Retaking Classes?

[deleted787583]

I was very lazy freshman year and got C's in Biology and General Chemistry. Junior year I retook them and got a B+ in Biology and an A in General Chemistry. How will med schools view this and what would my science GPA be if it were based on just these two courses? Thank you.

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[Sharknad0]

I'm pretty sure MD schools average the GPA's while DO schools take the higher GPA's


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[Domepiece]

DO schools replace grades in repeated courses, MD schools count all grades individually. Utilize the knowledge of how to calculate a GPA to solve what your science GPA would be for these two different systems.

 

[deleted787583]

@Sharknad0 and @Domepiece one last question. I'll have roughly a 3.4 GPA and 3.2 Science GPA out when I graduate from USC next year. I was planning on doing Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology as a Post-Bac at LMU. Assuming I get A's in all those at LMU do you think I'd be ready to apply to MD schools assuming my MCAT score is high enough?

 

[Domepiece]

@Sharknad0 and @Domepiece one last question. I'll have roughly a 3.4 GPA and 3.2 Science GPA out when I graduate from USC next year. I was planning on doing Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology as a Post-Bac at LMU. Assuming I get A's in all those at LMU do you think I'd be ready to apply to MD schools assuming my MCAT score is high enough?

First of all, Fight On fellow Trojan and happy Conquest week.

Second of all, that is a ton of assuming. I suggest that you be prepared to work hard enough to make all of those things a reality because they are much, much more easy said than done. Be careful with overloading yourself, as the courses you have selected are going to be both temporally and mentally intensive regardless of being at LMU. I hope you aren't taking them all at once.

For your reference, if I assume you have taken ~16 hours a semester, you have accumulated 128 hours. Assuming these post-bac courses are worth 16 hours, acing those courses will only increase your cumulative GPA by ~0.06, and will have an effect on your science GPA proportional to the number of BCPM courses included in your coursework thus far, but be aware that 3.2 is significantly below many MD averages. I noticed you identify as an African-American. Thus, an approximate 3.46 cumulative GPA with a 30 MCAT gives you around an 85% chance of acceptance at MD schools, which are phenomenal odds. Strong performance in this DIY post-bac aka an upward trend will have a positive effect on your application. Utilize this page of data tables from the AAMC to make predictions about your chances at MD schools when all components of your application are completed and this page to reference your statistics against DO applicants/matriculates. I have attached a spreadsheet I came across to help you calculate your AMCAS GPAs. It is accurate enough for your purposes.

You do not need to retake the MCAT, as the risk of getting a similar or lower score outweighs the negligible upside. Good luck!

 

[deleted787583]

@Domepiece Fight On! Thank you very much your post is extremely helpful. And for those 4 science classes I was planning on taking, I was going to do 2 at a time. I finish up in the fall of next semester (had to do an extra semester because of issues transferring credits from Notre Dame) and that would give me 3 semesters of post-bac. I was considering doing 2 more science classes in the 3rd semester if I feel like there is a need for it. Sadly I had family troubles during my freshman year and my grades freshman year were far from stellar.

 

[Domepiece]

@Domepiece Fight On! Thank you very much your post is extremely helpful. And for those 4 science classes I was planning on taking, I was going to do 2 at a time. I finish up in the fall of next semester (had to do an extra semester because of issues transferring credits from Notre Dame) and that would give me 3 semesters of post-bac. I was considering doing 2 more science classes in the 3rd semester if I feel like there is a need for it. Sadly I had family troubles during my freshman year and my grades freshman year were far from stellar.

ND -> USC...welcome to the dark side my friend.

2 at a time should be manageable. Honestly though, your statistics as is may be sufficient for a cycle of applications this coming June. I would pop into the pre-health advising office (which in my experience is terribly marketed to transfer students, but does in fact exist - they were housed in a little building by the Lyon center last I heard) and see what they have to see about the issue. With even a 3.2 GPA and your 30 MCAT, your odds of acceptance are between 75-82% in your demographic group, which is still excellent. It may have diminishing rewards to undertake this coursework. Maybe just some high level courses in the coming spring semester would be sufficient if you really feel you need additional courses. Does your coursework post-freshman year show excellence?

As an aside, I feel you with the getting bent for credits issue. Had a similar experience and it is no fun.

 

[deleted787583]

@Domepiece Yes. My post freshman year GPA is like a 3.6ish. I assume my grades next spring 2017 and fall 2018 will be between 3.7-3.8 because I'm through the premed reqs after I take physics in the summer. Next couple semesters I'll be doing my upper division economics class (I'm an economics major) and a couple GE's which will help my overall GPA. Also I would love to take science courses here at USC, but they are much more difficult here than at LMU and my odds of acing them are much higher at LMU.

 

[Domepiece]

That is a super solid GPA. I would recommend preparing an application for submission in June with your stats as is if your MCAT is a 30 as you previously indicated. The world is your oyster with those stats.

 

[deleted787583]

Thank you very much! Canadian schools drop your lowest year too so that works in my way favor. @Domepiece thanks for your input I greatly appreciate it.