AMCAS Grade Forgiveness: Why Your Re-Taken Classes Still Hurt You

The Organic Chemistry Nightmare

Organic Chemistry I is the ultimate filter for Pre-Med students.

You took it your sophomore year and got a 'D'. Devastated, you utilized your university's "Freshman/Sophomore Forgiveness Policy." You retook the class over the summer, earned a hard-fought 'A', and the registrar permanently deleted the 'D' from your official GPA.

You are sitting on a 3.7 University GPA.

You submit your application to AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service). Two weeks later, the AMCAS verification team finishes processing your transcripts, and your GPA drops to a 3.4.

The AMCAS Averaging Rule

The national medical school application system does not care about your university's internal rules.

If a grade appears on your official transcript—even if it has a giant asterisk next to it saying "Forgiven"—AMCAS will count it.

They will take your original 4-credit 'D' (1.0) and your new 4-credit 'A' (4.0). They will add all 8 credits to your "Total Attempted Credits" denominator, and mathematically average the grades together.

For the purposes of medical school admissions, your final grade for Organic Chemistry is effectively a 'C+' (2.5).

The DO Loophole (Closed in 2017)

Years ago, Pre-Meds had a massive safety net. The Osteopathic (DO) medical school application system, AACOMAS, used to honor grade replacement. If you failed a class and retook it, they only counted the new grade.

However, in May 2017, AACOMAS changed their policy to match AMCAS. Today, both MD and DO systems average all attempts. The safety net is permanently gone.

The Retake Strategy

If you get a 'C' in a class, do not retake it. Averaging a 'C' and an 'A' yields a 'B', but it artificially inflates your credit hours, making it mathematically harder to raise your GPA in the future.

Only retake a class if you received a 'C-' or lower (which fails the minimum prerequisite cutoff for medical schools). Otherwise, accept the bad grade and take new, upper-level science electives to dilute the damage.