Hello all,
I’m new here and hoping some people will offer advice on my situation. I’m a 32-year-old considering switching careers and getting an MD.
Here’s my question: I took some of the pre-med requirements in undergrad at an Ivy League school and did very well, so I’d really prefer not having to repeat them since the GPA there is fantastic. But the courses date from 1995 and 1996, so the grades are very old!
I’m a great standardized test-taker and I’m pretty confident I could review the material effectively on my own. The only requirements I haven’t taken are the second semester of chemistry and organic chemistry. I was thinking of taking that second semester in the spring and then doing both semesters of organic chemistry over the summer.
Any thoughts out there on this plan? If I do well on the MCAT are schools still going to hold it against me that my required course grades are so old?
Thanks in advance for any input!
Hi and welcome! I would check with the individual schools where you would like to apply for that answer. I believe a lot of med schools don’t care how old the prerequisite courses are so long as you did well in them. Someone correct me if I’m wrong??
tw4sw is correct that many schools do not have a specific timeline for when a student took courses. You will need to check with individual schools to know the specifics for admittance.
It sounds like you’re a solid student–that is awesome and will hopefully work out well for you as you continue the path. I would recommend that you strongly consider (if you haven’t already) how doing the o-chem sequence over one summer will work out for you. It is doable, but I know several people who tried this and got burned pretty badly by it.
Good luck!
The real issue is biology. While inorganic and organic chemistry (and physics) aren’t much different now than they were in 1996, biology has gone through generations of change since then. You’d be well advised to talk to an AdCom administrator at a few of the schools you’re considering before assuming that you’ll be OK. Some schools do state that credits must be less than X years old, with X often being 7-10 years; others don’t specify but old credits will be compared to the new credits of those competing with you for an acceptance. So I’d be cautious before assuming that you’ll be able to do a minimal amount of new coursework. Good luck!
Mary
this is a question that seems to come up a lot on this site. here’s my response to your question from a few weeks back
http://www.oldpremeds.org/fusionbb/showpost.php?po…