Question regarding time between when I took prereqs to applying

[okyeah]

Hey,

I graduated with a Human Physiology degree in 2018 so technically I took a lot of med school pre-reqs in 2012-2015. I am a non-trad that is planning to return to school to do a DIY post-bacc in August 2025 - May 2027 and hopefully start med school in 2028.

Will the time between when I actually completed my pre-reqs make them worthless now by the time I apply? I just read that many schools only take pre-reqs done within 5 years and some within 10 years. So technically - many of my prereqs will be 12-15 years old by the time I apply.

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[petomed]

I would begin by consulting the MSAR. Then call a sizable sample of programs to ask explicitly.

I went through the process with a similar prerequisite timeline gap to yours just two years ago. More and more medical schools were moving towards a ‘competency-based’ prerequisite model at that time, which basically meant the MCAT was all that mattered as a cognitive normalizer, with GPA as the confirming agent.

Not a single program asked me about my prerequisites, some of which were 13 years old (chem, phys, I’m looking at you) at the time of applying.

 

[okyeah]

I would begin by consulting the MSAR. Then call a sizable sample of programs to ask explicitly.

I went through the process with a similar prerequisite timeline gap to yours just two years ago. More and more medical schools were moving towards a ‘competency-based’ prerequisite model at that time, which basically meant the MCAT was all that mattered as a cognitive normalizer, with GPA as the confirming agent.

Not a single program asked me about my prerequisites, some of which were 13 years old (chem, phys, I’m looking at you) at the time of applying.

That makes a lot of sense. I found a website showing many colleges do not have any requirement whatsoever apparently. But better to be safe and email all of them anyway I suppose lol

 

[esob]

This can be very MCAT-dependent. If you are coming in with a great MCAT, the age of your prereqs will likely not matter as much. If you have a median applicant MCAT, then the recency of your courses might be more likely to impact the perception.

 

[Stuaccount]

Hey,

I graduated with a Human Physiology degree in 2018 so technically I took a lot of med school pre-reqs in 2012-2015. I am a non-trad that is planning to return to school to do a DIY post-bacc in August 2025 - May 2027 and hopefully start med school in 2028.

Will the time between when I actually completed my pre-reqs make them worthless now by the time I apply? I just read that many schools only take pre-reqs done within 5 years and some within 10 years. So technically - many of my prereqs will be 12-15 years old by the time I apply.

Repeating the MCAT advice. Try to aim for a high MCAT, regardless of what your initial score is when you start studying. If you have the funds, also consider taking a couple of upper level bio courses closer to your application.

 

[okyeah]

This can be very MCAT-dependent. If you are coming in with a great MCAT, the age of your prereqs will likely not matter as much. If you have a median applicant MCAT, then the recency of your courses might be more likely to impact the perception.

I'm worried about this. If I got a mid MCAT and got rejected completely from DO and MD on my first time applying - would I have to further work on retaking all my prereqs to "refresh" them in the eyes of admissions? Or would I suddenly find myself in a situation where I would have to score higher on an MCAT retake or bust?

 

[esob]

I'm worried about this. If I got a mid MCAT and got rejected completely from DO and MD on my first time applying - would I have to further work on retaking all my prereqs to "refresh" them in the eyes of admissions? Or would I suddenly find myself in a situation where I would have to score higher on an MCAT retake or bust?

I think the reasonable thing to do would be to wait for your MCAT. If it is in the median matriculant range, you might consider retaking some "gateway" courses (ochem, physics, biochem) BEFORE applying. In general, you only want to apply once and address any deficiencies before ever putting your application out. The mere status of being a re-applicant could detract from your application based on some schools' algorithms. Hence, you would need to not only improve your prereqs but also do something to overcome the detraction of reapplications.

 

[okyeah]

I think the reasonable thing to do would be to wait for your MCAT. If it is in the median matriculant range, you might consider retaking some "gateway" courses (ochem, physics, biochem) BEFORE applying. In general, you only want to apply once and address any deficiencies before ever putting your application out. The mere status of being a re-applicant could detract from your application based on some schools' algorithms. Hence, you would need to not only improve your prereqs but also do something to overcome the detraction of reapplications.

I'm doing a 2 year DIY post-bacc where I gotta take Ochem 1 and 2 and biochem still (I never took these classes ever in my original degree), so maybe this will help everything out?

I see what you're saying - what can people even do to overcome detraction of reapplying?

Deep down, though, in terms of my personal situation, I feel I can get into DO school pretty well on my first try if I don't do too well on the MCAT regarding the entirety of my application.

 

[esob]

If you are taking ochem and biochem, then you will be fine. As far as overcoming the impact of re-applying, that is a question that is hard to answer, mainly because there doesn't seem to be a standard reason why it has a negative impact to begin with. I have some speculations, but that's all they would be. I know when I interviewed applicants this year that I was blinded to that status until after I had submitted my scoring but was surprised to find out that one of my top picks was a re-applicant. From my perspective, most people I interviewed were likable, had lots of positive qualities, and were well-qualified. That means that in a sea of great candidates who check all of the positive boxes, you are sort of forced to look for negative things in order to separate rankings, and being a re-applicant is one metric (good, bad, or otherwise) that can be used to stratify the pool.