a couple post bac questions

[iowagirl7]

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I'm thinking about doing a post bac. i haven't had science since high school and am new to this whole process. any help would be great!

1. About how many people apply to post bac programs and how high are the acceptance rates?

2. I'm going to take calculous next year (my senior year), but should I also take a bio course to sort of start preparing?

3. When do have to apply to most post bac programs by and when do you find out if you've been accepted?

4. What are some of the top tier schools, are there any highly-regarded ones in the mid-west?

5. What should I be doing to help my chances of acceptance?

6. What types of students usually enter post bacs?

7. Any other advice?

 

[fireflygirl]

Hmm no one has answered you yet unless this is a double post, but I thought I would help you get started.

First of all check out the Rate Your SMP/PB thread - they will give you a lot of information on various programs from students that have been in them. Also, check out http://services.aamc.org/postbac/ for a full list of PBs in the country.

1. I have no idea how many people apply though I do know that the option has become more appealing over the years and more PBs are becoming competitive. The acceptance rates vary by school with some of the more competitive ones being harder to get into unless you show previous committment to medicine or healthcare.

2. If you are definately going to go the PB route, a science course wouldn't hurt you unless the schools you are interested have specific rules about how many sciences you can come in with like Penn does. A bio 101 course or something healthcare related would be helpful to get a feel of how science classes work in general and how to study for them.

3. Each school has their own deadline but the work mostly on a rolling basis. Check out each school's website for more information about deadlines.

4. I don't know about the midwest but the top tier ones on the east coast are Bryn Mawr and Goucher being the really good ones and then after that perhaps Penn, Columbia, NYU. It's not necessary to go to an elite PB program - I went to Penn and if I could do it again, would have gone somewhere else - but it can help. It's what you make of it.

5. To increase your chances, keep your grades up. Most schools will care about what you have done in the past to come to this conclusion - have a strong personal statement. I know Bryn Mawr wanted to see some form of healthcare experience whether it was shadowing or volunteering. If you haven't already explored healthcare in that way, it might be helpful to.

6. All types of students enter PBs. I was a former Ibanker and I've met people who have been writers, opera singers, and I bet a guy who worked in the music industry in LA with Randy Jackson. And there's plenty of kids that come out of college and go directly in the PB so you'll meet a host of different kinds of people.

7. Work hard and be flexible. If you don't have a science background, it can be a tough transition but if you really want medicine, you will find a way to get into it. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[NewmansOwn]

I'm thinking about doing a post bac. i haven't had science since high school and am new to this whole process. any help would be great!

1. About how many people apply to post bac programs and how high are the acceptance rates?

2. I'm going to take calculous next year (my senior year), but should I also take a bio course to sort of start preparing?

3. When do have to apply to most post bac programs by and when do you find out if you've been accepted?

4. What are some of the top tier schools, are there any highly-regarded ones in the mid-west?

5. What should I be doing to help my chances of acceptance?

6. What types of students usually enter post bacs?

7. Any other advice?

1. Depends on the program. You can do it yourself, as many do successfully, and take classes at your local state school. There is no acceptance process -- you simply take the classes on a credit-by-credit basis. On the opposite side, many hundreds of people apply to the top programs and between 25 and 75 get in, depending on the program.

2. No. Calculus is good, since a third or so of med schools require it or other math, but if you want to do a formal program, the less science taken, the better. Programs will admit you if you've taken a course or two, but for the sake of continuity, they (and often med schools) like you to learn it all at one institution, if possible.

3. The top formal programs are rolling admission, usually opening in October. Apply as early as possible (like, October 1st, if possible) and you'll hear back about an interview within 2 weeks.

4. Bryn Mawr, Goucher and Scripps are the top three. The two former are on the East Coast and the latter is on the West Coast. I know of no reputable programs in the mid-west, but to be fair, I didn't look very hard. Most of the other respectable schools (Penn, Columbia (maybe), Hopkins and Georgetown) are all on the East Coast. I'm sure there are more decent ones, I just don't know of them.

5. Depends on how competitive of an applicant you are. If you go/went to a challenging and reputable college, a 3.5 will probably get you looked at at the top programs. You also need great SAT or GRE scores (one or the other; truly doesn't matter) and a fair amount of volunteer work, preferrably some of it clinical. Some honors/awards/distinctions thrown in there can help, as well, I suppose. When you apply, you'll also need an interesting/stand-out personal statement and a couple of solid letters of recommendation.

6. Um, students who want to go to a health professions school? Age generally doesn't matter -- the only unifying trend for the top programs' students is a strong academic/professional/volunteer background.

7. If you want more specific advice, please post a little more about yourself -- this is about all the general advice I can give.

 

[iowagirl7]

hey thanks for the replies. Here are is my personal situation if anyone can supply me with some more in depth advice or information:

I grew up in small town Iowa and now I'm a junior at Penn. I'll probably graduate with a 3.6 or higher GPA majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (one large major at Penn) and I'll most likely be minoring in Spanish. I got 1430 on the SAT and a 32 on my ACT.

I waitress a couple times a week near campus and write for the student newspaper. I worked for a newspaper in Des Moines last summer. Journalism is actually what convinced me I wanted to go to med school because I was the health beat and was spending a lot of time reporting at the hospital and interviewing doctors. I spent a semester in Spain and I'd say I'm proficient in Spanish.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[drizzt3117]

hey thanks for the replies. Here are is my personal situation if anyone can supply me with some more in depth advice or information:

I grew up in small town Iowa and now I'm a junior at Penn. I'll probably graduate with a 3.6 or higher GPA majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (one large major at Penn) and I'll most likely be minoring in Spanish. I got 1430 on the SAT and a 32 on my ACT.

I waitress a couple times a week near campus and write for the student newspaper. I worked for a newspaper in Des Moines last summer. Journalism is actually what convinced me I wanted to go to med school because I was the health beat and was spending a lot of time reporting at the hospital and interviewing doctors. I spent a semester in Spain and I'd say I'm proficient in Spanish.

Thanks for all the help!

If you like Philly, BM would be a good choice for a postbac...you seem like you'd be competitive give your stats.

 

[xeulee]

As far as #2, it depends on what program you want to go to. There are some programs where you can't apply if you have taken some of the sciences and there are some programs for people who have taken some or most of the classes. Just look at all the programs in this forum here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=114425 and look at the requirements for each program.

 

[pookisantoki]

Fireflygirl- I was thinking about applying to Penn. Why did you say that if you could do it again you wouldn't apply to penn??

 

[fireflygirl]

Fireflygirl- I was thinking about applying to Penn. Why did you say that if you could do it again you wouldn't apply to penn??

Take a look at my rating for the program under the Rate Your SMP/Post-Bac thread - I have given a pretty extensive critique for the program. I just think I could have been given better advice from the start and with all the political changes that have happened, I think students are hurting from the advising services specifically. There's a lot more to it and I certainly don't want to bash Penn because as you can see in my rating, I certainly think it's a strong program but better for people who already have some of their sceinces under their belt and not a complete newbie to the world of science like I was.

PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[NewmansOwn]

hey thanks for the replies. Here are is my personal situation if anyone can supply me with some more in depth advice or information:

I grew up in small town Iowa and now I'm a junior at Penn. I'll probably graduate with a 3.6 or higher GPA majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (one large major at Penn) and I'll most likely be minoring in Spanish. I got 1430 on the SAT and a 32 on my ACT.

I waitress a couple times a week near campus and write for the student newspaper. I worked for a newspaper in Des Moines last summer. Journalism is actually what convinced me I wanted to go to med school because I was the health beat and was spending a lot of time reporting at the hospital and interviewing doctors. I spent a semester in Spain and I'd say I'm proficient in Spanish.

Thanks for all the help!

Yeah, Bryn Mawr is the place for you -- get a little more clinical/volunteer experience, and you're probably set. My SAT wasn't much higher than yours and I'm headed there in a few months. PM me over the summer and I'll give you a tour before you apply, if you'd like (and if you'll be in Philly.) Good luck.

 

[iowagirl7]

Be careful, because I'll probably take you up on that offer. 🙂 A tour of BM would be really great, and I will be in Philly this summer (hopefully spending a lot of time volunteering at a hospital).