Post Bacc - Line-up of new classes or re-take of old?

[Keepitclassy]

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At this point in the game I'm looking to do a one-year post-bacc to buff up my sub-par GPA.

Would it be looked down upon to retake courses that I didn't take seriously during freshman year (Pre-Cal/Calculus/Gen Chem I & II) where I got C's? Or am I better off taking entirely new courses? I've heard that ~30+ hours of strong performance is favorable, and I plan on maxing out (17 or 18 hours per semester)

I'd be able to knock down two birds with one stone with grade replacement when applying to DO Schools and increased cGPA/sGPA for allopathic schools. Also, it would be easier to get an A (Easier courses + whatever I retained) and I'd still be able to sneak in new courses (roughly 1/3 of courses would be re-takes so I still have room for new courses such as Biochem/Stats/etc.)

However, I'm concerned that allopathic schools might not like the relative "ease" of my post-bacc classes, will that be a problem?

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Retake the math and science classes you did badly in. Better grades in those classes will boost both your cumulative and science GPAs. Don't worry about anyone seeing that as "easy." Nobody thinks calculus is easy, even the second time around. Obviously you want to get nothing but A's to prove that your initial grades were a fluke, and you really can learn the material.

What is your current cGPA? If it's below ~3.4, then retake some additional bad grades to bring it up. After you have any necessary retakes planned, add some upper-division science classes or classes medical schools recommend like biochemistry, anatomy, and statistics to show that you can get good grades in tough classes.

 

[Aerus]

Maybe this is just my preference, but I don't think you should retake classes just because you have a C in them. If I was an adcom, I'd much rather see a person doing a post-bacc to take upper division science classes and do well in them. Anyone can retake a class and get an A.

If you got an F in a prereq, that's a different story.

 

[JESSFALLING]

Why not split the difference? Retake the 4-5 courses that you did the worst in, and take 3-4 upper-division electives (e.g. biochemistry, genetics, physiology, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, or histology).