I got my BS in Biology in December 1996. My undergrad GPA was 3.2. Do I need to re-take bio and chem classes since they are ten years old?
Would I be a competitive applicant with a GPA of 3.2 undergrad and an MBA grad degree (1999) with a 3.6? I didn’t study a minute for the MCAT and my score reflects that with a 20. Would re-taking the MCAT be enough to get in?
I am experienced in healthcare with a background as a Respiratory Therapist. Would that help or hurt? I am also a Certified Public Accountant. I can’t imagine the questions I would get in an interview!
Thanks
Many if not most medical schools want your prereqs to be newer than 7 years, so you probably will need to retake them. However, you might want to call or check the websites of the schools you are interested in and find out directly from them.
Your grades sound pretty good; if you look on the aamc.org site under “medical schools” you will find lots of statistics on who got into medical schools; mean grades and MCAT scores are listed. 3.2 is OK, a bit below the mean, but you might be able to raise that if you retake the prereqs.
MCAT 20 is well below the mean and it would be a good idea to raise that to high 20s if not low 30s. Don’t take it again until you have prepared really well and can raise that score significantly. Medical schools don’t like to see people take the MCAT too many times, so you need to make sure your second shot is your best shot. There’s at least one respiratory therapist around here who’s hit a home run–for example, oldmandave who is now a 3rd year anaesthesiology resident.
Good luck!
I’d say at the very least retake the biology and/or supplement it with new biology. Biology, in particular, has changed quite a bit in the last decade. And certainly study for the MCAT, probably retaking at least gen chem or ochem or whatever you’re weak in, so you can blow it away. 3.2 is a bit low, and a 20 is VERY low, and it would be good to pull up one or the other or both.
It’s very tempting as an older pre-med to want to jump in and apply and get going, but you have to fix yourself up into the best applicant you can be. The motto is, “fix it first!” Don’t rush. Get it right.
And welcome aboard! 
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I got my BS in Biology in December 1996. My undergrad GPA was 3.2. Do I need to re-take bio and chem classes since they are ten years old?
Probably. As others have said, schools have time limits and you’ll need to find out specific requirements from various schools.
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Would I be a competitive applicant with a GPA of 3.2 undergrad and an MBA grad degree (1999) with a 3.6?
You don’t say whether the 3.2 GPA is overall or BCPM (bio-chem-physics-math) and med schools will make a distinction. 3.2 is a little on the low side - but given that you’re probably going to have to take some new science classes, and of course retake the MCAT, it may be OK. Well, look at it this way, those old grades are what they are - it’s what you do from here on out that can make the difference, and you’ll definitely need to do well.
The 3.6 in a non-science graduate program won’t count for anything plus or minus. It’s really a non-issue.
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I didn’t study a minute for the MCAT and my score reflects that with a 20. Would re-taking the MCAT be enough to get in?
Given that your original GPA is only so-so, you will have to re-take the MCAT and DO WELL. You will read about people spending months of prep time studying for this thing.
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I am experienced in healthcare with a background as a Respiratory Therapist. Would that help or hurt? I am also a Certified Public Accountant. I can’t imagine the questions I would get in an interview!
Among the questions you’ll get will be: why are you changing? why not keep doing what you’re doing? What alternatives have you considered besides physician? What will you do if you don’t get in? (I really hate that question but lots of people get it.) You need to show that you’ve given serious thought to this career change and are committed to it - med schools don’t want people who are having trouble making up their mind about a career.
I don’t want to come off as discouraging. You absolutely can do this. It’s going to take pretty significant time and effort, and some $$ for classes, but you can do it. Good luck!
Mary
Thanks all!
My science GPA was a 3.6. I also won an award in Organic Chem from a professor at Vanderbilt.
To be very honest check with a small list of schools cause you are 10 years out with the classes and 7 is what I have heard.
Good Luck.
Do you have any more recent science coursework? If you do, and you also do well on the MCAT, you may not have to re-take your courses. Either way, I would call some schools that you think you might apply to, explain your situation to them, and ask their advice.
Edit: I just went back, re-read your post, and saw that you had taken the MCAT once already. In that case and assuming you don’t have any more recent coursework, my advice is to re-take the pre-req classes and then re-take the MCAT in another year or two when you’re properly prepared. If you have strong recent coursework and a strong more recent MCAT, that will help undo the damage from taking the MCAT without preparing for it.