Should I retake my C's?

[Rachaelfig]

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Okay so I've been lurking here for a while and now I need to come out of the woodwork because things are not looking good right now. I just got my final grade back for Orgo II and it's a 79, aka a C. I took Orgo I a few summers ago and got a C, then retook it during the next fall and got an A. This year I took Physics I in the fall and got a C, and now I have this new one in Orgo II. Now should I retake these two C's? Or maybe just one? Just to give you guys the rest of my background - I'm a junior but I'll be graduating in year and a half rather than next spring, so I've got some time, and my other science grades aren't too hot either - straight B's in Bio 1/2 and Chem 1/2 (except for the A's in the labs). I'm also taking Micro this semester and I expect to get an A, but it's one of the only ones I have. I'm an Anthropology major and Spanish minor and I've got a 4.0 in those classes, as well as in my extra honors program classes so my total gpa is still around a 3.6, but my science gpa is getting really bad.

Any advice? Taking classes over the summer isn't going to be an option for me because I'll be doing an internship at a zoo vet hospital out of state. I hate doing this poorly in my classes so I think improvement is going to take a real lifestyle change. This is going to have to be my wake-up call to actually buckle down and start studying every day.

 

[Bisbee]

Hi Rachel-I think you really answered your own question. You have to really "buckle down" and make these science courses a top priority. This type of coursework requires way more effort than other courses. Putting fun aside in the short term has huge pay-offs in the long term...i.e. acceptance into vet school, career, not to mention self-esteem by proving to yourself that you are capable. You should retake any grades of C to prove to yourself and to the admissions committees that you are capable of doing well in the sciences. That is what you'll be studying in vet school, so it's something you should enjoy to some extent and feel comfortable with the content. Hard work will pay off!

 

[goldielocks137]

I personally wouldn't retake the two classes. I know my college wouldn't replace a bad first grade with a second better grade for GPA calculation. Instead the two grades would be averaged. So if this is true for you, even with an A you would only average out to a B. Instead I would really focus in doing better in other science classes. I would take physics 2 if you haven't already, biochem, molecular and cell bio, metabolism, genetics. I would move on and focus on getting better grades in other upper division science courses rather than worrying about 2 C's.

 

[pooter]

I wouldn't retake the courses unless you got less than a C. You should, however, take a higher level course in each of the subject areas where you struggled. It will look much better to take Physics II and get an A- than to retake Physics I and get an A+ because then the story becomes "I learned from my mistakes and did much better with harder material" rather than "I wanted to boost my GPA so I retook a course where I'd already learned the material." Of course, this does depend on, as you put it, buckling down.

 

[Rachaelfig]

Sorry if this is a little dumb, but can schools look at my transcripts and pick out the pluses from the minuses? My school just does A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0 and that's it. So my 79 looks exactly the same as a 70 on paper.

I'm between retaking Physics I or just moving on to Physics II right now because I'm a little bit worried that I just really don't understand the subject. I retook Orgo because I just had no idea what was going on and since it was a summer class it moved way too fast for me to catch on to anything. Taking it during an actual semester and with a different professor really helped. This isn't the case with Orgo II - the professor is great and it's just me making mistakes on exams. But I definitely see what you guys are saying, and I do really want to prove that I CAN succeed in science, I'm just not too sure about it yet.

 

[twelvetigers]

If your school doesn't use the +/- system, VMCAS won't 'convert' that. I dunno how your transcripts look, but if I get a B, I just know I got a B. I don't have the exact grade. So, unless it's something that just happened, odds are I don't even remember the exact grade.

Point is, you just put whatever is on your transcript. If it says B+, put that, it will calculate accordingly. If it says B, then that's what you get - a B.

Make sense?

 

[Rachaelfig]

Gotcha!

 

[nyanko]

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