FIU HWCOM Graduate Certificate in Molecular and Biomedical Sciences

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Hey all

Long time reader, first time posting.

I started this thread because after doing a decent amount of digging, I didn't find anything specially addressing this program.
Anyway, I applied to FIU this year and was wait listed and then denied. They sent me an email about their new graduate certificate program and I was wondering if anyone on SDN had any knowledge about it/was or currently is in the program?

Here's a link to the program's site:
http://medicine.fiu.edu/admissions/graduate-certificate/index.html

Thanks everyone

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This is the first semester they are offering the program. I would be careful with it for a few reasons. For one, they have no cutoffs listed. No minimum GPA or MCAT. I find that sketchy. Second, completing this program may not carry weight with other med schools. This is just my opinion.
 
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I'm strongly considering this program, has anyone heard any more info about it? Also, I noticed on the website they pushed back the application deadline to June 15th.
 
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I'm strongly considering this program, has anyone heard any more info about it? Also, I noticed on the website they pushed back the application deadline to June 15th.
Hey Miamipremed, are you local to this school? Seeing that your username has Miami in it, I figured you may be nearby. I don't live in Florida but was considering this program. Not sure if it is good though.
 
Hey Miamipremed, are you local to this school? Seeing that your username has Miami in it, I figured you may be nearby. I don't live in Florida but was considering this program. Not sure if it is good though.

Hi, yep I'm local to the school and went to FIU for undergrad. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the area or FIU in general :)
 
Seems like it's mostly catered for students who are/were on the FIU waitlist. It does seem nice to get a guaranteed acceptance if one was on the waitlist and finishes the program while fulfilling all the criteria listed.
 
Got accepted to the FIU Certificate program. Didnt apply to med school last cycle so not on the waitlist either but will be applying this 2016-2017 cycle. Anyone else doing this certificate program for their gap year?
 
Got accepted to the FIU Certificate program. Didnt apply to med school last cycle so not on the waitlist either but will be applying this 2016-2017 cycle. Anyone else doing this certificate program for their gap year?
Congratulations! I am still waiting to hear back from them. If you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA?
 
Thanks! My GPA is around 3.6ish. Did you contact anyone to make sure your application was complete? If so, hopefully you hear back soon. Were you waitlisted this past cycle?
 
Thanks! My GPA is around 3.6ish. Did you contact anyone to make sure your application was complete? If so, hopefully you hear back soon. Were you waitlisted this past cycle?
Okay, mine is a 3.3 so I am a little concerned about it being too low. I did contact them and they have received my complete application but no decision has been made. I am applying to medical school for the first time this summer, still working on finishing up the application and need to take the MCAT. I think this program will be a great way to fill my gap year and if I don't get in then it will hopefully make me a stronger applicant for the next cycle.
 
Well those that were accepted into the program were given a deadline of July 5th to confirm their acceptance so the school can offer their seat to someone else, so you could possibly hear back from them a few days after that.
 
Well those that were accepted into the program were given a deadline of July 5th to confirm their acceptance so the school can offer their seat to someone else, so you could possibly hear back from them a few days after that.
Oh okay, good to know. Thanks !
 
Hey Guys,
For those who were accepted to FIU graduate Certificate program, could you please let me know your MCAT scores and GPA ? I'm planning on applying this cycle and I need to know if I have a shot at it. Please let me know if you can. Thank you
 
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Hey Guys,
For those who were accepted to FIU graduate Certificate program, could you please let me know your MCAT scores and GPA ? I'm planning on applying this cycle and I need to know if I have a shot at it. Please let me know if you can. Thank you
it's awful. don't do it.
 
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Has anyone in the program for this year been accepted to medical school for this cycle?
 
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Hi all,

I know that this program is extremely new. I have applied to this program and hoping to start this fall, but dont want to make a bad decision if the program is a waste of time. I just wanted to know if anyone can tell me a little bit about this program including how hard it is, chances of getting an interview, and chances of getting accepted after the interview. I would appreciate any type of info, I cant seem to find anything on the internet. Thanks!
 
Same here, I'd like to know more about the matriculation rate for those who were not waitlisted.
 
What are everyone's stats who are applying for Fall 2017 (who have not been waitlisted for their medical school)?
 
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I have been receiving a lot of questions regarding this program so here is an update/opinion about it. I certainly recommend this program to those who are waitlisted in this cycle. The course is intense but as long as you put a lot of effort into it, you can definitely get that guaranteed acceptance. For those who are not waitlisted or are about to apply to FIU HWCOM this upcoming application cycle, I would still recommend it. Personally, it helped me grow as a student and prepared me for the actual medical school. Our professionalism class helped me prepare for my medical school interviews as well. I know it is a lot of money but as long as you do great on your classes (average of 85% and above), the faculty may recommend you to the FIU HWCOM admissions committee and you might be offered an interview.

If anyone is wondering how competitive it is to get into the certificate program, there were ~170 applicants for the inaugural class and there were ~54 students present during the orientation.

Also, since the application cycle is still ongoing, we are still unsure about the matriculation rate. However, I know ~20 in my class have already been accepted (among those not previously waitlisted and those who were).

I hope this helps :) Feel free to pm me if you have additional questions!
 
For those who have attended this program, how did you pay for it? I know they don't offer federal loans for this program and I'm wondering if they offer any other options outside of getting private loans. Thanks!
 
lo guys, i have some recommendations before you take on the program. for starts, it's severely overpriced tuition at 21k for 21 credits. if the program goes well and you get in then all was worth it, but what if it goes south? if it goes south then you just blew 21k for a "certificate" and hurt yourself for the next cycle. for those of us who didn't do well in the program, we were just recommended to get high scores on the MCAT...easier said than done. as for payment, people either paid, took out loans, or worked during the program. working during the program will more than likely hurt your GPA and they do not cut you slack if your GPA is low since you were working. I personally wouldn't recommend the program to others but there are a few scenarios in which it may be worth it.

1) You were waitlisted and are really good at things like biochem, microbio, and molec and confident you will get the 90 average
2) you are applying for the guaranteed interview, are confident you will do well in those subjects, and have a good MCAT and undergrad GPA. if you're someone who has a strong app but is usually overlooked for some reason then its a good opportunity to get "noticed". there are other ways to do this without spending 21k but up to you...
3) FIU is your top choice and youre 100% committed to going there, have a good MCAT and are confident you will do well in the program
Dont do this program if your undergrad GPA is low and your MCAT is low. Don't do it if you're trying to raise your GPA; it's a tough program. Call and ask what the average GPA was for the first year's class. Then call and ask medical schools what they think of that average GPA.
Now how do you know if you're confident you'll do well? Classes are T and R from 1:15-9pm (or whenever our professor decides to let us out...). You will need to be really self disciplined since you wont be in school every day. the exams are all on the same day usually tuesday from 1:15-7:30pm. Your finals will be NBME and are cumulative, all on the same day. Grades are mostly dependent on how you do on exams. The tough thing about exams is that the average is pretty much always around 78-80% (way below that 90 you need), all on one day, and are like 30 questions usually which leaves very little room for error. You will have quizzes, annoying group work, and other assignments that maybe were like 20% of your grade. More than likely you'll get a B average from the program...call some medical schools and see what they think about a B average in an unknown program. Most are going to be looking for that A- average for you to be competitive at all.
I didn't find the faculty to be that great at teaching either which didn't help. A lot of them seemed like they had no teaching experience...definitely werent given our money's worth. The environment for the first class wasnt really helpful. Most people were self study types and everyone was super insecure about what was going to happen to us and if they'd take us. There were a lot of rumors and the admin were pretty unhelpful with letting us know what would happen. Wasn't the kind of environment where students group study and share notes, etc. I'd describe it as typical premed.

The interviews weren't conducted until really late like March. A % were interviewed, call and ask for the #, out of those about half were accepted. From those some people with the 85 got in and some people with the 90 didn't. So, it's somewhat luck and dependent on your file. A good % got their guaranteed acceptance. So number wise quite a few people ended up with what they wanted, but again, if you arent confident you can do well in the classes and thrive in the environment they created, don't do it. The environment is premed and there were a lot of rules and unnecessary stressors; they treated us more like high schoolers than adults.

I've also seen people who did well in the program and had high MCATs not get in...there's no guarantee it will work out. For those who it didn't work out for, naturally, they feel like they got conned out of 21k. Numberwise quite a few people did well so you just gotta know you. Call and talk to the directors. I highly recommend meeting them in person. It's important you get along well with them since a lot of your fate is in their hands. Call and ask about how the first class did, see if they will give you names of students you can contact for insight, and don't expect to take the MCAT during the program. The people I saw who did well usually had strong science backgrounds, degrees in chem or molec fields, and research experience.

With that in mind, many schools have programs like this that feed in, check them out. Check out special masters programs...drexel has something similar and you get a real degree or maybe georgetown...there's a lot out there...these programs are cash cows for schools. if you were my friend, i'd tell you to forget it and take the year to knock the MCAT out of the park. good luck
 
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As someone on the waitlist, are the chances higher of being accepted to the program?
Should I wait for the final decision or should I apply now?
 
lo guys, i have some recommendations before you take on the program. for starts, it's severely overpriced tuition at 21k for 21 credits. if the program goes well and you get in then all was worth it, but what if it goes south? if it goes south then you just blew 21k for a "certificate" and hurt yourself for the next cycle. for those of us who didn't do well in the program, we were just recommended to get high scores on the MCAT...easier said than done. as for payment, people either paid, took out loans, or worked during the program. working during the program will more than likely hurt your GPA and they do not cut you slack if your GPA is low since you were working. I personally wouldn't recommend the program to others but there are a few scenarios in which it may be worth it.

1) You were waitlisted and are really good at things like biochem, microbio, and molec and confident you will get the 90 average
2) you are applying for the guaranteed interview, are confident you will do well in those subjects, and have a good MCAT and undergrad GPA. if you're someone who has a strong app but is usually overlooked for some reason then its a good opportunity to get "noticed". there are other ways to do this without spending 21k but up to you...
3) FIU is your top choice and youre 100% committed to going there, have a good MCAT and are confident you will do well in the program
Dont do this program if your undergrad GPA is low and your MCAT is low. Don't do it if you're trying to raise your GPA; it's a tough program. Call and ask what the average GPA was for the first year's class. Then call and ask medical schools what they think of that average GPA.
Now how do you know if you're confident you'll do well? Classes are T and R from 1:15-9pm (or whenever our professor decides to let us out...). You will need to be really self disciplined since you wont be in school every day. the exams are all on the same day usually tuesday from 1:15-7:30pm. Your finals will be NBME and are cumulative, all on the same day. Grades are mostly dependent on how you do on exams. The tough thing about exams is that the average is pretty much always around 78-80% (way below that 90 you need), all on one day, and are like 30 questions usually which leaves very little room for error. You will have quizzes, annoying group work, and other assignments that maybe were like 20% of your grade. More than likely you'll get a B average from the program...call some medical schools and see what they think about a B average in an unknown program. Most are going to be looking for that A- average for you to be competitive at all.
I didn't find the faculty to be that great at teaching either which didn't help. A lot of them seemed like they had no teaching experience...definitely werent given our money's worth. The environment for the first class wasnt really helpful. Most people were self study types and everyone was super insecure about what was going to happen to us and if they'd take us. There were a lot of rumors and the admin were pretty unhelpful with letting us know what would happen. Wasn't the kind of environment where students group study and share notes, etc. I'd describe it as typical premed.

The interviews weren't conducted until really late like March. A % were interviewed, call and ask for the #, out of those about half were accepted. From those some people with the 85 got in and some people with the 90 didn't. So, it's somewhat luck and dependent on your file. A good % got their guaranteed acceptance. So number wise quite a few people ended up with what they wanted, but again, if you arent confident you can do well in the classes and thrive in the environment they created, don't do it. The environment is premed and there were a lot of rules and unnecessary stressors; they treated us more like high schoolers than adults.

I've also seen people who did well in the program and had high MCATs not get in...there's no guarantee it will work out. For those who it didn't work out for, naturally, they feel like they got conned out of 21k. Numberwise quite a few people did well so you just gotta know you. Call and talk to the directors. I highly recommend meeting them in person. It's important you get along well with them since a lot of your fate is in their hands. Call and ask about how the first class did, see if they will give you names of students you can contact for insight, and don't expect to take the MCAT during the program. The people I saw who did well usually had strong science backgrounds, degrees in chem or molec fields, and research experience.

With that in mind, many schools have programs like this that feed in, check them out. Check out special masters programs...drexel has something similar and you get a real degree or maybe georgetown...there's a lot out there...these programs are cash cows for schools. if you were my friend, i'd tell you to forget it and take the year to knock the MCAT out of the park. good luck

Thanks for the honest insight. Programs like this are always worth analyzing extensively before making decisions. I was ready to jump into it without hesitation at the thought of "guaranteed acceptance" but its definitely worth looking into especially being such a new program.
 
Thanks for the honest insight. Programs like this are always worth analyzing extensively before making decisions. I was ready to jump into it without hesitation at the thought of "guaranteed acceptance" but its definitely worth looking into especially being such a new program.

Yeah just be careful. There were a lot that got the guaranteed acceptance, but there were also people who were waitlisted last year who didn't get the GPA and were not even interviewed again.
 
Yeah just be careful. There were a lot that got the guaranteed acceptance, but there were also people who were waitlisted last year who didn't get the GPA and were not even interviewed again.
Do you know of anyone that did the program and got accepted somewhere other than FIU?
I just found out Id basically have to reapply to do this program..
 
Is there anyone on here that did the program that could tell me how the weekly schedule is like? For example, do you have all four classes every day of the week or is it split so that you have, let's say, 2 classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the other 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays?
 
I hope this post serves as a warning to anyone considering this program. I strongly recommend not to do this program. Do not fall for the fake line that says Guaranteed admission or guaranteed interview. It is all a scam. Like literally a scam just to take your money. I am about to explain why.
1. They blatantly lie about the program. They told me and on their website "The basic science courses are taught by faculty in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and are similar to those taught during the first year of medical school. The topics are presented in interactive lectures, team-based learning, and small-group or whole-class discussion sessions." The faculty are not teaching medical students and are rather just recent PhDs with no teaching experience. The second thing is a lie too because the lectures were 0% interactive. One of the faculty members straight-up read from slides and never looked up during the entire lecture. How is this interactive? The whole statement is a LIE.
2. They also are really unorganized and all over the place. The Academic Director just wants to make the program difficult without actually trying to help students. She has no intention of trying to help you get into medical school. Her class is so difficult that don't expect a grade above B+ and that's if you are the most intelligent person with a ton of research experience. I got straight As in undergrad but did poorly on my MCAT making it difficult to get into medical schools. But I got a B in her class after studying 16 hours a day. I have straight As in undergrad even in O chem and Biochem.
3. If you are trying to do a program to learn and do well, don't do this because you will be cramming all the time. They give 3 lectures with 100 slides for micro and 50+ slides for the other 2 classes and expect you to know that with the material taught last week for a quiz that Thursday. Cramming is not a good skill to learn for medical school so this program will not benefit you much.
4. The worst was when apparently the Academic Director "thought" someone was cheating and she refused to let us see what we missed on our quizzes. How am I supposed to improve and see what I missed and learn from my mistakes if you don't let me look at it? This was done solely just to screw us up. When I asked the Academic Director if we can schedule office hours to see what we missed and figure out how to improve on the exam, she refused. Like how can you refuse to help a student?
5. The number of people at the beginning was 60+ and by November, it was only 38 something in the class and more planning to drop by the end of the semester.

Please listen to me when I say this. Do not waste your time and money trying to do this program. There are plenty of other programs that will get you where you need to be. This program is not going to give you a GPA boost. No matter how hard you try, it will not help you. I regret doing this program so much and have to cry every day at what a bad decision I had made.

I am here to answer any other questions or information you need but I wish someone had written about this program that would have prevented me from doing this program. And I just want to help others.
 
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Thank you. I’ve been trying to figure out Whether to do this or not. Since I️ live in Miami. Now that I️ ‘ve read this I️ will just skip this over.


I hope this post serves as a warning to anyone considering this program. I strongly recommend not to do this program. Do not fall for the fake line that says Guaranteed admission or guaranteed interview. It is all a scam. Like literally a scam just to take your money. I am about to explain why.
1. They blatantly lie about the program. They told me and on their website "The basic science courses are taught by faculty in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and are similar to those taught during the first year of medical school. The topics are presented in interactive lectures, team-based learning, and small-group or whole-class discussion sessions." The faculty are not teaching medical students and are rather just recent PhDs with no teaching experience. The second thing is a lie too because the lectures were 0% interactive. One of the faculty members straight-up read from slides and never looked up during the entire lecture. How is this interactive? The whole statement is a LIE.
2. They also are really unorganized and all over the place. The Academic Director just wants to make the program difficult without actually trying to help students. She has no intention of trying to help you get into medical school. Her class is so difficult that don't expect a grade above B+ and that's if you are the most intelligent person with a ton of research experience. I got straight As in undergrad but did poorly on my MCAT making it difficult to get into medical schools. But I got a B in her class after studying 16 hours a day. I have straight As in undergrad even in O chem and Biochem.
3. If you are trying to do a program to learn and do well, don't do this because you will be cramming all the time. They give 3 lectures with 100 slides for micro and 50+ slides for the other 2 classes and expect you to know that with the material taught last week for a quiz that Thursday. Cramming is not a good skill to learn for medical school so this program will not benefit you much.
4. The worst was when apparently the Academic Director "thought" someone was cheating and she refused to let us see what we missed on our quizzes. How am I supposed to improve and see what I missed and learn from my mistakes if you don't let me look at it? This was done solely just to screw us up. When I asked the Academic Director if we can schedule office hours to see what we missed and figure out how to improve on the exam, she refused. Like how can you refuse to help a student?
5. The number of people at the beginning was 60+ and by November, it was only 38 something in the class and more planning to drop by the end of the semester.

Please listen to me when I say this. Do not waste your time and money trying to do this program. There are plenty of other programs that will get you where you need to be. This program is not going to give you a GPA boost. No matter how hard you try, it will not help you. I regret doing this program so much and have to cry every day at what a bad decision I had made.

I am here to answer any other questions or information you need but I wish someone had written about this program that would have prevented me from doing this program. And I just want to help others.
 
I hope this post serves as a warning to anyone considering this program. I strongly recommend not to do this program. Do not fall for the fake line that says Guaranteed admission or guaranteed interview. It is all a scam. Like literally a scam just to take your money. I am about to explain why.
1. They blatantly lie about the program. They told me and on their website "The basic science courses are taught by faculty in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and are similar to those taught during the first year of medical school. The topics are presented in interactive lectures, team-based learning, and small-group or whole-class discussion sessions." The faculty are not teaching medical students and are rather just recent PhDs with no teaching experience. The second thing is a lie too because the lectures were 0% interactive. One of the faculty members straight-up read from slides and never looked up during the entire lecture. How is this interactive? The whole statement is a LIE.
2. They also are really unorganized and all over the place. The Academic Director just wants to make the program difficult without actually trying to help students. She has no intention of trying to help you get into medical school. Her class is so difficult that don't expect a grade above B+ and that's if you are the most intelligent person with a ton of research experience. I got straight As in undergrad but did poorly on my MCAT making it difficult to get into medical schools. But I got a B in her class after studying 16 hours a day. I have straight As in undergrad even in O chem and Biochem.
3. If you are trying to do a program to learn and do well, don't do this because you will be cramming all the time. They give 3 lectures with 100 slides for micro and 50+ slides for the other 2 classes and expect you to know that with the material taught last week for a quiz that Thursday. Cramming is not a good skill to learn for medical school so this program will not benefit you much.
4. The worst was when apparently the Academic Director "thought" someone was cheating and she refused to let us see what we missed on our quizzes. How am I supposed to improve and see what I missed and learn from my mistakes if you don't let me look at it? This was done solely just to screw us up. When I asked the Academic Director if we can schedule office hours to see what we missed and figure out how to improve on the exam, she refused. Like how can you refuse to help a student?
5. The number of people at the beginning was 60+ and by November, it was only 38 something in the class and more planning to drop by the end of the semester.

Please listen to me when I say this. Do not waste your time and money trying to do this program. There are plenty of other programs that will get you where you need to be. This program is not going to give you a GPA boost. No matter how hard you try, it will not help you. I regret doing this program so much and have to cry every day at what a bad decision I had made.

I am here to answer any other questions or information you need but I wish someone had written about this program that would have prevented me from doing this program. And I just want to help others.

is it hard to get the 3.7 for the guaranteed interview/acceptance?
 
Thank you. I’ve been trying to figure out Whether to do this or not. Since I️ live in Miami. Now that I️ ‘ve read this I️ will just skip this over.
I certainly recommend doing other experiences overdoing that poorly managed and implemented the program with fake promises. It ruined my life and left me withbdebt. So, I literally cry every day
 
is it hard to get the 3.7 for the guaranteed interview/acceptance?
Let me give you some statistics from my class. So out of a class of 64 at the beginning of the year, the program had only 30-28 students left the second semester. Out of those, only 5 barely got the 3.7. If you think you are on the extreme end of the class averages and topped in all your undergrad coursework, maybe give it a shot. I had an excellent GPA in my undergrads and despite my strong biology background, I was struggling. My bigger problem is with the toxic environment the administrators create which left a lot of students with mental health issues. The director of academics has made the exams so that it is impossible to get a 3.7. The lectures don't reflect on the exams. Besides, the change like 10 faculty members in Biochem makes it really hard to adjust to every faculty member's questions style for every exam. The almost 50% drop rate reflect my words. I am not writing this to persuade anyone but I wish someone had warned me with honest feedback. The alumni they connected us to obviously are going to say nice things.
 
Let me give you some statistics from my class. So out of a class of 64 at the beginning of the year, the program had only 30-28 students left the second semester. Out of those, only 5 barely got the 3.7. If you think you are on the extreme end of the class averages and topped in all your undergrad coursework, maybe give it a shot. I had an excellent GPA in my undergrads and despite my strong biology background, I was struggling. My bigger problem is with the toxic environment the administrators create which left a lot of students with mental health issues. The director of academics has made the exams so that it is impossible to get a 3.7. The lectures don't reflect on the exams. Besides, the change like 10 faculty members in Biochem makes it really hard to adjust to every faculty member's questions style for every exam. The almost 50% drop rate reflect my words. I am not writing this to persuade anyone but I wish someone had warned me with honest feedback. The alumni they connected us to obviously are going to say nice things.

I applied to the program because I got waitlisted here and it was my top choice in medical school. It’s definitely good to know what I would be getting into if I do end up doing it. I just didn’t want to pass up the opportunity of a guaranteed acceptance but it’s kind of a bummer what I keep hearing about the impossibility of it.
 
I applied to the program because I got waitlisted here and it was my top choice in medical school. It’s definitely good to know what I would be getting into if I do end up doing it. I just didn’t want to pass up the opportunity of a guaranteed acceptance but it’s kind of a bummer what I keep hearing about the impossibility of it.
Hey man, Don't lose hope. If you got waitlisted, you are already an amazing student and you have a lot of scope to improve and reapply. Honestly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and work on becoming a stronger applicant.
 
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