To Retake Or Not To Retake

[tolachi]

I just talked to my potential informal postbacc advisor at SFSU. He advised me to not retake any pre-reqs that I got a C or above in and to concentrate on proving myself in upper level bio courses. He also advised against going for a masters because grade inflation issues would dilute its value. I was wondering what people here think of that advice.

My situation is that I left college in 2001 so it has been a while since I took most of my chem/math/bio courses. Looking back at my transcript I actually managed to make Cs or better in all of my science classes except Biostats (C-) and my senior thesis (D, turned in initial proposal 4 days late = -1.5 letter grades from final grade). I have not taken physics yet and I am fairly confident of my ability to do well in the upper level bio, though biochem is more intimidating. My current GPA is 2.76 and I have never taken the MCAT.

As I see it:

Pros - Retaking O-chem and G-chem would not be much fun, upper level bio on the other hand would probably be really interesting and open the door for some research experience.

Cons - It will be a lot harder to get a good MCAT score without retaking the prereqs. I take a bunch of classes but don't really have anything to show for it as I would with a masters.

TIA

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[nico05]

I just talked to my potential informal postbacc advisor at SFSU. He advised me to not retake any pre-reqs that I got a C or above in and to concentrate on proving myself in upper level bio courses. He also advised against going for a masters because grade inflation issues would dilute its value. I was wondering what people here think of that advice.

TIA

I am in a similar situation...I hope this is the case because thats what Im doing...I have heard that in the past though, its a waste to retake the class if you get above a "C" it really wont affect your GPA that much unless you go from a "C" to an "A+". Remeber, focus on progression.

 

[nico05]

One more thing, take an MCAT review course or invest in an excellent review book (I am partial to Kaplan), but give yourself ample time to study. Dont worry about not doing well on the MCAT because you didnt do great in the courses themselves, as long as you have a general idea, review should reiterate the basics.

 

[Firebird]

I would focus on getting your GPA above a 3.0.

 

[fun8stuff]

I just talked to my potential informal postbacc advisor at SFSU. He advised me to not retake any pre-reqs that I got a C or above in and to concentrate on proving myself in upper level bio courses. He also advised against going for a masters because grade inflation issues would dilute its value. I was wondering what people here think of that advice.

My situation is that I left college in 2001 so it has been a while since I took most of my chem/math/bio courses. Looking back at my transcript I actually managed to make Cs or better in all of my science classes except Biostats (C-) and my senior thesis (D, turned in initial proposal 4 days late = -1.5 letter grades from final grade). I have not taken physics yet and I am fairly confident of my ability to do well in the upper level bio, though biochem is more intimidating. My current GPA is 2.76 and I have never taken the MCAT.

As I see it:

Pros - Retaking O-chem and G-chem would not be much fun, upper level bio on the other hand would probably be really interesting and open the door for some research experience.

Cons - It will be a lot harder to get a good MCAT score without retaking the prereqs. I take a bunch of classes but don't really have anything to show for it as I would with a masters.

TIA

You need to get that GPA up, but I have to side with your advisor on this on. Improve your GPA and prove your abilities by excelling upper level classes. You may want to look into taking a prep course for the MCAT. Try to get 32+ MCAT score to help compensate for GPA.

 

[tolachi]

Thanks for the advice. Since this doesn't raise any red flags I think I'll go ahead with it. I'll probably just sit in on the O-chem and g-chem lectures as a refresher to help study for the MCAT.

 

[scota]

Hmm. I got a C in gen. chem I when I when I was a stupid 19 year old. I didn't learn a damn thing either. I retook the class, and got an A. I don't know what a committe would say, but I did benefit from retaking the class in terms of acutually learning the material!