Can I excel in year-long post-bac?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Wherther

New Member
2+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Messages
10
Reaction score
2
Hi all! I’m thinking about doing a year-long post-bac and am concerned about whether I would be able to hack it in such an intensive science courseload.

I’ve always done well in school (4.0 GPA and top 3 law school) but only ever in the humanities. Most concerningly, I took gen chem and bio my first semester of undergrad and had to work ridiculously hard to just barely get As. It sounds like the material gets much more difficult fast, and I’m concerned that, even studying all day everyday when not in class/lab/volunteering, I wouldn’t be able to do well when taking Organic Chem, Bio, and Physics all at once.

On the other hand, programs like Bryn Mawr and Goucher boast these incredibly high med school acceptance rates, so it seems like it must be doable for the vast majority of people they accept? I’m just terrified I would crash and burn because I would really have to put it all on the line to do this (forgo legal job, take out (probably private) loans, have year gap on resume).

I would very much appreciate anyone’s thoughts or advice! Also, does anyone know if these med school acceptance rates take into account everyone who starts the post-bacc or just those who finish?
 
Last edited:
Although I have no direct experience with these programs, they seem expensive for what you're getting. You could easily take these classes at a 4 year or even a CC (since you have good grades) and save a lot of money.

Personally, since you're not sure about sciences yet, it might be smart to test the waters at a local 4 years college or CC to see how you do. That way you don't have to quit your job and risk it all. If things go well then you can decide if you want a more structured program.

On the flipside: "When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated."
 
Although I have no direct experience with these programs, they seem expensive for what you're getting. You could easily take these classes at a 4 year or even a CC (since you have good grades) and save a lot of money.

Personally, since you're not sure about sciences yet, it might be smart to test the waters at a local 4 years college or CC to see how you do. That way you don't have to quit your job and risk it all. If things go well then you can decide if you want a more structured program.

On the flipside: "When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated."
Hahaha that quote is exactly right for this situation!

Thank you so much for this great advice! You’re so right, the programs are way over-priced, and I want to test the waters first anyway, so it really makes a lot of sense to take the classes at state school/CC. The only thing still getting me is the thought of applying to med schools next year rather than two years from now, especially since I’m hoping to have (and raise) kids at some point. (I’m mid-twenties.) Do you think this sways the balance at all? I’m thinking it still makes a lot more sense/is a lot safer to go the state school/CC route. Thank you so much again for responding! 🙂
 
I'm in my upper 30's, just had my first kid, and I have 2 years to go in med school. You have all the time in the world. Caveat: if you're a woman I can see why you'd be pressed for time, but I had a family member who had 3 kids in med school/residency. I don't know how she did it, but she did.

Unless you start taking courses now, and I mean like literally tomorrow, it's going to be extremely difficult for you to have all your pre-reqs AND MCAT done by the time you need to apply next year. This isn't a process you want to rush; you want to get the best grades and best MCAT score that you can. You don't want to have to retake a course or the MCAT. One great score is better than multiple scores.

As has been said so many times on this forum, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time, really dive into the process, and determine exactly what you need to make a great application so that you only need to apply once. The desire to apply before you're fully ready can be high, but just make sure you have everything you need first.
 
Wow, that’s amazing, congratulations on being a dad! 🙂 And on getting through two years of medical school!!

I agree that that schedule sounds crazy, but it is somehow what the Goucher/Bryn Mawr/Scripps programs envision. They have you do chem 1 & 2 over the summer, then bio, physics, and organic chem over fall and spring (and maybe they incorporate some biochem into these classes??). They start giving you MCAT prep as early as fall and expect you to take it in late spring or early summer. (And some have you take biochem that summer but too late for the MCAT I guess haha.)

That’s why I was so concerned that it would not be humanly possible for me to do well in this haha. But I’ve seen people post on here that it was still easier than med school and if you wouldn’t be able to handle that then you wouldnt be able to handle med school. What are your thoughts on that having experienced both pre-med and med school classes?
 
I go to a mid-tier UC and the material really does not get much harder. I am a biochemistry major for reference, the intro weed-out classes were probably the hardest in term of getting a solid A, but for everything else, you really just need to find the right way to study that works for you, and the rest of the classes will be easy. For example, I cannot read textbooks, I do not learn anything from them, I have to physically write stuff down, look at what I wrote, and say it out loud, I only reread anything I wrote a day or two before the test. I literally just summarize the material onto flashcards over and over. REMEMBER: Usually, you only need to get 15-25% above the average to get an A.

Also, don't procrastinate, you will do much better if you start studying 1.5weeks before the test, but study for 30 minutes a day, or 45.
 
Wow, that’s amazing, congratulations on being a dad! 🙂 And on getting through two years of medical school!!

I agree that that schedule sounds crazy, but it is somehow what the Goucher/Bryn Mawr/Scripps programs envision. They have you do chem 1 & 2 over the summer, then bio, physics, and organic chem over fall and spring (and maybe they incorporate some biochem into these classes??). They start giving you MCAT prep as early as fall and expect you to take it in late spring or early summer. (And some have you take biochem that summer but too late for the MCAT I guess haha.)

That’s why I was so concerned that it would not be humanly possible for me to do well in this haha. But I’ve seen people post on here that it was still easier than med school and if you wouldn’t be able to handle that then you wouldnt be able to handle med school. What are your thoughts on that having experienced both pre-med and med school classes?
Oh, I mean it's definitely easier than medical school. I think the difference for you is that you've indicated you've already had some difficulty with science classes; giving up everything and diving in on something that is both expensive and difficult is the main issue. It would suck to quit your job, spend $30k and then realize it's not going to workout. If you took a few classes before going to an official post-bacc, you might figure out if science courses are something you can handle.

It also helps to not be thrown in the deep end. I can tell you that if I had transitioned directly from my CC post bacc to medical school, I wouldn't have been prepared for the pacing. The SMP helped me get a feel for the speed and intensity with which I needed to work.
 
Hi all! I’m thinking about doing a year-long post-bac and am concerned about whether I would be able to hack it in such an intensive science courseload.

I’ve always done well in school (4.0 GPA and top 3 law school) but only ever in the humanities. Most concerningly, I took gen chem and bio my first semester of undergrad and had to work ridiculously hard to just barely get As. It sounds like the material gets much more difficult fast, and I’m concerned that, even studying all day everyday when not in class/lab/volunteering, I wouldn’t be able to do well when taking Organic Chem, Bio, and Physics all at once.

On the other hand, programs like Bryn Mawr and Goucher boast these incredibly high med school acceptance rates, so it seems like it must be doable for the vast majority of people they accept? I’m just terrified I would crash and burn because I would really have to put it all on the line to do this (forgo legal job, take out (probably private) loans, have year gap on resume).

I would very much appreciate anyone’s thoughts or advice! Also, does anyone know if these med school acceptance rates take into account everyone who starts the post-bacc or just those who finish?
Only you can answer the question to your thread.
 
Currently, I'm completing a one year DIY post-bacc. Before last Summer, I had only taken survey of biology and physical science class, and those were back in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. I have bachelor's degrees in business subjects, but very limited experience with the sciences.

Summer 2018: I took Chemistry I and II in mini-semesters. 4 hours a day, 4 days a week in class, and more than that studying on my own. But I managed to get As in both.

Fall 2018: I took Organic Chemistry I, Biology I, and Physics I. Honestly, Organic was easier for me than general chemistry. It's more focused and covers fewer topics. Made As.

Spring 2019: Taking Organic Chemistry II, Biology II, Physics II, and Biochemistry. It's a little harder this time around, but I feel like the previous semester have prepared and condition my brain for learning this type of material.

Even though I found general chemistry harder than some graduate level accounting classes, it was probably due to not being used to studying that type of material. Once you get a feel for the science class and how to study for them, it gets a lot easier. From what I know about law school, (family member is about to graduate from one), if you can graduate from a top 3, you can master some science classes.
 
Switching from the humanities to the hard-sciences is actually easier than doing the opposite in my opinion. Most of the humanities are subjective, whereas most of the sciences are objective, so there is a definite, correct answer for most test questions. I think this is why you see so many people struggle with CARS, because the answers are by far the most subjective on the MCAT.
 
Thank you all so much for this incredibly helpful advice! It is so generous of you to use your time to help other people with their questions/career goals! (I really need to start answering questions on law school forums to pay it forward.)

Procrastitator, are you planning to take the MCAT sometime this summer, and have you started studying yet? Have you had any trouble getting in to classes? I'd be hesitant to do DIY for a full-time one-year situation because the state schools where I'm at won't let you enroll for a second degree and failing to get in to even one class would set you back a cycle. (I'm not sure how full the CCs are though, so that could be a better option.)
 
Procrastitator, are you planning to take the MCAT sometime this summer, and have you started studying yet? Have you had any trouble getting in to classes? I'd be hesitant to do DIY for a full-time one-year situation because the state schools where I'm at won't let you enroll for a second degree and failing to get in to even one class would set you back a cycle. (I'm not sure how full the CCs are though, so that could be a better option.)

I'm planning to study for and take the MCAT this Summer, but I did brush up on my general chemistry over Christmas break with the Kaplan MCAT book.

Generally, second degree students have a pretty high priority when it comes to registering, so I haven't had a problem registering for classes. I've also noticed that at least one person drops from full classes by the first day of class.

I'm taking several of my classes at a community college and they generally don't fill up. However, some colleges don't accept CC classes or recommend against them. One of my state medical schools accepts biology and physics from a CC, recommends you don't take chemistry at CC, and doesn't accept CC organic chemistry.
 
Top