Confusion about Post-Bacc

[nextgen007]

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Hey! So I am considering a gap year during which I am really looking into doing a postbacc program that is a year long. I will graduate undergrad in 2019 and I was just confused as to how the postbacc process works? It is to my knowledge that if I wanted to start medical school starting in 2019, I would need to apply now, however, if I graduate next year and go into the postbacc program in 2019 fall, how exactly would I finish the courses and all and still only be wasting a year? Is that how this all works-- very confused about the process. My plan is to be in medical school starting in 2020. Really stressing out, can anyone please help me understand this better?

 

[workaholic181]

So basically you're asking if you'll need to take a "glide year" between your post bacc and matriculating into medical school, during which time you apply to schools. This is normally the case but not always. Some applicants have a strong enough record that they apply to schools during fall semester of their post bacc, and are able to get in with updated coursework and grades from their program.

There are also post baccs with linkage. Basically these are programs that have agreements with medical schools that allow post bacc students who meet certain MCAT and grade criteria to matriculate directly into the medical school program the fall after their post bacc finishes, so no glide year in this case.

Do a search for post baccs with linkage. Temples ACMS and CST ACHS are two programs which I've known students were able to matriculate directly into med school. The post baccs with linkage tend to be pretty competitive to get into though. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[nextgen007]

So basically you're asking if you'll need to take a "glide year" between your post bacc and matriculating into medical school, during which time you apply to schools. This is normally the case but not always. Some applicants have a strong enough record that they apply to schools during fall semester of their post bacc, and are able to get in with updated coursework and grades from their program.

There are also post baccs with linkage. Basically these are programs that have agreements with medical schools that allow post bacc students who meet certain MCAT and grade criteria to matriculate directly into the medical school program the fall after their post bacc finishes, so no glide year in this case.

Do a search for post baccs with linkage. Temples ACMS and CST ACHS are two programs which I've known students were able to matriculate directly into med school. The post baccs with linkage tend to be pretty competitive to get into though. Good luck with whatever you decide.

so are you saying that basically there is a possibility I could go to school in 2020 if I were to apply for the 2019 fall postbac program?

 

[nextgen007]

so are you saying that basically there is a possibility I could go to school in 2020 if I were to apply for the 2019 fall postbac program?

I really really do not want to take a "glide year" and take another year off. I am looking to just delay medical school by MAX of one year.

 

[jdrb0130]

I really really do not want to take a "glide year" and take another year off. I am looking to just delay medical school by MAX of one year.

If I understand your question correctly:
If you graduated 2019, in order to go into medical school fall 2019 you'd have to apply this upcoming cycle(this year). If you apply for a post bacc now, you'll graduate with bachelors and start the post bacc fall of 2019. This means you would start med school in 2020 once accepted.

 

[nextgen007]

Exactly! Awesome so do I apply for postbacc right now or do the applications start later for the fall 2019 postbacc program?

 

[jdrb0130]

Exactly! Awesome so do I apply for postbacc right now or do the applications start later for the fall 2019 postbacc program?

You can apply for post bacc the fall of this year, it just depends on when the school open up the cycle. The cycle would be 2019-2020. You pretty much apply during the fall of the year before you want to matriculate.
So, you would apply for med school next year May-December 2019(dates vary based on your stats) and tell them you will begin a post bacc program this year. Just as workaholic mentioned it would depend on the post bacc. If it's a linkage(great idea) then the med school can see your grades. Also, research med schools. I read on a forum that some med schools won't accept your post bacc grades until you are finished. That would cause a delay/gap year. However, post bacc 2019-2020.
Your med school grad date would be 2024. So you would plan to enter 2020.

 

[nextgen007]

You can apply for post bacc the fall of this year, it just depends on when the school open up the cycle. The cycle would be 2019-2020. You pretty much apply during the fall of the year before you want to matriculate.
So, you would apply for med school next year May-December 2019(dates vary based on your stats) and tell them you will begin a post bacc program this year. Just as workaholic mentioned it would depend on the post bacc. If it's a linkage(great idea) then the med school can see your grades. Also, research med schools. I read on a forum that some med schools won't accept your post bacc grades until you are finished. That would cause a delay/gap year. However, post bacc 2019-2020.
Your med school grad date would be 2024. So you would plan to enter 2020.

Gotcha! I will definitely have to do my research because I really do want to follow that plan of figuring out how to best play this out so that I start medical school (hopefully) by 2020 and graduate by 2024. Thank you so much @workaholic181 and @jdrb0130. If you have any ideas on how to further enhance this plan please do let me know. I will definitely return to this thread after I figure out my goals as well. I am currently working on perfecting my MCAT score by studying hard. Do you think I can apply now just to see how it plays out in terms of if I get into a med school earlier or not? Or, do postbacc linkage programs not really allow that? I have been researching, but just am really unsure as to what all this data together really is saying.

 

[workaholic181]

Gotcha! I will definitely have to do my research because I really do want to follow that plan of figuring out how to best play this out so that I start medical school (hopefully) by 2020 and graduate by 2024. Thank you so much @workaholic181 and @jdrb0130. If you have any ideas on how to further enhance this plan please do let me know. I will definitely return to this thread after I figure out my goals as well. I am currently working on perfecting my MCAT score by studying hard. Do you think I can apply now just to see how it plays out in terms of if I get into a med school earlier or not? Or, do postbacc linkage programs not really allow that? I have been researching, but just am really unsure as to what all this data together really is saying.

If you feel you have a competitive med school app now and want to apply then you should. Most post bacc apps wont open up until the fall at least as far as ive researched, so you could send in an app to med schools now and post baccs when they open in the fall.

Some post baccs encourage apps while in the program and somedont. Its really up to how string your app is right now, if thatmakes sense.

 

[nextgen007]

If you feel you have a competitive med school app now and want to apply then you should. Most post bacc apps wont open up until the fall at least as far as ive researched, so you could send in an app to med schools now and post baccs when they open in the fall.

Some post baccs encourage apps while in the program and somedont. Its really up to how string your app is right now, if thatmakes sense.

Definitely! Well, I have a 3.55 GPA and a 3.1 science gpa (due to a lot of medical hardships and hardship withdrawl for a semester) my college undergrad career started off very rocky. I will be taking MCAT in june 16, I am already behind as I have been told, and I don't want to waste a ton of effort and time knowing i'm 1. late to the game 2. my scores are not up to par 3. I don't think i'll have time to really go at it for my applications becuase I also will be taking classes online and in person this summer. I feel somewhat discouraged already taking this year off and I just really don't want to make it two years in all honesty.

 

[workaholic181]

Definitely! Well, I have a 3.55 GPA and a 3.1 science gpa (due to a lot of medical hardships and hardship withdrawl for a semester) my college undergrad career started off very rocky. I will be taking MCAT in june 16, I am already behind as I have been told, and I don't want to waste a ton of effort and time knowing i'm 1. late to the game 2. my scores are not up to par 3. I don't think i'll have time to really go at it for my applications becuase I also will be taking classes online and in person this summer. I feel somewhat discouraged already taking this year off and I just really don't want to make it two years in all honesty.

Just see how the MCAT goes. A strong score and you could consider applying DO this cycle. But again since most of the post baccs don't even open apps up until next fall for fall 2019 admissions, you've got plenty of times to see how you do on that and consider what your options are.

The average matriculant age is like 25 now, don't sweat the timeline too much.

 

[RangerBob]

Can I ask why you are taking the MCAT now if you're doing a post-bac? If you haven't done all your pre-reqs (or plan to re-take them in post-bac because you didn't do well the first time), you will do much better on the MCAT if you wait until after you take the course. My post-bac was essentially my MCAT study course (I didn't take any review courses) and I attribute my MCAT score to my solid post-bac performance.

As someone who went into a post-bac program straight out of undergrad, with a overall GPA of 3.3 and science GPA probably around 3.2, I highly recommend waiting--to take the MCAT until you're as best prepared as possible, and to apply to med school when you can put your strongest application forward. Your GPA isn't very different than mine and I will be honest that even with a strong MCAT, you application isn't likely to get much attention if you apply to med school before post-bac grades are in. A science GPA of 3.1 going is too low for most (it not all) schools--you need to prove you can do better than that.

I am pretty sure if I applied to medical school with my 3.3/3.2 as above and took the MCAT prior to starting post bac (and thus with only gen chem under my belt), I would have likely been denied from every school I applied to. I waited to apply and used my post-bac as my MCAT study course (I never took a review course) and did exceptionally well on the MCAT. I did well because I worked my butt off in post-bac--I had a 3.8 in all my post-bac work. My overall science GPA was still a bit under 3.5 but with my strong MCAT and experience (paid/volunteer) I managed some interviews and got accepted.

 

[nextgen007]

Can I ask why you are taking the MCAT now if you're doing a post-bac? If you haven't done all your pre-reqs (or plan to re-take them in post-bac because you didn't do well the first time), you will do much better on the MCAT if you wait until after you take the course. My post-bac was essentially my MCAT study course (I didn't take any review courses) and I attribute my MCAT score to my solid post-bac performance.

As someone who went into a post-bac program straight out of undergrad, with a overall GPA of 3.3 and science GPA probably around 3.2, I highly recommend waiting--to take the MCAT until you're as best prepared as possible, and to apply to med school when you can put your strongest application forward. Your GPA isn't very different than mine and I will be honest that even with a strong MCAT, you application isn't likely to get much attention if you apply to med school before post-bac grades are in. A science GPA of 3.1 going is too low for most (it not all) schools--you need to prove you can do better than that.

I am pretty sure if I applied to medical school with my 3.3/3.2 as above and took the MCAT prior to starting post bac (and thus with only gen chem under my belt), I would have likely been denied from every school I applied to. I waited to apply and used my post-bac as my MCAT study course (I never took a review course) and did exceptionally well on the MCAT. I did well because I worked my butt off in post-bac--I had a 3.8 in all my post-bac work. My overall science GPA was still a bit under 3.5 but with my strong MCAT and experience (paid/volunteer) I managed some interviews and got accepted.

Gotcha! That really helps, thank you so much and I am just taking it because I am trying my best to see if I could possibly do without the glide year? I don't want to be two years behind applying if i'm being completely honest.

 

[RangerBob]

Gotcha! That really helps, thank you so much and I am just taking it because I am trying my best to see if I could possibly do without the glide year? I don't want to be two years behind applying if i'm being completely honest.

Two things:
1) You're not behind by waiting two years to apply. I get the wanting to get to med school ASAP part (I did as well--we all did), but the average age of med students is going up. I'd argue you'll be a better med student and a happier person with a little more experience in the world (ie., by working near/full-time in that 1-2 glide years). Back when I was a post-bac, I wished I could get to med school ASAP. Now, I wish I had taken more time and done either the Peace Corps, joined the military, or done some other big service like that.

2) Your application will be significantly stronger if you wait until you're ready--both to take the MCAT and when you're overall ready to apply (ie., all your post-bac grades are in). A bad MCAT score can/will tank your application, though some schools look at the best performance. A low GPA will also tank an application. It's typically recommended to apply when you're ready to put your best foot forward because it gets harder to get accepted if you re-apply. There are other threads that go into the whole re-applicant thing.

Unfortunately, to do things right (particularly when like me you have a low GPA to content with), you really should be as patient as possible. Get all A's in your post-bac coursework, and by getting A's in those pre-reqs, you're essentially studying what you need for the MCAT. I lightly reviewed bio/physics/o-chem (the courses I took in my first year as a post-bac) for a couple weeks, and reviewed gen chem more intensively (I took that prior, and didn't get an A). I was happy with my test scores, and I took the test when I felt ready. I had also been intensely participating in two quality volunteer jobs as well as working-part time as a case manager, which was also great experience. Then I submitted my application and hoped for the best, knowing that I had done everything I could to boost my application as best as possible.

Glide years are truly a blessing. You can do whatever you want during that year. If you have money saved up, travel! If not (like me!), get a job and see what the real world is like--you'll appreciate your job in medicine all that much more.

Ultimately it's up to you to decide what's best for you. But I'd recommend considering the above, and if you opt to push forward quicker, try talking with people who have done that. Just keep in mind with your GPA you really need to prove yourself, and the question to ask is if you'll have done that by the time your application is submitted.