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There's a rather lengthy thread entitled "Philly area postbac programs thread" or something like that -- lots of information there.
Bryn Mawr is the dominant postbac program in the Philadelphia area, though you certainly couldn't work full-time while doing it. Are you willing to go part-time? A few folks in my class at Bryn Mawr worked part-time, but you should definitely assess your study habits to see if you'll be able to balance it.
If you can't get into Bryn Mawr, want to take more than one year to do the pre-reqs or want to live in awesome West Philly instead of crappy Bryn Mawr, Penn would be an excellent choice.
Bryn Mawr is the dominant postbac program in the Philadelphia area, though you certainly couldn't work full-time while doing it. Are you willing to go part-time? A few folks in my class at Bryn Mawr worked part-time, but you should definitely assess your study habits to see if you'll be able to balance it.
If you can't get into Bryn Mawr, want to take more than one year to do the pre-reqs or want to live in awesome West Philly instead of crappy Bryn Mawr, Penn would be an excellent choice.
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Most of the people at Penn are doing the program full-time as well, even though the classes are at night.
There is no reason you need to take the classes at a formal program. There are numerous schools in Philly which will prepare you just as well.
I started at Penn, didn't like it, and finished up at Temple.
The thing with Penn, is that most of the teachers aren't Penn faculty, so there is a pretty wide variety in the quality of instruction.
Just go to any 4 year school that works for you as far as schedule, cost, etc. For advising, just come on SDN. You'll probably get better info here than from half the pre-med advisors out there.
As far as, postbacs getting you into a top med school.
That is one of the biggest myths out there. The students get themselves into those schools. The top postbacs are very selective in who they take, therefore, many get into top schools. Med schools really don't care where you take the prereqs (just don't go to a CC if you can help it).
There is no reason you need to take the classes at a formal program. There are numerous schools in Philly which will prepare you just as well.
I started at Penn, didn't like it, and finished up at Temple.
The thing with Penn, is that most of the teachers aren't Penn faculty, so there is a pretty wide variety in the quality of instruction.
Just go to any 4 year school that works for you as far as schedule, cost, etc. For advising, just come on SDN. You'll probably get better info here than from half the pre-med advisors out there.
As far as, postbacs getting you into a top med school.
That is one of the biggest myths out there. The students get themselves into those schools. The top postbacs are very selective in who they take, therefore, many get into top schools. Med schools really don't care where you take the prereqs (just don't go to a CC if you can help it).
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I agree with most of the above -- Temple is a proven winner when it comes to the do-it-yourself approach -- though I would add a corollary to the last paragraph.
The best formal postbac programs have been around long enough that they have developed strong relationships with a few medical schools. Linkage programs are one result, but even for the general application pool students benefit from familiarity. While I agree that the students are top-notch and would likely get at least interviewed anyway, the deans of the top postbac programs often know admissions officers at certain med schools and can offer -- usually via the committee letter -- an extra push. At Bryn Mawr, there are certain medical schools that have quite simply never rejected an applicant from the program.
The best formal postbac programs have been around long enough that they have developed strong relationships with a few medical schools. Linkage programs are one result, but even for the general application pool students benefit from familiarity. While I agree that the students are top-notch and would likely get at least interviewed anyway, the deans of the top postbac programs often know admissions officers at certain med schools and can offer -- usually via the committee letter -- an extra push. At Bryn Mawr, there are certain medical schools that have quite simply never rejected an applicant from the program.
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