Considering formal post-bac, aiming for T10. How screwed am I with research?

[deleted1195820]

Hi everyone! I am considering applying to a formal one-year post-bac program as a career changer. Assume hypothetically I manage a 4.0 post-bac GPA and 520+ MCAT, I feel like I have a decent shot at T10 medical schools, except... I have no research hours. Since these post-bacs are only one year long, I'm not sure how many research hours I can realistically get by the time I apply to med school.

My questions are:
- Does anyone have experience getting to a research-heavy (T10) school from a formal post-bac program without research experience prior to the post-bac?
- If you did get into a T10, what was your breakdown of research/clinical/volunteer hours?

(I'm only aiming for MD, not MD/PhD)

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[BritainKittenMittens]

Hi everyone! I am considering applying to a formal one-year post-bac program as a career changer. Assume hypothetically I manage a 4.0 post-bac GPA and 520+ MCAT, I feel like I have a decent shot at T10 medical schools, except... I have no research hours. Since these post-bacs are only one year long, I'm not sure how many research hours I can realistically get by the time I apply to med school.

My questions are:
- Does anyone have experience getting to a research-heavy (T10) school from a formal post-bac program without research experience prior to the post-bac?
- If you did get into a T10, what was your breakdown of research/clinical/volunteer hours?

(I'm only aiming for MD, not MD/PhD)

I'm gonna level with you, people who come here with the prestige or bust mindset aren't received well, because it suggests you are going in it for the wrong reasons--especially when you have no research, one of the main reasons a prestigious school would benefit someone's academic career.

And when you ask for people's breakdown of hours, it sounds like you're just asking for the minimum checklist hours to get in.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Really random to assume you're going to get a top 1% in both major stats for a population that skews above average already. Why do you even want a research school if you've never done research? You're not going to get enough hours of anything to apply to even low tier schools in a rigorous 1 year program. Extend your timeline or your expectations.

 

[deleted1165525]

That’s a lot of hypotheticals. Worry about getting into the post bacc and then worry about getting good grades. “Worrying” about a situation you’re not even in suggests poor time management.

Also, if you go to a top post bacc program, those stats are not uncommon to many people. Those stats alone are not what gets you into top 10 schools. The ones accepted usually have other very impressive achievements and backgrounds.