Hi! Been lurking around the forums for a while now and I've decided to make an account and ask. 🙂
I realize this would be a quite a difficult question to answer, but I'm merely looking for some insight as I'm thinking of applying to a formal Pre-med, Post-bac program for 2015 and am a little overwhelmed by the process. There's not much information about acceptance rates into these pre-med post-bac programs and I find myself getting a little anxious about which and how many programs to apply to.
A little about me first: I graduated last year with a non-science bachelors. Realized I wasn't happy going down that route and am considering a "career changing" program. I have not taken science courses, and my overall GPA is quite low at 3.2. (It tanked after highschool where my GPA was 3.8 because I was quite down doing what I was doing). My SATs are quite out of date, though I am not sure if they would want to see it (90 percentile in maths section). I don't have a lot of experience volunteering in hospitals or in medical settings. Have not taken the MCAT either. I plan to do more medical-setting related volunteer work between now and the application period in 2015.
Looking at things realistically, I'm not a top choice candidate for prestigious institutions, like Bryn Mawr, Goucher, etc, but still would like to take my chances. So what I'm really trying to ask is, since we know certain institutions are relatively difficult to get into, how many programs should I apply to? (I've heard people apply to at least 5-10). Should I apply to a lot of places because post bac programs are potentially are difficult to get into? Should I consider applying into a range of programs? Especially a few of the less selective ones as a safety net? Is there someway to figure out which credible institutions are more selective/less selective so I have a balanced pool of programs I can apply to? (I doubt statistics for undergrad acceptance rates clearly apply here.)
I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what I am getting myself into, because the worst thing would be unknowingly having only the most selective institutions on my list (without having some places that I have a chance to get into on my list of places I am applying to) and getting rejected from it all and having to wait another year to reapply.
Sorry for the long winded questions. Thanks for any tips or advice. (I'm mostly looking for schools in NY/SF area since I prefer to be around cities where I don't have to drive).
I realize this would be a quite a difficult question to answer, but I'm merely looking for some insight as I'm thinking of applying to a formal Pre-med, Post-bac program for 2015 and am a little overwhelmed by the process. There's not much information about acceptance rates into these pre-med post-bac programs and I find myself getting a little anxious about which and how many programs to apply to.
A little about me first: I graduated last year with a non-science bachelors. Realized I wasn't happy going down that route and am considering a "career changing" program. I have not taken science courses, and my overall GPA is quite low at 3.2. (It tanked after highschool where my GPA was 3.8 because I was quite down doing what I was doing). My SATs are quite out of date, though I am not sure if they would want to see it (90 percentile in maths section). I don't have a lot of experience volunteering in hospitals or in medical settings. Have not taken the MCAT either. I plan to do more medical-setting related volunteer work between now and the application period in 2015.
Looking at things realistically, I'm not a top choice candidate for prestigious institutions, like Bryn Mawr, Goucher, etc, but still would like to take my chances. So what I'm really trying to ask is, since we know certain institutions are relatively difficult to get into, how many programs should I apply to? (I've heard people apply to at least 5-10). Should I apply to a lot of places because post bac programs are potentially are difficult to get into? Should I consider applying into a range of programs? Especially a few of the less selective ones as a safety net? Is there someway to figure out which credible institutions are more selective/less selective so I have a balanced pool of programs I can apply to? (I doubt statistics for undergrad acceptance rates clearly apply here.)
I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what I am getting myself into, because the worst thing would be unknowingly having only the most selective institutions on my list (without having some places that I have a chance to get into on my list of places I am applying to) and getting rejected from it all and having to wait another year to reapply.
Sorry for the long winded questions. Thanks for any tips or advice. (I'm mostly looking for schools in NY/SF area since I prefer to be around cities where I don't have to drive).
