Retake Chem or move on

[deathtoOWL]

I know that when my science gpa is calculated for med school my original grade will be used in my case its not a good grade, I did not fail, but it was bad. 🙁 I am referring to my gen chem grade. I writing because I don't want to retake gen chem b/c of time but I have no desire to take other chem classes aside from Orgo with lab and a class called Medicinal chemistry but m.c. does not have a lab. If I retake gen. chem and the lab then the new grades will replace the old in my undergrad gpa for my school but they will do nothing for my med school app unless i can get an A. I am sure I can get an A in lab but I am not a hundred percent about lecture. I am simply bad at chem and struggle to focus when studying for chem thus leading to my grade. I served as a tutor for bio even though i did not take it this year. I tutored kids on my floor. I took college bio(not AP) and got an A during high school so I am not that worried about it.
My main question is would not retaking gen chem be a big deal if i don't take a higher level chem with lab. I am taking a higher level chem but it won't have a lab component. Also, I am taking upper level bio classes with labs and maybe getting a minor in bio.

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[relentless11]

I know that when my science gpa is calculated for med school my original grade will be used in my case its not a good grade, I did not fail, but it was bad. 🙁 I am referring to my gen chem grade. I writing because I don't want to retake gen chem b/c of time but I have no desire to take other chem classes aside from Orgo with lab and a class called Medicinal chemistry but m.c. does not have a lab. If I retake gen. chem and the lab then the new grades will replace the old in my undergrad gpa for my school but they will do nothing for my med school app unless i can get an A. I am sure I can get an A in lab but I am not a hundred percent about lecture. I am simply bad at chem and struggle to focus when studying for chem thus leading to my grade. I served as a tutor for bio even though i did not take it this year. I tutored kids on my floor. I took college bio(not AP) and got an A during high school so I am not that worried about it.
My main question is would not retaking gen chem be a big deal if i don't take a higher level chem with lab. I am taking a higher level chem but it won't have a lab component. Also, I am taking upper level bio classes with labs and maybe getting a minor in bio.

You need to get a C or higher to fullfill the pre-med requirements. If you got a D or F, then you need to retake it. Additionally if you got a C, and retook the class and got an A, it will even out to a B, and so forth.

Personally you should ask yourself what you want to get out of this. General Chemistry returns once again on the MCAT.

 

[Avalanche21]

I know that when my science gpa is calculated for med school my original grade will be used

If you retake it, I believe both grades will be used

 

[plainolerichie]

Well, what was the grade? Was it a B- or something like that or a C-? If it's a B- or above, I don't think it would hurt unless you plan on applying to the top schools in the country (Harvard, Yale, etc). But if it's a C or lower, I would recommend retaking it.

 

[pcguy2]

I though retaking a class totally covers up a the previous class. The only thing which would show up on the at my school transcript would be a letter denoating that a retake had replaced it for the first class and the final grade under the second class.

 

[L8DYV]

I know that when my science gpa is calculated for med school my original grade will be used in my case its not a good grade, I did not fail, but it was bad. 🙁 I am referring to my gen chem grade. I writing because I don't want to retake gen chem b/c of time but I have no desire to take other chem classes aside from Orgo with lab and a class called Medicinal chemistry but m.c. does not have a lab. If I retake gen. chem and the lab then the new grades will replace the old in my undergrad gpa for my school but they will do nothing for my med school app unless i can get an A. I am sure I can get an A in lab but I am not a hundred percent about lecture. I am simply bad at chem and struggle to focus when studying for chem thus leading to my grade. I served as a tutor for bio even though i did not take it this year. I tutored kids on my floor. I took college bio(not AP) and got an A during high school so I am not that worried about it.
My main question is would not retaking gen chem be a big deal if i don't take a higher level chem with lab. I am taking a higher level chem but it won't have a lab component. Also, I am taking upper level bio classes with labs and maybe getting a minor in bio.

Retake it.

 

[the brown note]

I though retaking a class totally covers up a the previous class. The only thing which would show up on the at my school transcript would be a letter denoating that a retake had replaced it for the first class and the final grade under the second class.

This might be true at your school, but unfortunately, when you enter your grades in AMCAS (the centralized med school application service), you have to enter ALL grades. The instructions are very clear on this point--both grades must be entered, and will be calculated as part of your AMCAS GPA (not necessarily the same as your school-calculated GPA). 🙁

To the OP--it's totally understandable why you wouldn't want to take Gen Chem over again, but like everyone else is saying, if you got any type of C grade or lower, I would re-take it. Admissions committees want to know that you have a basic handle on the information and can do the work involved. And, like relentless11 said, it will come back to haunt you on the MCAT, so going over it again won't be a bad thing. I was not a big fan of chemistry, but I muddled through it, and so can you, if you try hard at it and keep the larger goal in mind! In fact, I had to re-take it myself, but with some diligent work, I did well. It couldn't have hurt me that badly, since I was accepted to med school this year. 👍 Good luck!

 

[deathtoOWL]

I decided to take gen chem over because I know I will do better and I am more focused on med school now. Thanks to everyone that replied the information you provided was very helpful. Also I will not be taking bio until the summer the labs conflicted with my major reqs too much but I will be taking anatomy.

 

[monami]

now what you got to do is find a good tutor, and also check out ratemyprofessors.com;this site gives feedback on your schools chem professors. GOOD Luck

 

[Avalanche21]

This might be true at your school, but unfortunately, when you enter your grades in AMCAS (the centralized med school application service), you have to enter ALL grades. The instructions are very clear on this point--both grades must be entered, and will be calculated as part of your AMCAS GPA (not necessarily the same as your school-calculated GPA). 🙁

That's what I was getting at. AMCAS will recompute your GPA as well, doesn't matter much what your transcript GPA is

 

[pixilated]

I am kinda in the same boat as you, except the class I'm retaking is upper division physiology. I got a C the first time, went to talk to the professor, and because my school only allows students receiving a C- or below to retake a class (register for the class), my counselor changed my grade to a C-. I e-mailed a lot of medical schools over the weekend, and now I'm just getting the replies. From what I have read so far, it doesn't seem like retaking a class is a good idea. Almost 90% of them told me it was better for me to have kept the C and taken another similar class and aced it...now I'm not so sure...I'm already retaking the class, and school is almost over...I can only hope for the best...

 

[Dr.Acula]

lol, "deathtoOWL". I hated OWL!

 

[KingTutATL]

If you retake a class I know your GPA will be calculated using both grades. I believe it is this way: Suppose you received a D the first time, and then made an A this time. Assuming the class is something like 4 hours credit then you would have 8 hours of a C+ GPA.