Hi,
I was wondering if someone can help shed some light for me on whether or not to re-take certain pre-requisities. I am starting my post-bacc program part-time starting January to start the path on towards Med school.
Back in '99 and 2000, I had taken the Biology 1, Physics 1, Physics 2, Chemistry 1, and Chemistry 2. I had received the following grades:
Biology 1: 3.0
Physics 1: 2.5
Physics 2: 3.5
Chemistry 1: 2.5
Chemistry 2: 1.5
I am for sure going to re-take both the Chemistry courses during the summer next year. However for the upcoming semester I was planning on re-taking the Bio1 and Physics 1 as well to hopefully receive improved grades (not the Physics 2).
My question is, should I really bother retaking the Biology 1 and Physics 1 courses and try to get a better grade, or would simply leave those as is and move on to Bio 2, Chem…, Organic Chem, etc.?? Would it make a big difference to show an improved grade while retaking those two courses to the adcoms??
Would appreciate some feedback. Thanks!!
From an older post:
"There are some on this site who advocate retaking premedical coursework you’ve already done well in after a certain time period has elapsed. There are others, like myself, who advocate not doing this because in addition to the unnecessary costs, it’s kind of assumed that you’ll get an easy “A†retaking remedial coursework. Regardless of whichever route you take, you should take upper-level premedical coursework (like biochemistry, neuroanatomy, molecular biology, etc.) that build upon lower-division premedical coursework. Achieving in these courses not only proves that you’ve mastered the lower-level premedical coursework, but also helps to prove that you can handle similar, graduate-level medical school coursework.
“Now, if you’re retaking classes to up your GPA that can be done by retaking classes: Osteopathic medical schools will replace your older grade in a class with the most recent grade, but allopathic medical schools will only average the recent grade in a class with your previous grade. Obviously, though, both types of medical schools will see you have retaken classes to up your GPA, so you will need supplement your retakes with some advanced-level premedical coursework to show your current academic prowess in handling new, biomedical courses. . . You might be able to take some medical school courses at a nearby medical school as non-degree seeking student (really ideal to prove your medical school ability) or your might want to consider enrolling in an advanced-level, premedical post-baccalaureate program that is designed to rehabilitate premedical GPAs through taking unique, but advanced-level premedical courses like neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, second semester biochemistry, etc.”
I probably wouldn’t retake the physics. You may want to retake the Bio 1 because of the age more than the grade. Many med schools will state that they prefer pre-reqs to not be more than 7 - 10 years old. They seem to let that slide a bit more on the math/physics requirements than on the chem/bio requirements. Also, biology is a rapidly evolving field. You want to maximize your ability to do well in future biology courses and retaking bio 1 may help you out in doing that. If you decide not to retake the Bio 1, I would take at least one upper level biology class.