Pros and Cons of Post Bacc

[DeePhil]

Hi all. I am a freshman planning to enter my second semester this week. I have always been interested in medicine and definitely want to be a doctor, but I am also so excited about all that a liberal arts environment has to offer. I am not really a fan of the science departments or pre-med environment at my school and I was wondering if it is a bad idea to go into college already planning to do a post bacc? I really would like to major in Economics and minor in Health and Society and do a thesis on healthcare economics in developing countries, and this just won't be possible next to all the pre-med requirements. What are the pros and cons of doing a post-bacc? Could I still be accepted into an MD/PhD in Economics/Policy if I do a post-bacc?

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[ridethecliche]

I don't see anything wrong with it if you have the time and money, but I've never heard of an MD/PhD in econ/policy. People do MD/MBA's for that.

 

[DeePhil]

So medical schools won't look down upon me if I pursue this path? I want to pursue ECs relevant to medicine in college but take the pre-reqs later on

 

[Law2Doc]

As the prior poster noted, the biggest cons are time and $. The pros are youd probably have a Better college GPA and could focus on the prereqs with fewer other classes to distract you. Med schools are fine with post bacs -- not every college student decides they want to be a Doctor by age 18. And probably shouldnt.

 

[DeePhil]

Should I take any of the pre-reqs at school or should I leave them all for my post-bacc year? Should I volunteer at hospitals over the summer or would that be "suspicious" to med schools since I supposedly don't know I want to be pre-med yet?

 

[EParker37]

And quite a few schools actually look favorably on someone who has a broad educational background. I have to admit that doing my science classes as a post-bacc was significantly better than trying to do them with core classes etc. I was able to really combine the concepts with each subject and get the overall picture, I was also able to dedicate the time necessary to get a 4.0 in my science classes. On the upside as well, I am far more mature than I was during my UG, and got several strong LOR's because of it. You should absolutely volunteer, both clinical and non-clinical. And med schools aren't going to care whether you decided to be a doctor at 19 or later on, even if you volunteer.

 

[DeePhil]

So since my parents are willing to pay, this is kind of optimal?

How careful do I have to be about my GPA right now? I know that I should aim for a near-perfect GPA but do the post-bacc grades matter more?

 

[Law2Doc]

Should I take any of the pre-reqs at school or should I leave them all for my post-bacc year? Should I volunteer at hospitals over the summer or would that be "suspicious" to med schools since I supposedly don't know I want to be pre-med yet?

You can do the volunteering to see if it's a field you think you'd like, no issues with that. But If you are likely going to do a postbac leave all the sciences alone ( or whatever you haven't taken yet) -- a lot of the formal places won't take you if you've already had too many of the prereqs.

 

[Law2Doc]

So since my parents are willing to pay, this is kind of optimal?

How careful do I have to be about my GPA right now? I know that I should aim for a near-perfect GPA but do the post-bacc grades matter more?

All of your GPA matters.

 

[DeePhil]

Does it matter at all what I major in?

Also, would taking a year of physics be a bad idea? I already took one semester, should I take the second?

 

[Law2Doc]

Does it matter at all what I major in?

Also, would taking a year of physics be a bad idea? I already took one semester, should I take the second?

Again, take no more sciences if you plan to do a formal postbac. Less is better. They want clean slates.
Major in what you like. Med schools don't care. Get A's.

 

[EParker37]

Again, take no more sciences if you plan to do a formal postbac. Less is better. They want clean slates.
Major in what you like. Med schools don't care. Get A's.

Sound advice, I would also add, find a major you actually enjoy and stick with it. I switched after 2 years of comp science after an internship when I realized I didn't enjoy it as a career, got mine in Public Admin with a public health focus, and my grades reflected my enjoyment of the program. It was also around this time that I started the machinery to where I am now, about to apply to med school.

 

[DeePhil]

so I can't major in astrophysics and plan to do a post-bacc haha?

 

[medic86]

so I can't major in astrophysics and plan to do a post-bacc haha?

For the last time: you can major in whatever the hell you want. Get A's.

 

[DeePhil]

I was (jokingly) asking because it was mentioned above not to take any more sciences...

How much science in undergrad would be "too much science"?

 

[EParker37]

I was (jokingly) asking because it was mentioned above not to take any more sciences...

How much science in undergrad would be "too much science"?

It doesn't matter as long as you do well in them, the idea for holding out on pre-reqs, is that by doing them 2 or 3 at a time, you will be able to truly grasp the content and excel at the subjects, all the while obtaining knowledge for the MCAT.

 

[mehc012]

I was (jokingly) asking because it was mentioned above not to take any more sciences...

How much science in undergrad would be "too much science"?

That depends on what sort of postbacc you want to complete. Personally, I'd suggest DIY as it is generally cheaper and easier to do alongside other activities/jobs, but whatever floats your boat. Perhaps, since you are considering completing a postbacc eventually, you should go ahead and look into what form you'd like that to take: formal/informal, DIY, fulltime/part time, location, etc. That will impact your decisions now.

 

[kraskadva]

Also, the chem series alone (gen chem, orgo, biochem) typically takes 5 semesters to complete. So it can't be squeezed into a single year of postbacc unless you do one of the very expensive formal programs. If you intend to do a DIY postbacc, you should start some of these earlier.
And there's nothing wrong with doing a 5th year... major in whatever you want, pick up a chem or bio minor and you'll have most of them knocked out before 4 years are up. Keep going for a 5th if you need to finish some off. Much cheaper that way.

 

[Goro]

They won't especially if you demonstrate your commitment to Medicine continuously.

So medical schools won't look down upon me if I pursue this path? I want to pursue ECs relevant to medicine in college but take the pre-reqs later on

 

[DeePhil]

I'd like to do a formal program, like those at Columbia, Bryn Mawr, Goucher, or JHU. I understand that the post-bacc would be a two year program. I don't mind. I just think I would have a better opportunity to do well in college if I wasn't taking all the pre-reqs now. I'm a late bloomer who is interested in literature and medical anthropology and economics but I want to go to medical school eventually, I'm just not sure that I can handle all the pre-reqs right now, especially since my school has a notorious reputation for having overly competitive pre meds and science teachers who kind of are delighted when people are weeded out.

 

[mehc012]

I'd like to do a formal program, like those at Columbia, Bryn Mawr, Goucher, or JHU. I understand that the post-bacc would be a two year program. I don't mind. I just think I would have a better opportunity to do well in college if I wasn't taking all the pre-reqs now. I'm a late bloomer who is interested in literature and medical anthropology and economics but I want to go to medical school eventually, I'm just not sure that I can handle all the pre-reqs right now, especially since my school has a notorious reputation for having overly competitive pre meds and science teachers who kind of are delighted when people are weeded out.

In that case, look at the requirements of those programs and make sure you stick to those guidelines when choosing your courses in UG.

 

[DeePhil]

When post-bacc programs say that they basically want no pre-reqs, does that include MCAT 2015 courses such as psychology, math, sociology, etc?

 

[kraskadva]

Look at their curriculums. Don't take those classes. Math is usually taken in UG.

 

[DeePhil]

I guess I'm just debating whether or not to give science class at my undergrad a shot... I already took one semester and got a B, but thankfully that was under our first semester mandatory pass/fail system. Its just very hard to think of waiting four years to take any of these interesting science courses (though physics was far from interesting haha).

 

[mehc012]

I'd like to do a formal program, like those at Columbia, Bryn Mawr, Goucher, or JHU. I understand that the post-bacc would be a two year program. I don't mind. I just think I would have a better opportunity to do well in college if I wasn't taking all the pre-reqs now. I'm a late bloomer who is interested in literature and medical anthropology and economics but I want to go to medical school eventually, I'm just not sure that I can handle all the pre-reqs right now, especially since my school has a notorious reputation for having overly competitive pre meds and science teachers who kind of are delighted when people are weeded out.

The program is designed for students who have not previously taken the science classes required for admission to medical school. Occasionally, we admit students who have taken one or two of the science prerequisites.
...
While some students are eligible if they have taken a small portion of the required science courses, we will not consider your application if you have taken the majority of them.

I'd call them to ask about MCAT2015 materials.

The postbac program is designed for individuals who have not taken the prerequisite science courses for admission to medical school. Although Bryn Mawr may consider a student who has completed one or two of the required science courses, you are not eligible for the program if you have completed all or a majority of these courses or if you have taken the MCAT.

The Johns Hopkins post-bac program is intended for individuals who have not taken many science courses. The general rule is that if you have taken more than half of the science requirements for medical school you are not eligible for the program.

Students are not eligible for admission if they have completed most or all of the required premedical courses.

In some cases, however, Postbac Premed students may have completed one or two of the prerequisites required for medical school admission. Depending on when such coursework was completed, and the grades achieved, students may be advised to repeat the course or to take an advanced-level science course in order to be a more competitive applicant to medical school.

The answers to your questions are mostly available online. The only thing you may want to call about is the MCAT2015 info, though it's notable that most of these programs specifically use the phrase 'prerequisite science coursework'. It will likely depend on whether we start to see medical schools change their prereqs to include Psych/Soc/Biochem, etc...if they don't, postbaccs may not bother with the complete overhaul it would require for them to do so.

 

[DeePhil]

So the plan is: major in something I really love (right now I'm thinking American Studies/Politics), get some volunteer experience, both clinical and non-clinical, and also figure out if medicine is truly for me over these four years, and then apply to a post-bacc that starts directly after I graduate?

 

[kraskadva]

So the plan is: major in something I really love (right now I'm thinking American Studies/Politics), get some volunteer experience, both clinical and non-clinical, and also figure out if medicine is truly for me over these four years, and then apply to a post-bacc that starts directly after I graduate?

Is this a question? If so, then sure, that sounds fine.

Look, nobody here can tell you what you want to do. Especially when you as a freshman don't know yourself what you want to do. The plan you've laid out would work fine, as would about 1000 other plans. But the beauty of being young is that you have both time and opportunity to figure it out.

The best advice I could give you is to take classes that interest you now while the parents are paying for it, and get a degree in something that would lead to a viable career if you decide you don't want medicine. Along the way do some shadowing + clinical volunteering to help you decide if you really want a career in healthcare. Kick the tires, so to speak. Probably good to explore other career options at the same time. Make the most of college and you'll be fine whether you pick medicine or not.