Hi Dr. Dave,
I'm interested in applying for medical school during the 2012 applicant dates as I've already missed the 2011 round. So I'd like to have some mental preparation on things I need to get done, and perhaps some advice on how to get such things done:
First of all, I graduated from a recognized university (UCLA) with a degree in Physiology, so I have completed the relevant course work. The problem is, I graduated 5 years ago (2006), so
1) I'm uncertain whether Med School Programs require that relevant courses be taken within a certain time period
2) And even if such latent courses still count, I'm uncertain how much harm this huge gap would have on my MCAT preparation
Under these circumstances, how effective would it be to just visit my local bookstore and pick up MCAT books for review given I'm descent at self-study? Unless Med School Programs do have a timeframe in which curriculum qualifications expire, I can't see myself enrolling in individual courses I've already taken, but at the same time I'm concerned I might not have such a good grasp on the material anymore. Given it is not so bad an idea to pursue self-review (or even take a Kaplan/Princeton course), what courses or material can you recommend to prep for the MCAT given these special circumstances.
Finally, I want to mention that I just picked up a Masters in Public Health Administration from an International University, and have a variety of work experience from healthcare to everything from logistics and advertising. Will these factors influence my application or any of the items mentioned above.
Thanks for your thoughts in advance.
Tim
Timothy,
It seems that different schools handle the time limit on when prerequisites were taken in different ways. I did some looking around and while many schools don't make any reference to when the pre-med courses need to have been taken, there are a few that do make a clear recommendation.
For example, University of Mississippi says:
There is no time limit on the validity of a baccalaureate degree; however, the Admissions Committee has concerns when prerequisite courses have been taken 10 or more years ago. If a required core science course (biological science, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics) was taken 10 or more years ago, it should be repeated. If all required core science courses were taken 10 or more years ago, the applicant should take at least 32 semester hours of BCPM course work to convince the committee that they are currently capable of sustaining the rigors of learning in a classroom environment. Such applicants are encouraged to retake the required core science courses; however, this may be substituted by either 32 credits of upper level undergraduate BCPM courses beyond the advanced science requirement (see below) or 32 credits of graduate BCPM courses. In the evaluation of applicants of applicants for interviews, the Admissions Committee initially considers only those courses that contribute to an undergraduate BCPM GPA; however, postbaccalaureate and graduate BCPM GPAs are considered later in the interview screening process.
Cornell says:
All prerequisite courses must have been completed within 10 years of application, and we prefer that prerequisite courses in biology be taken within 5 years of application.
I would highly recommend that you contact the medical schools to which you are most interested in applying and ask them. I would guess that most medical schools don't have an expiration on when pre-med coursework is valid. It seems more common to see medical schools say they want to see the MCAT score from within a certain period of time, such as 3 years.
As for the MCAT, I think it is reasonable to check out some of the recommended materials on Amazon. If you look through the materials and are having a really hard time with it, then perhaps you will need to pursue a more involved way to learn that material than just reading review books. Kaplan is a decent way to also get more exposure to the material. From my experience, the live classes are really hit or miss as to how useful they are. The books are pretty good and the practice tests are decent. It is probably a lot more expensive than buying comparable quality books / test questions through Amazon.
As for your advanced degree and work experience, it won't hurt you, but it may not help as much as you would think. The main area it will be helpful is once you get to the interview stages as you will be able to discuss real life experience in more depth than most applicants.