Applying to med school while taking post bacc

[3.1415927]

Hello! I was wondering if you are able to apply to medical school the same year that you begin a post bacc. Is there an option on AMCAS (either primary or secondary) that lets you indicate that you are taking a post bacc the same year, and have admissions wait on a decision until you are done with the fall term so that you can send them your fall grades? I would prefer to matriculate after taking a post bacc and not have an extra gap year, and since I already have an upward trend I think one more semester of good grades at a post-bacc might make me competitive.

Thank you!

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[paimei42]

You are certainly able to but it might be better to wait so you can derive the full benefit of kicking ass in a post bac.

 

[candbgirl]

You can do whatever you want but by the very nature of a post bacc you need the grades to enhance your GPAs. You might not even make it through screening Schools are under no obligation to wait for new grades. AMCAS will not recalculate your GPAs. By the end of the first semester you might have been rejected. If that happens, no matter how impressive your post bacc grades are you’ll be a reapplicant and have an additional gap year. Just do the post bacc. Get outstanding grades, keep up with your ECs and activities and apply once with a great application that screams “take me”.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

While the people above raise good points, I actually disagree. Yes, you can apply the same year you do a post-bac, and yes, it's likely that if you are doing a post-bac, then you are in a situation where you are trying to fix your application. However, there are definitely "fringe" applicants who do post-bacs in order to make themselves more competitive as an applicant (usually people with high MCATs and low GPAs). I know quite a few people in this situation who applied/are applying the same year they do an academic record enhancing post-bac and received IIs/acceptances. Sure, this is a small minority of post-bac students, but it isn't as black and white as people are making it out to be.

However, no medical school will wait to review your application until after the Fall semester. Some medical schools might reconsider your application if you send they a fantastic Fall semester grade update, but very few.

However, if you are set on matriculating after your post-bac, you can try to find a school with linkages to medical schools you are interested in.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Moko]

Typically students who apply while still in their post bac are career changers, and even then this is the minority of post bac students. I would recommend taking a gap year. It's tough to be in class while applying broadly and interviewing, and can easily cause you to do poorly in your post bac. Your post bac is essentially your redemption. You want to do it right the first time around to avoid necessitating additional classes to be competitive. Just my thoughts

 

[postbaccpro]

In my post-bac letters from the program are sent throughout the program to med schools to update them on what the student has been doing and what grades they have received. It has helped in getting students interviews before the program ends.

 

[3.1415927]

In my post-bac letters from the program are sent throughout the program to med schools to update them on what the student has been doing and what grades they have received. It has helped in getting students interviews before the program ends.

Thank you!
May I ask which post bac you attended?

 

[postbaccpro]

Thank you!
May I ask which post bac you attended?

I'm an advisor at a post-bac, not attending

 

[gyngyn]

In my post-bac letters from the program are sent throughout the program to med schools to update them on what the student has been doing and what grades they have received. It has helped in getting students interviews before the program ends.

Through the AMCAS letter service?

 

[postbaccpro]

Through the AMCAS letter service?

Depends on how the school wants to receive them. For our in-home med school they want them through AMCAS, so they're there if the student wants to send to others as well. If a student needs me to send them directly to the school via email, I do that.

 

[Ole_Toe]

Hello! I was wondering if you are able to apply to medical school the same year that you begin a post bacc. Is there an option on AMCAS (either primary or secondary) that lets you indicate that you are taking a post bacc the same year, and have admissions wait on a decision until you are done with the fall term so that you can send them your fall grades? I would prefer to matriculate after taking a post bacc and not have an extra gap year, and since I already have an upward trend I think one more semester of good grades at a post-bacc might make me competitive.

Thank you!

Not what you want to hear, but you should just wait a year. You REALLY do not want to go through the application cycle twice, and what you are describing is quite unusual - assuming that you have already taken the MCAT, but have not taken the prereqs (orgo/physics 2/biochem). Even if schools agree to do this, they wouldn't review your application until December, which means that unless you are an absolutely stellar applicant, you have very little chance of getting an interview.