Should I retake Biochem?

[anon242]

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I'm in my junior year of college, and I'm facing a bit of a dilemma when registering for courses for next quarter. I was unfortunately suffering from anxiety and depression for most of my college career, but it didn't hit me hard until January of this year (2013). I managed to pull most of my grades through, but I ended up with a C+ in biochemistry due to poor preparation for exams, not completing all of the homework, and time management. I spent this past summer in an intensive outpatient therapy program and have been seeing a psychiatrist for depression medication. This quarter has been going very well for me and I am in a 300-level physio course in the biology department and my exam grades have all been at least a standard deviation above the mean.

I am therefore confident that I can handle the work in biochemistry and get a better grade, but my school does have a reputation for very difficult science courses, so I'm afraid that it's not worth it to retake biochemistry. I believe that I can get at least a B or B+, but I am not sure whether I can receive an A. I'm not sure if it's worth retaking if I would only get a B or B+, but I also want to prove to myself and to medical schools that I can do better in the biochemistry class. Additionally, I will be taking the new MCAT, so I feel that it would be to my benefit to have a better understanding of biochemistry.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you.

 

[theseeker4]

I'm in my junior year of college, and I'm facing a bit of a dilemma when registering for courses for next quarter. I was unfortunately suffering from anxiety and depression for most of my college career, but it didn't hit me hard until January of this year (2013). I managed to pull most of my grades through, but I ended up with a C+ in biochemistry due to poor preparation for exams, not completing all of the homework, and time management. I spent this past summer in an intensive outpatient therapy program and have been seeing a psychiatrist for depression medication. This quarter has been going very well for me and I am in a 300-level physio course in the biology department and my exam grades have all been at least a standard deviation above the mean.

I am therefore confident that I can handle the work in biochemistry and get a better grade, but my school does have a reputation for very difficult science courses, so I'm afraid that it's not worth it to retake biochemistry. I believe that I can get at least a B or B+, but I am not sure whether I can receive an A. I'm not sure if it's worth retaking if I would only get a B or B+, but I also want to prove to myself and to medical schools that I can do better in the biochemistry class. Additionally, I will be taking the new MCAT, so I feel that it would be to my benefit to have a better understanding of biochemistry.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you.

Don't retake a C+. No one is going to be impressed by getting even an A on a second attempt. It would be much better to ace a different class the first time you take it than to re-take biochem for an A. Getting a B or B+ in biochem on a retake probably looks worse than letting the C+ stand. Study on your own to master the concepts for the MCAT.

 

[anon242]

Don't retake a C+. No one is going to be impressed by getting even an A on a second attempt. It would be much better to ace a different class the first time you take it than to re-take biochem for an A. Getting a B or B+ in biochem on a retake probably looks worse than letting the C+ stand. Study on your own to master the concepts for the MCAT.

That makes a lot of sense; thanks so much for your input. I'll probably start looking into other bio classes then.

 

[theseeker4]

That makes a lot of sense; thanks so much for your input. I'll probably start looking into other bio classes then.

No problem. Good luck!