Spend Money on Retaking Old Pre-Req's or MCAT prep class?

[AB92]

I took many of pre-req's 10 years ago, and I am considering retaking them (mainly biology) to refresh myself for the MCAT. But, I also plan to take an MCAT prep class (I'm thinking TPR) for the structure and content review. Any thoughts on whether retaking these biology courses would be pointless? I've heard the advice that you should just take upper level sciences instead. But, I'm not really trying to prove myself, so to speak, and I'm somewhat limited to community college classes (since they're at night and I'm working full time). I got A's in these classes when I first took them. I emailed my state school that I'm most interested in applying to, and they said they would not have any problem with me retaking these classes, even though I had already taken them and received A's. It would help my sGPA a little, (bump it from a 3.61 to 3.65) but the increase is so minimal, I'm not sure it's worth the $1,000 to take the class. I have a degree in biosystems engineering, with over 130 credits, so continuing to take classes doesn't change my GPA dramatically.

Any thoughts on what people have done before would be great! Was your review class enough? Do you think I could use the bump in sGPA?

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[Cornfed101]

Don't retake the classes. Review and self-teaching via Khan Academy and, if you want, review books is plenty. The MCAT is a mile wide and an inch deep. I also don't think that increasing from a 3.61 to a 3.65 is worth the money.

 

[RNthenDoc]

Definitely don't pay money to retake courses, and that goes double for ones you got good grades in.
If anything, you should do a credit-free "audit" that doesn't incur tuition; many colleges allow this if you ask (you sit in on lectures but don't take the tests or earn college credit).

Honestly, though, I would use different resources that are MCAT-specific. Studying for the MCAT is studying for the MCAT, and while doing well in the prerequisite courses helps, learning how to do MCAT questions is as important as the core knowledge they test you on. I would invest the money in a formal prep course, or just save it and use Khan and a few books. Amazon has good deals on older versions of the prep texts!

 

[hamiltonnyc]

Some schools expire pre-reqs after 5 years though (that my advisors tell me, I didn't actually check).

 

[Cornfed101]

Some schools expire pre-reqs after 5 years though (that my advisors tell me, I didn't actually check).

my gen chem is 10 years old and it has never come up. I don’t think it is very common to have an expiration on pre-reqs

 

[StudentDoGter]

Your local library may have many MCAT study books available

 

[NobleNT]

Some schools expire pre-reqs after 5 years though (that my advisors tell me, I didn't actually check).

I toured at MU-COM this week and asked about classes expiring.For their Adcomm they don’t expire but they ask if the applicant is capable of handling the transition from life to med school life. I’m assuming other schools ask the same question. Also, if it’s not on the school’s website, just send an email to clarify.

 

[Osteosaur]

Do not retake courses to prepare for the MCAT. College courses are not always standardized, and the biology is far too varied for a single biology class to cover it all. There's no sense in taking Biology, learning all about photosynthesis or working on a group project about Tapeworms, and finding none of it on the exam. Buy review books and spend a year reviewing and doing practice questions.

You might, however, be questioned about the recency of your coursework. I'd look into individual schools to see if that is an issue. When I was applying as a non-trad I recall some schools did explicitly state coursework no older than 5 years or some-such. This was hardly a rule; I got interviews 6 years out! Just be aware of this.

 

[esob]

Agree with the above, undergrad courses are poor prep work for the MCAT.