Retake vs. upper-level

[futuremddo]

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Hello all,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. There have been some similar threads posted here, but with slight differences that may affect the advice, so I'm asking a question particular to my situation. Thanks for your patience.

My story is similar to many of yours: Bio major in undergrad. Unfocused. Performed absolutely dismally. Grew up. Am currently focused. Decided to become a doctor. Doing post-bac. Have a 4.0 in the post-bacc so far.

I haven't re-taken any courses so far, and this fall I'm scheduled to re-take Intro Bio and Intro Chem. Now I'm getting cold feet. I used AP credit for one semester of Intro Bio and got a D+ for my one college semester. In Chem I got a B first semester and a C+ second semester. I went on to major in Bio and I've been working in biomedical research for several years. Part of me thinks I really should just go back and start from the beginning, but another part of me thinks that it would be ridiculous to re-take Intro Bio with my course and work background, and that if I take, say 4 or 5 upper-levels that include all of what is traditionally covered in Intro Bio, that would suffice. I already have an A on my transcript for Biochem. I could take, for example, Genetics, A&P, Virology, Immunology, etc. instead of Intro Bio. I'll be taking them for the credits anyway, and it would seem to me that As in all of those courses would fulfill the year of Bio requirement, even going the "start from scratch" route.

And I'll have to take Organic Chem anyway as I didn't fulfill that requirement in undergrad. Is it worth re-taking a B and C+ just for completeness, or would getting As in O-Chem be sufficient to demonstrate capability? I guess it would only be worth re-taking if I were pursuing the "start from scratch" route, which I had thought was the best route for me, which I am now second-guessing.

I'm not too concerned about grade replacement because by the time I finish my post-bacc I'll have a GPA competitive for DO schools regardless of whether I use grade replacement or not, and MD schools don't use grade replacement so it will be irrelevant for that route.

Thanks so much for your advice, and I hope in a few years I'll be able to be on the contributing end of the advice exchange!

 

[Goro]

It's foolish to re-take a B. Re-take only F/D/C coursework. No need to start from scratch unless you feel a need for the subjects you took, for MCAT.



And I'll have to take Organic Chem anyway as I didn't fulfill that requirement in undergrad. Is it worth re-taking a B and C+ just for completeness, or would getting As in O-Chem be sufficient to demonstrate capability? I guess it would only be worth re-taking if I were pursuing the "start from scratch" route, which I had thought was the best route for me, which I am now second-guessing.