Hi there! I am currently a senior in college and have taken a few science courses (Chem I, Cell Bio, Genetics, and Physics I) but still have to complete the remaining courses so as to apply to medical school. I applied to Thomas Jefferson post bacc program (P4) and got accepted! I had applied to the 2 year program but during my interview, the program director discussed my ability to partake in the 1 year track instead of the 2 year one. I have been giving this some thought, and am leaning towards doing the 1 year track. Does anyone have any advice regarding this or insight into the Thomas Jefferson P4 program? I love everything this program has to offer and am excited to continue my pre med journey there 🙂
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1 vs 2 year Post Bac Program Advice
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Depends on your clinical experience and when you want to apply to med school imo. Do you want to apply to med school right away after the program? Or take time after the program to get more clinical experience before you apply?
I would ideally like to apply right away or do their linkage if I qualify.
I have a decent amount of shadowing, research, volunteer, and some work related to the health care field. I plan on continuing building on all this my spring semester and during the post bacc when I can!
I did a 1yr post bac. I had already taken gen chem, so I took bio/ochem/phys together. It was a rough year. But I studied really hard and got all A's/-'s. Best part was that whole year I was already studying for the MCAT, so I mostly just had to refresh my gen chem knowledge to do well on the MCAT.
On the other hand, things can go poorly very quickly if you try to cram things in quickly but get behind in a class. Still, you usually know within the first couple weeks if you can handle it--if not, you drop a course and shift to a two-year plan.
I know as a pre-med I also wanted to get to med school as quick as possible. I wanted to get to the "real world" as quick as I could. Now I look back at high school, college, post-bac and realize it was a great time and that I probably worried too much about the future. Still, I had a great time, but my one regret is never studying abroad. And as an art major, I actually would've studied!
Take your time, do it right. In the end, a year or two here or there isn't going to make any difference one way or the other. Conversely, if you can do it in a year and be happy/enjoy it and get to where you want to be, then why stretch things out?
On the other hand, things can go poorly very quickly if you try to cram things in quickly but get behind in a class. Still, you usually know within the first couple weeks if you can handle it--if not, you drop a course and shift to a two-year plan.
I know as a pre-med I also wanted to get to med school as quick as possible. I wanted to get to the "real world" as quick as I could. Now I look back at high school, college, post-bac and realize it was a great time and that I probably worried too much about the future. Still, I had a great time, but my one regret is never studying abroad. And as an art major, I actually would've studied!
Take your time, do it right. In the end, a year or two here or there isn't going to make any difference one way or the other. Conversely, if you can do it in a year and be happy/enjoy it and get to where you want to be, then why stretch things out?
Future Dr. Juice
Full Member
Have you had issues with scheduling an interview? They gave me two online dates and I tried to schedule my interview the same day I received the invite and it said both were full. The admissions counselor has not responded to any voice messages or emails. It’s not a good look.
