Nontraditional Student starting DIY post bac in Spring - Need help figuring out what courses I need to retake

[willywhompus]

Hi, I (24F) am returning to my university in Spring 2020 to begin a DIY post bacc for medical school. I graduated with my B.A. in Psychology in May 2019 (3.83 GPA) and am seeking advice for which courses I need to retake to apply and to be competitive. I've read that some schools do not accept science coursework after X number of years, and am curious whether this applies for both the lectures and the labs?

I started my first bachelors in 2013 and took the following "pre-med" courses (with grades received):

Core Curriculum:
CHM 2045 General Chemistry I A- 3 Fall 2013
CHM 2045L General Chem I Laboratory A 1 Fall 2013
MAC 2241 Life Sciences Calculus I C 3 Fall 2013

CHM 2046 General Chemistry II A 3 Spring 2014
CHM 2046L General Chem II Laboratory A 1 Spring 2014

BSC 2010 Bio I - Cellular Processes B 3 Fall 2014
BSC 2010L Biology I Cellular Proc Lab A 1 Fall 2014
PHY 2053L General Physics Laboratory I A 1 Fall 2014

Other/Electives:
HSC4537 Medical Terminology A 3 Fall 2014
PSY3204 Psych Statistics A 3 Fall 2016
SYP 3000 Social Psychology A 3 Spring 2015
HUN 2201 Nutrition A- 3 Spring 2014


I have two Withdrawals (W’s) from Physics Lecture (PHY2053) and OChem Lecture (CHM2210) in Fall 2013. At this point, I was dealing with health issues that negatively impacted my coursework, and in the following two semesters I ended up withdrawing with cause, resulting in 8 WC’s (because I submitted paperwork documenting my health issues at that time). When I returned to school I declared a Psychology major. Psychology had always been extremely interesting to me and it felt like a good back-up to premed, especially because at that time I had lost all hope that I would be able to pursue medicine (because of the withdrawals, health issues, etc.). I was still very caught up in achieving perfectionism in school and was killing myself over not having a 4.0, which was deteriorating my mental and physical health. I have since matured a lot (even done counseling to address my relationship with school/anxiety around failure), developed stronger study habits, and resolved my health issues. I have never been able to fully give up on my dream of pursuing medicine, and over the past few years, my self-confidence and understanding of the MD career path have developed tremendously, so I'd like to take a second shot.

I feel confident that I can complete the required premed coursework as a second-degree bachelor’s student, but I need help in deciding whether I should retake EVERYTHING for premed (starting with Bio 1 and Gen Chem 1)? Also, do I need to be going above the required coursework for med school and take higher-level science courses (genetics, A&P, epidemiology, etc.)? I am trying to balance the cost of both time and money, so I don’t want to do a lot of unnecessary work if I don’t have to. I still need to take one year of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Biochem, so by the time I finish those, my Gen Chem and Bio courses will be over 5 years old. In this case, should I retake all of the premed coursework? Do I also need to retake the labs?

I really appreciate any input you can provide in this regard; I look forward to reading your responses! Also, please let me know if there is any info I have left out that would help you better understand where I’m at 🙂

P.S. Will adcoms view the withdrawals (with and without cause) on my transcript as an automatic no, or can I explain the impact of this experience through my personal statement and in interviews? How will this experience be received, and is there any way for me to improve how I translate this information to an adcom?

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[penpenclown]

General rule of thumb is dont retake anything if you got a C or better.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Regarding withdrawals - they won’t be regarded favorably, but they aren’t an application killer. You’ll be given space on your applications and/or in the interview to discuss. You’ll just tell them that you had health problems necessitating th withdrawals that are now behind you.

Only a few schools set expiration dates on your science prerequisites. Purchase a subscription to the Medical School Admissions Requirements database (MSAR) and you’ll be able to see what the requirements are at your target/state MD programs.

You’re not in a terrible spot. Your current GPA is very competitive for MD programs. Do well in your remaining science prerequisites and you should be fine. It’s probably not necessary to take upper division science courses like A&P unless your target schools require it (and some do - check the MSAR)

Also, consider taking a stats class in the math department during your post bac. My “stats for psych majors” course didn’t fulfill the stats requirement at some of the medical schools I applied to.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I (24F) am returning to my university in Spring 2020 to begin a DIY post bacc for medical school. I graduated with my B.A. in Psychology in May 2019 (3.83 GPA) and am seeking advice for which courses I need to retake to apply and to be competitive. I've read that some schools do not accept science coursework after X number of years, and am curious whether this applies for both the lectures and the labs?

I started my first bachelors in 2013 and took the following "pre-med" courses (with grades received):

Core Curriculum:
CHM 2045 General Chemistry I A- 3 Fall 2013
CHM 2045L General Chem I Laboratory A 1 Fall 2013
MAC 2241 Life Sciences Calculus I C 3 Fall 2013

CHM 2046 General Chemistry II A 3 Spring 2014
CHM 2046L General Chem II Laboratory A 1 Spring 2014

BSC 2010 Bio I - Cellular Processes B 3 Fall 2014
BSC 2010L Biology I Cellular Proc Lab A 1 Fall 2014
PHY 2053L General Physics Laboratory I A 1 Fall 2014

Other/Electives:
HSC4537 Medical Terminology A 3 Fall 2014
PSY3204 Psych Statistics A 3 Fall 2016
SYP 3000 Social Psychology A 3 Spring 2015
HUN 2201 Nutrition A- 3 Spring 2014


I have two Withdrawals (W’s) from Physics Lecture (PHY2053) and OChem Lecture (CHM2210) in Fall 2013. At this point, I was dealing with health issues that negatively impacted my coursework, and in the following two semesters I ended up withdrawing with cause, resulting in 8 WC’s (because I submitted paperwork documenting my health issues at that time). When I returned to school I declared a Psychology major. Psychology had always been extremely interesting to me and it felt like a good back-up to premed, especially because at that time I had lost all hope that I would be able to pursue medicine (because of the withdrawals, health issues, etc.). I was still very caught up in achieving perfectionism in school and was killing myself over not having a 4.0, which was deteriorating my mental and physical health. I have since matured a lot (even done counseling to address my relationship with school/anxiety around failure), developed stronger study habits, and resolved my health issues. I have never been able to fully give up on my dream of pursuing medicine, and over the past few years, my self-confidence and understanding of the MD career path have developed tremendously, so I'd like to take a second shot.

I feel confident that I can complete the required premed coursework as a second-degree bachelor’s student, but I need help in deciding whether I should retake EVERYTHING for premed (starting with Bio 1 and Gen Chem 1)? Also, do I need to be going above the required coursework for med school and take higher-level science courses (genetics, A&P, epidemiology, etc.)? I am trying to balance the cost of both time and money, so I don’t want to do a lot of unnecessary work if I don’t have to. I still need to take one year of Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Biochem, so by the time I finish those, my Gen Chem and Bio courses will be over 5 years old. In this case, should I retake all of the premed coursework? Do I also need to retake the labs?

I really appreciate any input you can provide in this regard; I look forward to reading your responses! Also, please let me know if there is any info I have left out that would help you better understand where I’m at 🙂

P.S. Will adcoms view the withdrawals (with and without cause) on my transcript as an automatic no, or can I explain the impact of this experience through my personal statement and in interviews? How will this experience be received, and is there any way for me to improve how I translate this information to an adcom?

Retake any of the classes for which you feel you are too weak in for MCAT.