Retake labs in post-bacc?

[756034]

Hi there,

I am a non-traditional student who is currently applying to post-bacc programs to improve mediocre grades I received in college seven years ago. I hope to retake Gen Chem I and II, Organic Chem I and II and Physics I and II, but not necessarily all of the associated labs (lecture and lab were separate courses at the college I attended). Maybe someone else has been in this same situation, but...is it necessary for to re-take labs, assuming they are offered separately in a post-bacc curriculum, if I already have A's in those courses? Correct me if I am wrong but my logic is that getting A's again for those labs would raise my total and science GPA by a very insignificant amount, and may only benefit me (again, only very insignificantly) if I wanted to apply to MD schools. Retaking them would be a waste of money if I wanted to target DO schools, as they seem to have grade replacement policies. Am I correct in my thinking? Would I be at any disadvantage by NOT taking those labs again? Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks!

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[GreenDuck12]

The bigger concern is whether or not the schools you are interested in applying to will accept courses that are as of now over 7 years old. I would get a copy of the MSAR to find out if the schools you are interested in require coursework to be completed within a certain period of time.

If you are only targeting DO, I think you are ok without retaking labs.

Hi there,

I am a non-traditional student who is currently applying to post-bacc programs to improve mediocre grades I received in college seven years ago. I hope to retake Gen Chem I and II, Organic Chem I and II and Physics I and II, but not necessarily all of the associated labs (lecture and lab were separate courses at the college I attended). Maybe someone else has been in this same situation, but...is it necessary for to re-take labs, assuming they are offered separately in a post-bacc curriculum, if I already have A's in those courses? Correct me if I am wrong but my logic is that getting A's again for those labs would raise my total and science GPA by a very insignificant amount, and may only benefit me (again, only very insignificantly) if I wanted to apply to MD schools. Retaking them would be a waste of money if I wanted to target DO schools, as they seem to have grade replacement policies. Am I correct in my thinking? Would I be at any disadvantage by NOT taking those labs again? Has anyone been in this situation before?

Thanks!
.


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[756034]

The bigger concern is whether or not the schools you are interested in applying to will accept courses that are as of now over 7 years old. I would get a copy of the MSAR to find out if the schools you are interested in require coursework to be completed within a certain period of time.

If you are only targeting DO, I think you are ok without retaking labs.


..

That's a very good point - thank you!

 

[SSnows123]

I'm in the midst of my bad-Gpa-comeback and I've been debating this very thing. I really, really wanted to avoid things like physics and gen Chem lab (since I've already taken both 10ish years ago and did alright -- As and Bs) but alas, with how far back that was and with the rest of my grades being garbage, I've decided to just bite the bullet and retake the labs!

 

[756034]

I'm in the midst of my bad-Gpa-comeback and I've been debating this very thing. I really, really wanted to avoid things like physics and gen Chem lab (since I've already taken both 10ish years ago and did alright -- As and Bs) but alas, with how far back that was and with the rest of my grades being garbage, I've decided to just bite the bullet and retake the labs!

I am in exactly your position. From a "well, maybe these courses will help boost my GPA" perspective, there is little benefit. Retaking all six labs (gen chem I and II; physics I and II; and organic chem I and II) will only bump up my overall GPA by 0.022 and my science GPA by 0.039, at best. If not for the length of time that has passed, I would likely not re-take them. It just does not seem worth the extra cost or time! But I will investigate further into medical school pre-requisite policies and hopefully come back with what I can find

 

[cabinbuilder]

Another thing you need to consider is whether the undergrad establishment will let you take just the lecture portion of the course. When I did my post-back, the university made me take the lab again even though I did well the first time around.