Any Post Bacc students getting into Med School?

[Madison]

I have a B.A. in Behavioral Science. During my first degree, I had my own business with 10 employees. I worked nights (I slept from 6-10:00 am, then went to class.) I was pulling a 3.50 GPA. But after allowing my youth and family to sway me, I decided to go for the business which required EVERY ounce of me. I literally never studied from there on out. I graduated with my B.A. and ran my own business. After five years, I was miserable. I wasn't doing what I had dreamed about since I was a child. Medicine. I have since worked for Child Protective Services and was a Case Worker for teen moms running the program for three years. My attempt to use my degree only proved how awful it is to have regrets and not even be 30. I am now going for it. I'm volunteering at the Trauma center, and at a clinic in internal Medicine. I currently own two coffee shops which I started for the sole purpose of selling for medical school money, etc. later. I am now starting school as a Post Bacc student trying to bring up my VERY Average 3.0 GPA.

All this to say. How much "life experience" do they consider? and Is Post Bacc study a negative? Will my low GPA be a huge negative even with hopefully great grades later? And what kinds of grades am I going to have to pull to be competitive with all you physic researchers, and 3.98 GPA'ers??

I would greatly appreciate any advice, and or encouragement!!!! Feeling discouraged at 32 after reading the struggles you are all facing.

Madison




[This message has been edited by Madison (edited March 23, 2001).]

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[jewel]

Madison--
From my experience, post bacc study is definitely not a negative. I graduated in May 1999 with a BS, and decided to go back the following year to complete the remaining pre-reqs to apply for med school. It took me 3 semesters to complete all of the classes(2 full-time, and 1 part-time). I was accepted to both schools that I applied to, so neither of them looked negatively upon what I did. I think what you have done since you graduated is wonderful experience in preparing to be a doctor. I think if you do well in the classes you will be taking and score competetively on your MCAT (check with the schools that you are interested in to see what a competetive score would be), you will have a good chance of getting accepted. Good luck!

 

[edmadison]

I think it is important to differentiate between types of post-bacc programs. In general, there are two types. The first is designed for individuals who lack the premedical requirements to attend medical school. Some of these programs are merely conduits to help students get the classes they need. Others are highly structured and commit significant resources to assist students in getting into medical school. The second type is intended to help candidates augment their application, usually by bringing up their grades.

Which type are you contemplating?

Ed

 

[Madison]

Jewel-
Thank you! Finding out what a competitive score would be is also great advice. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you again.

EdMadison-
I am attending Seattle University. They are incredibly supportive and have great Pre-professional degrees and support systems. I was actually going to complete my prereqs, and in doing so hoped to bring my grades up. I am on the biochemistry track right now. But.. Depending on what would get me into Med school, I am wondering if I should go for a new B.A. in BioChem. Not that this is my first choice, as SU is incredibly expensive and I'm 32 years old. Any suggestions, and or criticism will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Madison

 

[Art Vandelay]

I got a business degree with a horrible GPA. I then took 3 years of post-bac pre-med classes and did quite well. My MCAT was decent, and I have some good experiences and I got in at 5 schools. I remember how crazy it felt to go back to school with a sucky GPA wondering if there was a snowballs chance in hades. Anyway, you have a great story to tell, and if you prove that you can get the grades and a decent MCAT score you'll have a great shot at it. Most of the time getting in to med school feels like a numbers game, but if that were true there is no way I would have gotten in. Hope this helps.

 

[Madison]

Art Vandelay-

Thank you for your post. Do you mind me asking which schools you were accepted to, and what was your post bacc GPA? Are you attending med school now and if so which one?

Madison

Stinky Tofu - Thank you.

[This message has been edited by Madison (edited March 24, 2001).]

 

[Art Vandelay]

Madison,
I'm from Ohio which is really nice because we have so many med schools. I got in at OU, OSU,UC,Case, and MCO. I will be going to one of them this fall, but I'm still trying to figure out which one. Anyway, my post bac GPA was around 4.0, but my undergrad GPA was just naughty so overall my GPA was still poor. The main thing is to have a clear distinction between the two GPA's and not to worry about them combined. You should check out the usnews.com site and look at the grad school rankings section. Click on various schools and check out their admissions stats. It will tell you the # of out of state apps, interviews, and accepts. This will help you decide which schools to apply to. Also, in addition to post-bac grades the best thing you can do is perform well on the MCAT. For me the MCAT was hell and I studied my tail off for it. It's one of those things where some people can kill it without much effort and others need to really work at it.

 

[Madison]

Art Vandelay-
Hey, Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciated it. It was encouraging.
Good luck deciding which school to attend and Congratulations on your acceptance to so many schools!

Madison

 

[imtiaz]

What constitutes Post-Bac work? Is it any undergraduate courses taken after attaining a Bachelor's degree? Does there need to be a minimum number of hours for it to count as post-bac work? Do you need to be in a structured program? Can you independently take coursework after getting a Bachelor's degree and still count it as post-bac?

ArtVandelay - I am in a similar situation, I have a "naughty" undergraduate GPA. It is below a 3.0. Will a solid post-bac GPA (about 20-25 credit hours of work) be effective? How many hours of work did you take after your bachelors?

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Imtiaz
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[Art Vandelay]

imtiaz,
I was like a monkey humpin a football when it came to all this stuff. My undergrad school is real small and when I laid down my story they looked at me like I had 4 heads. Post-bac courses are just undergrad courses after you have graduated i.e. not towards a masters. I had to take all the pre med requirements as post-bac. The key with the amount of courses is to show that you can handle med school. I took 2 years part time to save money and did 1 year full-time to show I could do it. The full time year I took O-chem, physics, and upper level bio each quarter. I ended up getting a second undergrad degree which was nice. It's hard to say what number of hours will be enough. For myself, I took as many classes as I could because I wanted to show 1. dedication 2. ability and 3. contrast Hope this helps.

 

[red fish]

Hi,
I did the post-bac at Harvard and am now applying to medical school. The Harvard program is largely intended for non-science undergrads with no previous pre-med coursework, although science undergrads have also taken coursework to fulfill (and sometimes improve) their pre-med pre-requisites.
This is my first time applying, and I have been accepted to 5 schools, waitlisted at 2. My grades and MCAT were similiar to the published averages for these schools. What I think made me stand out as an applicant was my work/volunteer experience after college. It is my impression that the most successful post-bac applicant has a bit of health related experience under his or her belt. Good luck to you!