chicago postbac premed

[rey504]

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Hi. I'm 24, and live and work in Chicago. I graduated in May of 05 from a Chicago Uni. I was originally premed, but changed majors (long, long story) and ended up with a BA in a social science. I have decided that I want to pursue medicine and am wondering which program might be best. I need to take all of the premed courses.

I believe Northwestern and Loyola each have formal programs, while it is possible to do the prereqs informally at UIC and UChicago. Are admissions chances to the respective med schools increased with attendance at any of these, either through linkage or otherwise? Are any of these generally more respected? Does anyone have experience with any of these programs?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Jonesie]

I started the post-bac pre-med program at Loyola when I was 24; I'm now 27 and will be submitting my application next spring. I've been reasonably happy with Loyola, but a big factor in my choice was the fact that I did my undergrad there (with a music major!), so I'm familiar with the campus and administrative offices. The major complaint from my LU post-bac friends has been that they didn't receive any sort of orientation materials beyond a campus map....but I hear the pre-health office is really trying to correct that and make post-bacs feel more welcome and supported.

Loyola's biggest advantage is their pre-health committee, which forces you to get your application materials into their offices early, gives you an advisor to meet with you and review/revise your materials, then issues a letter of recommendation on behalf of the committee. For post-bacs who may only take the few required science classes and may find it difficult to develop relationships with their professors, having a solid LOR from a committee can be very helpful. Plus, if you tend to procrastinate (as I do), there is the advantage of getting your application ready early and having several people review it.

I'm don't know much about Northwestern's program, and for all I know, they may do the same thing. I will say that they have the more recognizable name, so that may carry some weight...but it depends on where you intend to apply to med school. It's been my experience that Loyola is recognized more in the midwest and Northwestern more nationwide. Bottom line: I'd go to the school that you can afford with the more convenient location. What matters most is the grades you get -- I think the difficulty of the Loyola vs Northwestern undergrad science curriculum is comparable.

Sorry this is so long....feel free to PM me if you'd like more advice. I'm nearing the end of my time with Loyola and have a lot of thoughts on the process.

 

[square]

I started the post-bac pre-med program at Loyola when I was 24; I'm now 27 and will be submitting my application next spring. I've been reasonably happy with Loyola, but a big factor in my choice was the fact that I did my undergrad there (with a music major!), so I'm familiar with the campus and administrative offices. The major complaint from my LU post-bac friends has been that they didn't receive any sort of orientation materials beyond a campus map....but I hear the pre-health office is really trying to correct that and make post-bacs feel more welcome and supported.

Loyola's biggest advantage is their pre-health committee, which forces you to get your application materials into their offices early, gives you an advisor to meet with you and review/revise your materials, then issues a letter of recommendation on behalf of the committee. For post-bacs who may only take the few required science classes and may find it difficult to develop relationships with their professors, having a solid LOR from a committee can be very helpful. Plus, if you tend to procrastinate (as I do), there is the advantage of getting your application ready early and having several people review it.

I'm don't know much about Northwestern's program, and for all I know, they may do the same thing. I will say that they have the more recognizable name, so that may carry some weight...but it depends on where you intend to apply to med school. It's been my experience that Loyola is recognized more in the midwest and Northwestern more nationwide. Bottom line: I'd go to the school that you can afford with the more convenient location. What matters most is the grades you get -- I think the difficulty of the Loyola vs Northwestern undergrad science curriculum is comparable.

Sorry this is so long....feel free to PM me if you'd like more advice. I'm nearing the end of my time with Loyola and have a lot of thoughts on the process.

you may also want to look into medprep: www.siumed.edu/medprep

i'm currently in the program. pm me with questions.

square

 

[ericdopt]

Hi. I'm 24, and live and work in Chicago. I graduated in May of 05 from a Chicago Uni. I was originally premed, but changed majors (long, long story) and ended up with a BA in a social science. I have decided that I want to pursue medicine and am wondering which program might be best. I need to take all of the premed courses.

I believe Northwestern and Loyola each have formal programs, while it is possible to do the prereqs informally at UIC and UChicago. Are admissions chances to the respective med schools increased with attendance at any of these, either through linkage or otherwise? Are any of these generally more respected? Does anyone have experience with any of these programs?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I did my post-bacc work at Loyola as well. I did mine in the late '90's. I thought it was good. I heard they disbanded the program though, read the above posts to find out more. I thought the classes were great, the profs were respectful and excited to have an older/wiser person in their class. I got some great LOR's from a few. I went there because my fiance at the time was going there. I checke into NWU but thought the price was high. I didn't check UofC though. I was living on the northside then, and didn't want the commute anyway. Good luck. I thought the hardest part was actually signing up for the classes. I can't believe I'm half way through my intern year. Go for it, you won't regret it!

 

[chicagoml]

The major complaint from my LU post-bac friends has been that they didn't receive any sort of orientation materials beyond a campus map....but I hear the pre-health office is really trying to correct that and make post-bacs feel more welcome and supported.



I went to Loyola today for my first Chemistry lab.....got there to discover it was cancelled, but I had a chance to get to the bookstore, the pre-health office, and the student services office. I've been dealing with a woman in the pre-health office who has been very responsive. I was, however, a little disappointed that I didn't receive ANYTHING about the campus - I didn't even get the above-mentioned campus map. I had to go to the website and search for everything I needed.....not that I need my hand held that much, but I figured they would send me some "new student" materials in the mail. Unfortunately, I was only able to get into one class this semester, so hopefully I'll be able to do more over the summer.

 

[nblankton]

I'm starting my second semester in Loyola's post-bacc program so feel free to ask any questions.

I missed the deadline for Northwestern's program so that was not an option for me. 🙂 I'd say the two are about comparable, though. I would imagine Northwestern's students would be somewhat more competitive. The main benefits to these formal programs are that you get early registration for courses and you can go through the committee process come application time.

Good luck.

 

[jbrice1639]

i just finished the loyola program (by doing summers, i completed the entire pre-med sequence between january 2004 and december 2005). I highly recommend the program, as an above poster mentioned, because the advising office and the committee process are phenomenal. i just finished up the application process and will be attending loyola's medical school in the fall. feel free to pm me with any questions...the flexibility of the program and the helpfulness of the advising office made the program extremely manageable and enjoyable.

-jason