Retake REALLY OLD Pre-Reqs as Non-Trad in Late 30s?

[Alex Reinard]

I am thinking for going back to medical school, but I need to take a few pre-reqs. No problem. However, I have most of my pre-reqs are from 9 to 19 years ago. They will be 11 to 21 years old by the time I apply. A few were As but most were Bs or Cs.

MAIN QUESTION: Should I bother retaking them? Or should I just finish off a second degree in 3 years in biology and take upper-level science classes? Both options would take just as long.

1st college - chem major (did not graduate)

Calc I F
Calc I (retake): C
Physics 1: C
Orgo 1: A-
Orgo 2: C+
Orgo Lab: C
Advanced Orgo: A-
Orgo Reseearch: A
Chem 1: B- (must retake since I need two-semester inorganic sequence)

Do I really need to take take organic chemistry? I would rather focus on upper level molecular biology/genetics classes.



2nd college - applied math major (graduated)

Physics 1: C+
Physics 2: C+
Calc I (retake): C
Calc II: A
Calc III: C+
Linear Algebra: B+
Diff Equations: A-
Probability Theory: F
Probability Theory (retake): C
Applied Prob & Stats/Math Computation: A
Mathematical Statistics: B+
English 1: A
English 2: A

I'll be dammed if I have to take Calc I for a FOURTH time! I wouldn't mind retaking Calc III again though. Retake freshman English? lol

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[chssoccer7]

I did not retake any classes from 2010-2016 and nobody cared. You should reach out to the schools you intend to apply to and ask for their opinion, if they care about the age they'll let you know (some have it listed on their website). You have a few classes there that aren't pre-reqs for any medical school.

 

[Alex Reinard]

Lin Algebra, Diff Eqs and at least on semester of statistics are recommended by Harvard and I'm sure a few other schools. Though you are right, most regular med schools probably don't care.

 

[chssoccer7]

Lin Algebra, Diff Eqs and at least on semester of statistics are recommended by Harvard and I'm sure a few other schools. Though you are right, most regular med schools probably don't care.

What is your current GPA? With all those C's and F's from your past, barring some sort of insane x-factor I would really struggle to think Harvard level schools should be your goal at the moment. That's not to say it's impossible, but as a reinventor applicant your goal at the moment probably shouldn't be the medical schools with the highest requirements.

Fwiw, the math requirements are only for the HST admittees, not the pathways admittees, which make up the vast majority of the Harvard class. Pathways just requires calculus and statistics.

 

[Lilobby]

Check out MSAR for when pre-reqs expire. I’ve seen anywhere from 3 years to no expiration date. For my state school, pre-reqs expire after 10 years. MSAR will also tell you what classes are required as it’s not standard across all schools.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I highly suggest you enroll in a graduate program (PostBacc or Masters) geared towards admitting non-trad students into medical school. In this way, you’ll get away with not re-taking useless *cough* I mean stimulating classes like calc and physics. I know Rutgers has a pretty strong PostBacc program. But ultimately I would pick a program affiliated to the medical school neared to you

 

[Dral]

I would verify when pre-reqs expire for your target schools. Once you have figured that out, your goal is to take courses that would prepare you for the MCAT and med school (ie. do NOT retake freshman English if you don't have to).

 

[Alex Reinard]

What is your current GPA? With all those C's and F's from your past, barring some sort of insane x-factor I would really struggle to think Harvard level schools should be your goal at the moment. That's not to say it's impossible, but as a reinventor applicant your goal at the moment probably shouldn't be the medical schools with the highest requirements.

Fwiw, the math requirements are only for the HST admittees, not the pathways admittees, which make up the vast majority of the Harvard class. Pathways just requires calculus and statistics.

Of course I have no shot at Harvard. My goal would be to approximate a Harvard-level applicant as close as possible so at least one reputable MD school will accept me.

My 1st school GPA is like a 1.3. My second is a 2.97. Combined is like 1.6.

 

[Dral]

Oh, you'll need to do something about that. You can try to contact your schools to see if they can retroactively remove some of those grades.

A 1.6 will get you nowhere. No reputable med school will take a chance on someone who has a 2.97 at best. I'm sure someone has been admitted with that in the past, but it had to be some super extenuating circumstance.

Instead of proving you could handle the curriculum, that GPA basically proves you won't be able to handle it. I don't intend that to sound mean, I'm sure you're a different person now. However, you'll have to prove that you can handle a tough med school curriculum.

You might try a combination of a post bacc and SMP. If you can get some of those grades retroactively taken off your record and ace a post bacc, you might start to get somewhere.

Maybe others can chime in, but I think with that GPA, an SMP may be your only long shot. The reason I mention a post bacc first, is to get your pre-reqs done and to get exposure to the types of classes you would experience in the SMP to improve your chance of success in the SMP since I don't think the post bacc alone will get your GPA to within striking distance of admission cut offs. Plus I believe some SMPs require an MCAT score for consideration.

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