Bryn Mawr 2013-2014
Started by mshahnoora
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Everyone I know here got a call from Jodi when they got in (unless they were international/without phone access).
There's plenty of commuter parking on campus right by the science building (a commuter parking sticker costs something like $50/semester) available at all times. I don't have a sticker, but I've utilized the "guest" parking. Don't tell anyone. Most people live about 10 minutes from campus (as I do), so many don't bother with a parking sticker.
If you buy anything (textbooks/MCAT study materials/furniture) from current postbacs, ask them to throw in their old parking sticker, that is if they have a car and they're not hanging around to take any of the summer courses. The parking stickers from this academic year are the same ones the parking office sells for the summer sessions (different ones are issued in the fall). 🙂
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Awesome tip, thanks!
Over in the Goucher thread, one of their current post baccs just posted some great reflections of the linkage process and financial aid that I think are very applicable to Bryn Mawr as well. I'm going to quote them and then add some comments of my own down below.
First off, I'm not linking, but have several friends that are. Goucher2013 gets a lot of the calculus of linking spot on. Like anything else, it's a big cost/benefit analysis. The linkage process is amazing if you find the right school for you, and want to skip the glide year. In a certain way, it has a lot in common with say getting a military scholarship (full ride to med school), doing National Health Service Corps (full ride), or MD/PhD (yes, full ride). All of these things sound awesome. Going to med school a year early and skipping a glide year? Awesome! Full ride to med school?! Who doesn't want that. One thing that's become clear to me, however, that these things are really only beneficial if you'd want to do it without the inducement. Love one of your linkage schools, and would probably choose it over anywhere else? Linkage is awesome. You wanted to serve your country and join the military anyways? Then a military scholarship is an awesome deal. Same thing with doing research, primary care in an underserved area, etc. These things are all amazing if that's what you wanted to do. But there are costs to all of them. For linkage, it's foreclosing on a substantial number of financial aid opportunities. For many other things, it's prolonged schooling (MD/PhD) or substantial service requirements (military, NHSC).
As Goucher 2013 put it, in the end it's all a risk/benefit calculation. There's a lot to think about with all of this, and I think linkage is one of the things that really draws people to these structured programs. At the end of the day though, it's not for everyone. For linkage (or for any of these opportunities), think about whether you would do it regardless of the incentives (money, time saved, whatever). If you would still do it without the incentive, then go for it. If not, you might want to give it some more thought. There are tons of people who came in hear thinking they would link, and have now decided that it wasn't the right decision for them. That's definitely a good thing to realize BEFORE you go through the linkage process, as I think the inducement of saving a year can sometimes blind people into making a decision that might not be best for them.
One of the awesome things about Bryn Mawr is that they really guide you so well through this process. Everyone knows their stuff, and can really help you figure out what the right decision is for you. Because in the end, it's all about fit, and you want to make sure you have the best possible fit between you and the institution you're spending the next 4 years (and a few hundred grand) on.
-EB
First off, I'm not linking, but have several friends that are. Goucher2013 gets a lot of the calculus of linking spot on. Like anything else, it's a big cost/benefit analysis. The linkage process is amazing if you find the right school for you, and want to skip the glide year. In a certain way, it has a lot in common with say getting a military scholarship (full ride to med school), doing National Health Service Corps (full ride), or MD/PhD (yes, full ride). All of these things sound awesome. Going to med school a year early and skipping a glide year? Awesome! Full ride to med school?! Who doesn't want that. One thing that's become clear to me, however, that these things are really only beneficial if you'd want to do it without the inducement. Love one of your linkage schools, and would probably choose it over anywhere else? Linkage is awesome. You wanted to serve your country and join the military anyways? Then a military scholarship is an awesome deal. Same thing with doing research, primary care in an underserved area, etc. These things are all amazing if that's what you wanted to do. But there are costs to all of them. For linkage, it's foreclosing on a substantial number of financial aid opportunities. For many other things, it's prolonged schooling (MD/PhD) or substantial service requirements (military, NHSC).
As Goucher 2013 put it, in the end it's all a risk/benefit calculation. There's a lot to think about with all of this, and I think linkage is one of the things that really draws people to these structured programs. At the end of the day though, it's not for everyone. For linkage (or for any of these opportunities), think about whether you would do it regardless of the incentives (money, time saved, whatever). If you would still do it without the incentive, then go for it. If not, you might want to give it some more thought. There are tons of people who came in hear thinking they would link, and have now decided that it wasn't the right decision for them. That's definitely a good thing to realize BEFORE you go through the linkage process, as I think the inducement of saving a year can sometimes blind people into making a decision that might not be best for them.
One of the awesome things about Bryn Mawr is that they really guide you so well through this process. Everyone knows their stuff, and can really help you figure out what the right decision is for you. Because in the end, it's all about fit, and you want to make sure you have the best possible fit between you and the institution you're spending the next 4 years (and a few hundred grand) on.
-EB
I will also share my own personal experience with the linkage process. Goucher2013 talks a lot about the financial considerations of linking, but there are also personal considerations to take as well.
I, like I'm sure like many of you, felt that I had to plow through post-bac and medical school to graduate at a reasonable age. Taking a gap year felt incredibly scary, as I would have no idea what I would be doing as I had quit my old career in order to pursue medicine. There was a lot of uncertainty about where I would be during gap year, and also where for medical school. When the linkage application deadline came up, I started to freak out about my future and decided that I wanted some stability and perhaps hastily chose to link. The school I had chosen I was only moderately enthused about as the school I had really wanted to link had a GPA cutoff that I did not meet at the time. Now halfway through the linkage application process, I continued to freak out, but now about whether or not I had jumped into my linkage decision too impulsively. In the end, I was actually declined an interview at the school I tried to link to, but it gave me an enormous sense of relief, apparently something not uncommon to linkers according to Jodi.
So instead of jumping straight to medical school after my postbac, I applied for my gap year job and submitted my application for the general cycle. I wound up getting a sweet gig and also decided to live with some of my closest friends that I had made during postbac who were all in the same boat as me. It would up being an extremely amazing year as far stepping back from academics and just enjoying the time to ourselves. Thanks to the free time I had during this year, I wound up having a lot of fun and even fit in a bike trip across California over a month. The application cycle was undeniably stressful, but despite some bumps, I eventually wound up at a better institution for me than the school I had originally wanted to link to.
I guess the moral of the story is to just realize that a gap year is not this scary black hole of unknown. Most of my friends at Bryn Mawr who had also taken gap years wound up having amazing experiences as well. Do not feel like you are compelled to have to link, even if the school is a perfect fit for you.
I, like I'm sure like many of you, felt that I had to plow through post-bac and medical school to graduate at a reasonable age. Taking a gap year felt incredibly scary, as I would have no idea what I would be doing as I had quit my old career in order to pursue medicine. There was a lot of uncertainty about where I would be during gap year, and also where for medical school. When the linkage application deadline came up, I started to freak out about my future and decided that I wanted some stability and perhaps hastily chose to link. The school I had chosen I was only moderately enthused about as the school I had really wanted to link had a GPA cutoff that I did not meet at the time. Now halfway through the linkage application process, I continued to freak out, but now about whether or not I had jumped into my linkage decision too impulsively. In the end, I was actually declined an interview at the school I tried to link to, but it gave me an enormous sense of relief, apparently something not uncommon to linkers according to Jodi.
So instead of jumping straight to medical school after my postbac, I applied for my gap year job and submitted my application for the general cycle. I wound up getting a sweet gig and also decided to live with some of my closest friends that I had made during postbac who were all in the same boat as me. It would up being an extremely amazing year as far stepping back from academics and just enjoying the time to ourselves. Thanks to the free time I had during this year, I wound up having a lot of fun and even fit in a bike trip across California over a month. The application cycle was undeniably stressful, but despite some bumps, I eventually wound up at a better institution for me than the school I had originally wanted to link to.
I guess the moral of the story is to just realize that a gap year is not this scary black hole of unknown. Most of my friends at Bryn Mawr who had also taken gap years wound up having amazing experiences as well. Do not feel like you are compelled to have to link, even if the school is a perfect fit for you.
Haven't heard anything back since an email mid-April asking if I was still interested.
I was wait-listed too - haven't heard anything at all since late March. It's getting too late at this point, so I decided that I'm going to Hopkins. Even though Bryn Mawr's been around the longest, Hopkins makes their medical faculty available to post-bacs, which I'm reallly excited about - and of course the academic reputation is great as well.
Nope! And considering classes start in two weeks - I'm not too hopeful.
Have you given them a call recently? You probably have nothing to lose by flat out asking over the phone...
