DIY Postbacc at Multiple Different Schools?

[BleedinBlue2016]

Hi all,

Potential non-trad here, trying to figure out how to navigate my situation. I graduated college in 2016 with a 3.7 GPA with a degree in Biology. I dropped the pre-med track in UG, but after a year and a half of working in consulting, I am ready to dive into medicine and certain that it is the route I want to go.

However, I do need to take 4 more pre-reqs to have all of the required courses to apply (hopefully in 2019): Gen Chem II, Physics II, Organic Chem II, and Biochemistry.

Since I only have a few courses to take, I don't want to spend the money/ time relocating for a formal program. There are a couple of different routes I can take:

- Community College: this would allow me to keep working. However, I know that there are a few MD schools that do not take them and a few that discourage them. This is low on the list because I would rather not automatically cross off any schools by going this route.

- Taking courses at 3 different schools (would have to quit my job in the summer):

• There is an online Biochemistry course at the Harvard Extension School that I would take in the spring (starting Jan 26th) and it doesn't show up as 'online' on the transcript so hopefully wouldn't be disadvantageous
  • Would require taking Biochem before Organic Chem II and as my first course after 2 years out of school -- curious to hear if this is a bad idea or if anyone has experience with this course at HES
• I would take my Physics course at a local university that is cheap and close by over the summer
• In the fall I would take Organic Chem II and Gen Chem II at a different state university that is more expensive and farther away (the first university does not offer these on dates that work for me)

Is there any disadvantage to taking prereqs at multiple different schools? When you hear DIY it usually means taking all courses at one school, so I am not sure how common this is for nontrad applications and if it will cause any issues for me when applying.

At the risk of sounding extremely pretentious (not my intention, I promise), my undergrad was at a top 10 school, and I am slightly worried about muddying the waters on my applications by taking pre-reqs at local schools (which are not highly regarded at all in my area). I have heard that once you have the prereqs done it doesn't matter where they came from, but I am not sure how accurate this is.

Any insight is helpful and appreciated! I would love to hear from anyone who successfully went about either of these routes or anyone in a similar situation. Thank you in advance and sorry for the long post!

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[jk441]

Hi all,

Potential non-trad here, trying to figure out how to navigate my situation. I graduated college in 2016 with a 3.7 GPA with a degree in Biology. I dropped the pre-med track in UG, but after a year and a half of working in consulting, I am ready to dive into medicine and certain that it is the route I want to go.

However, I do need to take 4 more pre-reqs to have all of the required courses to apply (hopefully in 2019): Gen Chem II, Physics II, Organic Chem II, and Biochemistry.

Since I only have a few courses to take, I don't want to spend the money/ time relocating for a formal program. There are a couple of different routes I can take:

- Community College: this would allow me to keep working. However, I know that there are a few MD schools that do not take them and a few that discourage them. This is low on the list because I would rather not automatically cross off any schools by going this route.

- Taking courses at 3 different schools (would have to quit my job in the summer):

• There is an online Biochemistry course at the Harvard Extension School that I would take in the spring (starting Jan 26th) and it doesn't show up as 'online' on the transcript so hopefully wouldn't be disadvantageous
  • Would require taking Biochem before Organic Chem II and as my first course after 2 years out of school -- curious to hear if this is a bad idea or if anyone has experience with this course at HES
• I would take my Physics course at a local university that is cheap and close by over the summer
• In the fall I would take Organic Chem II and Gen Chem II at a different state university that is more expensive and farther away (the first university does not offer these on dates that work for me)

Is there any disadvantage to taking prereqs at multiple different schools? When you hear DIY it usually means taking all courses at one school, so I am not sure how common this is for nontrad applications and if it will cause any issues for me when applying.

At the risk of sounding extremely pretentious (not my intention, I promise), my undergrad was at a top 10 school, and I am slightly worried about muddying the waters on my applications by taking pre-reqs at local schools (which are not highly regarded at all in my area). I have heard that once you have the prereqs done it doesn't matter where they came from, but I am not sure how accurate this is.

Any insight is helpful and appreciated! I would love to hear from anyone who successfully went about either of these routes or anyone in a similar situation. Thank you in advance and sorry for the long post!

Not sure if this helps, but I took my post-bac classes (also as DIY) at two different universities, at different schools than my undergrad. It made no difference for me.

 

[BleedinBlue2016]

Not sure if this helps, but I took my post-bac classes (also as DIY) at two different universities, at different schools than my undergrad. It made no difference for me.

Definitely helpful! I wasn't sure if that was a legitimate concern to have to begin with, but any success stories are good to hear. I would have 3 different transcripts if I went that route (4 including my undergrad), but if it did not impact you to have two different ones I am assuming that one more school shouldn't make a difference?
In your experience, as someone who successfully went through the postbacc process, is my plan to take biochem before OChem II and 2 years out of school a bad idea? Should I shift my plan to start with a different course or do you think it's doable?

 

[baccpost]

FWIW -- I was thinking of taking OChem 1&2 at Harvard Summer. They either cram the whole sequence + lab into a month and a half, or there's a less intensive course that's equivalent to OChem 1 only.

The professor who taught it actually didn't recommend the intensive course, said that retention is generally poor. I spoke to him about Biochem as well and commented that Orgo is not a pre-req for their Biochem class. He said that if it's taught in the right perspective, Orgo isn't needed to learn biochemistry. The sequence can go either way and still teach what's needed for med school or research.

 

[stayathomemom]

I am curious how you were able to take Organic Chemistry I without finishing your Gen Chem sequence in the first place.

 

[BleedinBlue2016]

FWIW -- I was thinking of taking OChem 1&2 at Harvard Summer. They either cram the whole sequence + lab into a month and a half, or there's a less intensive course that's equivalent to OChem 1 only.

The professor who taught it actually didn't recommend the intensive course, said that retention is generally poor. I spoke to him about Biochem as well and commented that Orgo is not a pre-req for their Biochem class. He said that if it's taught in the right perspective, Orgo isn't needed to learn biochemistry. The sequence can go either way and still teach what's needed for med school or research.

Ah, that's good to hear! I'm guessing if they don't particularly require OChem as a prereq then it is probably possible to take their Biochem class successfully without it (even if it is a bit more challenging that way). I'll try to reach out to the professors themselves and confirm if possible.
I have heard the same thing about the summer intensive courses -- I was originally planning on taking all of my classes at HES, but their schedule did not line up in a way that would make it easy with the classes I had to take. I would be stuck taking the Ochem intensive (when I've already taken OChem I) or taking 2 courses while also studying for and taking the MCAT in the Spring since they don't offer what I need in the Fall. From the few people I've talked to, the OChem summer intensive class is highly discouraged because the attrition rate is extremely high.

 

[BleedinBlue2016]

I am curious how you were able to take Organic Chemistry I without finishing your Gen Chem sequence in the first place.

So my school actually did not require completing all of Gen Chem before taking OChem. Most people actually took GenChem II their senior year. The common sequence of classes for pre-meds was something like:
First year: Bio I, Bio II, GenChem I
Second year: Orgo I, Orgo II
Third Year: Physics I, Physics II
Fourth Year: GenChem II, Biochem