Hey all, I have read some on here regarding structured and unstructured Post Bacc programs, and was hoping to get some advice from people who have been there and done that. I am graduating this month with a Bachelor's degree in International Politics from a major state university. My GPA is going to be around a 3.3, and I will have some pretty strong extra curriculars as well. Seeing as how I finished with a humanities degree, I have not taken any of the pre-req courses. From what I have read, my two options are to do Post Bacc in a formal program for "career changers", or to just take the undergrad pre-reqs on my own. Im assuming that the Formal Post Bacc programs are going to be more competitive to get into as opposed to going back to do undergrad for 2 years at another university. I guess my question would be is there any distinct advantage to a formal program? My concerns here are just whether I should be applying to the programs specifically or just applying to the universities as if I wanted to do the courses on my own. Any help would be appreciated, as Ive read the debates between the two paths, but am not sure which would be better for my situation.
Post Bacc. Structured or Unstructured?
- Thread starter Moose225
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It is really hard to say which option is better for your situation because there are a variety of things to consider: cost, location, need to work/pursue extra curricular activities, etc etc. Additionally, there isn't an option that has a "better" or "worse" track record of getting students into medical school. The programs that have very high acceptance rates (Goucher, Bryn Mawr, and Scripps) usually only accept students that would be accepted to medical school regardless of the program they choose because they 1. have a record of high academic achievement and 2. have a record of performing well on standardized tests. Given your GPA, you are likely not very competitive for these programs. If you feel as though you need a more structured program and can afford the cost, go for a formal program. If you are interested in working or taking classes part time and have the ability to be more autonomous, go for an informal program. The important thing is not the type of program that you choose but 1. getting good grades in your pre-req classes and 2. getting prepared for the MCAT.
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Formal programs generally aren't difficult to get into save for the "top" ones that GreenDuck mentioned. I'm currently in a formal program that's essentially an extension school and I've found the advantages to be the following:
- Higher priority in course registration
- Access to the pre-health advisory office and committee letter
This would be fine. Perhaps the only concern is your assembly of letters of recommendation and sending them to med schools yourself instead of through a pre-health office, but plenty have done this successfully too.
I have contacted the universities that are local to me about enrolling as a non-degree applicant in order to take the pre-reqs. It certainly seems like the best option for my situation as I can work more and have more flexibility in scheduling. My only concern is that they are certainly quick to mention that I will be last in the way of registering for classes. Has anyone found this to be a major problem? Im less concerned with having to take a class at a bad time, and more concerned with just not being able to get into one of the pre-req classes at all. My thinking is that these are large classes as many of them are considered Gen-Eds, so I would imagine they wouldnt all fill up completely, but I guess I dont really know. Has anyone heard horror stories of people just not being able to get into the classes they need or is it more of the headache of having to take them at odd times etc?
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I am facing this exact issue now. My home institution is far away and now that I've moved I've been taking courses as a visiting student. Its a hard battle watching for a grabbing a seat in classes you need. You're the last, usually no waiting list, and there is a deadline for how late you can register. Its the worst and its why I'm trying to transfer now.
But with a low gpa, transferring is also really hard to do. Sigh.
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I'd imagine that the in-demand pre-med pre-req courses fill up quickly and can be quite difficult to get into one with a favorable professor/time with low(est) registration priority. I enrolled in a formal program to avoid this nightmare.
One thing you can do other than a formal program is enroll as a 2nd degree student, take the pre-reqs you need, and drop it once you've completed what you need. I'm unsure of the difference in registration priority between 2nd degree students and students-at-large, but it does seem to vary by school.
Thats something Im certainly considering. Ive looked into the two schools that Im closest to, and both have accepted me as a non-degree seeking applicant. In all honesty, I will probably eventually go back full time as a second degree applicant, but Im considering putting that off a semester or so. Maybe take just a couple courses for the first semester, and then apply as a second degree candidate.
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I enrolled as seeking a second BS in Bio (at advisors rec). It got me priority registration for courses I needed and some support from my advisors (one was good and the other was an idiot, so that was a mixed bag). Some schools have a structured prehealth prog and some don't. If you just take courses and no degree prog then you are the last to register and may find it difficult getting into a class like Org 1 and that could throw you out a year at some schools. Make friends with profs so you can get your 2 science letters. You can also do it part-time at 2 classes/labs a term.
Ultimately, for med schools most don't care how you get the courses in class (some don't like online at all) but that you end up with a strong sgpa/bcpm.
Ultimately, for med schools most don't care how you get the courses in class (some don't like online at all) but that you end up with a strong sgpa/bcpm.
