So, I took a few hard science courses 5 years ago as an undergrad, however, I was working full-time, and was a normal dumb college kid so the transition from liberal arts didn't go so well....
I ended up with a B- in BIO I, a D+ in BIO II, a C in CHEM I, and I withdrew from CHEM II.
I agree with MaxPrime that a few bad grades isn't bad BUT, a D+ is pretty hard to do for ANY class, even when working full time. These initial trends are not good. Science classes get harder as you move up the academic ladder, and you will encounter more competition as you take more "pre-med" classes such as organic chemistry. Regardless of what your background (liberal arts, or a science major), and regardless of personal hardships, you are still expected to do well, and/or show significant improvement post-hardships.
Solid foundations in fundamental sciences helps with the first year of med school as well as on the MCAT, therefore your performance here is a good way to gauge your ability in the years to come, not to mention play a significant role in getting you into med school.
I spoke with Georgetown, American, and a few other post bac programs who said I would still be eligible to apply. I have a handful of other random science/math courses that boost my math/scince gpa up to the required 3.0 mark, with an overall GPA of 3.4.
That is good, your GPA should keep you in the game. The only concern that med schools will have will be your ability to handle challenging science courses. If you prove that you can handle pre-med courses (B or better), under FULL-TIME courseloads, then it should be good.
My question is, can I recover from the D+ and C? How, when looking at my transcripts, will medical school calculate my GPA? I have heard they average the classes for repeats, so what, a D+ and an A = a B-?
MD schools consider ALL grades. Therefore if you got a D+ the first time, and retook a class 2 more times getting C and an A, then they would count the D+, C and A grades. Calculating the GPA is the same as usual. The retakes are considered as seperate classes. For your example, assuming each class was worth 5 units, a D+ would be worth 1.3 points, an A would be worth 4.0 points. Therefore the grade points for the D+ would be 5 x 1.3 = 6.5 and the A would be 5 x 4.0 = 20. Total units is 5 + 5 = 10, so the GPA for those two classes would be the sum of grade points divided by the total units ((6.5+20)/10) which is a 2.65 GPA. Essentially a C+. Pretty much for AMCAS:
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
..etc.
As you can see, retaking classes for MD schools provides limited yield. This is why it is recommended that you should only retake classes which are grades D or below. Additionally retaking classes doesn't say too much about your ability beyond that of requiring at least two tries to actually get a decent grade in a class. In med school, you rarely get a second chance. Therefore it behooves everyone to do well the first time, otherwise adcoms may believe you are at risk to not perform well during the first two years of med school, not to mention not pass USMLE Step I after your second year. For science majors, and those that have a good foundation in science courses, they recommend taking more advanced classes. For instance those that didn't do too well in general chemistry could seek to redeem themselves by taking physical chemistry (general chemistry combined with calculus). This is merely an example, and I wouldn't recommend that for you until you have a solid science background. Therefore a combination of retaking courses, taking intro courses, etc may be the best way for now. However in the long run, you may want to consider upper division classes such as biochemistry and genetics, which both require a solid, yet basic understanding of biology/organic chemistry/general chemistry.
I'd hate to have basically 2 classes I took half a decade ago ruin my dream, but at the same time I don't want to spend $35k on a post-bac program for not?
Half a decade ago is not a lot in terms of med school. You will find some non-trads having taken any classes for over a decade. Half a decade is merely the average amount of time it takes for an undergrad to finish their bachelors anyway. To put things into perspective, by the time I apply to med school, my pre-med classes would be a decade old.
You will need to do well in post-bacc, and acheive a 3.5 GPA or more in ALL these classes. You should focus on upper division science classes. More importantly, you should address the issue about doing well in science classes. Before diving deeper into completing your pre-reqs. Its great that one wants to go to med school, but one also have to be above average in performance too....above average meaning getting at least a B or better in coursework. Given the amount of time that has gone by since the last time you took your science classes, it may take more effort into doing well. I'm sure many non-trads can vouch for this, going back to school isn't neccessarily like remembering how to ride a bicycle. Heck, summer vacation can "dull the blade" too.
Therefore in conclusion, figure out why you got sub-par grades in lower division science courses. Next develop new ways to do well in future science courses (e.g., B+ or better grades). In terms of resources, it will always be a costly endeavor (time and money) change careers or rehabilitate GPA, so you will have to ask youself how much med school is worth to you. GOod luck!
