Should I retake these two classes?

[ponies2015]

Ok so my AACOMAS cGPA at the moment is a 3.45 and my sGPA is a 3.24. I'm applying this cycle, however, I was thinking about retaking two of my science classes that I got Cs in. Doing so would raise my cGPA to a 3.55 and my sGPA to a 3.5 (assuming I get As)

The problem is I won't be able to retake them until after I turned in my app....Should I even bother retaking them? Would listing them as future coursework help me a bit in the admissions process?

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[Groggy]

I'm in the same boat. Curious to see what folks say. I'm enrolled in two classes for the fall and I was planning on updating aacomas and the schools I apply to.

 

[el_duderino]

Might as well if it doesn't delay graduation or anything.

 

[GoldStone17]

I am in the same boat too. My science GPA is a 3.24 and my overall is a 3.6. I have already submitted my application but I am still debating on whether or not to retake those classes. It would raise my science to a 3.5 and overall to a 3.7. My major concern is that most schools will have filled up by the time those grades come in.

 

[bball4]

How would you denote this? Say I took Anatomy, got a C, then planned on retaking it this fall (ie my app would be out before the final grade came in). Assuming this would be my first retake, would I list the first anatomy as R01, and the new retake as L01 even though the grades weren't available yet?

 

[nontrad78]

I agree with @jonnythan, if retaking the courses does not impact your graduation date by much and cost isn't an issue, you both (@bball4 & @GoldStone17) should do it. I'm in the process right now, and I can tell you, that I would feel at a DISTINCT advantage if both of my GPAs were at or above 3.5. Especially since you guys have lower science GPAs.
If you're going to list them as future coursework, be aware that you'll need to submit a transcript from your institution that vouches for this. If you don't, many of the secondaries give you an opportunity to talk about current coursework. The verification process takes a while, and apparently interviewing goes deep into spring. With the potential GPAs that you guys would have with the retakes, you'll significantly increase your choice in where you will attend. If you have yet to submit your primary, you're looking at a month of verification, then at least another month of turnaround time with secondaries (between completing, getting verified etc, some could be longer), and then waiting for an interview could be another number of weeks. This could mean that these schools get your updated GPA while they're reviewing your applications.
Honestly, I think you'd be crazy not to do the retakes.

note: all of this hinges on making A's in all of these retakes.

 

[Ailleurs]

Wouldn't that delay and possibly take away spots by other applicants who they deem better than you? Is my assumption wrong in that they would be holding out on you (given that they are even considering you) to see how you do, but by then there won't be as many seats for the school and your overall chance for those seats decrease possibly as a result? For example, let's say the school has 200 seats open and about 150 of those seats fill up. They reject many applicants but then hold onto several possible candidates. The remainder will compete for those 50 spots. Then again, without the rejected applicants in the pool, you'd have a smaller pool to compete with, so maybe it doesn't matter... but what do I know about the admissions game...

 

[nontrad78]

Wouldn't that delay and possibly take away spots by other applicants who they deem better than you? My assumption is that they would be holding out on you, if they like you/are considering you, to see how you do, but by then there won't be as many seats to the school?

That would be the case if their classes filled up by December/January. Some of them may, but I doubt that is typically the case.
I'm not sure I'd be as worried about pending coursework slowing down their decisions, as I would be with grades that don't accurately reflect your academic potential.

 

[Ailleurs]

Ah! I understand completely now. I guess it couldn't hurt. I'll be throwing away tons of money for my medical education anyway...

 

[nontrad78]

Ah! I understand completely now. I guess it couldn't hurt. I'll be throwing away tons of money for my medical education anyway...

I don't know what limitations you have financially, so I can't speak to that.
I think there is a lot of jockeying and additional spots that come open around the holidays and early spring as MD candidates make their decisions. Being left over during that time frame with a 3.5 c&sGPA will be much better than being left over with 3.25 sGPA.
Good luck!

 

[bball4]

How would you denote this? Say I took Anatomy, got a C, then planned on retaking it this fall (ie my app would be out before the final grade came in). Assuming this would be my first retake, would I list the first anatomy as R01, and the new retake as L01 even though the grades weren't available yet?

Anyone?

 

[AlteredScale]

Anyone?

Take the course and send in an updated official transcript to AACOMAS. They will update you application with the new grade and new GPA and it will be sent out to all schools.

 

[smccccc]

You should retake it as long as you are confident that you will do well in them

 

[hallowmann]

Ok so my AACOMAS cGPA at the moment is a 3.45 and my sGPA is a 3.24. I'm applying this cycle, however, I was thinking about retaking two of my science classes that I got Cs in. Doing so would raise my cGPA to a 3.55 and my sGPA to a 3.5 (assuming I get As)

The problem is I won't be able to retake them until after I turned in my app....Should I even bother retaking them? Would listing them as future coursework help me a bit in the admissions process?

Ideally, you should have already retaken them before you applied. Going from a 3.45/3.24 to a 3.55/3.5 with only 2 retakes is huge (especially for sGPA).

If I were you, I'd plan to retake, register, and indicate it in my AACOMAS. If places are going to accept you without it, they will. The thing is, if you don't get in this cycle, reapplying early with a 3.55/3.5 will significantly improve your chances, and if you are waitlisted this cycle, having a big bump in your GPAs could be enough to move you up the waitlist.

This is all assuming you have the money, it won't significantly affect things like MCAT prep, etc.

Anyone?

Its been a while, but I think the L01 thing is for classes that you have already taken and completed, and RNY (does that sound right?) is for in progress retakes. Worst case scenario, if you label it as L01, they'll change it to RNY (or whatever it should be). Be aware though that putting the L01 designation will incorrectly calculate your GPA (by excluding the R01 grade), and when they change it, your calculated GPA that goes to schools will be lower.

After you finish the retake and get the grades in your transcript, you will have to send the new transcript to AACOMAS as an update (and be sure to check when they update it, because they made a mistake when they updated mine).