Repeat ALL beyond pre-req?

[trulyours]

---

Members do not see this ad.

In need of a serious GPA reconstruction, I've decided to re-take some pre-reqs on my own instead of enrolling in a fancy program. BUT what about my upper-level BCPM with C's & D's? (I'm shooting for DO btw)

So I hear DO schools replace grades rather than averaging. In which case repeating and dominating all the classes I have taken before would be more beneficial than adding on brand new classes on my post-bacc transcript... but it also seems risky to battle with higher level sciences having been out of school for a few years. If I don't repeat all of them, it does look way worse than not having taken any in the first place, right?

For example, here's what my chem section looks like:

Organic I (C) plan to repeat
Organic II (A-)
Inorganic I (C) plan to repeat
Analytical (D) <- repeat?
Physical (D) <- repeat?


Thoughts, please?

 

[jslo85]

So just to clarify.

AACOMAS allows for grade replacement during their GPA calculations for sGPA and cGPA, that part is true. DO schools will see both grades juxtaposed when they look at coursework thus the grade calculation will take you past the screening process to send out a secondary and the rest is up in the air as to how closely each osteopathic school will focus on your coursework.

You listed Orgo with I and II making me think that you're on a semester system so what did you receive for General Chemistry II? Those two courses that you have a D in are not pre-requisites but will factor into your sGPA thus repeating them will allow for an increase, supposing you do well.

What is your overall cGPA and sGPA and do you have any other grades with a C or below? Have you taken the MCAT?

Everything factors into your application and it is anyone's guess how an Adcom from any school will look at it/how much emphasis they will place on each part. Repeating classes imho is only suitable for two circumstances: a) you have way too many units to improve your GPA to keep taking new science courses, b) you have grades that are simply unacceptable for pre-req standards. Some of the admissions counselors that I have spoken to advise taking new classes rather than simply repeating because in a way, they expect you to get an A if you retake anything not to mention you should have received that A the first time, thus you really don't prove anything by doing so. However by taking a harder class and getting an A you are showing that your performance on easier coursework was simply a fluke.

Now that is just general advice from my own thoughts so you can follow that or toss it out. I'd repeat the Ds, and retake any courses of a pre-req series that I had gotten two Cs or more in and aim to take a plethora of upper division courses as well. It really depends on how bad your GPA is (or good) as well as your MCAT score/rest of your application on whether an SMP or anything else would be necessary but that's just my own 2 cents.

 

[trulyours]

So just to clarify.

AACOMAS allows for grade replacement during their GPA calculations for sGPA and cGPA, that part is true. DO schools will see both grades juxtaposed when they look at coursework thus the grade calculation will take you past the screening process to send out a secondary and the rest is up in the air as to how closely each osteopathic school will focus on your coursework.

You listed Orgo with I and II making me think that you're on a semester system so what did you receive for General Chemistry II? Those two courses that you have a D in are not pre-requisites but will factor into your sGPA thus repeating them will allow for an increase, supposing you do well.

What is your overall cGPA and sGPA and do you have any other grades with a C or below? Have you taken the MCAT?

Everything factors into your application and it is anyone's guess how an Adcom from any school will look at it/how much emphasis they will place on each part. Repeating classes imho is only suitable for two circumstances: a) you have way too many units to improve your GPA to keep taking new science courses, b) you have grades that are simply unacceptable for pre-req standards. Some of the admissions counselors that I have spoken to advise taking new classes rather than simply repeating because in a way, they expect you to get an A if you retake anything not to mention you should have received that A the first time, thus you really don't prove anything by doing so. However by taking a harder class and getting an A you are showing that your performance on easier coursework was simply a fluke.

Now that is just general advice from my own thoughts so you can follow that or toss it out. I'd repeat the Ds, and retake any courses of a pre-req series that I had gotten two Cs or more in and aim to take a plethora of upper division courses as well. It really depends on how bad your GPA is (or good) as well as your MCAT score/rest of your application on whether an SMP or anything else would be necessary but that's just my own 2 cents.

Thanks, jslo85, that clarified alot for me. I do realize the schools will see every course I ever took. All I can do now is to make every effort to assure them of my capabilities and passion. It blows that some of my biomedical engineering courses were heavy on science, and I had A's, but won't get counted toward science. I think I'd need 1 year+ to work on my GPA, and then worry about the MCAT. I have cGPA 2.77 sGPA 2.25; No MCAT yet. I have a lot of work to do, since math is a big problem also on top of chem.

Calc I (AP)
Calc II (B-)
Calc III (C)
Diff Eq (C)
Stat (B-)

You're right--I was on a semester system. I didn't take Gen Chem because I had to take Inorganic I & II(Analyt) instead for my major requirement. I assume taking gen chem now would not be helpful since it's not harder?

I heard it's not worth doing a formal post-bacc program unless one hasn't taken any/most of the pre-reqs, but since I have to repeat so many, I'm think I should do one or get a second degree...

 

[jslo85]

So yeah with a 2.77 cGPA and especially your 2.25 sGPA you're not in a very good situation to say the least.

Are you a BME? I see you've taken an engineering course (diffeq) and I'm not sure but I'd call schools/aacomas to see if they accept inorganic as a substitute for the gen chem requirement (just to be sure, always err on the safe side). As a general rule of thumb, I'd try and raise that sGPA to as close as a 3.0 as possible by retaking select courses as well as taking many upper division ones. For cGPA, I would try to do the same and depending on your MCAT score, you'd most likely need to attend an SMP as well (my opinion only).

 

[trulyours]

So yeah with a 2.77 cGPA and especially your 2.25 sGPA you're not in a very good situation to say the least.

Are you a BME? I see you've taken an engineering course (diffeq) and I'm not sure but I'd call schools/aacomas to see if they accept inorganic as a substitute for the gen chem requirement (just to be sure, always err on the safe side). As a general rule of thumb, I'd try and raise that sGPA to as close as a 3.0 as possible by retaking select courses as well as taking many upper division ones. For cGPA, I would try to do the same and depending on your MCAT score, you'd most likely need to attend an SMP as well (my opinion only).

Yup, a BME, indeed. (I chose it because it sounded more interesting than a plain BS in bio, but the sleepless nights working on engineering projects got me sleeping through other courses. I wish I had my priorities straight.) I really appreciate your advice, jslo85. Thanks to you, I am starting to get a grasp on what I need to do. So here's what I've decided:

1) Start working/volunteering because I have not volunteered in a hospital since high school (though I worked at a sports medicine clinic during college). I just started training for phlebotomy/EKG tech!

2) Take MCAT August 2011. Start applying to SMPs, if it's good enough.

3) Enter Hunter for a second degree in Fall 2011. Retake 9 science+math and kick butt. Throw in ~3 new courses like biochem.

4) Retake MCAT as needed. If I get into an SMP sometime during my time at Hunter, I'd go and forget about Hunter's "certificate".

5) Apply to med schools (and SMPs for back-up) for Fall 2013 admission.

​

I'd be really happy if I could become a DO before the decade is out, but I hope to dominate the MCAT and be allowed to aim for allopathic... WISH ME LUCK!