Re-taking courses

[docindev]

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Regarding re-taking courses, at the moment, I cannot afford to take courses at a 4-year without taking out loans. However, after reading much on taking courses at a community college, I'm a bit confused on whether or not this is acceptable from the perspective of adcoms. (Perhaps a med student who has served on an adcom can shed some light or anyone with info)

Also, is it better to re-take C's or just take new sciences altogether?

I've read that a few classes (3-4) at a CC is OK, but any more is not. On the other hand, some say that it is totally unacceptable to have a BS in Biology and then go to a CC and take science courses there.

Again, this is all from SDNers' opinions, but I will appreciate the advice of someone who has actually done this and been successful in the app process/have feedback from adcoms.

I know that to show strength in the sciences, I need to take upper-division courses and these are only offered at a 4-year, so can taking classes at a CC help at all?

I got all C's in Biochem, Molecular bio, and genetics (which were lower division, core classes at my uni)- maybe I can take these again at a CC/4-year?

Eventually, I will try to take courses at a 4-year or do an SMP of some kind.

Also, do retakes have to be at the same school?

I know postbacc courses are separate from undergraduate GPA on AMCAS, however how does the GPA(both ugpa and sGPA) go up then from doing post bacc courses.

Thanks in advance for all the advice everyone. I really appreciate it.

 

[Josh7]

Related question: I am very busy trying to balance EE courses with Med pre-reqs so I plan to take all but one of my general education requirements at a CC over the summer (probably online so I can do a summer internship). How bad will this look to the admissions?

 

[Josh7]

I had the same problem (except I'm materials instead of electrical) and I stayed at UMichigan for the summer. They weren't easy A's, but I'm glad I stuck with the more challenging option.

I am talking 5 three hours gen eds online over the course of two summers 😛 There's no way I can just do that over the summer at UIUC taking "real" classes. + I think the summer research experience is pretty necessary for me

 

[ShenanigansMD]

I am talking 5 three hours gen eds online over the course of two summers 😛 There's no way I can just do that over the summer at UIUC taking "real" classes. + I think the summer research experience is pretty necessary for me

Then it's def a gamble, but the research experience is important. I chose to bite it and there were a couple terms where I was begging the engineering school to let me break the 18 credit limit. I made the mistake of switching into pre-md halfway through college though.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

OP, I would retake pre-reqs, so it shows that you actually care about your grades. It's probably better to avoid cc as much as possible, but if you have legitimate reasons other than "it's easier" then go for it.

 

[Davidasaurus]

Regarding re-taking courses, at the moment, I cannot afford to take courses at a 4-year without taking out loans. However, after reading much on taking courses at a community college, I'm a bit confused on whether or not this is acceptable from the perspective of adcoms. (Perhaps a med student who has served on an adcom can shed some light or anyone with info)

Also, is it better to re-take C's or just take new sciences altogether?

I've read that a few classes (3-4) at a CC is OK, but any more is not. On the other hand, some say that it is totally unacceptable to have a BS in Biology and then go to a CC and take science courses there.

Again, this is all from SDNers' opinions, but I will appreciate the advice of someone who has actually done this and been successful in the app process/have feedback from adcoms.

I know that to show strength in the sciences, I need to take upper-division courses and these are only offered at a 4-year, so can taking classes at a CC help at all?

I got all C's in Biochem, Molecular bio, and genetics (which were lower division, core classes at my uni)- maybe I can take these again at a CC/4-year?

Eventually, I will try to take courses at a 4-year or do an SMP of some kind.

Also, do retakes have to be at the same school?

I know postbacc courses are separate from undergraduate GPA on AMCAS, however how does the GPA(both ugpa and sGPA) go up then from doing post bacc courses.

Thanks in advance for all the advice everyone. I really appreciate it.

I'd say you can't really go wrong with either in regards to the AMCAS, so long as you snag A's. However, bear in mind that AACOMAS does honor grade forgiveness, so if you're looking specifically at the DO route, then retakes are your best bet.

Post-bacc courses are simply undergraduate courses you take after you receive your degree. However, they're compiled in an entirely separate section (Divided into Freshman, Soph, Jr, Sr, Post-bacc) so schools will be able to see how well you did as a whole in the classes you took after you received your degree. That being said, all 5 of those sections are combined and your cGPA/sGPA are pumped out accordingly.

Related question: I am very busy trying to balance EE courses with Med pre-reqs so I plan to take all but one of my general education requirements at a CC over the summer (probably online so I can do a summer internship). How bad will this look to the admissions?

It definitely won't bolster your application, but it shouldn't hurt it much either if the rest of your application is solid. Typically gen-eds taken at a CC or home-institution if you're OOS generally aren't looked down upon, so long as you're not taking pivotal courses such as Orgo/Physics/Bio cores away from the institution you wish to graduate from. I'd do my best to steer clear from distance learning, but if your GPA is solid and you do so happen to land a summer internship, that can help off-set it.