UPenn Post Bacc Program

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Anyone else still waiting for a response for summer or fall 2016 entry? (fingers crossed for an II!)

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I did well on the SATs and ACTs, but have no idea how to access them. Despite my application already being marked complete, do you think I should find and send them in to Penn separately?

Thanks a bunch for the reply! I appreciate it. It's really reassuring and helping with the nerves. Haha


Hey so sorry for the late reply, I don't get my email notifications for some reason.

But I don't think it will hurt if you send them! I had to retrieve my password and everything to be able to send my SAT scores and it's really easy to do so. You do have to probably pay an archive fee to send them though depending on when you took them, which I wanna say was about $30-$40, just a heads up!
 
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Hey so sorry for the late reply, I don't get my email notifications for some reason.

But I don't think it will hurt if you send them! I had to retrieve my password and everything to be able to send my SAT scores and it's really easy to do so. You do have to probably pay an archive fee to send them though depending on when you took them, which I wanna say was about $30-$40, just a heads up!
Thanks for the info!
 
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Accepted into the program! Interview on a Friday. Got results on a Tuesday.

Stats for other to see: 3.1 cGPA 2.89 sGPA 3.60 other courses GPA. SAT from 2010: 1890 ACT: 26. I did not apply with mcat, i have some pretty solid extra curricular activities in the clinical setting, both paid and unpaid (paid/unpaid doesn't matter tho, what matters is how you can speak to the experiences) and i had two strong letters of recommendation speaking to my personal and professional ability. Good luck to the rest of those who apply!!!
 
For those who have completed the program, or are currently enrolled, would you be able to offer some advice about where to look for housing? looking for something close to campus and somewhat nice, want to stay away from janky places. got enough of that in my undergrad lol. any advice about where i should start looking online would be appreciated! moving from California so i won't have the option to check out the places before i move in. thank you everyone
 
Accepted into the program! Interview on a Friday. Got results on a Tuesday.

Stats for other to see: 3.1 cGPA 2.89 sGPA 3.60 other courses GPA. SAT from 2010: 1890 ACT: 26. I did not apply with mcat, i have some pretty solid extra curricular activities in the clinical setting, both paid and unpaid (paid/unpaid doesn't matter tho, what matters is how you can speak to the experiences) and i had two strong letters of recommendation speaking to my personal and professional ability. Good luck to the rest of those who apply!!!

Hey! If you don't mind sharing,
when was your application completed?
 
Looking for roommate(s) to share starting in May. Thinking about University City. Please pm and we can connect!
 
So I just recently accepted my offer from Penn, and I am looking forward to starting in May. I am a little concerned, as I haven't seen many stories of people completing the program and getting into medical school. Can anyone comment on how successful the program is at helping students get into medical school? Any information is much appreciated!
 
For those who have completed the program, or are currently enrolled, would you be able to offer some advice about where to look for housing? looking for something close to campus and somewhat nice, want to stay away from janky places. got enough of that in my undergrad lol. any advice about where i should start looking online would be appreciated! moving from California so i won't have the option to check out the places before i move in. thank you everyone

Are you looking to live in University City? Or are you thinking of being outside the city and commuting?
 
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looking at a place in university city or powelton village
Try looking at University City Housing, they have lots of great places that they call Victorian Restorations. They are great rooms in places with some serious character. You could email them to find out what is available still; [email protected]
 
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those who are starting this summer, what classes are you guys taking? for those who were in this program, any course recommendation?
 
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I'm in the program right now. There are a ton of research and volunteer opportunities, so don't worry about that. Taking 4 cu's at Penn plus extracurriculars is definitely doable, but brace yourself for a really really busy semester. A lot of students take 3 cu's in the fall and spring semester, then take 2 cu's in the summer to satisfy the 8cu requirement for the certificate. This makes doing other extracurriculars more manageable.
Hey! I know you answered this a while back, but I just got my acceptance today and I'm curious about the scheduling issue. I really wanted to work full-time during the next year, so I was originally planning to do 3 cu's each semester then two in the summer. Do you think that's doable? Also, can you still apply to med school that cycle? Your summer grades wouldn't get in till end of summer, but could you forward them like you do your MCAT?

Wondering if I should just work part-time and do four classes each semester, I'm lucky enough that my parents have offered to support me during the next year if need be, but I really want to support myself.

This thread is great guys, thanks for all the info!
 
Hey everyone! I just found out I was accepted to UPENN Post bac pre med for Fall 2016!!!! I was wondering how good is this program? Also is there anyone else attending this fall? Looking for a roommate!
 
Just got accepted today!

But I'm trying to decide between Case and this program. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Thinking of applying here to start in the Spring...does anyone have the stats? Like # of applicants, interviews and acceptances?
 
Hi everyone, I just got accepted to the Core program and I'm trying to decide whether or not to attend. I'm super nontrad, long boring story, but my undergrad gpa is a 3.0. So now I've been accepted into this thing and am feeling kind of worried, because even if I get a perfect 4.0 in the program, that would still only bring my gpa up to like, maaaybe a 3.3 overall?

There's a good upward trend, etc etc, but is there any point in doing this postbac if my gpa at the end of it is still going to be below the ~3.5 cutoff? Would I need to do even more classes? Or will having a strong postbac gpa be enough (besides, you know, all the other stuff you need)? Some people seem to be suggesting it's not and I'm wondering if I should abandon the whole venture. Any advice would be appreciated!
 
(Deleted user)
Even with a near-perfect 4.0 GPA in the core requirements (which only a few people get), you will likely need another year of upper-level classes in order to have a competitive GPA for med schools.

I would recommend brushing up on your math now especially if you were a non-math major -- the chemistry and physics classes are quite heavy on algebra and trigonometry.

If this is something you're truly passionate about, another year in post-bacc shouldn't drive you away. Post-bacc, the application year, medical school, and residency will be at least 10 years. What's an extra year to that? If finances are an issue, I would recommend picking a cheaper program so you can be successful on your first cycle once you have a competitive GPA. Best of luck!

Thanks for replying! In terms of time/work, another year of classes definitely doesn't put me off, but you're right that financing all this biz does (I'm assuming everyone just takes out a ton of loans?). This was the only program I applied to and I Was Not Expecting to get in, so I don't have other options right now. A cheaper program would require relocating, giving up my job, and maybe even living apart from my fiance and paying double-rent, so I don't think that comes out to be financially worth it.

I do work in a research lab at , and can take classes there for relatively cheap---but only two per semester, it's too late to apply for starting in the fall, and obviously all the first bio/chem/physics classes in the sequence are only offered for the fall semester.

Would it be dumb (i.e. not worth the money) to do the post-bacc and then afterwards spend a year doing classes here to build the gpa up some more?
 
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Your plan sounds fine to me. Citing finances as a reason for transferring to complete upper-division classes shouldn't hurt you (though in some cases it can raise some eyebrows if grades suddenly jump going from one institution to another)
as far as I can tell, you have to finish all your post-bacc biz at Penn in two years, so if I need to do anything else afterwards, it would have to be elsewhere. Thank you for the advice!
 
Hi everyone,

So, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I was accepted at LMU, SFSU, and UPenn's PB programs. I'm currently a CA resident, but grew up in NEPA and still have family in the state. I'm a non traditional student (29yo) and recent graduate of UCLA (psych). My GPA is 3.64, definitely a career changer (only completed intro bio and intro chem courses to transfer), I've got volunteer experience in hospital with UCLA Health, research experience at UCLA (psych), and volunteering experience in a few other non-medical-related positions. Haven't taken the MCAT or GRE.

LMU is no longer on the table, as both individuals who interviewed me (program director and program coordinator) have since resigned. Although it would be convenient to go to LMU, there are too many cons at is point to even consider it (still a little salty about the $500 to "hold" my spot).

What I'm really having trouble with is deciding between Penn and SFSU. Here's what I've found/my thoughts on each program so far:

Penn - Pros
Ivy League prestige
Linkages to great medical schools and name recognition
Cheaper to live in Philly, but more expensive to attend Penn
Discounts on MCAT prep (Kaplan, Princeton)
Tutoring available
Personalized advising (anyone confirm how "individualized" this is?)
Application assistance, mock interviews, workshops/seminars, committee letter
Plenty of research and volunteer opportunities in Philadelphia

Family relatively nearby (read: support system)
Public transit available (no experience with it, myself)

East coast attitudes/values (as opposed to SoCal)
I keep seeing different numbers, but a ~60% acceptance to medschool

Penn - Cons

Competitive atmosphere
Competitive curving (both of ease are cons-ish, depending on how well you do in classes, I assume)
Moves me from California, reducing the already slim chances of getting into a California medschool (I'd love to go to Geffen, but their acceptance is like 3%? Lol)

SFSU - Pros
Community/cooperative atmosphere
Well-known post bac in California

Highly selective with applicants (or so I've been told)
Tutoring available
MCAT prep
Personalized advising (though I've heard his can be difficult to obtain, beyond he first appointment)
Application assistance, mock interviews, professional colloquium, committee letter packet
I would remain a California resident
Great public transit
Volunteer opportunities nearby, research I'm not so sure
Family still in LA, so not too far and have a friend who also got into the program
Cheaper than Penn
"Overall success rate of 80%" (assuming that means getting into medschools)

SFSU - Cons

Doesn't have the prestige of Penn, but is still a respected program
No linkages (though I've read that they're either impossible to get or not really important anyway?)
Affordable housing is near impossible to find
San Francisco can be terribly pretentious in a way that's different than How pretentious Los Angeles can be (lol)


At this point, it seems like the cost of attending Penn is counterbalanced by the cost of livin in San Francisco, so cost may no longer be a distinguishing factor between the two programs.

Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated!
 
anyone have any info on linkage requirements for Core Studies folks?
 
Hi everyone,

I am new to this community and was hoping for any information about the interview for the UPenn Post-Bacc core studies program. Earlier posts in this thread have covered the "why do you want to switch to the medical field," and "why UPenn" questions, but any other insight would be greatly appreciated!

Also, does anyone know about how many people they interview versus how many are accepted to the program?

Thanks!
 
Interviewed a few days ago, stalking this thread definitely helped! If you can find some of the interview questions in here and have some good answers ready to go it will help you a lot.
 
Just curious - Is this thread for the Upenn "career-changer" post-bac program?

I was recently accepted to the "pre-health specialized health program" at Upenn for academic enhancement. I am curious to see what kinds of students had success in this program.
 
Just curious - Is this thread for the Upenn "career-changer" post-bac program?

I was recently accepted to the "pre-health specialized health program" at Upenn for academic enhancement. I am curious to see what kinds of students had success in this program.
Both.
 
Accepted! This thread was amazingly helpful! Having seen a lot of the questions ahead of time and being able to prepare really good answers was instrumental!
 
I was just accepted to the Core Studies program (career changer here). latinclub are you in the core studies or specialized program?
 
Upenn specialized health post-bac, spring 2017... Time to find somewhere to live in Philly.
 
My apologies... I was recently accepted. I will be starting this upcoming summer.
 
My apologies... I was recently accepted. I will be starting this upcoming summer.
Oh, I was just wondering how long it took them to review your application/do the interview/get accepted. I am applying soon and just want a general timeline. Also, would you mind sharing your stats?
 
Oh, I was just wondering how long it took them to review your application/do the interview/get accepted. I am applying soon and just want a general timeline. Also, would you mind sharing your stats?

The process went pretty fast for me. I think it took ~2-3 weeks or so after my interview to get accepted. All in all, probably 1-2 months?
Stats - Went to prestigious liberal arts school in New England, cGPA = 3.1, sGPA = 2.9. Scored the MCAT on 01/28/17, still waiting (hoping 508+). Will apply mostly DO for the 2019 cycle after finishing the program.
 
Oh, I was just wondering how long it took them to review your application/do the interview/get accepted. I am applying soon and just want a general timeline. Also, would you mind sharing your stats?

I also was just accepted to the core studies program to begin summer 2017, but due to class scheduling I will have to defer to fall 2017. The process for me was actually faster than CJhooper. I was offered an interview about 10 days after applying, interviewed on a Friday, and was offered acceptance the Monday right after.
My undergrad is from a large state university and my masters (in education, I am a career changer) is from a different large state university. cGPA 3.7, sGPA (math and non-major sciences only) 3.9. I am pre-vet and have not taken the GRE yet.
 
For those in the program or have finished it - where are ideal off-campus locations to live? I have heard University City is good, but I would like to know more options.

Also.... if someone is looking for a roommate, message me.
 
For those in the program or have finished it - where are ideal off-campus locations to live? I have heard University City is good, but I would like to know more options.

Also.... if someone is looking for a roommate, message me.

I'm not currently in the program, but have been working in a lab at UPenn for the past year and a half. Some of the best locations to live are Graduate hospital (a lot of grad students/med students live here and either take the school shuttle or walk), center city is a bit more expensive but surprisingly cheap compared to other big cities, another great option is Fishtown and Northern Liberties both great neighborhoods with a lot to do and easy access to the subway to get to work. When I first moved here I lived in center city, but then moved to Fishtown because it was cheaper to live but still had all the great ameneties. Most people though will live in grad hospital/University city area. Let me know if you have any questions!
 
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I really want to apply. I'd be applying to core program. I am an international student. sGPA 3.89; cGPA 3.82, Great research experience, research presentation, accepted abstract, hours of observation in OR and shadow in clinic, performed thoracotomy on cadaver, great extracurricular, sport, leader of 3 clubs and intramural team, Rhodes scholar finalist, great letter of recc. However, I did not take the SAT, GRE or MCAT. I got into undergrad in US without SAT. Do you guys think I should give it a shot?
 
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I really want to apply. I'd be applying to core program. I am an international student. sGPA 3.89; cGPA 3.82, Great research experience, research presentation, accepted abstract, hours of observation in OR and shadow in clinic, performed thoracotomy on cadaver, great extracurricular, sport, leader of 3 clubs and intramural team, Rhodes scholar finalist, great letter of recc. However, I did not take the SAT, GRE or MCAT. I got into undergrad in US without SAT. Do you guys think I should give it a shot?

I just applied recently and I believe that some type of standardized test was required for the application. I would recommend contacting an administrator to make sure you could apply without a standardized test. It's not clear how strict their requirements are on that. Other than that, your stats sound very competitive.
 
For those in the program or have finished it - where are ideal off-campus locations to live? I have heard University City is good, but I would like to know more options.

Also.... if someone is looking for a roommate, message me.
I live in Roxborough, it's far from the main part of the city but there's plenty of public trans and it's easily one of the cheapest areas to live in.
 
Hi everyone!

I graduate this May and am really interested in the UPenn Pre-Health Core Studies Program. Can someone please tell me what is needed to make my application competitive?

If you have gotten in for Fall 2017 can you please let me know what your application was like? Is getting into this program relatively hard?
 
@SS0822 Send me a PM and I will answer as many questions about applying to the core studies program as I can.
 
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hey guys, as I read this thread, there were not that many pre-dental students or any stories about pre-dental students linking to 2 dental schools. Did anyone (both alumni/current students) know anything about this? Thank you!
 
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