Career Changer Questions for Post Bac

[fobinator]

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Hello Everyone,

I stumbled across these forums and I'm glad to have found it. I have a lot of questions!

I'm having sort of a quarter-life crisis here and I'm seriously considering a postbac program. I started getting information from colleges that specialized in "Career-Changer" programs from the aamc website.

I've been working for 2 years as a software engineer and I've been devoting some weekends to volunteering at a free clinic. However, I do feel out of place when volunteering because everyone has a med school background.

Some questions I have are:

Does it matter which program I go to - obviously there's a difference between SJSU and Columbia, but I don't seem to be able to find any rankings correalating Med School Acceptance and programs

Any opinions on California programs such as USC?

Sorry if these have been covered before, I tried doing searches.

Thanks!

 

[mizzoudude]

Hello Everyone,

I stumbled across these forums and I'm glad to have found it. I have a lot of questions!

I'm having sort of a quarter-life crisis here and I'm seriously considering a postbac program. I started getting information from colleges that specialized in "Career-Changer" programs from the aamc website.

I've been working for 2 years as a software engineer and I've been devoting some weekends to volunteering at a free clinic. However, I do feel out of place when volunteering because everyone has a med school background.

Some questions I have are:

Does it matter which program I go to - obviously there's a difference between SJSU and Columbia, but I don't seem to be able to find any rankings correalating Med School Acceptance and programs

Any opinions on California programs such as USC?

Sorry if these have been covered before, I tried doing searches.

Thanks!

Fobinator,
I am new to the post-bac world as well. I am a biology major graduating in may and did horrible GPA wise. I had a 3.2 and a 27 on the MCAT. There are many programs for those who have not taken the required pre-med classes. Please note that there are many who are not science majors (i.e. history majors, literature, etc.) that apply to medical school. These persons have also however on top of completing the necessary classes for their majors, have also taken the required premed classes (usually 2-4 sem of biology, two sem of chem, two sem of organic chem, 2 sem of physics, some math--it varies with school, and some other basic science requirements).
This can either be done by yourself, taking the necessary pre-reqs at a state school and doing really well or you can go through a structured program. Structured programs are a little more expensive but some offer good advising as well as as stated, a "structured" environment to help you achieve your goal of getting into medical school.
In my opinion, it does matter what institution you do these classes at. I would not recommend doing them at a community college as I have heard that adcoms look down upon that. However, there would be no difference between an institution such as SFSU or MU (University of Missouri). As long as you perform well in your classes (recommend getting a 3.8 or above) and show that you are knowledgable through taking the MCAT, you should be o.k. through whatever program you go through. Also, you should look into if the faculty is willing to help and write you good letters of recommendation.
These are my thoughts, perhaps others can correct me or give you more advise. Good luck.

 

[sidewalkman]

Welcome to SDN! These forums rock.

It doesn't really matter which school you go to as long as it's a 4-year school and you get the grades. As for success rates, if they're published, they may be right on the school's web site, or a post-bacc office of some kind will have it. Some schools simply don't/won't keep that data. Also, who is a 'success' can differ from program to program, so keep that in mind.

About CA schools... you'll find there's far more here about the East Coast schools than any other region. There was a thread about CA recently, though, so you may want to start there.

 

[Kateroni18]

Hello Everyone,

I stumbled across these forums and I'm glad to have found it. I have a lot of questions!

I'm having sort of a quarter-life crisis here and I'm seriously considering a postbac program. I started getting information from colleges that specialized in "Career-Changer" programs from the aamc website.

I've been working for 2 years as a software engineer and I've been devoting some weekends to volunteering at a free clinic. However, I do feel out of place when volunteering because everyone has a med school background.

Some questions I have are:

Does it matter which program I go to - obviously there's a difference between SJSU and Columbia, but I don't seem to be able to find any rankings correalating Med School Acceptance and programs

Any opinions on California programs such as USC?

Sorry if these have been covered before, I tried doing searches.

Thanks!

As far as I know there aren't any rankings for post-bacc programs. I think the best way to assess the programs is to request info from a whole bunch of them and look at their acceptance percentages and lists of schools where the last class of students matriculated (generally this info is in the brochures, but if not you can also ask the admissions offices for it). Then, pick the program that is most compatible with what your med school goal is. I got applications and info pamphlets from about 20 schools and only applied to 3. If the post-bacc courses are combined with undergraduate courses you may also want to request info from the premed office of the undergrad institution to see how well regular undergraduate students fare in the med school admissions process. I did post-bacc at Johns Hopkins and one of the things they brought up during the interview is that Hopkins undergrads are very succesful with getting into med school so their program takes advantage of the regularly offered courses (Why mess with a good thing?)

Another thing to consider is how much premed guidance you get through the process. The Hopkins post-bacc program is very personalized and the advisor is very specific about what each person needs to do to improve their application and is extremely helpful with advice on personal statements, secondaries, etc. Not all programs give you this much individualized attention.

I don't mean to turn this into a plug for the Hopkins program, but I noticed that you're in software engineering. I was a computer scientist myself and ended up getting involved in computer-integrated surgery research at Hopkins. They also offered a programming and project course in computer integrated-surgery and courses in bioinformatics. Wherever you go you may want to see if they offer courses like that to help bridge the gap between computers and medicine. At interviews quite a few people have been very impressed by the "continuity" of my studies.

I think it does matter what program you go to, but I don't want to ignite any flame wars so I'm not going to go into detail.

I did look into USC and I recall thinking it was a good program, but I didn't want to move far and found some programs out east I really liked. USC also has a very decent med school so I would imagine you could get some exellent shadowing or research experiences while there....which of course will help you in the long run.

Hope this is somewhat helpful. I'm tired and not very coherent today 🙂

Good luck with everything!

 

[notdeadyet]

Fobinator- Are you in the Bay Area (noticed the SJSU reference)? I looked around a bit at Bay Area post bacs and can give you some detail. Looked a bit down south, but not in as much depth.

Looking at acceptance percentages, the best organized postbacs I found in California were Mills, USC, and Scripps. All are obscenely expensive though, and you can do great things in the Bay Area at Hayward and SFSU.

I'm not including the UC programs, though. If you're an under-represented minority, there are some fantastic possibilities, but I didn't research them, begin horribly over-represented myself.

 

[Sainttpk]

Hello Everyone,

I've been working for 2 years as a software engineer and I've been devoting some weekends to volunteering at a free clinic. However, I do feel out of place when volunteering because everyone has a med school background.

Thanks!

Howdy,

Do not feel to bad about having a non-medical background, I am in a similar situation as you. In fact I am coming from a legal background, so I am alot different then most of the other students I know who want to be a doc.

Do not feel out of place, if you know this is what you want to do then it does not matter. As far as post bacc programs go, I would say that it does not matter. From my perspective as long as you get good grades and do well on the MCAT there is nothing standing in between you and a medical school acceptance, granted you have some sorta of clinical/volunteer experince.

I know how you feel about the quarter life crisis situation. In many ways I am in the same boat. I studied Archeology as an undergrad and then I went onto law school. I am finishing up my Law degree, and I am working as an EMT my last year of law school in order to save up a little cash, in the meantime I am taking my post bacc classes.

I think the biggest mistake I made in entering the legal profession was that I never took the time out to discover what being an attorney is all about. I am determined not to make that mistake again on my second career choice, as a fellow quarter life crisis buddy I would advise you to do the same =) take care

T

 

[fobinator]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was afraid my thread would just go unnoticed, but instead I got some great feedback.

Mizzoudude – I’m pretty sure I want to go with a structured program. While searching on the aamc.org site to find schools, I noticed that some schools say they have programs that cater to just career-changers or GPA improvement. Do you (or anybody) know if there is actually a difference in programs? Are the classes for GPA improvement much more accelerated, i.e will I be surrounded with butt-kissers (you know the people who beg for grades, rather than trying to really understand the material)

Sidewalkman – the east coast bias is something I did notice while browsing the board. One thing that’s really holding me back from attending an east coast school is that I’m still unsure if I want to go the medical route. If I end up going and realizing it’s not for me, it would have just been an expensive tangent. I just don’t want to make another mistake and end up like Sainttpk’s situation. I’ve also considered Dentistry, Law, and Business!

Kateroni18, -- The John Hopkins program sounds awesome! That’s another thing that’s holding me back. I don’t want to feel as though I wasted all this time with my Comp Sci degree! I would love to hear more about the John Hopkins’s program if you want to share. (PM or Post)

Notdeadyet – I’m working in San Jose right now and I lived here all my life; however I may be open to relocating. I think moving might help me focus and give me a new start on my medical career. What constitutes an under-represented minority? I’m Vietnamese and looking at all the Vietnamese doctors in the area, I don’t think they are under-represented!

Saintpk -- I’m sorry to hear about your situation, I was considering Law school as well! How did you decide that Medical School was what you wanted to do? Was it your experience as an EMT?

 

[notdeadyet]

I noticed that some schools say they have programs that cater to just career-changers or GPA improvement. Do you (or anybody) know if there is actually a difference in programs?

"Career-changers" are usually programs designed for holders of non-science degrees, who are taking the science prereqs (Bio, Chem, OChem and Physics) for the first time. "GPA Improvement" usually implies students who have taken the prereqs, did not do well, and need to repeat.

What constitutes an under-represented minority? I’m Vietnamese and looking at all the Vietnamese doctors in the area, I don’t think they are under-represented!

Nope, Vietnamese isn't an under-represented minority. Not in medicine, that's for sure...

 

[Trismegistus4]

"Career-changers" are usually programs designed for holders of non-science degrees, who are taking the science prereqs (Bio, Chem, OChem and Physics) for the first time. "GPA Improvement" usually implies students who have taken the prereqs, did not do well, and need to repeat.

Really? I always thought "GPA Improvement" referred to students whose original GPA was significantly below the mean for successful med school applicants, regardless of whether the person had already taken the prereqs or not. Thus, career-changers and GPA improvers could overlap. That's how I think of myself (BA in music; 3.1 GPA.)

 

[notdeadyet]

Really? I always thought "GPA Improvement" referred to students whose original GPA was significantly below the mean for successful med school applicants, regardless of whether the person had already taken the prereqs or not. Thus, career-changers and GPA improvers could overlap. That's how I think of myself (BA in music; 3.1 GPA.)

Well, by that definition, all programs are "GPA Improvement" programs, right? Unless you screw up?

The only programs I know of that are designed specifically for students with low GPAs who _haven't_ taken their prereqs/MCAT are those targeting students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.