How long grades valid for?

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stitchattack

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Hi,

I'm just curious how long your class grades are valid for? If you choose to continue to with grad school but did your pre-med course classes in undergrad, are those grades still going to be valid or do they expire?

Thanks.

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Yep, still valid. Of course you may want to show at least some recent coursework in related subjects. Your coursework never expires though.
 
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Thanks! Yea, I'm doing upper div science courses along with grad work in the mean time. Just don't really want to retake the core courses when I can be learning something new with the upper science courses.
 
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Thanks! Yea, I'm doing upper div science courses along with grad work in the mean time. Just don't really want to retake the core courses when I can be learning something new with the upper science courses.

Yeah, that's no problem at all. My core coursework was around 8 years old. Taking the MCAT is about proof enough that you still know your stuff.
 
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Stitchattack beachside is mistaken, it depends on the schools you are applying to. most have a 10 year cut off but some schools like Duke and UNC are earlier like 6-8 years
 
Stitchattack beachside is mistaken, it depends on the schools you are applying to. most have a 10 year cut off but some schools like Duke and UNC are earlier like 6-8 years

@Chimichica do you know where you can find out this information? I asked my adviser once and she doesn't know about grades expiring.
 
@Chimichica do you know where you can find out this information? I asked my adviser once and she doesn't know about grades expiring.
hey @stitchattack youhave to go to the admissions page of specific schools under their requirements. Not all schools have this specified but the unspoken general rule is if your pre-reqs are not greater than 10 years old.
 
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hey @stitchattack youhave to go to the admissions page of specific schools under their requirements. Not all schools have this specified but the unspoken general rule is if your pre-reqs are not greater than 10 years old. lol which is why I have to get in this app cycle. -_-

I'm in the same boat as you. I think I'll be good for the next app cycle too but if the courses do expire I'll probably just take the first set of bio and Chem while applying.
 
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Gonnif nailed it.

Varies by school and you can sometimes find it on their admissions pages. An SDN search for pre reqs expiring or something along those lines will probably bring up a few threads with specific schools listed.

More confusingly, it's also situation specific, so if did undergrad awhile back and a school considers your pre reqs expired, but you have a ton of recent bio and chem coursework in a grad program, they might let it slide. The catch is that you have to sort that out individually with each school....
 
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I guess when the time comes, I'll just have to double check with the schools I plan to apply to. Although my core classes were taken 8-9 yrs or so, I have continued to take classes after taking a gap year and continuing on with grad school. I'm guessing that schools leave that area open for discussion since it varies case by case if they don't have anything posted so I'll just have to call to check. Thanks everyone for all your input.
 
You should be fine. As an older non-trad, the majority of my pre-req courses are over 15 years old but I'll still be starting med school this fall. I have taken some of the other required courses in the past few years, along with higher level science courses, so this may have helped. But I would agree with @gonnif on not retaking basic level science courses. I was worried about the age of my classes as well, and was poised to retake some of them, but am very glad I saved the time and money by not doing so. If there was a substantial amount of time between undergrad and application, and you are concerned and have the resources, then I would recommend higher-level biology courses to show you can still survive the rigors of science courses. But since the time from undergrad would be relatively short (assuming 2-4 years), I don't think you have much to worry about.

The one recommendation I would give, though, is to apply broadly when you do. Only a handful of the schools I've researched actually have an explicit time limit of courses (Duke actually removed the limit for their MD program this year, though they kept it for the MSTP), but do suspect (as others on this thread have stated) that some may have an implicit bias against older courses. Unfortunately it may be difficult to tell which ones have this bias. Non-traditional friendly schools such Case, Miami, Dartmouth, etc... are more likely to accept older courses and so would try to include as many of them as you can afford.
 
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In other words, dont sweat it and go all neurotic over it. Rule 1: take a breath

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Dr. Gonnif, you are one of the soundest voices of reason for non-trads at SDN! :)
 
Thank you for the great advice everyone.
The only



Why I thank you, but I am not a physician; I just help them get educated

You certainly help ease my mind about grade expiration. :)
 
Stitchattack beachside is mistaken, it depends on the schools you are applying to. most have a 10 year cut off but some schools like Duke and UNC are earlier like 6-8 years

Does this work both ways? Meaning if your old coursework is no longer good enough to satisfy the requirements, then conversely if you got really bad grades the first time around, those also aren't considered?
 
Does this work both ways? Meaning if your old coursework is no longer good enough to satisfy the requirements, then conversely if you got really bad grades the first time around, those also aren't considered?

No. All courses you've ever taken are considered.
 
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