[deleted]

[chicandtoughness]

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[deleted972488]

May I ask which schools require prereqs be that recent? My prereqs were much older than 5 years and it didn’t seem to be a problem for my application cycle.

 

[deleted972488]

I don’t think that’s accurate regarding Perelman. I would consider reaching out to the other schools and explaining your situation.

 

[Goro]

So there are several schools I'm applying to which require prereqs to be done within the past 5 years.

I've done Chem 2, Orgo 1, Orgo 2, Biochem, Physics 2, and Bio 2 within the past 5 years. Great.

However, I did Chem 1, Bio 1, and Physics 1 more than 5 years ago (8 years ago, actually).

Do I need to retake Chem 1, Bio 1, and Physics 1? My postbac school technically has them as transfer credits already and won't let me repeat the courses. Should I find another institution to take the classes at? It seems so redundant since clearly I wouldn't have been successful in Chem 2 and Orgo if I didn't take Chem 1, but alas...

I suspect that if the schools have finite expiration dates on pre-reqs, then either apply to schools that don't have them, or retake them.

You're in a marathon now, not a sprint. Your goal is to get into med school, not into med school quickly.

 

[Goro]

While I respect that mentality, my main barrier is not time - it's money. I'm tapped out of savings and loans and cannot get more. My current career will not experience upward salary trends within the next 3-4 years. I'm considered low SES. I'd much rather not retake courses if it means I might not be able to pay rent.

Again, marathon, not sprint. You can either target schools where there are no expiration dates, or work a few years, save up some money, and then take classes.

Have you taken the MCAT yet? If so, that's an impetus towards applying now.

 

[hamiltonnyc]

Can you please cite these sources? Like someone else said, perelman doesn't seem to have this--also because they're competency based. I tried searching for a few of them like Columbia and yale and could not find them.

Sure:

• Perelman - 3 years
• Sidney Kimmel - 5 years
• Albert Einstein - 5 years
• UMass - 6 years

And then a few with 10 year statute, which only applies to my calculus classes which I completed in 2009...

• BU - 10 years
• Columbia - 10 years
• Seton Hall - 10 years
• Brown - 10 years
• Yale - 10 years
• Cornell - 10 years, 5 years for bio

EDIT: For example Eligibility | Alpert Medical School Admissions
Applicants must have completed the majority of the premedical course requirements within the previous ten years.

 

[Cornfed101]

You don’t have another math class in the last 10 years? If you do I would just apply more broadly. I took gen chem over 10 years ago and it hasn’t made a difference for my cycle. There are plenty of schools that don’t have a limit on the oldest coursework, but want to see some recent coursework (which you have)

 

[hamiltonnyc]

You don’t have another math class in the last 10 years? If you do I would just apply more broadly. I took gen chem over 10 years ago and it hasn’t made a difference for my cycle. There are plenty of schools that don’t have a limit on the oldest coursework, but want to see some recent coursework (which you have)

Yeah I guess it's harder for students who are targeting a specific region which looks like OP is doing. Did you get any success with schools that explicitly expire prereqs?

 

[Cornfed101]

Yeah I guess it's harder for students who are targeting a specific region which looks like OP is doing. Did you get any success with schools that explicitly expire prereqs?

I did not apply to any of the same schools, and I don't remember any hard requirements like this. If I recall there were soft requirements, but nothing that ever came up in interviews. Unfortunately, I think OPs options are to retake the old classes or be willing to widen the region.

 

[hamiltonnyc]

I did not apply to any of the same schools, and I don't remember any hard requirements like this. If I recall there were soft requirements, but nothing that ever came up in interviews. Unfortunately, I think OPs options are to retake the old classes or be willing to widen the region.

Yeah I figured some schools might only state that but evaluate on a case by case basis. I took physics over 10 years ago and it surprises me that a school would deny admissions over that. I guess I don't really understand the rationale. So schools want recent coursework to evaluate current competency, and I get that. But at the same time they'll look back far into the past to consider all coursework? I guess non-beggars can be choosy.

 

[Cornfed101]

I think I'll just eliminate schools where there are statutes, because let's be real... with my grades I'm prob not getting into Perelman anyways haha.

Check on the med school websites too before you throw in the towel. I would also recommend just emailing/calling the schools you are still interested in (on your list) to see if you have another class that would qualify.

 

[PodPeople]

I definitely agree with others who've suggested contacting schools directly. Every single one of my prereqs is MUCH older than 5 years (they range from 12-18 years old), and I was very discouraged by what I read on MSAR. MSAR descriptions can be wildly inaccurate. I emailed 27 schools with my specific details, and was told I'm fine to apply to 20 of them. Based on MSAR descriptions alone, that number was more like 10. There are a lot of schools that said it's fine as long as I take one or two upper-level science courses to show recent academic performance.

As just one example - Perelman's 3-year expiration is a suggestion, not a rule. Quoting directly from their response to my email: "coursework for our purposes does not have a finite expiration date, we just recommend recent coursework to demonstrate competency to the Committee."

Anyone who's a nontraditional has to do extra legwork to get accurate answers to questions like this - it's just part of the nontrad journey. Don't give up on a school until you've talked with them directly. Good luck!

 

[hamiltonnyc]

I definitely agree with others who've suggested contacting schools directly. Every single one of my prereqs is MUCH older than 5 years (they range from 12-18 years old), and I was very discouraged by what I read on MSAR. MSAR descriptions can be wildly inaccurate. I emailed 27 schools with my specific details, and was told I'm fine to apply to 20 of them. Based on MSAR descriptions alone, that number was more like 10. There are a lot of schools that said it's fine as long as I take one or two upper-level science courses to show recent academic performance.

As just one example - Perelman's 3-year expiration is a suggestion, not a rule. Quoting directly from their response to my email: "coursework for our purposes does not have a finite expiration date, we just recommend recent coursework to demonstrate competency to the Committee."

Anyone who's a nontraditional has to do extra legwork to get accurate answers to questions like this - it's just part of the nontrad journey. Don't give up on a school until you've talked with them directly. Good luck!

Can you start a thread on your findings? (Or if no one else will find it useful, just PM me hehe) This would be very helpful, I called some of them as well and can add to that.