Graduated from undergrad years ago, should I retake prerequisites to get into MD school?

[bugslife2012]

Hey everyone! So, I graduated from undergrad back in 2007, and then graduated from pharmacy school (UCSF) in 2011. After years of working, now, I finally realized how much I should have become a doctor. I know is cliche to say, but I finally realized that helping patients is the greatest job one can have and being surrounded in that kind of environment by other people like it is exciting and truly inspiring everyday. Being a doctor would be a dream job, something that I really never dream of in my younger days. So below are my stats and I was wondering what my chances are of getting into a MD medical school within the next 2 years.

1. Undergrad GPA of 3.9 (science and overall gpa about the same, above 3.9), chemistry major
2. UCSF pharmacy school GPA of about 3.5
3. Haven't taken MCAT yet
4. Obviously clinical hospital and retail(outpatient) experience (but from a pharmacy perspective)
5. 2 years of research experience and published (last author, but still published) from undergrad. But haven't really done any hard lab research since 2007 from undergraduate years.
6. 4 to 5 years of leadership and community service experiences. Ranging from coordinators for health clinics, outreach diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol programs. Trips to Mexican orphanages every month, etc. But haven't really done any of this since I graduated from UCSF pharm school back in 2011. Being busy with taking care of wife, kids, parents, mortgages, student loans.


I guess I have a couple of questions regarding my ability to get into medical school. Do I have to retake my science prerequisites again? I completed all of the science prerequisites back in 2005 during my freshman and sophomore years of college. Are there a lot of programs that will accept my classes from more than a decade ago? Should I just retake all of my chem, physics, biology classes again at a community college? Any other options? Also, regarding letters of recommendations, can I get some of it from my current employer? Kind of difficult to track down and ask my professors/research advisors from more than 10 to 15 years ago to write me a letter of recommendation. My current plan is to self study for MCAT (while working and raising a family full time) and take it some time in October or November of this year and then apply for medical school during the summer/fall of 2021.

What do you guys think? any advices would be appreciated.

thanks in advance to all any one that replies!!!

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[KnightDoc]

Hey everyone! So, I graduated from undergrad back in 2007, and then graduated from pharmacy school (UCSF) in 2011. After years of working, now, I finally realized how much I should have become a doctor. I know is cliche to say, but I finally realized that helping patients is the greatest job one can have and being surrounded in that kind of environment by other people like it is exciting and truly inspiring everyday. Being a doctor would be a dream job, something that I really never dream of in my younger days. So below are my stats and I was wondering what my chances are of getting into a MD medical school within the next 2 years.

1. Undergrad GPA of 3.9 (science and overall gpa about the same, above 3.9), chemistry major
2. UCSF pharmacy school GPA of about 3.5
3. Haven't taken MCAT yet
4. Obviously clinical hospital and retail(outpatient) experience (but from a pharmacy perspective)
5. 2 years of research experience and published (last author, but still published) from undergrad. But haven't really done any hard lab research since 2007 from undergraduate years.
6. 4 to 5 years of leadership and community service experiences. Ranging from coordinators for health clinics, outreach diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol programs. Trips to Mexican orphanages every month, etc. But haven't really done any of this since I graduated from UCSF pharm school back in 2011. Being busy with taking care of wife, kids, parents, mortgages, student loans.


I guess I have a couple of questions regarding my ability to get into medical school. Do I have to retake my science prerequisites again? I completed all of the science prerequisites back in 2005 during my freshman and sophomore years of college. Are there a lot of programs that will accept my classes from more than a decade ago? Should I just retake all of my chem, physics, biology classes again at a community college? Any other options? Also, regarding letters of recommendations, can I get some of it from my current employer? Kind of difficult to track down and ask my professors/research advisors from more than 10 to 15 years ago to write me a letter of recommendation. My current plan is to self study for MCAT (while working and raising a family full time) and take it some time in October or November of this year and then apply for medical school during the summer/fall of 2021.

What do you guys think? any advices would be appreciated.

thanks in advance to all any one that replies!!!

No, there are not a lot of programs that will accept classes from 15 years ago. Do a search on SDN and you will find a few discussions related to this.

The consensus seems to be 5 years, with some schools going as far as maybe 10, but I don't think any school will accept work from 2005 as evidence that you can handle the academic rigors of med school in 2022. Of course, when in doubt, call the schools you are interested in to find out for sure, but that is your general answer. Also, schools don't like prereqs from community colleges because they are deemed to be less rigorous, so, if you need to take them, you should probably plan on doing so on a non-degree basis at a 4 year college. Good luck!!!

 

[Tenk]

If you have a family and a good job, don’t do this. That’s my advice.

You’re looking at almost a decade or more of investment due to having to retake classes + MCAT + other bs (probably 2 years) + 4 years of school + 3 or more years of residency. That’s when you will have a job. You’ll be old, your family will wonder where you’ve been all this time and you will be far worse financially.

Not worth it.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Do I have to retake my science prerequisites again? I completed all of the science prerequisites back in 2005 during my freshman and sophomore years of college.
You're going to need to spend some time researching schools that you are interested in applying to to find out to what degree you should retake old prerequisites or take new classes to show that you can still perform at a high level academically. The good news is that your GPA is already high so you're starting from a strong position having had a history of strong academic performance

Are there a lot of programs that will accept my classes from more than a decade ago? Should I just retake all of my chem, physics, biology classes again at a community college? Any other options
It's hard to say if there are a lot of programs that will accept your classes because it depends on many things. Your state of residence will have a significant impact on where you end up applying as you may have many in state options or very few. You could opt to retake all courses or see if programs will accept some older courses. At minimum, I would recommend several semesters of part time coursework to demonstrate your abilities - whether this is with prerequisites or upper level classes will depend on what you find. If you decide to retake all courses, you can plan on at least 5 semesters of part time work. If you attend full-time it will depend on the structure of the program that you attend but it may be possible to complete it in 12 months. You can look into postbac programs for career changers. Some are called formal programs because they move a small cohort of students through a set track very quickly (1 year) but have a high cost of attendance (look at Goucher, Bryn Mawr, and Scripps as examples). Other routes are informal or DIY postbac programs where you simply take classes either as a degree/certificate student or a la carte at a local university, college, or extension program.

Also, regarding letters of recommendations, can I get some of it from my current employer? Kind of difficult to track down and ask my professors/research advisors from more than 10 to 15 years ago to write me a letter of recommendation.
You can get LORs from your current employer but you will also need faculty LORs. For this reason, it will be beneficial for your to take some classes. At the start of your semester go to each professor and be upfront about your goals and ask what you can do to earn a LOR from them.

My current plan is to self study for MCAT (while working and raising a family full time) and take it some time in October or November of this year and then apply for medical school during the summer/fall of 2021
MCAT dates run from January - September. There tends to be a few dates in January, none in February, and testing resumes in earnest in March. How COVID impacts the typical timeline remains to be seen. I would not take the MCAT until you have finished taking / are towards the end of your postbac classes since you want to be in the best position to do well. In addition to taking the MCAT, retaking prerequisites or taking new upper level bio courses, you are going to need to get more experience in a medical setting: shadowing, volunteering, etc. While being a nontrad, you will get cut a little slack, it would be unwise to apply without clinical experience and shadowing - some schools require a minimum of 50 hours of shadowing. TBH, your timeline of applying during summer of 2021 is overly optimistic and rushed. Summer of 2022 would be more reasonable.