Unusual Retake Situation

[Workflow25]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello everyone,
Just needed some advice regarding retakes after completing an SMP. I applied for D.O. some years ago and I think what held me back was a late application, a late secondary, and a downward undergraduate grade trend. This is what my verified AACOMAS primary showed:

Science
Freshman 3.6
Sophomore 3.4
Junior 3.0
Senior 3.1
Overall UG 3.2
MCAT 26 (8 PS, 10 VR, 8 BS)

The rest is just an estimation based off excel and my post bac and SMP grades.
Postbac 3.0 (12 credits)
SMP 2.8 1st Semester, 3.7 2nd semester, 3.3 SMP GPA
Overall 3.2

If I retake a a C from my post-bac year and do well, this is what happens:
Freshman 3.6
Sophomore 3.4
Junior 3.0 -> 3.2 (Only If retaking a B- prereq)
Senior 3.1
Overall UG 3.2 -> 3.26 (Only if retaking a B- prereq)

Postbac 3.0 -> 3.6 (Retake C)
SMP 3.3
Overall 3.2 -> 3.25 (Retake C) -> 3.3 (Only with retaking the B- prereq)

Without the postbac, my junior and senior year GPA would have been under a 3. Part of the reason the grades are so bad at the end is that I had too many AP credits coming into undergrad and everything got shifted to my senior year based on classification.

When I apply next year I'll have more hospital based ECs completed
2 year teaching
2+ years of various community service, some healthcare and some not healthcare related
1 year of hospital based community service
Shadowing

Is it worth it to retake the postbac C grade? Should I retake it with my B- prereq for what looks to be a marginal increase? All of this would be done at a CC otherwise I could have focused on 2 C- in my senior year and brought that up to a 3.5. Thinking about it now, it seems silly to even ask this question and seems that I misused my postbac opportunity.

Worth it to retake 6 credits?

 

[DrMidlife]

Any time you'd spend on retaking those classes should go towards the MCAT, imho.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Your verbal MCAT is already decent, and the science sections are the ones that most people can readily improve on with diligent studying. Don't retake the classes. Instead, put six credits worth of study time into the MCAT and apply to a good range of DO schools. With a few more points on the MCAT and your improved ECs, you'll likely get in somewhere.

 

[edgerock24]

You don't need to retake any classes or retake the MCAT. You should be fine if you apply broadly.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

You don't need to retake any classes or retake the MCAT. You should be fine if you apply broadly.

With a 3.2, lackluster performance in a postbac and SMP and a 26 MCAT? That's not fine. It might get you into one or two bottom-tier DO schools but that's about it. The OP needs to improve something here. It appears that he doesn't have any Ds or Fs to retake for a quick GPA boost, so the most efficient way to improve his application will be to try to raise that MCAT score.

 

[Goro]

I know the pollyanna rah-rahs will come out in force, and tell you that anything is possible, and that their cousin Joe got into Harvard with a 0.0 GPA and a 3 on the MCAT, but you've come here looking for realstic advice and not hugs, so here goes:

I think only a single good semester of your SMP does not bode well. You've consistantly shown that when you take rigorous coursework, AND in your post-bac, when you're supposed to shine, that you will have trouble with a medical school curriculum.

There might be some DO schools that will take you, but I'm doubtful. You'd get rejected from mine.

Suggest it's time to try something else.

Hello everyone,
Just needed some advice regarding retakes after completing an SMP. I applied for D.O. some years ago and I think what held me back was a late application, a late secondary, and a downward undergraduate grade trend. This is what my verified AACOMAS primary showed:

Science
Freshman 3.6
Sophomore 3.4
Junior 3.0
Senior 3.1
Overall UG 3.2
MCAT 26 (8 PS, 10 VR, 8 BS)

The rest is just an estimation based off excel and my post bac and SMP grades.
Postbac 3.0 (12 credits)
SMP 2.8 1st Semester, 3.7 2nd semester, 3.3 SMP GPA
Overall 3.2

If I retake a a C from my post-bac year and do well, this is what happens:
Freshman 3.6
Sophomore 3.4
Junior 3.0 -> 3.2 (Only If retaking a B- prereq)
Senior 3.1
Overall UG 3.2 -> 3.26 (Only if retaking a B- prereq)

Postbac 3.0 -> 3.6 (Retake C)
SMP 3.3
Overall 3.2 -> 3.25 (Retake C) -> 3.3 (Only with retaking the B- prereq)

Without the postbac, my junior and senior year GPA would have been under a 3. Part of the reason the grades are so bad at the end is that I had too many AP credits coming into undergrad and everything got shifted to my senior year based on classification.

When I apply next year I'll have more hospital based ECs completed
2 year teaching
2+ years of various community service, some healthcare and some not healthcare related
1 year of hospital based community service
Shadowing

Is it worth it to retake the postbac C grade? Should I retake it with my B- prereq for what looks to be a marginal increase? All of this would be done at a CC otherwise I could have focused on 2 C- in my senior year and brought that up to a 3.5. Thinking about it now, it seems silly to even ask this question and seems that I misused my postbac opportunity.

Worth it to retake 6 credits?