My Endorsement of the University of Chicago

[LaurieB]

For those shopping around for a post-bacc program, I thought I'd share my experience at the Univerisity of Chicago. They do not have a formal premed post-bacc program, but you can essentially work out your own program. I had Gen Chem and Physics under my belt so I was looking for a school to do 1 year of Biology and Ochem (I only had had one term of ochem without a lab so I redid the sequence.). I also took Biochem and Physiology.

University of Chicago is great for its flexibility, but more than anything, I really appreaciated their knowledgeable advisors. I think that the advice and support I got really contributed to my success in the application process.

Finally, for those that have lower grades, like I did, the University of Chicago has a reputation for being tougher so if you do well, it will prove to schools that you can handle the challenge of a rigorous curriculum.

I'll get off my soapbox now. If you are interested in the program, feel free to PM me.

Laurie

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[scota]

You don't work for U of Chicago, do you?! . I'm glad to hear you were able to work things out!

 

[stwei]

You said Uchicago did not have a postbacc program - so were you participating in the graduate student at large program? How long did you stay? Which courses did you take?

 

[LaurieB]

First off, I don't work for UofC. As you might notice from my profile, I'm just one of those people who likes to put my feedback out there. Also, I feel like giving back to the school in a small way because I have had such a positive experience.

I did go through the GSAL (Graduate Student At Large) program - http://grahamschool.uchicago.edu/credit_bearing/gsal.cfm . It is really a generic program for anyone who wants to take classes for credit. Most of the people who do GSAL take buiness classes in the hopes of getting an "in" to the Graduate School of Business. They see enough pre-med postbacc's to be generally accomodating, but it doesn't matter so much because they direct you to the advisors right away. The pre-med advisors are the ones who will help you figure out which classes to take and what to do to strengthen your application.

One thing I should mention is that my classes and advisors were great, but the bureacracy sucked! That was the major downside to the program. I think I encountered more problems than most, but they do have a way of making things more difficult than they need to be. That said, I did see improvements over the time I was there so hopefully it's on the up and up.

Hope this answers some questions.

Laurie

 

[LaurieB]

For those interested, here are the courses I took:

AUT 2002 STUDENT-AT-LARGE SAL/GS

Subject Course# Section Course title Units Grade
BIOSCI 20191 03 CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 100
BIOSCI 22232 01 MAMMALIAN BIOLOGY 100
CHEM 22000 00 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY-1 100

WIN 2003 STUDENT-AT-LARGE SAL/GS

Subject Course# Section Course title Units Grade
BIOSCI 20192 03 GENETICS 100
CHEM 22100 00 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY-2 100

SPR 2003 STUDENT-AT-LARGE SAL/GS

Subject Course# Section Course title Units Grade
BIOSCI 20195 01 ORGANISMAL PHYSIOLOGY 100
BIOSCI 20200 01 INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY 100

AUT 2003 STUDENT-AT-LARGE SAL/GS

Subject Course# Section Course title Units Grade
BUS 33001 03 MICROECONOMICS 100

WIN 2004 STUDENT-AT-LARGE SAL/GS

Subject Course# Section Course title Units Grade
PUBPOL 37300 01 HEALTH LAW AND POLICY 100

End of Transcript / End of Record

I took the econ and policy courses just out of interest while I have been working and applying this year.

 

[DRTOBE1]

Can you receive financial aid with this program?

 

[LaurieB]

Can you receive financial aid with this program?

They have a loan program with Citibank, but I'm not sure how good the terms are.

 

[Aeriel]

There is an interview right? How does that usually go? And how much did the program cost you? Thanks!

 

[benjaminl1nus]

This post was made 10 years ago. things might have changed