Retaking Orgo 1?

[Zdawg1303]

I got a C+ in Orgo 1 in the Fall 2021 semester because of various family issues. I got an A in Orgo 2 in the Spring 2022 semester after the family issues resolved itself and I figured out how to study Orgo.

I can retake Orgo 1 in Fall 2023 semester and I'm certain I would get an A. It's my only bad grade. I have mostly A's and a few B's and B+'s, total GPA right now wrapping up my sophomore year is a 3.72, and the final gpa after four years can possibly be 3.86 with all A's. If I get an A in Orgo 1 after the retake, I can get it up to 3.92 after four years. I know the policy about averaging, but in my institutional gpa it would replace it.

No, I won't be taking any more upper level sciences. I am trying to graduate early.

I'm looking at T20 schools which are a long shot for anyone but I want to give myself the best chance possible.

Some other stats about me...

Research
Basic Science: 650 hours (4 posters)

Advocacy/Non-clinical volunteering at national level
800 hours

Clinical
50 hours: emergency department volunteering
No shadowing yet

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

It wouldn’t replace it for the amcas gpa anyway so it doesn’t matter.

Retaking a c+ would look worse than the c+. Just move on and try to get no lower than a B for the remainder

 

[ujsc]

Unless you don't have room in your schedule, I don't see the harm in retaking it, especially since you have mastered the subject. To get considered for T20 schools and above, you will need a great MCAT. Ideally you want a 518 or higher, preferably 520's, to be truly competitive. Best wishes.

 

[KnightDoc]

Unless you don't have room in your schedule, I don't see the harm in retaking it, especially since you have mastered the subject. To get considered for T20 schools and above, you will need a great MCAT. Ideally you want a 518 or higher, preferably 520's, to be truly competitive. Best wishes.

The harm is that an A is expected on a retake, so an A doesn't help while anything else hurts. In addition, OP doesn't understand that they will not benefit from grade replacement in AMCAS like they will at their school, and that med schools will never even see the GPA the UG calculates.

As a result, retakes are all downside with no upside. And THIS is why they are not recommended unless you have less than a C and they are required.

 

[candbgirl]

Spend the time you’d be in class/studying doing some shadowing and getting clinical experiences. Depending on what you actually did, you might have enough Advocacy/nonclinical volunteering. Your C+ will not be replaced by AMCAS.

 

[ujsc]

The harm is that an A is expected on a retake, so an A doesn't help while anything else hurts. In addition, OP doesn't understand that they will not benefit from grade replacement in AMCAS like they will at their school, and that med schools will never even see the GPA the UG calculates.

As a result, retakes are all downside with no upside. And THIS is why they are not recommended unless you have less than a C and they are required.

My rationale is that he aced orgo 2 which maintains much of orgo 1 concepts and reactions. In fact orgo 2 is much harder than orgo 1. Thus, he already has A command of this course so the risk is minimal at best he doesn't get an A if his other courses aren't compromised as well as well as completing his objective. Of course, AMCAS won't replace the grade, but if he has a subsequent interview he can state he aced it in a retake if it comes up as an issue.

Again, it comes down to whether the effort doing so wont compromise anything else on his app. If so, it won't be worth it. Only the OP can make that judgement.

 

[KnightDoc]

My rationale is that he aced orgo 2 which maintains much of orgo 1 concepts and reactions. In fact orgo 2 is much harder than orgo 1. Thus, he already has A command of this course so the risk is minimal at best he doesn't get an A if his other courses aren't compromised as well as well as completing his objective. Of course, AMCAS won't replace the grade, but if he has a subsequent interview he can state he aced it in a retake if it comes up as an issue.

Again, it comes down to whether the effort doing so wont compromise anything else on his app. If so, it won't be worth it. Only the OP can make that judgement.

I understand your rationale, and it is sound. My point is simply that it won't help, because the A is going to be expected, especially in light of all of your reasons above. Therefore, a retake is all risk (in case something goes wrong) with no reward, since there is no grade replacement. If an interviewer cares, they are still going to ask about the first Orgo 1 grade. If not, the Orgo 2 grade is already there, without an Orgo 1 retake, so telling an interviewer they aced a retake is going to impress no one.

You are correct that the risk of anything other than an A on a retake is low. But, it is still there, and there honestly is no reward for getting the A, since it's expected on any retake, let alone one where you receive an A in a subsequent class that builds on the first one.

 

[GoSpursGo]

in my institutional gpa it would replace it.

Just to echo what everyone else is saying, it will not work this way in AMCAS.

Best case scenario, you get the A that you would be expected to get and nobody is surprised or impressed. Worst case scenario, someone reviewing your app gets annoyed and thinks you're trying to inflate your GPA by taking courses that you obviously should do well in. Bottom line, your GPA is very good already, retaking the course will not make the C+ go away, and there is a small chance that it could actually hurt you with some reviewers. Furthermore, it would take you several hundreds of hours to repeat the course. That is time that you could better allocate to studying to the MCAT and maximizing your yield there.