Red Flag? Course Prereq

[Sydnee15]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi, would appreciate any insight on this.

During 1st year summer, I took intro chem (divided into two semesters), where I received a C+ and a D+. Since then, my grades have been nearly all 4.0s, including pre-reqs. I am wondering whether this D+ will be a red flag when applying to medical schools. From what I've gathered so far, it seems that some schools require a minimum grade and some do not.

Also, is sGPA weighted more than the individual's cGPA? For instance, my sGPA is around a 3.6, but my cGPA is a 3.86.

Also, I'm an international student (Canadian), if this matters.

Thank you.

 

[medic86]

To add: some schools explicitly require a C or greater. Better to retake for a good grade than having to ask specific schools for exceptions (if you don't limit your school list).

 

[Sydnee15]

Thanks for the reply. Does this mean that the schools that do require a chem prereq, but do not list a minimum passing grade will look at the mark as an unfulfilled prereq? Also, it seems that the sGPA is on par in terms of weight to that of the cGPA. The issue that I'm having is that those two marks are literally bringing down my sGPA from a 3.9x to a 3.6x - do you know if committees will just look at the number in isolation, or will assess the mark with context? For instance, upward or downward trends are listed as of highest importance... so am I wrong to assume that a strong upward trend since those two marks will take precedence?

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Just retake the classes. It'll help your sGPA and then you don't have to worry about schools considering your prereqs as incomplete (in which case I believe they would require you to retake anyway before you matriculate).

I think if you retake you'll feel better about your app and not as worried. As gonnif pointed out you have no control over what adcoms will think but retaking the class is something you can control, so focus on that, and doing really well on your retake.

Summer chem is brutal. Try the retake during the regular school year.

 

[Sydnee15]

Thanks for the replies and the information. I understand that I'll have to retake the pre-req if I plan on pursuing american med schools; however, I am wondering whether retaking it is worth it because it will not drastically change my sGPA (Still be in the 3.6x area). From what I've read, it seem as if a 3.6x sGPA for an international student is not enough for American MD's, but might be enough for DO's.

 

[el_duderino]

You have to retake it.

 

[Shortycoat]

no, everyone makes a mistake. but you should still retake it to show you can do better