Non-trad looking for Post-bacc chances help.

[HammerDown15]

I am a post-bacc career changer looking to apply to schools in October 2014. I have been looking at Temple University, University of Louisville, and CSU-NEOMED's post-bacc programs for completion of the pre-reqs. Can anyone give any advice on my chances of admission to these 3 programs? I would appreciate any suggestions for other programs that have assured admissions or linkage programs. Hopefully having some science classes and having already taken the MCAT once will not exclude me from these programs.
-UG GPA=3.367 (BS Political Science) sGPA= ~3.5 (Bio 1&2, A&P 1&2, Micro, Chem 1)
-MBA (will graduate in February 2015) with >3.85 GPA
-MCAT in 2009 (22-O) I know now that taking it before O.Chem was a huge mistake.
-I have worked in healthcare full-time for 6 years (ENT for 5.5 yrs and IM/PEDS for about 6 months) I have been a medical assistant, scheduler, biller/coder, and now I am the practice manager. I still assist the doctor with all of her office procedures including excisions of skin lesions, head and neck masses, myringotomies, and needle biopsies. I have observed 2 ENTs and an Orthopedic surgeon in the OR. My work in the IM/Peds office was mainly referrals but I did some shadowing and plan to do more before applying. I am also going to shadow a General Surgeon and hopefully CT surgeons.
-Volunteer activities are limited to a few civic groups of which I am a member
-I have worked since I was 16 and worked throughout my undergraduate years.
-The ENT that I work with currently is really supportive of my decision to complete a post-bacc program and attend medical school. She has already voiced a strong desire to write a stellar recommendation letter. The IM/Peds physician that I still talk to has also offered to write a recommendation letter. I doubt that I could contact any of my old UG science professors to write a good letter since it has been several years since I was in school.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Crow T. Robot]

Why are you doing a formal post-bacc? Take the rest of the pre-reqs as a non-matriculate, retake the MCAT (which you'll have to do anyway), and apply broadly. You have a strong app overall and doing it this way saves you a boatload in tuition.

 

[HammerDown15]

I would like to retake Chem 1 prior to Chem 2 and Organic. Also, a formal post-bacc makes me eligible for financial aid. Taking the individual courses would not. I will probably work out some kind of financial arrangements if I am not successful in applying to the programs. I like the guarantee of admission to medical school too.

 

[carparker]

Current UofL post bacc student here. The program is going thru some changes beginning in Fall 2014 that will make the program more competitive, but first glance at your post tells me you would be a good candidate.
For financial aid, the maximum you are likely to get is $12,500, and it's only available your first 12 months in the program. If you're out of state, that will probably cover one semester.

Feel free to PM me if you have additional questions about UofL and I will do my best to answer them for you.

 

[VTgrad24]

Im in the process of hearing back from career-changer post bacc programs... ^^ I interviewed with UofL post bacc recently, crossing my fingers hoping i get in . but honestly, i dont think the OP would be able to get into most 'career-changer' post baccs because they are designed for people who have taken little to no science classes. quoting from their website "The focus of this program is for students who have very limited or no pre-medical course work in biology, chemistry or physics. We are seeking students taking these courses for the first time. Although there are some who may retake one or two classes as a refresher, but not to redeem their undergraduate course work. There are some record enhancer post-bac programs designed specifically for that." I believe the credit limit they said was 12 or less science credits.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

I would like to retake Chem 1 prior to Chem 2 and Organic. Also, a formal post-bacc makes me eligible for financial aid. Taking the individual courses would not. I will probably work out some kind of financial arrangements if I am not successful in applying to the programs. I like the guarantee of admission to medical school too.

You can get financial aid if you sign up as a student seeking a second degree. It doesn't matter if you actually get the degree or not, so enroll as a chemistry or biology major so you can get into the classes you need. Your grades and ECs are good enough already that a guaranteed admission won't be strictly necessary for you. Unless there's a formal postbac with a linkage program to a med school that you really want to go to, you'll probably be better off doing a self-constructed postbac, as it'll be cheaper and you can take exactly the classes you need.

 

[HammerDown15]

I have been writing out plans and timelines for various paths including the 3 schools above and a self-done completion of the remaining pre-reqs at a local university. For Temple, I would start Medical school in the Fall of 2016. All other options put me at starting in 2017. The cost savings of an informal post bacc is about 20k. I just liked the appeal of guaranteed admissions. Do any of you have suggestions for other programs that might guarantee admissions and not put me at matriculation in 2017?

 

[mommymdmfm2b]

I did not do a formal post bac program. I did pre req's at University of Louisville and got financial aid. I interviewed at UofL for this cycle and hopefully will be hearing soon. I don't think you need to do a formal program. It was more work and the requirement for mcat to have a guaranteed admission is at least a 9 in every category. So I just didn't see much benefit.