jmed6182 said:
Allright....so im about to start on my 2 year plan to get into med school....so first up: Bringing my sci GPA above 3.0.....i really want to retake some of the prereqs I got a C in....so it is OK to redo these at a community college?
Well in terms of beling allowed to do it, there is no problem, BUT, in terms of admissions committees, then I would advise against that. Reason being, although true or not, schools may view CC courses as inferior to university level courses.
Secondly, you are expected to get an A the class you have retaken. Yes you will improve your GPA, but not by much since for MD schools, they will be added to your overall undergrad GPA. Doing well in a class you got a C in only says that you can do average work the first time, and require at least a second time to get an A. Therefore most schools advise students to take a more advanced course to prove they can handle a more challenging course, rather than retaking a class they got a C in. For example, if you got a C in General Chemistry, you should take and get an A in Physical Chemistry.
Lastly, jumping back to a CC may be taken as trying to boost your GPA by taking easier courses. As stated above, schools may see it in that manner, and that can hurt you. Now if you transferred from a CC, and did well at the 4-year in more advanced courses, and on the MCAT, then that would usually remove any doubt that you can perform well at the university level. The going advice is to take and/or retake courses at a 4-year university.
I personally transferred, and took my pre-reqs at the CC, but also took additional upper division courses that can also be used as pre-reqs (e.g., advanced OChem, Physical Chemistry, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations). This is also why when I did post-bacc, I stayed at my 4-year university, and paid an arm and a leg, rather than go back to a CC.
