Pre-Reqs Expiration Dates for Medical Schools

[MCAT2014Study]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi everyone,

I am 30 years old and I have taken all the pre-reqs when I was in college about 11-12 years ago. I have called up several schools (about 15 schools in NY and CA) and most of them told me that the pre-reqs will not expire. I didn't call up all the medical schools in the US but I would like to know if that is true from your knowledge as well.

My plan is to self study the MCAT for a few months and take the MCAT and apply, I don't have the money and the time to retake all the pre-reqs all over again. So I am just curious if you know this to be true as well (that most schools pre-reqs don't expire) and that whether it would be put at a serious disadvantage of I don't retake all the courses.

Thank you everyone!

 

[mspeedwagon]

There are a few schools that I can think of that won't accept 11-12 year old pre-reqs (UMass and PCOM come to mind). I'm sure there are many that will.

Regardless, I would make sure you have 2 to 3 strong recent courses (As) shortly before you apply. You want to show that you still have it. A strong MCAT along, with 11-12 year old classes won't get you very far.

You don't need to re-take ALL classes for most places. Definitely not for most of the New York schools anyway (I'm mostly looking in NY myself and am familiar with NY, MA and CA schools... don't quote me on any other region). Granted, I have looked at AT Still, LMU DCOM and a few other DO schools outside of the schools in NY and CA so do know a little more about those specific schools.

 

[Quizlet04]

From what I recall, English and math classes don't expire. However, there have been changes in organic chemistry and biology in the last decade. It may be a good idea to refresh those courses.

 

[MakesSense]

Hi everyone,

I am 30 years old and I have taken all the pre-reqs when I was in college about 11-12 years ago. I have called up several schools (about 15 schools in NY and CA) and most of them told me that the pre-reqs will not expire

At the time of my application cycle, my pre-reqs were over 20 years old!! So I would say that the information is correct. But I did do a self directed Post Bac before & during my application cycle.

 

[PinknGreenMD]

Hi everyone,

..... My plan is to self study the MCAT for a few months and take the MCAT and apply, I don't have the money and the time to retake all the pre-reqs all over again. So I am just curious if you know this to be true as well (that most schools pre-reqs don't expire) and that whether it would be put at a serious disadvantage of I don't retake all the courses.

Thank you everyone!

Yea, I would NOT retake all those classes again, unless you got like a D or something in one of them. But anything higher than that I wouldn't retake. If you just want to PROOVE to them you "still got it" per se, I would take maybe 1 or 2 UPPER level science courses you never took or never had to take .. examples can be something like Microbiology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics or an UPPER level Math course like Calculus 2 or Probability and Statistics. Also I would take them at a 4 year college not a community college. But that is totally optional. If you don't have the money, then don't worry about it, as long as you got the grades, shadowing, volunteer work and the Mcat score, just apply.

 

[hizziaips]

Hi everyone,

I am 30 years old and I have taken all the pre-reqs when I was in college about 11-12 years ago. I have called up several schools (about 15 schools in NY and CA) and most of them told me that the pre-reqs will not expire. I didn't call up all the medical schools in the US but I would like to know if that is true from your knowledge as well.

My plan is to self study the MCAT for a few months and take the MCAT and apply, I don't have the money and the time to retake all the pre-reqs all over again. So I am just curious if you know this to be true as well (that most schools pre-reqs don't expire) and that whether it would be put at a serious disadvantage of I don't retake all the courses.

Thank you everyone!

I applied last year with a couple of prereqs that were >10 years old. During my searches and inquiries, the only issues I encountered were with Maryland (wants all coursework to be <10 years old) and Jefferson (has a firm expiration date of 5 years, no exceptions). However, like you, I had no trouble finding 15 schools where coursework would not expire.

I will, however, echo what others have said: Many ADCOMs will want to see some recent science coursework. For that reason, it might be a good idea to take a couple of bio courses on the side.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I applied last year with a couple of prereqs that were >10 years old. During my searches and inquiries, the only issues I encountered were with Maryland (wants all coursework to be <10 years old) and Jefferson (has a firm expiration date of 5 years, no exceptions). However, like you, I had no trouble finding 15 schools where coursework would not expire.

Are you generally contacting each school to get this information or is this listed on websites somewhere?

 

[hizziaips]

Are you generally contacting each school to get this information or is this listed on websites somewhere?

Sometimes this information is listed on the school's website, but in many cases I had to contact the admissions office directly.

 

[karis0166]

There is a previous thread on this that you should read.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=923599

After reading that, let me know if you have further questions (either post here or you are welcome to PM me).