Another Retake Question

[Jcastlen]

This is a topic that has been discussed at length, but because I'm having trouble viewing this objectively, I thought I'd try to get help from someone with a better perspective. I received a C in my second semester of general chemistry. I've a chance to retake it over winter term, but I'll have to shell out about $1200 and drive two hours each day Mon.-Fri. for three weeks. I run my own business so it's not easy taking so much time away from the office. If it's what I need to do, then so be it, but I'd prefer using these three weeks to study for the GRE and prep for an organic chemistry class I've got in the spring.

I'll post prerequisite stats below, in case that helps. Any help at all would be appreciated.

 

Bio major, psych minor

cGPA: 3.5

sGPA: 3.6

 

English 1 & 2

Lect: A

 

Public Speaking

Lect: A

 

Psych

Lect: A

 

Dev Psych

Lect: A

 

Bio 1

Lect: B/Lab: A

 

Bio 2

Lect: A /Lab: B

 

Gen Chem 1

Lect: A/Lab: B

 

Gen Chem 2

Lect: C/Lab: B

 

Micro

Lect: A/Lab: A

 

A & P 1

Lect: A/Lab: A

 

Genetics

Lect: A/Lab: A

 

Mol. Genetics

Lect: A

 

HCE: 700 hrs volunteering with developmentally disabled, 6,200 hrs working as massage therapist (gray area), 200 hrs volunteering as an optometrist-tech in Jamaica

[dndandrea]

Pre-reqs need to be B or higher in order to be competitive. I only know of one school around my area that still accepts C for pre-reqs. I originally had a C in gen chem 1, gen bio 1, and gen bio 2. I retook all three of these and got As in all of them. I've been scoring a lot of interviews this cycle and have already been accepted to at least 1 school. I would not advise applying with a C in one of your pre-reqs.

[UGoLong]

Personally I think your grades look good. Getting an A in organic will likely overwhelm the C. 
 

Perfection in life is nice, but the cost can be very high. 

 

You might want to find some more hands-on HCE as well.

 

Good luck!

[Johnson2018pac]

I personally don't recommend spending too much time preparing for the GRE but other people may disagree. After I had taken it, it didn't seem like there was anything I could have done to really improve my score much based on the questions I had. You need to at least meet the minimum requirements that your school wants but I doubt they put much weight in it other than that.

 

I think if you can for sure get an A this time you should repeat it. A B would probably not warrant the sacrifice.

[UGoLong]

I echo the comment about studying for the GRE with a couple of thoughts:

 

1. The verbal part really is aptitude for analyzing what you read and also how big your vocabulary is. Spending some time reviewing the kinds of questions you'll get might be a good idea.

 

2. If it has been forever since you took math, they have (or used to have) a downloadable 60-something page book at GRE.com that reviews the math concepts being tested. It had been many years since I had math in college (and I'm an engineer by training) and I found it very helpful to go through the book and get reoriented.

 

Good luck.

[Jcastlen]

Thanks dndandrea, UGoLong, and radioman! It's great to receive some feedback on this. I haven't made a decision, yet, but I feel a lot less anxious about the choices in front of me. I'll scratch the plan to do any intensive GRE studying, but will definitely try to beef up on my verbal skills (and maybe my math, too). Again, I appreciate the words of advice!

[dndandrea]

Personally I think your grades look good. Getting an A in organic will likely overwhelm the C. 

 

Perfection in life is nice, but the cost can be very high. 

 

You might want to find some more hands-on HCE as well.

 

Good luck!

I didn't even consider that, but that's a excellent a point Barry. Also, you could always move onto organic chemistry and then come back and retake general chemistry later. I actually retook general chemistry 1 after I took general chemistry 2 (which I got an A in) and that made general chemistry 1 feel like a breeze. I'm sure you've done your research though and carefully examined which school require Cs or Bs or higher in pre-reqs in order to be considered as an applicant. If most of your local schools only require Cs then I don't think that C will harm you that much (assuming you get an A in organic chemistry). Good luck!