Advise on Post Bacc & Next Steps!

[QuentinT88]

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I am planning on finishing up Chem II(this summer), Bio I & II, Organic I & II, and Physics I & II by Spring (May) of 2015.


After that, I am at a cross roads. I could use some advice from people who have been through a post bacc program before.

Option I. After Spring 2015, continue taking courses at my state school (Biochemistry, Microbiology, Genetics, Anatomy and Physiology), take the new MCAT, and apply by June 2016

Option II. Finish by Spring 2015, and enroll in UPenn's Specialized Post Bacc for upper level courses (Biochem, Immunology, Histology, Microbiology, etc) for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016, take the MCAT, and apply by June 2016

I know that getting into Med School is crazy hard these days, so I want to do my best to not only get in to a school in the states, but also get into the best school that I can.

The reason why I am considering doing the Specialized Studies Post Bacc program at UPenn is because I think it would really help my credentials more so than getting a Masters degree (MS or MPH). I'd be taking upper level courses at a well known program. With the Penn program, I could improve my cgpa with upper level courses. In addition, the Penn formal program has linkages to some pretty good medical schools. Plus the tuition for the program isn't that much more than what I have been paying for my DIY post bacc.

Any advice would be much appreciated guys!

 

[LabDoc33]

I'm not speaking from experience, only as a fellow premed, but if I was you and the price isn't much different I would absolutely do the specialized post bacc, especially if it has linkages.

You are correct in assuming that MS or MPH wouldn't be that helpful. Only SMP's are really favored from what I've seen scouring this website.

Seems like you have your work cut out for you, good luck!

 

[DocWinter]

Either plan is a good option. If finances are not an issue, I would have to go with the formal Penn program...what's not to love about that. If you are really hoping to stay local, it could be a key piece.
However, if you keep you GPA up and continue on, you have a good chance at most schools with the DYI program. I went DIY as there wasn't an affordable option in my area and it worked fine.

 

[Aelius]

Do you know how the linkages work at the UPenn program? Do you just have to maintain a minimum GPA and MCAT score and you are in? Are those classes taught as regular classes among the general student population or are they specifically post-bacc classes?

 

[QuentinT88]

@Aelius that is a good question. The information on their website is a little vague on the details. I am assuming each school has their own standards of gpa & MCAT scores needed to consider. I will give them a call Monday and request more information. Here are the list of schools:

• Drexel University College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Jefferson Medical College
• Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine
• The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine

@LabDoc33 thx for your input! Definitley do have my work cut out for me, but I am looking forward to it.

@DocWinter I agree. I may end up just doing all the courses as DIY. It depends on what information I can find on the linkage agreements from the Penn program. But Penn's program looks solid overall.

 

[Aelius]

Yeah, I saw the list on their website. I remember having a conversation with the director for the post-bacc program at Scripps. At the time they had a linkage agreement with Pittsburgh but told me that the requirements were pretty high. High to the point where if you were able to achieve those cutoffs, you were likely to pretty much likely to be able to go a lot of other high tier med schools.

 

[Quik]

Echoing others, either option is a good option. With a DIY, you can save money, do it according to your own pace, and manage a complete application building process while completing pre-reqs. A formal program might make it more difficult balance time volunteering, research, etc. You might finish the guided program with your pre-reqs completed, but will you be able to sufficiently build a comprehensively robust application? I would investigate what clinical opportunities the formal program can provide, as well as any other value added benefits over a DIY. It'll certainly cost more, but won't certainly increase your odds at an acceptance.

Another intangible that I'm not sure has any merit aside from philosophical is that a DIY could show one's ability to navigate the process on their own. Again, I'm not sure this would hold any water with an adcom, but it's a conversation piece that arises often.

As for linkages, yes, you are correct that each school has their own requirements. Some are such that you'd be a competitive applicant anywhere, others might already be prohibitive based on minimum cumulative GPAs (>3.5). Do your research.

 

[Aelius]

To add another point to what @Quik said. One advantage of a strong formal program is they can give you a committee recommendation letter package, which from what I heard, can be more advantageous than presenting separate recommendation letters.

Personally, I'm doing the DIY track due to money and location considerations but I may have done things differently if that were not the case.

 

[QuentinT88]

Yeah, I called UPenn today about the linkage situation...but surprise surprise, the woman I spoke to was extremely vague about the details. The only thing she really said was that it was difficult to link, and that linking only provides you with the opportunity to remove the gap year once being accepted to med school...

All in all, I am still leaning toward doing the specialized post bacc. As I mentioned, I want to try and maximize my chances of getting into the best school that I possibly can. While a 4.0 gpa from 30+ credit hours from a DIY would look nice on my application, I cant stop thinking that it would help me even more by taking upper division courses at UPenn for a year before taking the MCAT and applying.

Plus, from my understanding, they offer classes at night time, so I could realistically work as a Scribe or do paid research in the day time.

 

[Aelius]

Yeah, I called UPenn today about the linkage situation...but surprise surprise, the woman I spoke to was extremely vague about the details. The only thing she really said was that it was difficult to link, and that linking only provides you with the opportunity to remove the gap year once being accepted to med school...

All in all, I am still leaning toward doing the specialized post bacc. As I mentioned, I want to try and maximize my chances of getting into the best school that I possibly can. While a 4.0 gpa from 30+ credit hours from a DIY would look nice on my application, I cant stop thinking that it would help me even more by taking upper division courses at UPenn for a year before taking the MCAT and applying.

Plus, from my understanding, they offer classes at night time, so I could realistically work as a Scribe or do paid research in the day time.

So why do you want to do a specialized post bacc at UPenn but not your regular pre-reqs? According to their page, you can still apply.

 

[QuentinT88]

It'll be tough to at this point. I'm locked into my lease until Dec of this year mainly :/ Unless I can gather $$ needed to break my contract, which will be thousands, I don't think I'll be able to