you have to write down the three classes you want to replace. Then they factor the old grade out and calculate your "new" gpa with the new grade. If you don't fill out the form then they all count in your gpa calculation.

 

[Lannister]

Out of curiosity, when applying to medical school do you put the gpa on your transcript or are you supposed to calculate it yourself taking all classes/credits into consideration yourself and use that gpa? So for example, say I replace and my cgpa will be a 3.30 but overall it's a 2.95 factoring everything in, which gpa do I write in when applying?

You'll have to type in every class you've ever taken and the grade you got and the credits it was worth on your AMCAS. Then they'll calculate your GPA for you.

 

[Catalystik]

Out of curiosity, when applying to medical school do you put the gpa on your transcript or are you supposed to calculate it yourself taking all classes/credits into consideration yourself and use that gpa? So for example, say I replace and my cgpa will be a 3.30 but overall it's a 2.95 factoring everything in, which gpa do I write in when applying?

You will enter the grade and the number of semester hours for every class. The application service will verify that you entered each course correctly from an original transcript sent directly from the school and will use its own policies to do the calculations for you.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some advice.

I'm a sophomore (Chem major, pre-med). My school uses a plus/minus grading system; in order to pass a class you have to get at least a C (you fail with a C-). We can replace our grade if we fail a class and the new grade will be factored into our GPA while the other one is not. The thing is, we can only do this 3 times. So, I got a C- in chem and genetics and a D in calc. Those are my worst grades (obviously) and I have retaken all three of those classes and passed them with A's and B's.

Now the thing is, I don't know what to do. I don't know if it'll be best to replace the three grades now so my gpa can go up (I'm trying to get into a summer research program at my school and if I replace all three grades I will meet their gpa requirement and will be able to apply) or if I should "save" them just in case. For sure I'd replace my chem grade (since it's a req for med school), but I would keep those other two replacements unused in case I would need them in the future (the only reason I'm thinking about this is because I still need orgo and physics and I'm terrified/don't know what to expect).

So I don't know. Part of me wants to replace these three grades so I can move on and pursue opportunities I would be able to go for when my gpa goes up because of the replacement, but then again I'm scared I'll do poorly in, lets say Physics, and (although I'll still have to retake it) it will drag down my gpa and I won't be able to do anything about it at that point since I used my three replacement opportunities. I'm scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later. Then again I'm scared I will actually do well in orgo/physics and wait all this time and not be able to do the things I want to, which I will be able to do now if I replace these grades.

Any advice?

Since your goal is medical school, have you considered a different major that would allow your GPA to improve? You'll have many harder classes ahead of you and you're already in a hole that you need to climb out of. Med schools don't care about your major, just that you took what you needed and did well.