Advice about post bac's and linkage! (Mills, Scripps, Columbia, uPenn)

[charmingsun]

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Communications major with internship experience at Obama for America, NBC Universal, and Accenture. I've worked in Corporate America now for the past two years with a focus on Healthcare sales technology i.e. Electronic Medical Records. My GPA in Comm was 3.5+ - my overall GPA was 3.2.

I'm looking to possibly go into radiology or oncology. I've written up a great two page letter for all of the universities and possible post-bacc programs.

Which brings me to the topic of conversation; I've seen threads regarding, uPenn, Columbia, Scripps, and Mills. I'm looking for a school with awesome LINKAGE!!! I'm not trying to do a glide year.

I'd like to hear from those who have attended any of the following universities and what I should expect. Also, any tips during the application process would be greatly appreciated. I really want to leverage this opportunity to the fullest.

 

[NewmansOwn]

You've missed two of the top three postbacs and, interestingly, the two with by far the most linkages -- Bryn Mawr and Goucher.

I did the Bryn Mawr postbac and linked to medical school. You can PM me if you have any questions. Since you didn't mention the program, I won't pen a soliloquy here.

 

[charmingsun]

You've missed two of the top three postbacs and, interestingly, the two with by far the most linkages -- Bryn Mawr and Goucher.

I did the Bryn Mawr postbac and linked to medical school. You can PM me if you have any questions. Since you didn't mention the program, I won't pen a soliloquy here.

I was looking into Bryn Mawr but wasn't sure if I would be a valid candidate. I did request information from Bryn Mawr as well as Goucher.

Whatever insight you have to offer would be greatly appreciated. What was the application process like? Did you do the glide year or linkage?

 

[EJS1979]

Hey -- If you have questions about Goucher, feel free to let me know. I loved my time there and successfully linked to med school.

Good luck!

 

[deleted248403]

I did UPenn but the others are far better options, with the exception of Columbia

 

[MD to be 1 day]

I am in the Mills program and really love it! It is a small school (all women undergrad, coed graduate program(including postbac)) and you get all the attention you've ever wanted and more! The classes are small, teachers are great, Jo is fabulous, and they all passionately want to see you succeed. Mills links with 2 MD schools and 1 DO school. Basically, unless you have had a year of gen chem and a semester of calc, you are doing a 2 year program (like most of us). If you stay 2 years, you have the option to link in the third year. You are "nominated" for the link in the second year (after you choose which school you want to link to and they review you to see if you are a good candidate (3.75 in the program for upitt and 3.5ish for tulane)). If you achieve certain MCAT scores, you are in, I forget what they are off the top of my head but I can look it up for you. Only a few students link (a total of 3 can be nominated for tulane and I am not sure about upitt). Most people take the glide year but we have a great relationship with UCSF so a good number of students are accepted there every year. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂

 

[mtulli]

I'd steer clear of Penn and Columbia.

Brynn Mawr, Goucher, and Johns Hopkins are your best bets for odds of linkage and quality of experience. Just my opinion and I can't speak for Scripps other than the quality of their program is extremely high.

 

[doctoroxygen]

If you stay 2 years, you have the option to link in the third year. You are "nominated" for the link in the second year (after you choose which school you want to link to and they review you to see if you are a good candidate (3.75 in the program for upitt and 3.5ish for tulane)). If you achieve certain MCAT scores, you are in, I forget what they are off the top of my head but I can look it up for you. Only a few students link (a total of 3 can be nominated for tulane and I am not sure about upitt.

Only three for Tulane? How many students vie for those spots and how big are the cohorts?

 

[drizzt3117]

The way the Pitt linkage typically works is that you need a 3.75 inside whatever program you're in, plus 33 MCAT WITH 11 in each section, and you also have to interview. If they like you, they'll give you an conditional acceptance based on you meeting the grade and MCAT requirements. The caveat here, though, is that the interview typically is in January/February, pretty late, typically you won't find out till close to April, so you want to get all of your AMCAS ducks in order pretty soon afterwards if you don't get accepted.

I am in the Mills program and really love it! It is a small school (all women undergrad, coed graduate program(including postbac)) and you get all the attention you've ever wanted and more! The classes are small, teachers are great, Jo is fabulous, and they all passionately want to see you succeed. Mills links with 2 MD schools and 1 DO school. Basically, unless you have had a year of gen chem and a semester of calc, you are doing a 2 year program (like most of us). If you stay 2 years, you have the option to link in the third year. You are "nominated" for the link in the second year (after you choose which school you want to link to and they review you to see if you are a good candidate (3.75 in the program for upitt and 3.5ish for tulane)). If you achieve certain MCAT scores, you are in, I forget what they are off the top of my head but I can look it up for you. Only a few students link (a total of 3 can be nominated for tulane and I am not sure about upitt). Most people take the glide year but we have a great relationship with UCSF so a good number of students are accepted there every year. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂

 

[EJS1979]

The way the Pitt linkage typically works is that you need a 3.75 inside whatever program you're in, plus 33 MCAT WITH 11 in each section, and you also have to interview.

Actually their MCAT requirement went up last year; it's now a 35.

 

[mdmfa]

I did my postbac at Scripps a few years ago and did a linkage to Pitt. The Scripps program is intense and replicates the med school experience. You do all the pre-med courses in one year - gen chem in the summer; and bio, physics and organic chemistry during the rest of the year. The advantage is being finished in one year. The disadvantage is that you are taking a test in a different subject every week. And if you are doing a linkage, you have to take the MCAT by May just after finals. So you are studying material for the MCAT sometimes before encountering it in class. You have to be sure that you are going to perform well or you will be swallowed up. The plus is that the faculty and students are great and really supportive. For anyone doing the Scripps postbac, I would recommend trying to match to any of the other linkage schools (not Pitt) or do a gap year and apply to med schools in the general applicant pool. The reputation of the Scripps program is great and students get into competitive med schools.

I would not focus on looking at only postbac programs that have great linkages. For the most part, only a few students who already have stellar grades from great undergraduate colleges are going to get into the most competitive med schools through postbac linkages. So postbac programs are not a back door entry to those programs. I would focus on getting great grades, volunteering, accumulating clinical experience and doing research.

 

[MD to be 1 day]

Only three for Tulane? How many students vie for those spots and how big are the cohorts?

I am not sure how many people vie for the 3 spots, but our 2 year cohorts are about maybe 25-30?

 

[MD to be 1 day]

Actually their MCAT requirement went up last year; it's now a 35.

I think the MCAT requirement may range from school to school because the contract they gave us this year says we need a 33 to link to Pitt this coming year...but maybe they can change it before the actual application deadline? I'm not sure.

 

[mdmfa]

I think the MCAT requirement may range from school to school because the contract they gave us this year says we need a 33 to link to Pitt this coming year...but maybe they can change it before the actual application deadline? I'm not sure.

I would go with whatever it says on the contract for the program that you are in. Pitt will not change its requirements arbitrarily. After all, a contract is a legally binding agreement.

When I linked to Pitt from Scripps, the minimum MCAT was lower. It was then raised the next year. And then raised apparently to 35. Last year, Pitt did not have a single linkage student from any postbac program. So I imagine that the bar was raised too high. Obviously, if you can get a 35 on the MCAT, you will have a lot of options. The only advantage would then be getting into a great school a year earlier.

 

[charmingsun]

After over viewing a lot of the applications, I feel like I might not be a get accepted to any of these institutions. Are there any other great post-bac programs that don't have linkage? Who won't necessarily grill me to badly for having a 3.2?

 

[drizzt3117]

I would go with whatever it says on the contract for the program that you are in. Pitt will not change its requirements arbitrarily. After all, a contract is a legally binding agreement.

When I linked to Pitt from Scripps, the minimum MCAT was lower. It was then raised the next year. And then raised apparently to 35. Last year, Pitt did not have a single linkage student from any postbac program. So I imagine that the bar was raised too high. Obviously, if you can get a 35 on the MCAT, you will have a lot of options. The only advantage would then be getting into a great school a year earlier.

You're a 4th year now then, right? How do you like pitt?