Retaking sci classes?

[hopefulpilotdoctor]

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Hi everyone,

I'm a military officer interested in med school after I get out, and was wondering if I could get some advice on re-taking classes. I have most of the usual pre-reqs for med school, like gen/orgo chem and a few bio classes, but my grades were B's/C's at best. I have some time and the ability to take classes such as these again at a local college but I'm wondering if it is worth it - or would the MCAT be the bigger priority?

Also, would med schools look at the newer (hopefully better) grades over the old ones? Or just average them all together. My overall undergrad GPA was a 3.4 but my sciences would be lower.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Siromas]

Hi everyone,

I'm a military officer interested in med school after I get out, and was wondering if I could get some advice on re-taking classes. I have most of the usual pre-reqs for med school, like gen/orgo chem and a few bio classes, but my grades were B's/C's at best. I have some time and the ability to take classes such as these again at a local college but I'm wondering if it is worth it - or would the MCAT be the bigger priority?

Also, would med schools look at the newer (hopefully better) grades over the old ones? Or just average them all together. My overall undergrad GPA was a 3.4 but my sciences would be lower.

Thanks for the help!

- General consensus around here is to not retake B's/C's- it would be more beneficial to just take other advanced science classes.
- There is no grade replacement rule anymore, so all your class grades will be seen and reported.
- If you do decide to take more classes now, acing them would establish an "upward trend" with your GPA over time that could be seen favorable to schools that reward reinvention.
- I don't know how many credits your cGPA/sGPA are established with, but your MCAT score is definitely important in potentially making or breaking your application.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

How long ago did you take prereqs? If it was.a long time ago, and you are sure you can ace them, it might be good to retake and show that your academic self now is better than before.

 

[Mama_DO]

Hi everyone,

I'm a military officer interested in med school after I get out, and was wondering if I could get some advice on re-taking classes. I have most of the usual pre-reqs for med school, like gen/orgo chem and a few bio classes, but my grades were B's/C's at best. I have some time and the ability to take classes such as these again at a local college but I'm wondering if it is worth it - or would the MCAT be the bigger priority?

Also, would med schools look at the newer (hopefully better) grades over the old ones? Or just average them all together. My overall undergrad GPA was a 3.4 but my sciences would be lower.

Thanks for the help!

I have a molecular science degree from the late 90s, and I retook every core requirement, as well as additional upper science classes. My cores had both Bs and Cs, but I figured retaking would only help my overall sgpa and mcat success. When I applied to DO schools (4 years ago), all grades were visible, but only the higher grade was the one averaged into the gpa (no idea if that is still true though).

If there is no grade replacement for DO anymore, and you have to pick one option, my advice would be to focus hard on the mcat.

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

I was in a similar situation during my application and was deciding whether to retake my old science classes with less than stellar grades. I decided to instead take more advanced science classes to boost my GPA and faired well.
I agree with what Siromas posted, at least for MD schools. I know MD schools do not do grade replacement, though DO schools may still allow that.
I would recommend taking some more upper-level science classes and acing them to boost your GPA while studying hard for the MCAT. It seems the schools just want to see if you can handle the academic workload and A's in several upper-level classes would probably demonstrate that better than basic science courses.


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[Magus5454]

I was in a similar situation during my application and was deciding whether to retake my old science classes with less than stellar grades. I decided to instead take more advanced science classes to boost my GPA and faired well.
I agree with what Siromas posted, at least for MD schools. I know MD schools do not do grade replacement, though DO schools may still allow that.
I would recommend taking some more upper-level science classes and acing them to boost your GPA while studying hard for the MCAT. It seems the schools just want to see if you can handle the academic workload and A's in several upper-level classes would probably demonstrate that better than basic science courses.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

DO school are on a school by school case on grade replacement this year but i wouldn't expect that to continue

 

[hopefulpilotdoctor]

How long ago did you take prereqs? If it was.a long time ago, and you are sure you can ace them, it might be good to retake and show that your academic self now is better than before.

Something like 5 years by the time i'm actually applying to med schools, but I figure that isn't the worst so long as my MCAT score is high and I take a few upper level courses.

I was in a similar situation during my application and was deciding whether to retake my old science classes with less than stellar grades. I decided to instead take more advanced science classes to boost my GPA and faired well.
I agree with what Siromas posted, at least for MD schools. I know MD schools do not do grade replacement, though DO schools may still allow that.
I would recommend taking some more upper-level science classes and acing them to boost your GPA while studying hard for the MCAT. It seems the schools just want to see if you can handle the academic workload and A's in several upper-level classes would probably demonstrate that better than basic science courses.

I think my goal will be looking forward and not backward, so acing the things that I can ahead of me and explaining how much better I've gotten.

-Thanks for the words everyone, this will be quite the journey

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

I can't speak to what ADCOMs will think, but retaking those core classes will probably improve your MCAT score.

 

[DarklingThrush]

I can't speak to what ADCOMs will think, but retaking those core classes will probably improve your MCAT score.

Depending on how long ago you took these classes, this is what I would recommend as well. For instance, if it’s been a good while since you’ve taken Biochem and you got a C in the class, I’d probably retake because your MCAT would likely be lacking

 

[popopopop]

What were the Cs? I'd retake them if it helps in any way with the MCAT. Also, it'll be a good ease into your advance science classes which will assume you've mastered the pre-reqs.

 

[hopefulpilotdoctor]

I got C+'s in genetics, and Gen Chem I & 2. As I've been reading through this forum I'm seeing most people are saying to not retake a C+, but to audit the course in order to get the info for the MCAT. I'm planning to do some sort of post-bacc to raise my sGPA (cGPA in undergrad was a 3.4) so I figure that I can give myself a boost with higher level coursework.
I did get a D in orgo II, so I'll need to retake that regardless.

As I look back I can't help but wish I was a better student lol

 

[Forever Geebs]

I got C+'s in genetics, and Gen Chem I & 2. As I've been reading through this forum I'm seeing most people are saying to not retake a C+, but to audit the course in order to get the info for the MCAT. I'm planning to do some sort of post-bacc to raise my sGPA (cGPA in undergrad was a 3.4) so I figure that I can give myself a boost with higher level coursework.
I did get a D in orgo II, so I'll need to retake that regardless.

As I look back I can't help but wish I was a better student lol

Make sure you earn an A when retaking ochem 2.

Best of luck to you.

 

[starbuck2]

I wanted to retake one of the prereqs because I got a C 6 years ago. But my advisor said the university does not allow retakes with a C or better. I was frustrated at first but she said that adcoms would be more impressed if I took higher level courses and did well, instead of retaking the same lower level class and doing better than I previously did.