Retaking Pre Rec at Community College

[imbackasd]

Hey so I plan on applying to UMDNJ SOM (currently a junior)

I want to retake Gen chem1 and 2 at a community college as I got Cs in both. I already have taken a lot of upper level science courses and gotten B+ or higher in all but my fresh year is holding my gpa down. I heard DO schools take retakes into account.

Will it look bad?

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[dntke1518]

Hey so I plan on applying to UMDNJ SOM (currently a junior)

I want to retake Gen chem1 and 2 at a community college as I got Cs in both. I already have taken a lot of upper level science courses and gotten B+ or higher in all but my fresh year is holding my gpa down. I heard DO schools take retakes into account.

Will it look bad?

Go for it, retaking at a CC will save money and won't count against you.

 

[TwinsFan]

Go for it, retaking at a CC will save money and won't count against you.

This isn't true.

It may only count a bit against you or go unnoticed.

However, it could raise some serious questions. You couldn't beat the curve at a university but you can at a CC, on a retake, after already taking upper levels. Obviously you want to raise you overall numbers so retaking is helpful, but I would add in some new science classes and do it at a university if possible.

But if your numbers end up decent (3.4+ cgpa, 3.3+ sgpa) a solid MCAT (30+) will probably counter the CC classes at some schools.

 

[dntke1518]

This isn't true.

It may only count a bit against you or go unnoticed.

However, it could raise some serious questions. You couldn't beat the curve at a university but you can at a CC, on a retake, after already taking upper levels. Obviously you want to raise you overall numbers so retaking is helpful, but I would add in some new science classes and do it at a university if possible.

But if your numbers end up decent (3.4+ cgpa, 3.3+ sgpa) a solid MCAT (30+) will probably counter the CC classes at some schools.

Mehh, pa-tay-toe puh-tot-ohh... The OP did take their upper level sciences at a university, I don't see your rationale. No one was saying it was ideal to take them at a CC.

OP, just ask some adcoms of schools that you are looking to apply if they think it will be an issue.

 

[cougardiver]

I took all 44 credit hours of pre-req's at a CC...didn't hurt me one bit.

 

[COMedic2Doc]

OP, it is fair to mention to carefully examine the course before taking it at a different institution for purposes of grade replacement. One school may award semester credit hours and another may be using the quarter hour system, one may have one description for the course and another a different description. It is generally the same in the general science classes but double check before spending the money on a re-take that you end up not being able to count later on.

 

[imbackasd]

I have a point of concern in that the class I wish to retake is General Chemistry and it is 3 credits at the community college (the lecture portion) and then they have 1 credit for the lab...at my University it is 4 credits for the lecture. Will it be accepted as a retake?

 

[SoulinNeed]

I'm taking some courses at a CC right now, but they're not retakes. I think they may not like taking retakes at a CC, because they may think you're avoiding something. HOWEVER, you need to make a list of the schools you plan on applying to, and contact them individually about this. That's what I did. They will be honest with you, and you'll find out which don't have a problem with it, which do, and which ones just have a SMALL problem with it.

 

[MoMoPo]

I'm taking some courses at a CC right now, but they're not retakes. I think they may not like taking retakes at a CC, because they may think you're avoiding something. HOWEVER, you need to make a list of the schools you plan on applying to, and contact them individually about this. That's what I did. They will be honest with you, and you'll find out which don't have a problem with it, which do, and which ones just have a SMALL problem with it.

Which ones did you find that had problems with it?

 

[poopyhead]

When I contacted the schools, it seemed like they were less concerned with retakes at CCs if you did well on your MCAT (>30).

 

[HipChick]

I'd go for it. You've already proven your ability with your more recent upper level courses and doing well. At this point you're looking for that GPA cushion.

 

[MedPR]

This isn't true.

It may only count a bit against you or go unnoticed.

However, it could raise some serious questions. You couldn't beat the curve at a university but you can at a CC, on a retake, after already taking upper levels. Obviously you want to raise you overall numbers so retaking is helpful, but I would add in some new science classes and do it at a university if possible.

But if your numbers end up decent (3.4+ cgpa, 3.3+ sgpa) a solid MCAT (30+) will probably counter the CC classes at some schools.

If your GPA is 3.4/3.3 and you have a 30+ MCAT, you have no business wasting time retaking pre-reqs. Unless you mean 3.4/3.3 after retakes, then I agree with you.

When I contacted the schools, it seemed like they were less concerned with retakes at CCs if you did well on your MCAT (>30).

Really? Yay for me! I retook 18 credits of pre reqs at CC.

 

[donkeykong1]

definitely retake. unless you got in As in both orgo's and you have a sciGPA of 3.5+

 

[mydec]

Hey so I plan on applying to UMDNJ SOM (currently a junior)

I want to retake Gen chem1 and 2 at a community college as I got Cs in both. I already have taken a lot of upper level science courses and gotten B+ or higher in all but my fresh year is holding my gpa down. I heard DO schools take retakes into account.

Will it look bad?

Its not bad if you want to take your prereqs at a community college but it isn't something that is looked at as a good thing. I think since you are already in the negative (by being in the position where you are trying to make up for a poor grade), you should definitely retake those classes but at a university. You already are raising some red flags with getting a couple Cs, you don't want to give them another reason to view it negatively.

I was actually asked in one of my medical school interviews, why I took a prereq class at the community college.

 

[dutchie000]

Is it really that bad to retake a prereq at a community college? This is making me worried since I just signed up to retake organic chemistry at a community college. Granted, I took the class 3 years ago and wasn't required to take the second semester with the old major I was in. I plan on taking this one not only for the grade replacement but also as a refresher course so that I don't do horribly in the second semester. Will that really look bad to med schools? :/

 

[elsaied]

definitely retake. unless you got in As in both orgo's and you have a sciGPA of 3.5+

are you saying one should retake orgo if they got a B+ or A- in it?

 

[mydec]

Is it really that bad to retake a prereq at a community college? This is making me worried since I just signed up to retake organic chemistry at a community college. Granted, I took the class 3 years ago and wasn't required to take the second semester with the old major I was in. I plan on taking this one not only for the grade replacement but also as a refresher course so that I don't do horribly in the second semester. Will that really look bad to med schools? :/

If you absolutely have to take a prerequisite at a community college than do that but just know that its not a positive thing. If you take one or 2 prereqs it is fine. However, don't take the bulk of them at CC. That would really hurt you.

BTW, I thought CC only offer up to 200 level organic chemistry. Shouldn't you be taking 300 level ORGO for the prereq? Maybe I'm wrong but you may have a problem with CC 200 ORGO meeting the prereq. Of course, you can always call the school to double check. Make sure this class will really fulfill the requirement. From what I understand General Biology (which is 200 level) and General CHemistry (also 200 level) can be taken at a CC.

However, ORGO requirement is a 300 level class. Those classes are not offered at any CC in the US.

If you have already taken a year of ORGO (300 level) 3 years ago, you have meet the requirement because most schools will accept prereqs up to 7 years ago I think. However for a replacement grade for specifically a prereq class, it would be better at a university but if you can't, retaking it at CC is better than nothing.

I took my general chemistry classes at CC but the rest of my prereqs at a university. I got into 2 schools and wait listed at 2. So no, its not that bad. But before you take that ORGO class at CC make sure it is the right class. From what I understand, out of all the prereqs, only ORGO must be taken at a University (because it must be one year of it at the 300 level).


*By the way, you said that it is only your freshman year holding your GPA down? The schools totally look at that. If you did poorly on your freshman year and got steadily better, higher grades after that, it is a positive thing because it shows that you are improving and that is a good thing.*

Good luck!

 

[SoulinNeed]

I have never heard that Organic Chemistry has to be at a University, especially since I took it at a CC, and it's been accepted by the schools I'm applying to. At my old University, the only Organic Chemistry class is a 200 level class. I think it's just up to the school how they classify it.

 

[dutchie000]

Yeah, I was going to say my university that I'm at classifies ochem as a 2000 level course. I'm not concerned about meeting the prereq requirement, just about not failing ochem 2 without taking it for 3 years. I definitely was not in the premed mindset when I took ochem 1 way back when!