Bryn Mawr, JHU postbac or self-designed postbac

[snooper]

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So, let's assume someone was admitted at BM or JHU for the postbac premed program but decided not to attend and instead go to, let's say, State U for the prerequisite premed classes.

What are his/her outcome with respect to medical school admission?

Given that admission to either of these programs is very competitive, is it fair to assume that the person who attended either of them would have (a) done well in the prerequisite premed courses and on the MCATs and (b) been admitted to med school?

Or in other words: Is it worth to attend these programs, or would the outcome be the same?

Or could it actually be better NOT to attend a highly competitive program, such as JHU, because one may get less stellar grades due the curve and one's peers, and instead go to State U and get better grades?

 

[SeverusSnape]

Well, there are definite obvious differences in a DIY postbac and the top PB programs in the country.

BM and Hopkins both have proven histories of getting students into med school, strong linkage programs with numerous schools, and strong relationships with many many schools. For a DIY you do run the risk of getting closed out of necessary classes and extending your time there. At the two programs you mentioned, all classes are completed within a year.

I know at Bryn Mawr all classes are with strictly postbacs and professors know you, so it's not difficult to get letters of Rec. from science faculty. There is of course a cost element as BM and JHU are both very pricey, but in some sense you get what you pay for.

Both paths definitely have the potential to get you into med school, definitely. That being said, one route may be less circuitous than the other. It's really about what you're looking for and how you think you'll function best. If the linkage option is something you want to pursue, then a state school DIY is pretty much not what you're looking for. Some food for thought anyway.

Best of luck,

SS

 

[snooper]

Yes, the linkage option is obviously a major draw.
With respect to my second question: Could it actually be a disadvantage to go to a highly competitive program that uses a curve; i.e. being in the bottom half at JHU as compared to be in the top at, say, UMaryland Baltimore County?

 

[henge]

Yes, the linkage option is obviously a major draw.
With respect to my second question: Could it actually be a disadvantage to go to a highly competitive program that uses a curve; i.e. being in the bottom half at JHU as compared to be in the top at, say, UMaryland Baltimore County?

Most post-bacc classes at JHU are mixed with students from the general student body and the post-baccs tend to do much better than the general students.I think in some classes, the PBs did so much better they given the benefit of the overall curve (meaning most PBs did very well) but then a curve was recalculated purely for the undergrads so a reasonable number of them could get As (I'm not positive on that). I'm not aware that the JHU PB program ranked its students by GPA; the med schools see your grades and evaluate them based on JHUs reputation, which is pretty good.

The linkage was, to me, a huge draw. If I recall correctly, 11 people in my group tried to link, and 9 succeeded, and one of the failures was a straight from undergrad applicant who attempted to link at Brown, even though Brown's linkage program is expressly aimed at career changers. Four linked to Penn, two to GWU, and the rest were scattered. Linkers were distributed among straight from undergrad and career changers.