Senior Dilemma

[MyGrainAura]

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Hello all,

I am a senior who is going to be graduating this year and have already applied to DO schools. I am waiting for ii's and have not received any bad news as of yet. However, in the event I should need to reapply I would like to be as prepared as possible.

My dilemma is that I could take a neuroanatomy course with an absolutely fantastic professor or I could retake one of the early prereqs that I received a C in. Retaking the prereq class is essentially a guaranteed A, as I have received A's in all of the more advanced classes in the series. Additionally, this would increase my AACOMAS sGPA by about .1

On the contrary, the neuroanatomy course would be very exciting and very difficult. I know that I could get a good grade with lots of hard work, but even an A grade would do little to make my application appear improved with the exception of getting a letter from the professor.

It is my understanding that my GPA is essentially set in stone upon graduation, and financial constraints make it impossible to take both courses. I would greatly appreciate any wise advice in this matter.

 

[koan]

What's your current sGPA? 0.1 is kind of a lot, so if you're borderline in any sense I'd lean towards that. Plenty of time to explore academic interests / research as a medical student.

 

[XFireMedic]

Hello all,

I am a senior who is going to be graduating this year and have already applied to DO schools. I am waiting for ii's and have not received any bad news as of yet. However, in the event I should need to reapply I would like to be as prepared as possible.

My dilemma is that I could take a neuroanatomy course with an absolutely fantastic professor or I could retake one of the early prereqs that I received a C in. Retaking the prereq class is essentially a guaranteed A, as I have received A's in all of the more advanced classes in the series. Additionally, this would increase my AACOMAS sGPA by about .1

On the contrary, the neuroanatomy course would be very exciting and very difficult. I know that I could get a good grade with lots of hard work, but even an A grade would do little to make my application appear improved with the exception of getting a letter from the professor.

It is my understanding that my GPA is essentially set in stone upon graduation, and financial constraints make it impossible to take both courses. I would greatly appreciate any wise advice in this matter.

I don't think that your GPA is set in stone. I took post-bac courses that still applied I my undergrad GPA since they were undergrad credit. That being said... If you did well in your other prereqs, then the one C shouldn't be a big deal. I got accepted to every school I followed the process through with and I had a C in orgo 2

 

[MyGrainAura]

What's your current sGPA? 0.1 is kind of a lot, so if you're borderline in any sense I'd lean towards that. Plenty of time to explore academic interests / research as a medical student.

Right now it is 3.4-3.45, if I managed an A in neuroanatomy that would put me in the 3.5 range vs. a 3.6 with the prereq retake.

I don't think that your GPA is set in stone. I took post-bac courses that still applied I my undergrad GPA since they were undergrad credit. That being said... If you did well in your other prereqs, then the one C shouldn't be a big deal. I got accepted to every school I followed the process through with and I had a C in orgo 2

If I'm following the logic correctly, then AACOMAS allowed you to do grade replacement with the same course even though it was taken during post-bac? My institution has said that once I have graduated then my grades are final, but I suppose I could take the class as an non-matriculating student and replace in AACOMAS.

 

[XFireMedic]

Right now it is 3.4-3.45, if I managed an A in neuroanatomy that would put me in the 3.5 range vs. a 3.6 with the prereq retake.



If I'm following the logic correctly, then AACOMAS allowed you to do grade replacement with the same course even though it was taken during post-bac? My institution has said that once I have graduated then my grades are final, but I suppose I could take the class as an non-matriculating student and replace in AACOMAS.

AACOMAS will allow the grade replacement like you said. It'll be fixed in stone on your transcript, but AACOMAS will lump everything together in the report the schools receive. You can verify with them but that's how I understood it and it worked out for me

 

[YourMD]

I would most definitely retake the pre-req course. the consensus seems to be that GPA is the first line of screening. You can prove your aptitude with good MCAT score.

 

[hallowmann]

First priority is the retake. Second is the new course. Nothing is set in stone. It doesn't matter how your school calculates GPAs, AACOMAS will calculate it its own way regardless. Either take the retake at your school or take it at a cheaper one/CC and take the neuroanatomy.

Obviously see what your options are, but the retake is the biggest priority to boost your GPA. That said, if you have a 30+ MCAT, consider applying to MD schools, because a 3.5 ain't bad (if that is what your AMCAS GPA also comes to).