DIY Postbacc for letters of recommendation + GPA boost?

[mcatmochi]

Hello I am new here at SDN. Little about me, I am an URM with a 3.2 cGPA, and I have received my bachelor's. My sGPA is low and I went to a big state school and did not really form connections with my professors which I regret. I have not taken the MCAT yet but I am starting to prep as I hope to apply next cycle.

My current plan is to take a few classes from summer to spring to bump my GPA and get LORs. I was planning to retake all of the 6 pre-reqs I took during my bachelor's where I scored a C-/+ , but I am in a tight financial position where I cannot take all of them. Please give me some guidance on how I can approach my DIY post bacc plans, thank you!

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[Goro]

Hello I am new here at SDN. Little about me, I am an URM with a 3.2 cGPA, and I have received my bachelor's. My sGPA is low and I went to a big state school and did not really form connections with my professors which I regret. I have not taken the MCAT yet but I am starting to prep as I hope to apply next cycle.

My current plan is to take a few classes from summer to spring to bump my GPA and get LORs. I was planning to retake all of the 6 pre-reqs I took during my bachelor's where I scored a C-/+ , but I am in a tight financial position where I cannot take all of them. Please give me some guidance on how I can approach my DIY post bacc plans, thank you!

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

 

[karaya]

What are the 6 classes? General advice would be to retake a C-. But I could see retaking a C+ in ochem or biochem. Get your headspace right and perfect your study habits, because retakes must be A's.

 

[mcatmochi]

What are the 6 classes? General advice would be to retake a C-. But I could see retaking a C+ in ochem or biochem. Get your headspace right and perfect your study habits, because retakes must be A's.

The classes I got C- on were: Physics 2 and Micobiology
The classes I got C+ on were: Ochem 1, Biology 2, and Histology, Cell Biology

I was thinking of only retaking Physics 2 and taking science courses that mimic medical school courses like Developmental Biology etc. Please advise, thank you!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Generally you must retake all C-minuses since 75% if considered the threshold for passing for most graduate programs.

I would strongly consider retaking Histology and Cell Biology. What were your other upper-level biomedical science classes and their grades?

 

[mcatmochi]

Generally you must retake all C-minuses since 75% if considered the threshold for passing for most graduate programs.

I would strongly consider retaking Histology and Cell Biology. What were your other upper-level biomedical science classes and their grades

My other upper-level biomed science classes are good (B above). Do you recommend me retaking these classes at the same institution? Money is tight for me and was thinking about retaking them at a different institution.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My other upper-level biomed science classes are good (B above). Do you recommend me retaking these classes at the same institution? Money is tight for me and was thinking about retaking them at a different institution.

If you have already taken many recommended upper-level biology courses and only got B's, it's not worth retaking them; you don't get a GPA bump. Your best option is a Special Masters Program (SMP) where the courses are medical-school-level. They are generally more expensive, but if you do well (3.7+), you are in a much stronger position to argue you have the academic chops for medical school than what you have now. By going cheaper, you may be at best treading water in your trip to get into medical school.