old prereqs??

[mommy2three]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

it has been 6-7 yrs since i took gchem, 7 since i took second semester intro bio and over 10 since i took 1st semester intro bio. i have taken more advanced bio coursework since then. as i am going down this road all of a sudden it occured to me that this may be a problem.
will it vary by school as to what they accept for the prereqs and what they will find me deficient in or is there a semi-universal standard across the board?

 

[mshheaddoc]

varies school by school I believe. From what I've heard most schools don't have a "time frame" for expiration of pre-reqs! 😀

 

[QofQuimica]

it has been 6-7 yrs since i took gchem, 7 since i took second semester intro bio and over 10 since i took 1st semester intro bio. i have taken more advanced bio coursework since then. as i am going down this road all of a sudden it occured to me that this may be a problem.
will it vary by school as to what they accept for the prereqs and what they will find me deficient in or is there a semi-universal standard across the board?

Yes, it will vary. Many schools will want you to have some recent coursework, but it doesn't necessarily have to be UG level. In my case, I didn't have to do a post bac because I was a grad student and I had outstanding MCAT scores. I suggest that you call every school you plan to apply to, explain your situation to them, and ask for their advice. It's a PITA to do this, but a few hours of calls now could save you a lot of time and money later. Best of to you. 🙂

 

[AT12]

Unfortunately, some schools do have expiration of prereqs! Yes, you MUST contact the schools you are interested in to find out how long prereqs are good for.......one student accepted to dental school (Loma Linda) was told his acceptance was taken back months later bc his prereqs were old. Do a search on the predental board for this info.

 

[lexrageorge]

Unfortunately, some schools do have expiration of prereqs! Yes, you MUST contact the schools you are interested in to find out how long prereqs are good for.......one student accepted to dental school (Loma Linda) was told his acceptance was taken back months later bc his prereqs were old. Do a search on the predental board for this info.

This example may not be representative, in that it sounds more like rank incompetence (or worse) of the admissions staff at Loma Linda. Hey, the school has the transcripts prior to offering admissions, so it's not like they did not know.

Even if schools have a limit, there may be some flexibility depending upon your circumstances. An engineer may get some relief on calculus or physics, for example (I actually saw a similar statement on one web site a while back).

However, I would be concerned about how this would impact MCAT performance. You should at the very least take some practice MCAT questions to ensure that you will not stumble on some key concepts that you may have forgotten.

 

[Scottish Chap]

it has been 6-7 yrs since i took gchem, 7 since i took second semester intro bio and over 10 since i took 1st semester intro bio. i have taken more advanced bio coursework since then. as i am going down this road all of a sudden it occured to me that this may be a problem.
will it vary by school as to what they accept for the prereqs and what they will find me deficient in or is there a semi-universal standard across the board?

It varies. My undergraduate prereq's were 10 years old and nobody cared. My graduate classes were 5 years old and nobody cared.