Hi,
I have a series of questions. I am about to transfer out of a two year college in California and have A's in the majority of classes including calculus and ohter sciences with the exceptions of a few b's. My problem is an online philosphy class I took one semester that I had to work too much, hence the online classes. I recieved an F in the class. So will that F in philosophy ruin my chances of getting into med school? Should I bother retaking it since it's not a premed requirement? Since it's and online coure and med schools typically do not accept online courses do I even have to report it to them?
If your grades are clearly excellent outside of the one course, you may be okay. You will definitely want to explain in your medical school application the reasons for your bad grade in the online philosophy course.
I'm not sure whether it is helpful to retake the course. If you have taken other similar courses and done well, you have demonstrated that you are capable of doing well in those courses. If the online college would completely replace your grade with the new grade, then it would definitely be worth it. My guess is they would leave your old grade on your transcript along with the new grade. This may or may not be helpful.
I would definitely not recommend leaving the grade off of your application, unless your college's pre-med advisor tells you otherwise.
This is definitely something you will want to discuss with your pre-med advisor. You'll want to make sure you explain this well on your application.