Taking Upper Level Courses Instead of Retaking courses

[medshoes]

Hi,
So I got a C- in the last term of organic chemistry, and C- in biochemistry and C- cell biology (introductory biology sequence). Can I take advanced organic chemistry and advanced biology courses to make up for the C- I got in prerequisite classes? I asked my adviser, and she advised me against retaking classes since she says it's a waste of time and I might not get a better grade. I also don't think I will have space in the next two years to retake courses unless I overload. Can my better grade (A-) in first term of organic chemistry make up for the bad grade I got last term of organic chemistry or do they have to have like 8 semester hours of above C- grades for organic chemistry and biology. Can I take neurobiology courses that aren't prereqs to make up for the bad grades I got in biochemistry and cell biology. Can I take advanced biochemistry to make up for introductory biochemistry grade. I did okay in physiology and I still have to take genetics so that's like 6 semester hours of above C- prereq grades that I don't have to retake. Are the requirements for biology, organic chemistry, and chemistry for prerequisites only or do advanced courses count as well? I saw that some schools don't require above C- grades like Kansas COM.

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[DetectiveAlonzo]

Do whatever you need to to get your GPA above ATLEAST a 3.3+.
Then again, these grades don't mean much without a MCAT.

 

[medshoes]

I got a 30 on the MCAT. I'm just wondering bc some schools require a C and higher on biology and organic chemistry and chemistry and physics so I'm wondering if advanced courses count.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Depends on your GPA.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

And yeah. You will need a C or higher.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Only substitution I know of is programs allowing Biochemistry to count for either general chemistry and/or organic chemistry. This is school-dependent though.

 

[TrueWolverine]

From what I've heard/read, you have to have at least a C for most schools to count it so I would suggest retaking those C-'s. Of course it looks good to do well in upper level classes but if schools don't even count C-'s it won't matter what your upper level grades are. As for organic chem, an A- ochem 1 won't fix a poor ochem 2 grade....it may work the other way around but unfortunately they way you have it shows a downward trend....

On a positive note, don't listen to your adviser....I have a couple retakes (C- --> A, and D+ -->B+) so you can definitely do better than the first time. Maybe retake from a different professor because the learning style may suit you better. The key is to not be an idiot and think that you can ace the class just because you've had it before, it clearly didn't work the first time so you'll have to put in work. My GPA isn't anything impressive so I'm banking on acing the MCAT and EC's....but that's my 2 cents.

 

[dorothyntoto]

You should do both... if you can retake some of those lower grades it will help your GPA, but UL classes with As will also help considerably!

 

[medshoes]

Can I retake classes at another institution after I graduate, like an informal postbacc but not enrolled in a postbacc program because I don't have to retake all the courses, and send those grades over to the medical schools? I don't have space in my schedule to repeat any courses.
That would require my delaying my application to after I take those classes so I would apply a year after I graduate.

 

[deleted92121]

Can I retake classes at another institution after I graduate, like an informal postbacc but not enrolled in a postbacc program because I don't have to retake all the courses, and send those grades over to the medical schools? I don't have space in my schedule to repeat any courses.
That would require my delaying my application to after I take those classes so I would apply a year after I graduate.

I retook courses at another university after graduating. As long as they are undergraduate level and have the same or similar course description they will replace previous attempts.

 

[medshoes]

Do post bacc courses count in your undergrad gpa or are they counted separately? How do they replace the previous attempts of prereqs if they are counted separately. I took a non science course at another institution but my school doesn't count it in my undergrad gpa.

 

[medshoes]

@dxu so it is possible to take courses at different colleges for post bacc informally, because I don't know if I want to wait for entrance in a formal post bacc when I can take courses as a nondegree student, only thing is, there's a 24 credit limit for non degree students at the schools I'm interested in taking post bacc courses in. So technically I could take courses at two different colleges for post bacc right? I would like to take more credits to repair my gpa.

 

[deleted92121]

@medshoes

Yes that is correct. You can take as many courses at multiple schools as you would like. Just do well and don't give up. I have around six schools I have attended at one point or another in the past twelve years.

 

[medshoes]

@dxu is it better to just get a second undergraduate degree? or is it because if you're in college again, you wouldn't be able to work without being a parttime student.

 

[SGOT]

Only substitution I know of is programs allowing Biochemistry to count for either general chemistry and/or organic chemistry. This is school-dependent though.

Would you happen to know what schools?

 

[FutureDrB]

Hi,
So I got a C- in the last term of organic chemistry, and C- in biochemistry and C- cell biology (introductory biology sequence). Can I take advanced organic chemistry and advanced biology courses to make up for the C- I got in prerequisite classes? I asked my adviser, and she advised me against retaking classes since she says it's a waste of time and I might not get a better grade. I also don't think I will have space in the next two years to retake courses unless I overload. Can my better grade (A-) in first term of organic chemistry make up for the bad grade I got last term of organic chemistry or do they have to have like 8 semester hours of above C- grades for organic chemistry and biology. Can I take neurobiology courses that aren't prereqs to make up for the bad grades I got in biochemistry and cell biology. Can I take advanced biochemistry to make up for introductory biochemistry grade. I did okay in physiology and I still have to take genetics so that's like 6 semester hours of above C- prereq grades that I don't have to retake. Are the requirements for biology, organic chemistry, and chemistry for prerequisites only or do advanced courses count as well? I saw that some schools don't require above C- grades like Kansas COM.

If you're thinking of taking advanced courses to replace lower-level courses at the same college, it's not going to work. Repeats at the same college have to have the exact same title now.

You need to retake the exact same classes you did poorly in. Period. Not only will you not have to worry about them not being accepted as repeats by AACOMAS, repeating (and doing better in) the courses will raise your GPA substantially more than taking more classes.

Plus, having A's and B's in your pre-reqs is more beneficial than having a bunch of C's, and then having a couple upper level science classes too.

 

[radian313]

I agree with mostly everyone. Taking a couple of upper level science classes will not do much. But if you have a string of upper level science classes in conjunction with your upper level classes performing above a 3.5 gpa, that says something. Thats what I have done. I have many upper level science courses with atleast a B or better to compensate for my poor performance early on.


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