Should I retake a B+ in biochem?

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northernlights15

northernlights15

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Super upset and this dropped my sGPA as well.

It seems like it's a really important course for med school so I'm wondering if it's a good idea to?

My sGPA sucks as well (3.4).
 
As a TA in biochem I say don't! A "B+" is really good for such a difficult course. Focus on doing well in other upper level science courses. You shpuld only retake if you get a C or lower.
 
northernlights15 said:
I'm wondering if it's a good idea to?
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If your sGPA is a 3.4 and a B+ is a 3.3, it shouldn't have dropped it too much. I doubt anybody will be very impressed seeing you made an A after another whole semester of relearning in a class in which you already had a B+ in. Also if that grade gets worse....yikes.
 
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onyisraw said:
Oh my God. Are you not on here enough to know that you shouldn't retake a B+??
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It's just I'm a junior and I'm supposed to be having a strong upward trend. Also this course is required by almost every medical school so I feel like they place a lot of importance on this course.
 
Glandzburg said:
It's really hard to not call "troll" on this one. Op, what would that say to adcoms about your judgement if you were to retake a B+? Please don't.
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Why would I be a troll -.-

I'm a junior applying next year and I'm supposed to be acing courses not B+ing them! Also I wonder if medical schools place a lot of importance on this course because almost every medical school seems to require it?
 
@northernlights15 do not retake a B+ in biochem. You realize that
1. Even if you get an A, it averages out to an A-.
2. You never know, but what if you do the same or worse for some reason.
3. A B+ in any class will not make or break whether you get into med school.
4. You have more important things you can put your energy on.
5. I don't know what else to tell you, but having a list of 5 rather than 4 calms my nerves, so in summary, do not retake!
 
miamiheatfan said:
@northernlights15 do not retake a B+ in biochem. You realize that
1. Even if you get an A, it averages out to an A-.
2. You never know, but what if you do the same or worse for some reason.
3. A B+ in any class will not make or break whether you get into med school.
4. You have more important things you can put your energy on.
5. I don't know what else to tell you, but having a list of 5 rather than 4 calms my nerves, so in summary, do not retake!
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I have a year left to apply. I am taking 2 upper level bio/chems in the fall and spring of senior year.

Would it look bad to take 1000 level classes this summer for a GPA boost (one of them is called Human Biology)…?

I am applying after senior year (gradation)…

A few point GPA boost would help. @gonnif

I am still taking rigorous classes in the fall and spring but during the summer, I want to take these fluff courses to help my GPA.
 
northernlights15 said:
I have a year left to apply. I am taking 2 upper level bio/chems in the fall and spring of senior year.

Would it look bad to take 1000 level classes this summer for a GPA boost (one of them is called Human Biology)…?

I am applying after senior year (gradation)…

A few point GPA boost would help. @gonnif

I am still taking rigorous classes in the fall and spring but during the summer, I want to take these fluff courses to help my GPA.
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In my opinion it wouldn't look bad. Things like that don't matter as much as we think they do!
 
northernlights15 said:
Why would I be a troll -.-

I'm a junior applying next year and I'm supposed to be acing courses not B+ing them! Also I wonder if medical schools place a lot of importance on this course because almost every medical school seems to require it?
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No, just no. This is not helping your SDN image right now.
 
onyisraw said:
No, just no. This is not helping your SDN image right now.
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I've seen that said around here so what am I supposed to think? I didn't realize I had an "image"

Man I'm still upset over this stupid class
 
northernlights15 said:
I've seen that said around here so what am I supposed to think? I didn't realize I had an "image"

Man I'm still upset over this stupid class
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You've seen it around here that you are supposed to retake a B+? Not likely, and if so, these people are misguided.

You are correct in that you should be trying to ace your classes. In that regard, a B+ is by no means a bad grade (especially in a difficult course). You are receiving heat over this because you are coming off as neurotic. Sure, an A would have been great but what's done is done; move on and improve next semester if you are not satisfied.
 
Definitely don't retake a B+! An A is always desirable but a B+ is definitely still respectable, especially in biochemistry!
 
This is a terrible idea.

Even if you were to get an A, adcoms might question your judgement for retaking a B+ in the first place...

And well if you don't get an A....obviously looks terrible too. That means you have taken the course TWICE and you are still not able to show mastery of the material.

This is a lose-lose scenario.
 
I made B+'s in pretty much all my bio and chem courses in junior and senior year of college and still got into a great school. This B+ ain't gonna kill you.

That GPA might, but I think you'd be better off just moving on and focus on more pressing matters than a particular B+.
 
You would be better off taking another advance bio and doing well in.
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I just finished taking biochem this semester as well and got B+ just like you!

At first I was kind of upset myself (only 3 points more on the final and I would have had an A-). However considering that I've had a struggle the past few years (I was a junior like you as well) where I had gotten a couple of Cs in a few of my science courses I remembered I could have done a LOT worse. Biochemistry was a far more rigorous course and the fact that I did as good as I did especially considering how sick I was this semester, I can't really complain. Especially when I realized the average in the course at the end was C+/B- which isn't that good considering everyone in that class was taking it to look better for medical and dental school applications.
 
Checking in with a B+ for biochem as well. Currently waitlisted and anxiously waiting to hear back from a school that I really love 🙂

Whoever told you that a B+ is a death sentence should have their hangnails pulled off..... longways.... down the finger

.....yeah, I said it.
 
It's a B+, chill out. You're fine. Do not retake.
 
So help me, if you do something that boneheaded, I'm going to reach through the electrons and smack you upside the head!

Better to work on your GPA by acing more classes. Go visit your school's education or learning center.




northernlights15 said:
Super upset and this dropped my sGPA as well.

It seems like it's a really important course for med school so I'm wondering if it's a good idea to?

My sGPA sucks as well (3.4).
Click to expand...
 
Okay all, thanks for knocking some sense into me! I will not be retaking Biochemistry.

But do you all sincerely believe a 3.4 is lethal? (Even with an upward trend.)

@Goro @gonnif @GoSpursGo
 
I was pretty close to an A- as well, it's the worst feeling! @Chamomile Tea @BeachBlondie But I'm coming to terms with it and just going to put in my best effort for my upper level Bios next year.
 
A 3.4 is 0.3 points below the median, so we're getting into circling the drain territory for MD schools. This is where MSAR Online will be useful...there are schools where a 3.4 is > the 10th %ile, but barely.

northernlights15 said:
Okay all, thanks for knocking some sense into me! I will not be retaking Biochemistry.

But do you all sincerely believe a 3.4 is lethal? (Even with an upward trend.)

@Goro @gonnif @GoSpursGo
Click to expand...
 
Goro said:
A 3.4 is 0.3 points below the median, so we're getting into circling the drain territory for MD schools. This is where MSAR Online will be useful...there are schools where a 3.4 is > the 10th %ile, but barely.
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So glad to know I'm pretty much screwed for MD schools…

Hopefully at least DO is still an option.
 
northernlights15 said:
So glad to know I'm pretty much screwed for MD schools…

Hopefully at least DO is still an option.
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A 3.4 with a solid (36+ equivalent) MCAT and good ECs is salvageable for MD (I've seen it happen both in real life and on SDN). However, a mediocre MCAT and/or weak ECs will make it far more likely to be a shot in the dark.
 
WedgeDawg said:
A 3.4 with a solid (36+ equivalent) MCAT and good ECs is salvageable for MD (I've seen it happen both in real life and on SDN). However, a mediocre MCAT and/or weak ECs will make it far more likely to be a shot in the dark.
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Thank you for giving me hope!! I hope this is the case! At this point, I'm just going to put my all into the rest of my classes and focus on killing the MCAT. Were the acceptances at MDs mainly instate MDs or OOS MD as well as private MD schools?
 
northernlights15 said:
Thank you for giving me hope!! I hope this is the case! At this point, I'm just going to put my all into the rest of my classes and focus on killing the MCAT. Were the acceptances at MDs mainly instate MDs or OOS MD as well as private MD schools?
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All across the board, depending on the applicant.
 
northernlights15 said:
Okay all, thanks for knocking some sense into me! I will not be retaking Biochemistry.

But do you all sincerely believe a 3.4 is lethal? (Even with an upward trend.)

@Goro @gonnif @GoSpursGo
Click to expand...

As others have said, 3.4 is significantly lower than the mean at most MD schools. It's not so low as to be insurmoutable, but it means that where you shine is going to have to be some other part of your application. Most likely that starts with a high MCAT. DO schools are also certainly still an option.
 
northernlights15 said:
I was pretty close to an A- as well, it's the worst feeling! @Chamomile Tea @BeachBlondie But I'm coming to terms with it and just going to put in my best effort for my upper level Bios next year.
Click to expand...

Hey don't worry! Again a B+ in Biochemistry is nothing to be ashamed of at all. It sounds like you've had a hard time (again both of us are in the same boat) in some of your other classes so anything above a B in biochemistry will let adcoms know you can do rigorous science coursework. If you do well in your upper level bios as well you'll show your abilities even more. Don't give up hope just yet! No one said being pre-med would be easy after all!
 
Let's remove SDN standards and biases of what it takes to get into med school for a second
https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf


IF someone with a 3.4 sci gpa can get a 33+ MCAT score they definitely should still apply to an MD school. Now you can say these stats are a little inflated since many of the applicants who get in with lower MDs have something exceptional about them ie.....took time off did something really meaningful like really significant research or had a huge upward trend and I'm not sure if this data includes post-bacc GPAs which really means if it doesn't the people getting in have higher GPAs than listed. Still a 3.4 sci GPA with a strong MCAT score can make someone competitive to say the least.

And good god, many schools won't even allow you the opportunity to re-take a class unless its a B- or low. Get off SDN if you're worried about B+'s destroying your application.
 
northernlights15 said:
Super upset and this dropped my sGPA as well.

It seems like it's a really important course for med school so I'm wondering if it's a good idea to?

My sGPA sucks as well (3.4).
Click to expand...

The answer has been beaten down to the point that it's not worth to repeat again, so i'll present a different scenario.

Suppose you retake a B+ and score A-/A in the second attempt (because scoring worse will be a red flag). MD schools average the two grades so an A- on the second attempt will result in an AB (3.5) and an A will yield an A- (3.7).

Both hardly increase your GPA especially considering your sGPA is stubbornly a 3.4 after taking several credits. Even after taking several more science credits and scoring A's on all of them, your sGPA may barely cross 3.5, which is still a little low.

So retaking gives no returns for high risks. Just another perspective
 
Thought I'd add a little more. As for calculating someone's chances of getting into an md school with a 3.4 here's more to consider

Average matriculate gpa: 3.68 standard dev .25

Use basic z score calculations and you'll find a 3.4 gpa is like 14th percentile amongst matriculants(and this includes urms). So that's not particularly promising

The better news is the aamc link I showed above https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf

Like I said there are confounding variables that probably inflate this somewhat but 3.2-3.4 gpa with a 30-32 mcat has a 35% chance and 33-35 mcat 49%. As for 3.4-3.6 if you can get your gpa up a bit 30-32 mcat provides a 49% and 33-35 a 62%. Bottom line the best advice is aim for a 33-34+mcat improve your gpa if still in school and take some time off so you can enhance your application which can definitely improve your chances. I'm in the same boat with a 3.5/3.35 good luck mate
 
thanks @GrapesofRath

Yeah, I'm simply trying to just move past this and ace all my future classes. I just think it will be wholly unproductive for me to mope about this forever. I'm just going to attempt to get A's from here on out. My cumulative GPA is a bit higher (3.6ish). Hopefully I can get a 36+. I think that coupled with some decent ECs could help get in somewhere. Are you studying for your MCAT now?

I'm from NY and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
 
northernlights15 said:
I'm from NY and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
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Just sayin - I was definitely on the tail end of the cycle so I'm sure I just got super lucky, but I'm from NY, sGPA < 3.4, applied right after college graduation, did worse than you on Biochem, and have gotten into two MD schools (one in state and one private). You may be aiming for higher tier schools than me, but just wanted to put it out there that there's definitely hope!
 
I was disappointed in my biochem grade too. the class was tedious and i didnt give a crap about c4 vs. c3 plant energy expenditure. would never take that **** again. just take more interesting, medically relevant bio classes like immuno or micro to boost that gpa.
 
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