old pre-med courses

[getmoving]

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Hi all,
I'm writing for some advice please. In the mid 1980's, I did a two year post-bacc pre med program. I completed all the pre-reqs, but eventually decided not to go to medical school.

Now in my early 50's, believe it or not, i am considering making good on what I had started 30 years ago and exploring medical school. This may be a completely absurd, and it probably is.

The question is, would any school accept my pre-med courses from so far back? If not, I likely will look at other options, because I don't think I want to go through another two years of pre-med courses at this stage in my life, even before starting a medical school curriculum.

My strong hunches are that no school will accept grades that are that old. Thanks for the feedback. Good luck to all!

 

[freakingoutabit]

Here's a thread on this topic: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-540876.html

Would you be unwilling to take any additional science classes? Even if you don't retake pre-reqs, I think taking several upper level courses to prove that you've retained some of that knowledge would be very wise.

If it were me, I would retake the pre-reqs. This process is competitive enough as it is, and having 30 year old pre-reqs strikes me as an unnecessary disadvantage. You wouldn't need to be finished with them before you apply, but I would try to be at least halfway through them.

 

[Goro]

Honestly, If I saw your packet, whether you were 35, 45 or 55, I'd still wonder if you'd be able to handle a medical school curriculum if your academic data were 30 years old. More recent coursework would convince me. My all-time oldest student was 53, BTW....I think he's an FP in MI now....at about 63ish, so age itself is not a problem.

Hi all,
I'm writing for some advice please. In the mid 1980's, I did a two year post-bacc pre med program. I completed all the pre-reqs, but eventually decided not to go to medical school.

Now in my early 50's, believe it or not, i am considering making good on what I had started 30 years ago and exploring medical school. This may be a completely absurd, and it probably is.

The question is, would any school accept my pre-med courses from so far back? If not, I likely will look at other options, because I don't think I want to go through another two years of pre-med courses at this stage in my life, even before starting a medical school curriculum.

My strong hunches are that no school will accept grades that are that old. Thanks for the feedback. Good luck to all!

 

[getmoving]

Thanks very much for the feedback. Very helpful and appreciated!

 

[Legally Insane]

I used my 30 year old calculus class for my application for a number of reasons -- the subject matter is stagnant, it is not that relevant to med school, and I sure as hell never wanted to go through it again. I retook biology, however, because much had changed in the fileld and I felt that the subject was too important to rely on vague memories. Best of luck to you in your quest.

 

[Darth Doc]

Any thoughts on 15 year old classes? My MCAT is looking like it will be 30ish (taking it Saturday). I finished undergrad in 1996 and earned a masters as a physician assistant in 1998. I've been working full-time and my bio is good. I'm applying this year because I honestly feel I'm ready and prepared for medical school.

If I don't get in this year, what classes would you all recommend I retake since I have a BS in Bio and have a good GPA (my weaknesses were all B's in chem classes) to prove I can still learn in a classroom and not just on my own - something we do constantly in the health care field.

 

[Shjanzey]

I used my 30 year old calculus class for my application for a number of reasons -- the subject matter is stagnant, it is not that relevant to med school, and I sure as hell never wanted to go through it again. I retook biology, however, because much had changed in the fileld and I felt that the subject was too important to rely on vague memories. Best of luck to you in your quest.

Does that mean you are 50+? Impressive.

By the way, if you take regular old Business Calc then you can sleep through it. I still have nightmares about Engineering Calc II.

 

[Patassa]

I still have nightmares about Engineering Calc II.

Same here...but I assumed that came from having had to take it twice.

 

[MedPhys2MD]

If your premed classes are old, how many credits of recent coursework do you think are appropriate? 9, 15 or do you think more along the lines of a whole year's worth of classes (ie 30 credits)

 

[silleme]

If your premed classes are old, how many credits of recent coursework do you think are appropriate? 9, 15 or do you think more along the lines of a whole year's worth of classes (ie 30 credits)

I've seen people re-take one semester of upper level courses to show a strong grasp of information in the subjects. I know some schools have a cutoff which applies to pre-req courses, so make sure you're not applying to one of those.

 

[umcig]

I've seen people re-take one semester of upper level courses to show a strong grasp of information in the subjects. I know some schools have a cutoff which applies to pre-req courses, so make sure you're not applying to one of those.

Good advice.

My prereqs were 10-15 years old. I realize that's not 30 years like the OP, but it's similar. Here's what I did.

August - reviewed general bio and general chem on my own.
Sept-Dec - took 2 upper-level bio courses (Genetics and Cell Bio).
Dec/Jan - - reviewed organic chem and physics on my own over the Winter Break.
Jan - Apr - took 1 more upper-level bio course and studied for the MCAT
Apr - took the MCAT
June - applied to medical school

 

[Docbound]

Hi all,
I'm writing for some advice please. In the mid 1980's, I did a two year post-bacc pre med program. I completed all the pre-reqs, but eventually decided not to go to medical school.

Now in my early 50's, believe it or not, i am considering making good on what I had started 30 years ago and exploring medical school. This may be a completely absurd, and it probably is.

The question is, would any school accept my pre-med courses from so far back? If not, I likely will look at other options, because I don't think I want to go through another two years of pre-med courses at this stage in my life, even before starting a medical school curriculum.

My strong hunches are that no school will accept grades that are that old. Thanks for the feedback. Good luck to all!

I think it's more that med schools would wonder how you've updated your knowledge of your old pre-reqs. Your situation is exactly the one I'm in now. I'd advise re-taking the biology sequence; as others have said, this material changes very quickly with new discoveries/science. I have a B.S. in biology, and completed A&P and am still going to take the biology series. I will also re-take physics, as that is my weakest subject. This is in preparation for the MCAT.

And, you are NOT absurd. I'm in my mid-50s, and I'm doing it!

 

[AnnaRH]

My oldest course is Chem I taken in 2005, should I retake it for my med-school app now? Thanks!