Should I retake some classes??

[OrangeLamp123]

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HELLO!! I am graduating in May 2014 and am really nervous about my after grad plans. I want to attend medical school, but my grades are say other wise, so I am trying to fix any damages done after graduation at my local university. Any guidance would be much appreciated!!

My prereqs are:

Bio 1/lab- D/D
Bio 2/lab- D/F
Chem 1/lab - C/A
Chem 2/lab - B/A
Ochem 1 - C
Ochem 2 - C
Ochem Lab - C
Physics 1 - B
Physics 2 - C
Calculus - A
English 1 - B
English 2 - A

I am already going to retake Bio 1 and 2 and their labs, but I am wondering if it is worth it to retake some of the C's I made? I calculated it out that if I was to retake Bio 1 and 2 and make A's in it, plus take Human Physiology and retake OChem 1 and make A's in both, I will have 3.24 Science GPA.

The reason why I didn't do so well in Bio is because I was distracted with other things at the time and if I had paid attention, I do believe I would have done well.

I haven't taken the MCAT yet, but I plan to in June or July.

The main reason for this post is because I was reading all the other posts that said that retaking C's was not really worth it, unless it was completely necessary. To me, this looks like I should retake it, but at the same time I was wondering if I would be better off doing research or an internship of sorts.

Thank you again for any advice! I really am grateful! 🙂

 

[Euxox]

For people who are applying primarily to MD schools, I would not recommend retaking C grades. If you are applying to DO schools however, you get grade replacement, and retaking courses could potentially give a big boost to your science GPA. Frankly, with the number of C/D/F science grades you have right now, I think that MD is a long shot. So I would recommend retaking these courses and applying DO. (You could apply to MD schools as well of course, but apply to a wide range of DO schools if you want to maximize your chances of getting in somewhere.)

 

[OrangeLamp123]

So if I would want to apply to DO schools, I should retake Bio 1 and 2, Ochem 1, and take Human Phys. But if I wanted to apply to MD I should try and retake all of my C classes??

 

[Euxox]

So if I would want to apply to DO schools, I should retake Bio 1 and 2, Ochem 1, and take Human Phys. But if I wanted to apply to MD I should try and retake all of my C classes??

If applying DO, you might also want to consider retaking Chem I, Physics I, Organic Chem II, and Organic Chem Lab.

No, if you are applying MD then there really is no point to retaking classes. The original grade is still factored into your GPA which means that getting an A in a retake is no better for your GPA than getting an A in an upper level science course. A grades in upper level science courses are nice because they show that you have learned to deal with material that is even harder than what you had trouble with as a freshman or a sophomore. Upper level courses are also usually smaller and a better place to get LoRs from professors if you should need to.

But in your case, I would recommend retaking and applying to a mix of DO and MD.

 

[OrangeLamp123]

Oh ok. So a retake would be better for DO schools, but would a 3.24 cut it for DO schools?? Should I retake all C's?

The reason I keep asking that is because I am limited on funds, so if I was to retake a class, I just want to make sure it would be beneficial.

 

[Euxox]

Oh ok. So a retake would be better for DO schools, but would a 3.24 cut it for DO schools?? Should I retake all C's?

The reason I keep asking that is because I am limited on funds, so if I was to retake a class, I just want to make sure it would be beneficial.

I'm not sure how many courses you would need to retake to be competitive. Maybe @Goro can offer more advice.

 

[Goro]

Yes and Yes. The latter makes you even more competitive.

I'm not sure how many courses you would need to retake to be competitive. Maybe @Goro can offer more advice.

Oh ok. So a retake would be better for DO schools, but would a 3.24 cut it for DO schools?? Should I retake all C's?

The reason I keep asking that is because I am limited on funds, so if I was to retake a class, I just want to make sure it would be beneficial.

 

[OrangeLamp123]

Thank you so much for your advice! I think I will end up retaking most of my Cs and work on getting a good MCAT score. Thank you again!