Very low GPA, question about retaking classes.

[drchem]

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I'm a chemistry major who's been considering medical school for a while, but my grades have been pretty low (my cum. GPA is about a 2.3 right now). Anyway, I'm starting to go back and retake a lot of the classes I did badly in so I can raise them up and have a shot at getting into a MD or DO program (I'm fine with either to be honest, the field I'm most interested in is anesthesiology, and I'm not sure osteopathic medicine would be very applicable there).

Anyway, I have a few questions about the classes I need to retake. I know I absolutely need to retake my Ochem classes, as I did badly in those. For one of my generals I took a General Psychology course, and due to laziness and lack of attendance, I scraped through with a D+. It looks awful, and I -know- I can do better, but is it worth it to retake that class, since it has absolutely nothing to do with medical school? Also, I did poorly in my ODE's and Linear Algebra class, and PDEs. (Got a C in both of those). Is it worth it to retake those, even though you only need Calc 1 to get into med school?

Also, my general chem credits were covered by an AP test (got a 5 on it). Since I've taken several other chem classes, do med schools still require that I take gen. chem in college? Or will the AP score suffice for it?

Thanks in advance for your responses. This forum's been incredibly helpful to me since I've started lurking it.

 

[buccsmf1]

your ap credits will sufice for gen chem. good luck with the re-takes. MD is going to be pretty much impossible though for you at this point. DO schools, however, will allow you to replace bad grades if you retake a class so you still have a great shot at that if you get focused.

 

[drchem]

your ap credits will sufice for gen chem. good luck with the re-takes. MD is going to be pretty much impossible though for you at this point. DO schools, however, will allow you to replace bad grades if you retake a class so you still have a great shot at that if you get focused.

Thanks 🙂 I'd be happy with DO. So should I retake that psych class and the math ones? Also, when should I take the MCAT? (I won't be graduating for another two years, likely). And when should I start applying for schools?

 

[Stratego]

Actually Psychology is relevant to med school, as you'll study normal and abnormal psych. A few schools require behavioral science classes. Your application GPA will rise faster if you retake classes with low grades whether they will be needed in the future or not. They will need the same number of credit hours (or more) as the original class that you want to replace. You can apply to med school when you'll be ready to graduate in a year, and when your cGPA and science GPA have risen enough to be competitive. I've read the average GPA for accepted DO students is 3.4+, but that some schools will consider a 2.75, and many will consider a 3.0, if you have a strong MCAT score to compensate (25.5 being average).

I would not take the MCAT until you've completed the prerequisites creditably, especially as you'll need the OChem to do well. Remember that the score expires.

 

[drchem]

Actually Psychology is relevant to med school, as you'll study normal and abnormal psych. A few schools require behavioral science classes. Your application GPA will rise faster if you retake classes with low grades whether they will be needed in the future or not. They will need the same number of credit hours (or more) as the original class that you want to replace. You can apply to med school when you'll be ready to graduate in a year, and. when your cGPA and science GPA have risen enough to be competitive. I've read the average GPA for accepted DO students is 3.4+, but that some schools will consider a 2.75, and many will consider a 3.0, if you have a strong MCAT score to compensate (25.5 being average).

I would not take the MCAT until you've completed the prerequisites creditably, especially as you'll need the OChem to do well. Remember that the score expires.

Alright, thanks. One more thing, buccsmf1 mentioned that my AP credits will suffice for gen. chem. I also took AP English Lit and AP English Language (composition) and passed those tests -- will they suffice for English credits or should I take another English class in college?

Edit: also, when should I apply for med school? Do I have to wait until I get my undergrad degree, or should I apply just before I expect to graduate?

 

[Stratego]

It isn't possible to generalize about requirements as they vary from school to school regarding acceptance of AP credit. You should probably ask that question over in the Pre-Osteo Forum. You can find a link to the online MSAR of DO schools in their FAQ somewhere which lists requirements. You can ask about AP classes if a search doesn't find the info.

Since applications take a year, it is OK to apply the year before you will qualify to graduate, provided your GPA at the time is sufficient, as any classes taken after you submit will not be calculated into the application GPA. Some wait to apply until after they graduate if they need the extra year to get their GPA up more.