retake undergrad courses? or take graduate level courses?

[ssa915]

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Hello All,

I needed some advice. I graduated in Dec. '03 and my overall undergrad GPA is 3.25 and science gpa is 3.11. I'm re-taking the mcat, shooting for a 30, so im not worried about that. My concern is my GPA. I'm a bio major. I got A's in all the upper division classes (in my junior and senior year) but i just screwed up my first 2 years in college with a few basic sciences. Do you think I should re-take the science classes I didn't do too well in or take upper level grad science classes? I was thinking if i re-take my undergrad science classes I could raise my overall undergrad science gpa up and that would look sufficiently better....what do you all think??

Thanks in advance.

 

[jlee9531]

well i guess i was somewhat in your boat.
my overall was a 3.4, but my science was a bit over 3.1

the thing you have going for you is that you have an upward trend in your grades, which is always something schools look at if you have a lower gpa than other applicants. that and your mcat of course.

the fact you got As in all your upper division courses does show that you do have the basics down from the undergrad science classes you took earlier...just the grades didnt show it for some reason. i'm sure you have a good reason as well.

depending on your mcat, you could just stay put, but it seeing how this would be your 2nd time taking the mcat...i would do something extra. i think if you ask people you will get a 50-50 response with either doing a post bacc or getting a masters.

hmm, i guess i would a post-bacc to raise the gpa.

 

[phosphorylation]

jlee, can I ask you what the difference is between a post bac and a masters degree, everyone's always talking about post bac. Lets say you did a post bac (whatever it is), and you decided you didn't want to go to medical school, what do you do with it? I know im stupid, but I've been lost for a while about this🙂 thanks in advance...

 

[ssa915]

post-bacc just means you are taking classes after you graduate from an undergraduate school, hence the name post-baccalaureate...usually its in the form of a certificate or you can just take classes on your own...in a master's program you actually get a Masters degree at the end, but the course work is much tougher since they are grad classes, it lasts between 1-2 yrs, and u usually have a thesis at the end, but some dont (like g-town and drexels program)

hope that helps

 

[ssa915]

well i guess i was somewhat in your boat.
my overall was a 3.4, but my science was a bit over 3.1

the thing you have going for you is that you have an upward trend in your grades, which is always something schools look at if you have a lower gpa than other applicants. that and your mcat of course.

the fact you got As in all your upper division courses does show that you do have the basics down from the undergrad science classes you took earlier...just the grades didnt show it for some reason. i'm sure you have a good reason as well.

depending on your mcat, you could just stay put, but it seeing how this would be your 2nd time taking the mcat...i would do something extra. i think if you ask people you will get a 50-50 response with either doing a post bacc or getting a masters.

hmm, i guess i would a post-bacc to raise the gpa.

so you think my post-bacc should comprise of new grad classes or a re-take of my old undergrad classses?

 

[ssa915]

bump

 

[runner1979]

If you are studying post-bacc, you typically can't take graduate courses. Since a post-bacc program involves undergraduate courses, then it would raise your GPA. A masters program will go into Graduate GPA and will not change your Undergrad GPA. Check into a few Post-Bacc Programs. Drexel's IMS program is aimed at students in your situation.

http://www.drexel.edu/med/ims/

Also, www.aamc.org has a complete listing of Post-Bacc programs.

Hope this helps.