I have a 2.87 in biology(B.S)in 2004 and a 3.27 from an M.S. in CMB in 2008. What I want to know is from reading many of these threads that there is a mixed reaction in terms of retaking and not retaking courses. Given my gpa’s I am not debating at all if I should embark on a DIY. The question here is retaking courses. Either way I will embark on taking upper level undergrad courses this fall or winter.
In general I am looking to utilize my free tuition to embark on raising my gpa to a 3.0 and enrolling in an SMP(All of the above at Wayne State university)
Again I am looking for a definitive answer on this I value your input outside of calling schools for their opinion as well.
- In reply to:
Again I am looking for a definitive answer on this I value your input outside of calling schools for their opinion as well.
You're not going to find a definitive answer outside of calling med schools, and even that may not be definitive. Med schools may give you rather vague answers like "we PREFER that pre-req coursework be no more than x years old". Even if they state strict guidelines, those are usually even subject to change - for example, they may look the other way for someone with an outstanding MCAT score and who has worked in science recently with old pre-reqs. You will get different answers from med school to med school, and you may even get different answers from different people at a single med school.
In general, you will get opinions that if you have less than a C in any of the pre-reqs, you should retake them. If you had a C or above, that gets kind of fuzzy. Most people will recommend that you take some recent biology - if you plan on taking upper level biology, you may need to retake some basic level courses in order to be up to speed for the upper level courses.
There are a couple of other reasons to retake pre-reqs: 1. If you are thinking about applying to a DO school, they will take your highest grade when calculating your GPA. 2. MCAT prep. You need to be up to date on the pre-reqs in order to do well on the MCAT. Some people find that they can refresh their memory on their own, others find it's better for them to retake the courses.
Put yourself in the admissions committee position: What would convince you more of an applicant’s ability to handle medical school? Doing well in SMP coursework or doing well in remedial coursework?
What do you mean as far as “doing well in remedial coursework?”
Do you mean Ug couses?
Thanks for the responses!
I think he means retaking pre-reqs you’ve already taken as remedial.
If you plan to do a SMP no matter what, then that might mitigate the need to retake old pre-reqs unless you need to retake them in order to get up to speed so you do well in your SMP. I would still probably recommend retaking anything you got less than a C in, though.
I hear you on the Cs retake but I have talked to people that are against it. Luckily I have a series of Upper level undergrad courses that I can take to get my gpa to 3.0, that I have not taken before. It’s slim pickings for that though as I have job schedule constraints, though they supply free tuition. Retaking courses would open this up more. Secondly, alot of my courses are either at or approaching the ten year mark.
- Emergency! Said:
There are a couple of other reasons to retake pre-reqs: 1. If you are thinking about applying to a DO school, they will take your highest grade when calculating your GPA.
Clarification: the AACOMAS(DO) application uses the LAST grade for a retake in their GPA Calculation, not the best grade of the two.
Thanks, gonnif for the clarification on the AACOMAS grade calculation.
A clarification on my “C” course stance - I think if you got a D in them, you should retake. If you got a C it’s kind of plus/minus. If you feel you remember enough of it to do well in the upper level work and/or the on the MCAT, then I don’t think it’s necessary. If you could use the refresher on the material, then that leans more in favor of retaking.
Between being a TA in 06-08( intro bio lab) and teaching A and P for the last 1.5 yrs I don’t think I need that much of a refresher. It’s only been 3 yrs since i got my master’s.
So how are retaken courses counted on the AMACAS app?
AMCAS averages them - i.e. there is no significant advantage to retaking a course as opposed to taking a new course.
I may retake those pesky chem class. However I don’t want to be forever taking classes. Also is there a difference in say taking a lower level biochem(‘A’ grade) and an upper level? I want to take the upper level one. Actually alot of the new upper level classes I will be taking revolves around Bio chem(Proteins and Proteomics, Survey of Bio Chem) and Cell biology which is what I go my Master’s in.
- Emergency! Said:
AMCAS averages them - i.e. there is no significant advantage to retaking a course as opposed to taking a new course.
Looking at from a slightly different angle, I would say there is an advantage to retaking courses. Bear with me for a moment while I explain this.
Many nontrads with old "grade baggage" focus too much on overall GPA. The truth is, every additional course you take has a diminishing impact on GPA and this fact erodes the motivation, commitment and morale of students slowly building into full fledged FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). In short, making a big gain in your overall GPA is very difficult.
However, you can make a big impact in your post-bacc GPA and this does appear as a separate line-item in both AMCAS (MD) and AACOMAS (DO). If you view your work from this perspective, and emphasis in application on this, I think is a more "motivating" way look at this work
Right, that’s is what Im thinking that you treat the post bacc as a “separate degree”. So you are saying that retaking factors into this positively?
Trend line (strongly upward, one hopes) is important. It can help mitigate a poor overall gpa.
Cheers,
Judy
Ok so it sounds like retaking doesn’t matter as much as long as you do well, which is a given. Also I guess you also don’t want all of the post bacc classes you take to be retakes. You want more than half than what you take to be upper level science courses in bio chem and physics.
- jcolwell Said:
Trend line (strongly upward, one hopes) is important. It can help mitigate a poor overall gpa.
Cheers,
Judy
Cheers,
Judy
Hey Judy,
perhaps you can answer this
On AMCAS application GPA gets broken out into several categories including post-bacc and graduate. Is post-bacc GPA solely undergraduate-level courses taken after an applicant has received a BA/BS? If the applicant is in a “formal†post-bacc program, SMP, that grants masters degree, graduate certificate, or otherwise graduate level are those grades calculated solely in graduate GPA?
In other words, are the GPA categories calculated solely on the level of course work or do any of the above factors enter into it?
I for one, am taking a math class for the first time since I was 19 (I’m 32 now), and am having a blast! No lie! It’s fun!
- gonnif Said:
- jcolwell Said:
Trend line (strongly upward, one hopes) is important. It can help mitigate a poor overall gpa.
Cheers,
Judy
Cheers,
Judy
Hey Judy,
perhaps you can answer this
On AMCAS application GPA gets broken out into several categories including post-bacc and graduate. Is post-bacc GPA solely undergraduate-level courses taken after an applicant has received a BA/BS? If the applicant is in a “formal†post-bacc program, SMP, that grants masters degree, graduate certificate, or otherwise graduate level are those grades calculated solely in graduate GPA?
In other words, are the GPA categories calculated solely on the level of course work or do any of the above factors enter into it?
The AMCAS matrix has line items for frosh, soph, jr, sr., and p/b (formal or informal p/b courses, it doesn't matter) gpas (for sci, non-sci, and cumulative). [Gotta pull out an AMCAS application and look at it.] Those are all averaged into a Cumulative Undergraduate gpa (again, sci, non-sci, etc.)
If there is graduate work of any kind, that goes into a separate gpa. It is NOT then comingled with the ugrad gpa.
Cheers,
Judy
There is also a line for how hours were p/f Pass, p/f Fail, A/P. Those are for information, not for statistical manipulation by AMCAS.
Ok here is a doozy…
What if I take as a post bacc student here at wayne state a Bio class that is usually a graduate level course. This course(BIO 6000) is open to UC’s as an upper level UC course as well as an entry level grad course. Or does it matter?
LOL I’m not trying to be silly it is a burning question I have.
I had old (> 15 years) pre-reqs but did okay in most of them. When I talked to admissions people at UCSF and other UC’s they told me to retake all my prereqs because of their age alone. Unfortunately, I didn’t stop at just re-taking them, but decided to take other science courses as well but could do much more than B’s in those courses (you’d be surprised how often I just missed an A, but my school does not give out +/- grades). So my post-bacc GPA is not good.
Don’t let that happen to you.