Repeat O-chem or take new classes?

[Apollo84]

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This summer I will be taking classes to try to show I can get A's in upper-division science courses. I was told by Sherry Stewart at CSU that it is better to take classes that I haven't taken before rather than retake something I got a low grade in before. When I took O-chem years ago, I barely got through with C+'s - I absolutely hate O-chem out of everything I had to take. Nevertheless, I think I could do a lot better now and would like to prove that I can do it. I know Sherry Stewart told me to take new courses, but I can't help feeling that schools other than CSU are going to zero in on those O-chem grades because they think that is an "indicator" grade. (Also I think I would have to petition to be able to take it again, but that's a different issue.) Has anyone else been in the same situation? (If you had the same issue and made it to vet school, I would especially like to hear from you!)

 

[wildfocus]

though i actually got 3.3-3.5's, i took the ENTIRE o chem year over!! my first time was unbelievable. the teacher NEVER even prepared for class, and actually read from the book as we went along. we had to teach ourselves EVERYTHING. (i'm still shocked to this day on how horrible the experience was.) i ended up dropping the last class in the series a couple of weeks before the end of the quarter - i felt like i knew nothing!

the next year i took at the cc where i had taken my bio and general chem classes, and got straight 4.0's. and i ended up absolutely LOVING o chem. none of the adcoms asked me about it (including CSU - though i brought up when asked if cc prepared me for the scientific challenge of vet school).

each school is a little different. some will take your highest grade (e.g., cornell, wsu), some will only take your first unless below a certain grade (e.g., davis), and others will average.

good luck this summer, and i hope you have fun!!! o chem is so awesome, and it should be an experience everyone enjoys!!

 

[AuburnPreVet]

For what it's worth:

This may vary by school - but I noticed that while interviewing at an "open-file" interview, the interviewers didn't have our entire multi-page transcript in front of them, but what looked like a summary sheet listing several calculated GPAs as well as a list of the pre-req courses and their grades. So, if you were to re-take it, it could potentially have an impact on your interviewers when they see "C+/A" on your file, as opposed to just "C+"... It will also boost your pre-req GPA which typically "counts for a number of the academic points" - even if it doesn't cause much of a change in your overall GPA. Some schools also calculate an "organic & physics gpa" which would also get boosted by a re-take.

But honestly, if the rest of your transcript shows your abilities - I think the majority of matriculants have a blunder or two. I sure do (most of freshmen year, haha)...including a C in gen chem and biochem... If you are relatively confident with the rest of your transcript I would go ahead and take immuno, advanced biochem, cell bio.. or some other classes that that is known to be a traditionally difficult and prove yourself there.

 

[twosoakers]

purdue only takes the first attempt into consideration, as well.

 

[JIKJen124]

For pre-reqs, TN has the same policy of looking at the first try only.