retaking courses

[MadDog20]

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I wanted to establish a support thread for those of us who have not done so well in a required course (or courses)...

I had a good undergrad GPA (science major, but not pre-vet) so I have had to take pre-req courses as a post-bacc. I have struggled immensely with organic chem. I know this does not reflect well on me, I assume post-baccs are expected to have higher grades. Successful applicant stats do not reveal much information about re-taking courses. So, I was wondering if this was a common occurrence. Also what would you consider the threshold for re-taking courses- do c's merit a retake?

Please feel free to post any information that is helpful to this subject- what schools are good about replacing grades/ which ones aren't, how did you succeed the second time around?, does re-taking a course at a community college look bad, etc. etc. etc.?

 

[laitmanvet]

I retook 1 course while in undergrad. At my school if we received a D or F and we re-took the course only the new grade would be factored into our GPA. So my D would still remain on the transcript and show that I already took the course, but only my higher grade (B+) would count towards the GPA calculation.

I don't think I would have taken the course again if I had gotten a C, so its probably better that I nearly failed it. Its been almost 4 yrs since I re-took it and I can still regurgitate some of the material. I had a friend who was doing really poorly one semester and decided to drop out and then re-enroll...so basically the semester didn't ever happen and never appeared on her transcripts. (I don't really recommend this)

I knew other people undergrad who also re-took courses, several of the people I knew in orgo were taking it a second time. So, I don't think its uncommon.

 

[LittleWiz]

I was recently rejected from KSU and I e-mailed someone about what I could do to better my application for next year's cycle. She suggested that I retake any pre-req courses in which I received a 'C'. In other words, I think (most) schools consider an applicant competitive if he/she has 'A's' and 'B's' in most pre-req courses.

I'm in the same boat as you, I found out yesterday that I need to repeat Organic Chem II. I feel your pain.
As someone who has already repeated Physics II, the second time around is much easier!

Some schools average the grades for repeated classes. And I think some (don't quote me on this) will take the most recent grade.

Hope that provided some help.

Good luck to you!

 

[UUprevet]

I just completed my fall semester of Junior year and found out recently that I got a D in anatomy and physiology, besides this one D, I got a C in O chem II, but everything else is As and Bs.... does anyone know if this is a deal breaker?
I still need to take physics II, Biochem, genetics and micro biology and don't know if I will have time to retake it before fall 2010 (when I apply). I have an internship abroad over the summer so that option is out. Does anyone have any advice for me?

 

[Whyevernot55]

I just completed my fall semester of Junior year and found out recently that I got a D in anatomy and physiology, besides this one D, I got a C in O chem II, but everything else is As and Bs.... does anyone know if this is a deal breaker?
I still need to take physics II, Biochem, genetics and micro biology and don't know if I will have time to retake it before fall 2010 (when I apply). I have an internship abroad over the summer so that option is out. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Most schools require a C or better in all pre-reqs, so I would guess you're going to need to retake A&P if it is one. The C is NOT a deal-breaker if you keep all the rest of your prereq grades at A's and B's. Plenty of people have gotten in with multiple C's on their transcripts, so don't despair!

 

[Cypress]

I am also a returning student and had to take pre reqs after obtaining my first degree.

I retook stat because I recieved a D previously and didn't really need to retake it until deciding to apply to vet school.

I took the first semester of OChem - lecture and lab - during the summer - was VERY difficult to stay on top of it and I recived a C in the lecture but an A in the lab. I decided to retake the lecture the following fall - 2 reasons - I didn't really like the C and I also didn't feel like I was able to retain the info because it was presented so quickly - recieved a B+ the second go around.

What i've heard about retaking - some schools (Purdue I know for sure) averages the 2 classes rather than taking the highest score. Not sure exactly what everyone does - many of them will let you know on their websites.

Some advice I've heard about retaking is that Cs are not bad grades and have 1 or 2 isn't a terrible thing and retaking them may not be worth the time or money.

 

[Cypress]

I just completed my fall semester of Junior year and found out recently that I got a D in anatomy and physiology, besides this one D, I got a C in O chem II, but everything else is As and Bs.... does anyone know if this is a deal breaker?
I still need to take physics II, Biochem, genetics and micro biology and don't know if I will have time to retake it before fall 2010 (when I apply). I have an internship abroad over the summer so that option is out. Does anyone have any advice for me?

I would also say you will need to retake A&P - but the C in OChem isn't terrible.

 

[jsp132]

I heard that you need above a 3.0 gps to get into vet school?

I have a 3.0 for my bio degree at my cc........this is making me nervous

all my science courses have been B- to B+ this last semester was calculus which was an A

any advice? thank you